Killing bacteria in water?
 

OK, was thinking about one of those stun guns the other day, how it'll shock the crap out of you and would probably kill a small animal (cat, squirrel?).

Say you had a gallon of water from a stream, if you could shock the water with one of those things (without shocking yourself), do you think it would kill the bacteria? Seems to me it would work (in a pinch).

http://www.hanseung.co.kr/builder_im..._product15.jpg
Something like one of these.

SilverJeep
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Re: Killing bacteria in water?
 

put silver coin in to the water

Re: Killing bacteria in water?
 

For how long?

Re: Killing bacteria in water?
 

I'd like to see some tests, both ways...

Re: Killing bacteria in water?
 

Huh? Are you really serious???

"Location: North East Tennessee"

Ohhh.....that explains it then!

:signs14:

Re: Killing bacteria in water?
 

UV light would have a much better end result

Re: Killing bacteria in water?
 

No, it will not do squat to the bacteria. But, the battery in your unit might explode if the water is conductive enough.

How to kill the bugs in minutes: few drops of ordinary bleach. Stir, let sit till water clears.

How to kill the bugs in hours: place pure silver coin in water.

OP: Please post a response so we know that you are still amongst the living and in one piece.

Re: Killing bacteria in water?
 

silver coin in water.

Re: Killing bacteria in water?
 

This is interesting. And I have read similar stuff before. I'm ordering several 55 gallon plastic drums for water storage. And I'm concerned about 'bugs'.

If I fill it from the tap, drop an SAE into it and seal the bung, will it will be fine? Or does a drum of that size need more silver.

Re: Killing bacteria in water?
 

Re: Killing bacteria in water?
 

No, you don't need more SAEs per se. The diffusion of silver ions is a first order process limited by the effective chemical resistance between the liquid phase water and solid phase silver, and diffusion. If the silver were in a fine powder, a surprisingly small mass, a few grams would be sufficient and if the water were agitated, kill would probably be accomplished in a few hours. My guess is that one SAE would preserve 55 gallons of water, if the water can be agitated periodically to disperse silver ions which will tend to remain at the bottom of the container. I would imagine that a some small volume of concentrated colloidal silver added to the 55 gallons would do the trick. I might test this out: if I do I will report results of water cultures. Honestly, I have a 460 foot well and have no incentive to do this. I keep a rotating stock of several hundred 1/2 bottles of water, sealed and sterile, in my garage at all times.

Re: Killing bacteria in water?
 

So maybe some of the silver shot that some vendors have for sale would be better for more surface area?

*thinks*

May be a good project for my kid's science fair......

Re: Killing bacteria in water?
 

I would say the chlorine bleach idea is the best.

Let dirty water settle.

Carefully pour clarified water into a clean cotainer, being careful to leave sediment in first container.

Chlorinate clean water in the second container, (i.e.add bleach and stir).

Let water settle again, covered.
This will also allow chlorine taste/smell to fade.

Then pure in to a very clean third container.

If still worried, boil the water.

This is what I plan to do in a shtf sceanario.
Alhough I haven't fully researched it yet.

Food grade 5 gallon buckets with lids might be good containers for this process.

Re: Killing bacteria in water?
 

Ok what about drastic water filtering by steam collection...1 boil on open wood fire.. salt water even.. steam collected in evaporation tube into fresh container.

Anyone try?

Re: Killing bacteria in water?
 

For a buck's worth of chlorine bleach, you could treat personal drinking water for a long, long time.

The settling/clarifying is a big part.
And filtering if necessary.

And clean containers to transfer to.

I actually work at a large water plant.
But I'm not an expert.

Chlorine is the big thing. They also add ammonia to make the chlorine work better in distribution. They also add various other chemicals for various purposes.

But on an individual basis, you don't need to add all that.

Settling and chlorine are the keys to safe drinking water.

Re: Killing bacteria in water?
 

If you wish to remove more than just bacteria, one of those filters from aquarain will work wonders.

Re: Killing bacteria in water?
 

Silver coins would work, but they're not very efficient. They produce mostly ionic silver, which is not what you want. Colloidal silver is what kills the bugs.

Bleach is great if you need fast action, or for large quantities of water (like a swimming pool), but it dissipates quickly, especially if it's warm or sunny. For long-term storage, I prefer colloidal silver. Rather than dropping in a bunch of SAEs, better to use the money to buy some good colloidal (which, BTW, you can't make at home, in spite of many Internet claims to the contrary). Then add a few drops of bleach per gallon a few hours or so before you drink it.

