rain collection

[sheyden]

Hey everyone!

I was recently camping down in Southwest Florida at Fort Desoto park when a big storm was rolling through. I ran out of water that night and I was trying to think of some way too collect rain water to drink. Has anyone here seen any portable systems that you can use to collect rainwater? I'm thinking about trying to make something but i want it to be small enough to fit in my back pack and durable. Has anyone else had a similar problem?

[MacGyver]

Re: rain collection

I haven't tried it, but right off the top of my head, I would think a sheet of plastic with a small hole cut in the center, suspended by the corners over a pot would be about as small, lightweight and durable as you can get. Another piece of string secured to one of the corners and fed through the hole would direct the water to the pot through capillary action. Pretty much ideal since I'd want to boil any collected rainwater before drinking it.

[sheyden]

Re: rain collection

Do you need to boil rain water? isn't it essentially the same as distilled water? I was just thinking on it some more and (assuming you don't need to process the water) I thought it would be neat to have something like a funnel to collect rainwater right in my Camelbak or canteen. I would definitely want to use some kind of filter for any solid debris or dust

[sheyden]

Re: rain collection

Is it necessary to process rain water? I thought rain water was the same as distilled water?

[05Kingquad700]

Re: rain collection

I carry a sawyer all in one filter. If you are near water, you can filter it and make it drinking water. I used to haul about 25 gallons of water into the mountains for camping. The whole time, camping right next to a lake. So I bought the Sawyer and don't haul any water up. Get it from the lake, filter and drink.

[sheyden]

Re: rain collection

Hey i apologize if this is a stupid question but i am new to this forum. Can you guys see my replies in this thread? When i reply it doesn't show up on my computer.

[Mike]

Re: rain collection

This is an interesting thread. Most people hate rain when camping. Recently there was a post asking what to do if it rains when camping - as if rain were some kind of toxic contaminant.

I suppose if you rely on rain water for drinking/cooking, then rain would take on a completely different and positive perspective to camping. Rather than praying for sunshine, you might find yourself praying for rain!

[05Kingquad700]

Re: rain collection

Hey i apologize if this is a stupid question but i am new to this forum. Can you guys see my replies in this thread? When i reply it doesn't show up on my computer.

Your first 6 posts have to approved by the mod. He doesn't check in as much as some would like. Once you post, 1 more post, it looks like you will be removed from the moderation period. Please hang in there.

[terasec]

Re: rain collection

Do you need to boil rain water? isn't it essentially the same as distilled water? I was just thinking on it some more and (assuming you don't need to process the water) I thought it would be neat to have something like a funnel to collect rainwater right in my Camelbak or canteen. I would definitely want to use some kind of filter for any solid debris or dust

depends on what your collecting it with
if you use a tarp that's been sitting in your garage for a year, would you be so eager to lick your tarp?
rain water is clean, but what the rain water comes in contact with may not be so clean


as for what to use,
if you have a tent you have a fairly large collection surface already, just find points where the water runs down, like corner of a fly and collect your rain water there

[NYCgrrl]

Re: rain collection

Is it necessary to process rain water? I thought rain water was the same as distilled water?

Given that rain water goes thru the polluted sky............yeah I'd filter it.
UNLESS
the Zombie Apocalypse started or or I was trapped in the Mohave Desert.

[tplife]

Re: rain collection

YES, RAINWATER IS DISTILLED WATER and it's about the purest water available. You can drink it untreated without fear. It is pure, distilled water evaporated by the sun. Only when dispersed on the ground and mixed in with ground-based and air pollutants can it get contaminated. It's a total myth that rainwater is in any way polluted or in need of any form of filtration.

[toedtoes]

Re: rain collection

Rainwater can be contaminated BEFORE it hits the ground. Acid rain is a perfect example of that.

Is the contamination enough to be concerned about? Probably not, but that doesn't mean it is always pure distilled water.

I would treat the rainwater for potable purposes. If there are trees, then the water collected could include run-off from those trees. In addition, the outdoors is full of stuff that could get inside the container which in turn could contaminate the water. I'd rather treat unnecessarily, than not treat and find out I should have treated.

[Mike]

Re: rain collection

Given that rain water goes thru the polluted sky............yeah I'd filter it.
UNLESS
the Zombie Apocalypse started or or I was trapped in the Mohave Desert.

Filtering rainwater seems crazy... unless you are in China or India - and most especially China. Chinese rain is actually polluted - in fact Chinese rain in some places is nearly toxic. Hard to imagine, but it used to be that way in some parts of the USA, but not nearly as bad - except when the USA was doing surface testing of nuclear bombs in the 1950's and 1960's, then our rain was exceedingly toxic with radioactivity. God bless America.

[NYCgrrl]

Re: rain collection

Filtering rainwater seems crazy... unless you are in China or India - and most especially China. Chinese rain is actually polluted - in fact Chinese rain in some places is nearly toxic. Hard to imagine, but it used to be that way in some parts of the USA, but not nearly as bad - except when the USA was doing surface testing of nuclear bombs in the 1950's and 1960's, then our rain was exceedingly toxic with radioactivity. God bless America.

Just sent out a quick email to a cousin in Bermuda, which is a country with mandatory rainwater collection for each home and has desalination(sp?) plants. He said yes a filter is needed if nothing else to remove any insect or plant life that settles in the cisterns. Is it needed for camping........guess that's a decision one would have to make for themselves but were it me I'd err on the side of craziness.
Oh and for what it's worth I also believe in acid rain.

[Element 79]

Re: rain collection

I stretch a 12' x 12' tarp over my tent for rainy days. Using the four corners. It will sag at the center of the lowest edge and there you can put a container to catch the water. After the first few minutes of rain I trust any dirt is washed off and good for drinking. I don't normally do this for drinking water, mainly to keep the soil dry around the tent. but do drink it and never have had a problem. There's nothing in rain water that you don't breath in all the time and there's more crap in the air down low than in the clouds. You might find microscopic traces of dust, smoke, occasional bug or leaf is all.