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.

[Wulf202]

How about pasteurizing at 165 F?

Great idea but if you're using rocks to heat water you literally don't have a pot to piss in, so you probably not have a temperature device.

[Wulf202]

it was just pointed out to me that this does not apply to volcanic rock. It contains micro organisms that can live at 900 degrees F

[Irving]

Yeah but are they bad organisms? I assume they are.

Anyway, is ashy water safe to drink?

[Wulf202]

Depends on the ash. Coal? hell no. Wood ash yes in moderation, though it may cause digestion problems. If you're burning printed paper, I'd advise against it due to the funky stuff that can be produced from the inks but I have no real proof that it will harm.

Eating some charcoal from your (cooled) fire is a good way to stop the runs, FYI.