Boiling Water for Survival
If you are in an emergency situation, you have to be able to create the fire needed for boiling any water you find. Boiling water for a minimum of one minute is the most effective method of removing viruses, bacteria and protozoa. In fact, it is the only method that can effectively remove 100 percent of these types of contaminants that may found in the water supply.
The Boiling Process You do need to be aware that boiling does not remove heavy metals, pesticides or chemicals. If you believe the water source you have available has any of these in it, do not attempt to drink it until you have taken further purifying measures.
The boiling process to purify the water is fairly simple and straightforward if you have the tools available and the knowledge of how to start a fire.
To use the boiling process, you will need to do the following:
* Start a Fire - If you plan to boil something, you will obviously need fire to do so. Make sure your fire is in a safe place that won't catch or pass to grass, trees or other materials by lining it with rocks or piling dirt around it.
* Create a Burner - You will need something that will hold your container of water safely over the fire. This doesn't have to be fancy - even a few sticks that are laid to provide a flat surface will work just fine if you have a metal container.
* Filter the Water - You will need cloth, coffee filters or something else that can remove larger sediment. Pour the water through this material before it goes into the container you are using to boil it. This basic filtering process will not remove enough contaminants to drink, but will remove larger particles.
* Cover the Container - You will also want to make sure you can cover the container of water as it boils. This will help prevent too much of it being lost due to evaporation.
* Boil - The water needs to boil for a minimum of one minute. However, to ensure the most effective removal of bacteria and viruses, boiling for at least three minutes is recommended.
Once the water has boiled the recommended amount of time, remove it from the burner and allow it to cool. No matter how thirsty you are, the water must be given a chance to cool before you drink it. Failing to do so will generally induce vomiting, which not only wastes the precious water you boiled, but also your time, resources and fire.
Starting a Fire If you do not have a torch, matches or other source of flame available, you have to be able to create one of your own. You can use the materials in the wilderness to start a fire, but know that it will require hard work to get there.
The following is only one of many ways that you can use to start a fire, and it is known as the lens method. All you need is a lens from a magnifying glass, glasses, camera oreven a makeshift lens made from clear ice if that is all that you have available, and the sun.
* Create a pile of tinder, such as dry twigs, leaves or other items that will catch and burn quickly.
* Position yourself so that you can hold the lens around one foot away from your pile of tinder.
* Move the lens around until you can concentrate it to a small spot on the cinder. The smaller the spot, the hotter the concentration of the sun's rays will become.
* Hold the lens in that position until you begin to see the tinder start to smolder.
* Blow gently on the smoldering tinder to help it ignite. Slowly add small twigs or pine needles until you have a fire. Do not add large pieces of wood until you are sure the fire is going well.
As mentioned, this is only one of the options available for using what is around you to start a fire. There are numerous methods, so make sure you take the time to read up on them and actually practice them. Even if you never have to use the skills, knowing that you can is certainly worth the peace of mind!
Boiling Water Without a Container If you have to boil water, you need a suitable container - preferably metal or glass - in which to do it. However, if you do not have this type of vessel available, you can make your own burn bowl.
A burn bowl is essentially a bowl that you create using a log or other larger piece of wood. You will want a piece of wood that is large enough to hold enough water for your needs. After all, you don't want to have to repeat the boiling process numerous times and only have a few drinks of water ready. After you find a suitable piece of wood, continue with the following steps to create your burn bowl:
* Start a fire - it does not have to be a large one, but it will need to burn well and provide you with plenty of glowing goals throughout the process.
* Place glowing coals in the center of your piece of wood, being careful not to burn yourself in the process.
* Blow on the coals so that the heat begins to work its way into the wood. Continue doing this until you have a decent area of blackened or charred wood.
* Use a stick, rock or knife to dig out the burnt parts of the wood.
* Repeat the charring and scraping processes until you have created a deep bowl or cavity in the wood that will hold a decent amount of water. Make sure you do not burn too close to the sides so that you can avoid cracks.
Once you've completed your bowl, fill it with the water that you want to boil. Obviously, you won't be able to place your bowl on the fire. Instead, you will want to find rocks that are around the size of a golf ball and place them in a hot fire. Make sure you do not use rocks that were already sitting in water for this, as the trapped water inside can cause them to explode. The rocks will need to remain in the fire until they are glowing red, which can take as long as one hour or more.
Once the rocks are hot, carefully remove one from the fire and dip it very quickly into a different water source to remove the ash so that it does not create lye when you place the rock into the water you want to purify. Immediately place the stone in your burn bowl.
Repeat quickly rinsing and adding the glowing rocks to the bowl until the water starts to boil. You will have to move fast with this to make sure the water actually reaches the boiling point. Once you have enough rocks in the water for it to boil, the heat should be high enough for it to continue boiling for at least 10 to 15 minutes to purify the water. Going Beyond Boiling As mentioned, boiling the water will not remove chemicals and heavy metals. That means you are going to have to make sure you know and understand the additional methods available for purifying water so that it is potable
