Boiling water with hot rocks.

[Irving]

So I put some rocks in my fireplace tonight for about 10 minutes. I dropped them into a big pot of water. The water went from cold, to very near boiling. I wouldn't trust it to be hot enough to kill anything, plus the water was full of soot afterward. I was thinking that if I ever had to use this method, I wouldn't have a metal pan at all, and would be using out a hollowed log, which may hold heat better than metal. Also, I doubt I'd have as much water as I was trying to boil tonight.

Any tips for doing this? I know not to try and heat wet rocks, as they can shatter/explode. I'm curious about how to keep the ashes out of the water, or if you are supposed to pour the water through a t-shirt after boiling or something. Also, is 10-15 minutes too short of time to heat the rocks?

[Beprepared]

How about pasteurizing at 165 F?

[BigBear]

Might find this interesting: http://www.natureskills.com/stone_boiling.html


Doesn't answer your questions, but might be interesting for you.

[Irving]

Thanks for the link, will check it out.

[StagLefty]

They did that method on that Man Woman Wild show this season

[Irving]

I saw that episode. That was part of the reason I tried it. It worked really well for them. My rocks cracked and my water didn't quite boil.

[BigBear]

Read the link, I just skimmed over it but I believe you have to use certain types of rock...


i.e. limestone won't really work, while something hard like granite would be great....

[StagLefty]

Read the link, I just skimmed over it but I believe you have to use certain types of rock...


i.e. limestone won't really work, while something hard like granite would be great....

Damnit-now I need go by Rock R Us and pick up the proper rocks for my BOB ?

[Circuits]

Read the link, I just skimmed over it but I believe you have to use certain types of rock...


i.e. limestone won't really work, while something hard like granite would be great....

Well, you don't "HAVE" to use certain types of rock - but some are better suited than others.

Rocks which crack can potentially be dangerous to the handler, but will still get the water to boil.

From the article, granite is one of the worst - has fine cracks/pores which cause cracking from steam expansion. The best of the ones tested was basalt.

[BigBear]

Well, you don't "HAVE" to use certain types of rock - but some are better suited than others.

Rocks which crack can potentially be dangerous to the handler, but will still get the water to boil.

From the article, granite is one of the worst - has fine cracks/pores which cause cracking from steam expansion. The best of the ones tested was basalt.

Rgr, I misspoke. Thanks for the corrections.