I've gone blank....water boiling with no supplies?

Im surprised no one has came up with the biggest, cleanest water supply that is somewhat never ending... That would be the human body you can pull water from your own urine and it tastes like clean water... Here is a how to.


For one way you can drink it straight with no chaser... haha... ignore the quesy feelings you get and go for it. It will not harm you at all and if you waste it that is just more water your not using. Another way to do this is by Setting the urine in a bowl in direct sunlight. Get a soft wood tree piece about 1/2 inch debarked and place upright in the bowl of urine the soft tree will start sucking up the urine and in about 7 hours you will be able to suck on the wood and be drinking clean water that filtrates through the wood fibers.

Also another way is to set up the same bowl setup... The build a tripod out of small sticks... start a small fire for indirect boiling of the urine. If you have some plastic bottles that you should find laying around cut them into funnel style pieces to place over the tripod and eventually the water vapor with condense on the funnel of plastic and if setup correctly will run off into a clean bowl that you have set up.

Also its never a bad idea to carry a flintsteel on you at all times. I know i do.

This is a little off topic - but it got me thinking =

I have a Water Filter Question:

Charcoal or embers from your fire are suppose to be a good Part of a filtration system - right?

But if you take water and run in through ashes you get "Lye Water". Water that contains Lye.

I am a soap maker and read up on the origin(s) of soap. One of the thoughts on How Soap Was Discovered is that people noticed that water dripping through ashes mixed with a fat source (think human/animal sacrifice here) would form a bubbling/foaming mixture. This was collected and found to Clean.

Basic soap is made from Lye, Water and Fat (almost any fat will work). When the lye water is mixed with the right amount of fat (really really mixed well) you form soap.

So - isn't running water through ashes/charcoal/embers a problem (or potential problem)?

Thanks so much.

Well the story about the accidental invention of soap is pretty messed up. People in Egypt i believe found that when they washed their clothes in a certain part of the river they got cleaner.. That was because runoff from a mass grave was seaping into the river hence soap. "I would like to think tyler durden for that one" Also to make lye just remember there are alot more ingredients that go into it and no i dont think that charcoal or the burnt remnance of a fire would turn water into lye.

Also, if your trying to be funny and makup stuff from movies then you chose the wrong forum... I am pretty sure everyone here has seen fight club.... Just saying... You surely could be a soap maker... I just think that someone that makes soap would know how lye is formed.

I don't know quite how it's done but I know that you could even boil water in a PLASTIC BAG or bottle! Must be some reference to how to do it on the net somewhere! I remember seeing Bear Grylls boiling water in a plastic bottle, wish I could remember the details!

reply to post by CX


well id say the least supply efficient way to boil water... well survivorman comes to mind this one time he showed viewers that with a string or wire a plastic bottle and the ability to make fire you canboil water... apparently find any old plastic bottle... fill with untreated water and hang it from a tree or branch ... light a fire and then adjust the wire so that the bottom of the bottle is just touching the flames ... as long as the flame only touches parts of the bottle that have water in them the plastic wont melt
he made it look easy im sure its much more difficult

There's a rule of thumb that works pretty well.

If the water is still, stay away from it, but if it's clear running water, and there is any velocity to the water, it's generally good to drink.

Moving water, especially that that swishes over rocks and where there is a bit of whitewater is oxygen-laden water, and is generally safe to drink.

Don't get caught up in the panic and often contrived aversions of unfiltered or unboiled water.

First you gotta make tools out of stone. It doesn't take long to make a crude knife and hammer - don't let anyone tell you different. Find two different looking dry stones and smash em together (if yer out there might as well act savage. lol... no it's less energy consuming/safer to throw a rock at another to break). The one that breaks is your knife, the other is your hammer. Shape your knife using your hammer and an 'anvil stone'. Make the 'knife' long or make another long knife for cutting 5-6 inches into wood...