Re: Killing bacteria in water?
 

Sure, that would work fine. That's how you make distilled water. Very energy-intensive, though.

Re: Killing bacteria in water?
 

Was curious if anyone has had the chance to use this?

http://www.purpurifierofwater.com/pr...ackground.html
I have a retention pond near where I live and this would come in quite handy if it did work. I've been trying to find a store that sells it here but haven't had any luck. Might be useful for those with limited space.

Re: Killing bacteria in water?
 

Let the water get as funky as it wants in storage.

You don't have to purify and disinfect until you are near ready to use it.

Where I work, we take nasty Mississippi river water and turn it into pure drinking water that meets all federal and state standards.

I drink it myself.

The Mississippi is the toilet for the whole country. You wouldn't believe how muddy, nasty, stinky and polluted it is when we get it.

If we can purify that, then personal purification of average water is very possible under the guidelines I mentioned above, I would think.

I don't know what the fascination is that some of you have with using silver coins to purify water, whatever floats your boat.

But it sounds like a lot of trouble and expense, when you can just go to walmart and buy a cheap gallon of bleach, before the SHTF.

You do know that mercury is used in processing silver. That is probably the disinfecting agent in silver coins, mercury.

Not that chlorine is great for you either. But it is better than germs or mercury !

Re: Killing bacteria in water?
 

You could just drink the river water directly, then stun yourself a few times. It won't purify the water, but the subsequent diarrhea won't seem so bad in comparison. :wink:

Re: Killing bacteria in water?
 

Probably the cheapest and one of the best methods.
Just make sure it is just bleach! No scented or special stuff.

Re: Killing bacteria in water?
 

Filtering + Strong UV light is used industrially to kill the baddies. Filtering will get the parasites out.

A lot of water in Asia is treated this way. Been to Laos, drunk the water there, the same plant makes BeerLao.. yum...

Re: Killing bacteria in water?
 

Ok, my original post DOES sound like a Darwin Award candidate, but the main point to the question was to see if electricity can be used to kill bacteria.

I know silver, bleach, filters, etc. can.

I admit I don't know much at all about electricity. But if it can kill animals, why not bacteria/algae?

It just seems that it could be done safely. Say you have a glass jug with leads on the top and bottom going to a power source. Flip a switch, kills all bacteria, turn the switch off. Good to go.

I realize dealing with water and electricity is VERY dangerous, but would it work? If not, why not?

Re: Killing bacteria in water?
 

Bacteria and other microbes in water do not see a voltage potential when current is passed. Simply put, the electricity passes through the water around the bugs. If you were floating in a tank of water and electrical current were passed though the water, you would not be effected. However, if you touched ground - zap - you become a conductive element! Do not try this at home. Pure water is very resistive, as in megaohms. But every day water from pipes and used in various containers is loaded with ionic impurities sufficient to render it conductive enough to be dangerous around high voltage sources.

Stun guns derive energy from battery storage. However, electrical potential from battery is stepped up to higher voltage storage capacitors to provide high voltage-low amperage shock ("stun"). Any capacitor that is discharged across a short or more rapidly than rated power can explode. Capacitors in electrical boards can store charge for years if provision hasn't been made for bleed-down shorting resistors. Whenever working on an electrical device, make certain that it is unplugged and check the capacitors.

Re: Killing bacteria in water?
 

how long do you leave the coin in the water before you drink it thanks

Re: Killing bacteria in water?
 

THANK YOU MAMBONI! At least now it makes sense.

Re: Killing bacteria in water?
 

Instead of a taser, why don't you try a plugged-in toaster?

The OP sounds like a candidate for the 2009 Darwin Awards. :confused_ma:

Re: Killing bacteria in water?
 

Dynamite kills small animals. Why not try a stick of dynamite in a glass of water? You are from TN? Heck, you probably tried that already. :biggrin:

(Just kidding... I am jealous of the location.)

Re: Killing bacteria in water?
 

How much colloidal silver would you have to mix in? Say you had a gallon on the shelf, how much would you pour into the 55 gal drum to kill all the bacteria and at what concentration?

Re: Killing bacteria in water?
 

Anyone here try water purification tablets? I've got a couple of bottles for SHTF time.