Where did sailors get drinking water during very long voyages in the times of Columbus?
First some numbers, though approximations all, and only for the first expedition: Length of the three ships, about 50 feet on deck each. Number of crew on each ship, about 30. Time at sea: 3 days from Lisbon to the Canaries; about 34 days from Canaries to first landfall in the Bahamas. It took longer for the ships to return to Europe, but not extraordinarily longer.Some considerations regarding time at sea. Bathing, probably none, but that would have been not much different from standard hygiene in those days anywhere in Europe. The smell? Probably pretty awful, but a term from Febreeze commercials helps here - from personal experience I can verify that “nose blind” is a fact. I doubt that the sailors would have noticed, let alone been nauseated by, the smell.Water: carried in casks aboard, and replenished upon making landfall as well as at sea whenever there was a storm. 35 days’ supply of fresh water wouldn’t have been dreadful - 900 gallons of water, perhaps, carried in 50 gallon casks. It would have served as ballast as well. I would expect that wine and rum would have also been carried, both of which, mixed with water to make it drinkable, could reasonably disinfect the water. Moreoever, I think that sailors of that time (and perhaps the general population) had a more robust immune system than modern day people considering the general poor sanitation of the times.One shouldn’t try to compare a 50′ modern sailing yacht to a 15th century 50′ Caravel. The ~ 7′ draft of a caravel would mean perhaps 3,500 cubic feet of cargo space below the water line because all of its draft would be hull below water line. A 50′ modern sailing yacht might have 1,200 cubic feet below the water line because its ballast is an external keel and perhaps 1 foot of hull below the water line. Huge difference.
What is the best long term water storage solution for survival?
I think that a two fold solution is best. You cannot possibly store enough water for everyone for a really long term, and many people are not able to drill a well. I have drilled 3 of them, in the country, and I am now 58 years old. I could still do it, but I would not like to do it. It is a lot of work, if you can even just drive one.A better plan is to store enough water for a week, that is one gallon per person per day. With 3 people in a household, that is 21 gallons. Then, I would recommend a filtering system, like the top of the line one, the Berkley filtering system. It seems to be the one that all others are judged by.There are other possibilities and you can research them at various prepper websites. A simple filtering straw will allow you to drink from a contaminated stream directly, but they are only useful for a small number of gallons. There is of course the filter and boil method, but that too has it’s drawbacks.No matter what path you choose, you probably should do some investigation so that you are at least somewhat familiar with the various methods, so you can make the best choice for YOU. Because everyone has a slightly different situation. And also, it is always helpful if you can share burdens, as in, make friends with neighbors, who are of a like mind, and can double up with them on your preps. You might have a flowing well, and they might have a large woodlot that you can cut dead wood from for your wood burner, etc. Just be certain that they are people you like and can trust and count on. And be the same.Good luck and good job on looking ahead.
Which material water storage tanks are best for residential use?
When considering water storage tanks for residential use, be sure to use tanks made of food-grade, BPA-free, polyethylene plastic. While there are water tanks that are manufactured from other types of material such as metal or concrete, polyethylene plastic is the best in terms of maintenance, cost, and safety.Polyethylene plastic – abbreviated as PETE – can be identified with a number 1 molded into the plastic and can usually be found on the bottom of the container. Polyethylene plastics are considered safe to store consumable liquids as opposed to other plastics used for industrial purposes, identified by a 6 or 7.When storing water for long term usage, identify whether the source of the water requires purification. Municipal water sources in most developed countries are treated and safe to store when collecting from the tap, but sources such as lakes or rivers should be treated with chlorine tablets or other purification methods before storing.Over time, plastic can leach minerals from concrete so be sure not to store the plastic container directly onto a concrete surface. Either elevate the container with wooden planks underneath or store in on a different surface.To learn more about water storage tanks, read the original article here.ReferencesMertes, A. (2018, May 15). Types of Plastic and Their Recycle Codes. Retrieved from Types of Plastic and Their Recycle Codes
Is it safe to temporarily store contacts in water?
I usually carry an extra contact lens case in my purse, but I don't have room for solution in there too. If I needed to remove my contacts and didn't have access to solution, could I temporarily store the contacts in water until I could get solution to put them in instead? I wouldn't wear them again until they had time to soak in real solution.
Does distilled water last longer?
Water has no use buy date. Just make sure your dad knows that if you boil distilled water, you need to put something in it so you can tell when it reaches boiling point. Water bubbles when boiling due to the impurities in it, distilled water has no impurities so it doesn't bubble and when you put something in it it will instantly bubble rapidly which means it can spray out of the pot and scald people. Putting a couple of small stones in the water before boiling will do the trick, then you just remove the stone before pouring. You could also use some salt or sugar, depending on what you want to use the water for. EDIT: Jim, you didn't do ANY chemistry did you? Boiling chips are required when using distilled water. Doesn't surprise me to see you just assume that you are correct rather than looking up something to verify it. http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=fvw... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZAqqpDF4b...
How long can drinking water be stored in a copper vessel? Does it need to be cleaned and/or have a new water added every night?
First of all copper vessels should be cleaned every day. Because copper reacts with the oxygen in the air and oxides of copper is formed on the surface of vessel. The black bluish discoloration on the vessel. This oxides are poisonous to health.So it should be cleaned both internaly and externally.Water in copper vessels should be kept only for 12 hrs. After 12 hrs that water should be consumed and fresh water should be added.
How long can tap water bottled up last in the fridge?
under ideal conditions between 6 months and 2 years
How long does water last in a canteen?
Assuming you don't have to strain the water though your sock to remove chunks of stuff (standard survival procedure)........it should be OK. General purpose - canteen is aluminum or plastic and is reasonably clean (clean enough to eat off - like your dinner plate), the water is potable or filtered. you should be good to go for a few months. (under these conditions I've gone as long as 4 months) Optimum conditions: sterility is key to reduce any possible bacterial growth (or introduction of parasites). If canteen has been sterilized and is airtight and has remained airtight during storage and the water which was put in the canteen is pure (microorganism free) and was aseptically transferred to the canteen, your water will be good to drink indefinitely.