Next, you need containers. A bowl, a couple cups, and a funnel. You can use suitable stones or wood. Find a tree. Hammer your knife into the bark. Remove bark. Hardwood (oak, maple, beech) works best, but if you cant hammer your knife into the tree fairly easily, find a different tree or fix your knife. Carve out a section - the easiest way is to, depending on size, drill inwards to a point. Kick out. Repeat 3 times. Carve one into a bowl for boiling (2 inch thick tops), 2 into cups for scooping and drinking, and carve another into a funnel - a small/thin funnel with small end is most effective.

Next make a fire pit. Dig out plantation, or build on sandy rocky shore. Dig a little hole to place in fuel or surround with rocks. Scavenge for some twigs and dry leaves for kindling, larger branches for fuel. Take a piece of the bark and a stick and loosely packed leave kinglingg around stick pointing into wood. Twist vigorously until you get heat going. Blow kindling. Add to small sticks once hot in fire pit. Add kindling until brances start up. Keep adding branches. You can also rub mud/clay on the exterior of boiling bowl for better life expectancy/protection.

Find some dry sand, sift through it to search for nesting, feces, or anything else that looks gross. Fill up your funnel. If you need, find a rock suitable to plug the end. To be safe, dry the rocks in the sun until you get thirsty. If youre already parched and dont know what kind of plants around to eat for a quick fix, or are worried about contaminated water, then well, good luck.

Scoop water with one cup, pour through funnel into bowl. Put bowl over fire (there are wonderous things you can do with a tripod or a sawhorse like set up if you carve holes in your bowl to hold up with twine.

Boil fully for 60-90 seconds. Remove from heat, cool, drink. If you can cover it effectively with a wood top, hold pot partially in stream to get it cold. I wouldn't do it unless you have a water-proof burnt mud/clay finish on it. Probably your best bet for up to 2ish hours work for safe water.

Toss sand into creek down stream, rinse out funnel and boil in water for 60 seconds to clean.

These simple tools will go a long way out there. Keep them in pristine functioning condition or replace, using the same section of the same tree. Eventually you'll cut it down. Now you can make a canoe, arrow shafts for your bow you should already have, axe/spear hafts, etc. .

[edit on 22-8-2009 by shanerz]

Dear god I can't believe some of sheer nonsense i've read in this
thread. If you don't know what you're talking about then don't
post. This is the survival thread and dangerous advice might get
someone hurt or worse. That said I'll get back to topic

Digging for seeps - Dig in dry creek beds, 3 or more feet away from open water sources or behind sandunes at the ocean. Dig down until you feel moisture then wait for the hole to fill. water will be safe but full of particulate matter than can be strained out
.

rainwater - probably as safe as any water. Zero danger of bird poop unless you collect your water from under a tree where they are roosting.

dew - Early morning using cloth or shredded bark or grass wipe from NON-TOXIC plants and wring into mouth.

Frost - treat same as dew

plants - grapevines and thistles can be cut and moisture wrung from them. Some vines may give off water for days.

trees - maple, birch and sycamore trees can be tapped in late winter/early spring for sap. has a high sugar content but drinkable in small quantities.

You can make fire without any tools but it is not easy. This video shows how to do it but don't count on finding a nice nodule of flint like this guy has on hand. To find workable rock trying knocking off flakes from a rock by hammering down onto the edge with another harder rock. Rocks that crumble won't work.

Bowdrill fire-making from all natural materials: AMAZING! (Don't let the hillybilly voice throw ya kids, worth watching just for the audio!)

If you can get a fire going then you can make a container as someone said earlier by coal burning a piece of wood. A depression in rock will also work where you will heat rocks in your fire then place them in the water until it boils.
Lastly if you should stumble across an animal carcass you can use the stomach or bladder after washing to boil water in with the rock boiling method.
Plastic bags and bottles can work but only if the heat is on the area well below the waterline.

