Water Gathering Methods

Well someone asked whether a solar still is worth it, I think it is if you dont have anything else. I thought we could discuss other means of getting water

I tapped a birch tree yesterday and was amazed by what I got. After a few hours I got half a tin can of water. THe liquidthat came out of the birch tree is just plain water. This is a great way to get water.

You guys know any other methods?

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"There dosen't look like there's much shelter over in those mountains, but that's the only choice I got right now, this is gonna be a long week" - Les Stroud Arctic

I heard that you can put clothes or something absorbent out at night, and in the morning all the dew will get them wet. Then you just ring it out for the water. Cool

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My Turn !

> Water Table Indicated by Tree Growth < trees growing on the surface.

1 - 1.5' Balsam fir, white spruse, red maple.

2 - 3' Basswood, yellow birch, balsam fir

4 - 5' Sugar maple, basswood, white pine

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A Knifeless Man is a Lifeless Man
Canadian To The Core
We are Known By The Tracks we Leave Behind
Carry Less by Knowing More
Knowledge Weighs Nothing

Last edited by Drummer Dave on Mon Apr 28, 2008 11:46 am; edited 1 time in total

You can wipe the dew off of wet grass or other vegetation with a cloth and wring out the water. Very Happy

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Iron sharpeneth iron; so a man sharpeneth the countenance of his friend. - Prov. 27:17

You can make a still, use clay pots and boil regular water, and collect the steam into a drinking vessel.

For all you Bear Grylls fans out there, you can drink from Elephant dung Shocked

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We only have one Earth, take care of her and she will take care of you. ~ probably someone else

	Brian wrote:
	For all you Bear Grylls fans out there, you can drink from Elephant dung

You can follow the elephants tracks to see where the water is that they're drinking. That sort of thing could work with North American species, too. If you see a duck or goose flying overhead, it's probably coming from or going to water.

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"The monkeys are throwing stuff at me again."
-Survivorman in Costa Rica

^ Hmm, looking over head when goose are in flight could be messy ? Shocked

_________________
A Knifeless Man is a Lifeless Man
Canadian To The Core
We are Known By The Tracks we Leave Behind
Carry Less by Knowing More
Knowledge Weighs Nothing

	Drummer Dave wrote:
	^ Hmm, looking over head when goose are in flight could be messy ?

Geese don't poop when they're flying. Wink

And from my trip I found out they lift one leg to poop. Laughing

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Well there ya go, i learned something new today Confused

Geese dont crap in flight Mr. Green

_________________
A Knifeless Man is a Lifeless Man
Canadian To The Core
We are Known By The Tracks we Leave Behind
Carry Less by Knowing More
Knowledge Weighs Nothing

Pigeons do though. Shocked

But yes, following animals to a water source is a good survival tactic. Cool

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Iron sharpeneth iron; so a man sharpeneth the countenance of his friend. - Prov. 27:17

back to the birds,Grain eaters (finches and pigeons/etc) are usually near water and drink at dawn and dusk commonly. if you see them flying strait and low they are usually headed for water. Wehn they are flying from water they tend to go from tree to tree as they are heavy and need more rest. Ducks and water birds are not great indicators as they don not drink frequently... so if you see them flying you may be on a "wild goose chase" to be cliche...

Mammals require water a lot as well. Grazing animals (deer/etc) are usually near water at dawn and dusk... check your game trails. Meat eating mammals are not good indicators as they get moisture from their prey as well as natural sources.

Bees are good indicators, aparently. They fly about 6.5 km from their nests or hives to get water... pretty huge area to cover if you are lost.. but remember this is just a suggested maximum. Ants are dependent on water.. a column of andts marching up a tree is going to a small resevoir of trapped water. These are oftend found in arid areas. Flies and mosquitoes are generally within a hundred yards of some sort of water.. but remember they are often more abundent near standing water as this is necessary for their hatching.

Reptiles get moisture from dew usually.. not sure how many of us encounter them in our areas but they aren't suggested as good indicators of water.

This information was gathered from "the ultimate survival guide" by john wiseman.. It was previously published as the SAS survival handbook...

I will post more water finding methods after a few more posts... enjoy.

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Never explain. Your friends don't need it and your enemies won't believe you anyway.