Here's one more video where they show how to filter for particulates with Shane Hobel a very gifted teacher, 2nd part shows a solar still , 3rd part is quickie shelter

I hope that helps clear some of the confusion which seems to be in abundant supply in the survival threads anyway. good luck CX



[edit on 27-8-2009 by Asktheanimals]

[edit on 27-8-2009 by Asktheanimals]

reply to post by Asktheanimals


Great advice there, thanks for the tips and videos.

CX.

- Take 2 x 2ltr (or larger) plastic bottles.

- Fill 1 half full with liquid to be cleaned.

- Put the 2 bottles neck to neck and tape together (if possible)

- Lay out in the sun at a 45 degree angle with the liquid in the bottom bottle.

- Water vapor will evaporate from the bottom and re-condense in the top.

- This method is good enough to clean urine for drinking.


[edit on 27-8-2009 by VitalOverdose]

I think I need to add a little to my earlier post about emergency water.

(1) is urine is safe to drink? yes, but only up to a point. Urine ccannot be reprocessed by the kidney since they already excreted it as waste. It is toxic! This can cause your blood to thicken and smaller veins to loose their blood supply. it will also increase your sense of thirst.

(2) All water not going through a water PURIFIER should be boiled. Water need only boil for 5 minutes to kill everything in it at sea level. Higher elevations should boil water for 10 -15 minutes at a roilling boil.

(3) Drinking seawater has about the same effect on you as drinking urine.

(4) IF you don't have water, don't eat unless it is absolutely necessary. Food requires water to digest, robbing your brain, muscles and vital organs

(5) Of course you want to make sure the water you are getting will not be polluted by industry, farming or wildlife or other campers.

(6)Never wash food in contaminated water.

With this method its safe to drink as much of the recovered liquid as you want as all the toxins stay in the bottom bottle.
[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/e3cea327c36a.jpg[/atsimg]

Okay, just to clarify, making a charcoal filter and making lye are different procedures.


Charcoal is wood that has been heated until it's blackened but it never burned because there\s no oxygen available. Charcoal can be made by putting wood in a CLEAN paint can with the lid firmly in place and a small hole poked in the lid. The can is heated and smoke will come from the hole. When it stops smoking let it cool and take out your charcoal.

Now if you burn HARDWOOD and place the ashes in a barrel with a drain on the bottom and fill it with water, after a day the bottom will be lye. open the drain and take the lye from the bottom. You can mix this with animal fats and heat it, you'll get soap

So don't filter water with hardwood ash. Use charcoal.

And as for bag boiling, any bag will do as long as it's tuff enough to hold boiling water. place three rocks in the bottom of the bag in a triangle and place the hot rock on top of the "pyramid" like a capstone. The hot rock will only touch water and other rocks and your bag of water will boil.

And finding water by digging is awesome. To learn how to "read" the water underground by looking at your area. Places where hard rock layers keep the water from seeping deeper are a good place to look. when you dig a hole, look for water moving in the hole. Even the slightest movement will end up running any loose sediment off if you wait. I dig a hole, cover it with a flat heavy rock. and come back to it after at least 15 minutes. If you can dig water you can set up lots of small "wells" with a big rock for a cove within your range. If you collect berries a mile or so from where you gather herbs, dig a waterhole near each location. If you plan to reuse your holes, cover them up. If you don't need to reuse the hole just leave it for the animals, they'll find and use it.

can also make a clay pot or bowl and even lid, use that to boil water.
though this method does require being able to make a fire,
as you'd have to fire the clay pot overnight before using it to hold water,
even then there will be some water seepage,
but it'll be good for boiling water or cooking things.

clay can be found at or near many natural sources of water, such as river beds.
remebmer that clay is a tiny powder, much smaller than sand.
in Toronto, most of the soil is considered "heavy clay soil", so most of it can be used.
there are three different kinds of soils simply, sandy, loamy and clay, clay having the smallest particles.
usually you can also identify clay as being really hard soil, or soil that has cracks in it during dry weather.