24 hours withoug another addition so I'l add condensation. This is again from the said book in my last post. I've actually used this with good results... a few ounces of water in about an hour or two... if you had a few of these you may get enough water to tlak about. anyway... from the book...

trees can draw moisture from a water table 15m (50 feet) or more below ground, too deep for you to dig. The grea can "pump" it up for you by tying a plastic bag around a healthy, leafybranch or by placing a polythene tent over vegetation. evaporation from the leaves will produce condensation in the bag.

I will post another tomorow.

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Never explain. Your friends don't need it and your enemies won't believe you anyway.

Good post. Smile

I've seen one like that on a Ron Hood video. The open part was facing the ground though, and the edges were rolled up to collect the water. The center was also suspended by a line.

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Another day and another post! Sorry about the shotty scan everyone...

Solar still - dig a hole approx 90cm across and 45 cm deep (suggested by the book). Place a collecting can in the center, then cover the hole with a sheet of plastic formed into a cone. roughen nderside of sheet with a stone to ensure droplets run down it. the sun raises the temperature of the air and soil below, producing vapor. water condenses on the underside of the plastic, running down into the container. this is especialy effective where it is hot by day and cold at night. This kind of still can collect 1 point over a 24 hour period...
the still doubles as a trap. insects and small snakes attracted by the plastic slide down into the cone or wriggle beneath it into the hole and cannot climb out.
A solr still can be used to distill pure water from poisonous or contaminated liquids as well as urine and seawater or directly from leafy green plants (as seen in the condensation method.
BE CAREFUL, SOME CHEMICALS THAT ARE POISIONOUS WILL ALSO EVAPORATE WITH THE WATER VAPOR, AND THEN THEY WILL GO INTO YOUR CONTAINER WITH THE DISTILED WATER. BE CAREFUL!!!!!

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Never explain. Your friends don't need it and your enemies won't believe you anyway.

How are you guys tapping into trees. Can you describe the cut you are making and how you are collecting it?

I still think Solar Stills are crap. There seems to be very few situations where they can work well. You need to have very wet soil. And then there is usally water nearby. Also you have to waste a lot of sweat digging one. So you still needs to get more water than you just used building it in order to hydrate you.

I want to experient with more of these methods but it doesn't seem like there's any real reliable method. My best advice is carry enough water with you to get to your next dependable water source. If it's an undependable source, make sure you will have enough water when you get there to get to a dependable source. Yes, it's a pain carrying a lot of water. It's also a pain dying from dehyrdation.

tapping into trees? Not sure that i know what you are asking....

As for the methods, these are worst case secenerio.... you can take enough water with you, but if you were lost and needed some these methods may be enough to tide you over a little longer till you are found or find your way out. So far my best method of finding water is game trails and birds... but i live in an area that has a lot of natural flowing water anyway.. The best alternative method i've used is the condensation (bag over the tree method).... if you had a few of them you could get a bit of water pretty quickly (comparitivly)

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Never explain. Your friends don't need it and your enemies won't believe you anyway.

Very good stuff Daffy, thanks for the info!

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~~~Watcher Of The Woods~~~
"Do all the good you can, by all the means you can, in all the ways you can, in all the places you can, at all the times you can, to all the people you can, as long as you ever can"~John Wesley

I just went out and set up some water collection experiments, hopefully they work!

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~~~Watcher Of The Woods~~~
"Do all the good you can, by all the means you can, in all the ways you can, in all the places you can, at all the times you can, to all the people you can, as long as you ever can"~John Wesley

Here are some pics from my experiment

Don't know what this is, just thought I'd try it.

Gathering water from leaves (This one didn't work well, it was in the shade, it did gather a little water though, after about 3 hours, not much water at all)

This one didn't work well either, is it because its black?

This one worked very well, on a pine tree, full sunlight.

Pit to fill up with rainwater.

My attempt at a solar still, didn't work at all and the ground was soaked, is it because the material wan't clear?

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~~~Watcher Of The Woods~~~
"Do all the good you can, by all the means you can, in all the ways you can, in all the places you can, at all the times you can, to all the people you can, as long as you ever can"~John Wesley

for your solar still you have to use more than just a few stones on the corners. you have to go all the way around it with sand or dirt so that no water can get out when it starts to evaporate and you have to put it right in the sun. im not sure if the color of the bag makes a diff but being black attracks heat i think that bag would be alright