I like to find these cracked clay areas, since once you lever up a bit of it, it comes off in large chunks.
some of the clay may apear to be rocks, but it's actually just clay stuck together,

to turn it into workable clay, me use a roller, but you could use a branch.
then moisten the clay till it has dough like consistency,
can roll it into a ball, and make a depression in it, which is your bowl,
if there are small cracks or anything can smooth them out with slip (watery clay).
can make a lid like a pancake, to make the handles or knobs, scratch the areas where you would like to attatch the parts, put some water on them, then put them together.

really it be easy stuff, once you've done it once or twice.

to me it seems much easier than making a bowl out of wood,
for me wooden bowls were for eating out of,
clay pots for cooking.

Wow folks, there's some ingenious solutions here. Kudos to all.

Be wary of simple filtering as it doesn't remove all of the nasties. You filter to remove solid particles and you boil for at least 10 minutes to remove most of the pathogens. Even then, some pathogens are not killed, but sometimes you've just gotta play with the hand you're dealt. If you are reasonably sure your babbly brook or rocky stream is safe, then go for it, but be prepared for an upset stomach just in case. Ingesting the equivalent of a couple of teaspoons of finely ground charcoal will help to stop diarrhoea in mild cases, but as you can imagine, it doesn't taste the best and overuse can be quite harmful.

In a former life I attended an ADF combat survival course here in Aus.

One technique which I haven't yet seen here fits the "no equipment" caveat.

Find a tree with flexible thin bark. I believe that willow may be useful for northern hemisphere folks.

Using a sharp piece of stone, cut a square or rectange of bark out of the tree. Be sure to thank the tree for helping you out in your hour of need.

Fold the bark into a sort of open topped box and pin the sides with sharpened wooden skewers.

Seal the outside seams with clay or mud.

Fill with water almost to the top and place on hot coals - not flames if you can avoid it as you'll end up with many "floaties" in your water - fear not if you do get these, just strain 'em with your teeth.

The bark container will survive at least one proper boiling session.

As an example, I have successfully boiled water in a brown paper bag using this method, so a bark container will definitely work and will probably be multi-use so long as you sit it on hot coals - no flames if you can avoid it.

This is a pretty cool section of ATS. I'll have to visit here more often.

Namaste.

Lots of great ways and many I have not thought of/heard of. Your right to watch Ray mears, his shows show many great survival tips. One you might not have seen is his winter survival one in the Arctic . Obviously eating snow is bad for you (especially the yellow kind...) but one way he suggested was making several "basins" or holes in the ground with each one being slightly higher than the last so you've got a kind of waterfall system. Then to make a small channel at the edge of each hole so that the water it will be filtered through the snow and fall into the next hole. Then once you've made your little system of basins or holes your to make a small fire at the top basin. If you melt water in the first hole then after the waters passed through several of the holes it should be realitively clean, there was a video of it that you could actually see the colour change of the water. Obviously the more you filter the water , the cleaner it will be.

Just my one pence, I'll see if I can find the video when I get home....

- Devil

That reminds me...

The simplest way to boil water without equipment is to dig a shallow hole in hard, compact dirt. Pour water in and smooth the sides. Bail out the now muddy water.

Place some rocks on your fire (not smooth river rocks as these may explode).

Fill the hole with water once more and using improvised tongs made from green sticks, drop the hot rocks in the hole. Remove the rocks as they cool and add more from the fire until the water in the hole boils. Keep it at a rolling boil for at least 10 minutes to kill most of the nasties. You will lose quite a bit of water evaporated as steam, but you can catch this steam with a sock or bandanna or similar and wring it back into the hole.

An improvised filter would be best for further preparing the boiled water in the hole by removing grit and ash, but I'm assuming you have no equipment so you'll just have to deal with the floaties when you lap up the water like an animal.