Boiling water with hot rocks.

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?

How about pasteurizing at 165 F?

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


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

Thanks for the link, will check it out.

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

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.

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....

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Originally Posted by 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....

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

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Originally Posted by 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....

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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.

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Originally Posted by Circuits

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.

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Rgr, I misspoke. Thanks for the corrections.

you need to slowly heat the rocks to bake the moisture out of their center to keep them from exploding while being heated. theres no real cure for them exploding when theyre quenched in the water as thats rock selection. finding a flat rock to put in the center of your coals to stack your hot rocks on will keep them out of the soot/ash. an initial rinse would be advised. you can also place hot rocks in your bedding to keep warm on cold nights. exchange them when they get cold and stoke your fire

The flat rock is a good idea, but I can't imagine having such a large fire that I could sacrifice coals, or not have active flames.

Does anyone else find this weird? Better to burn the body that to just pile hot rocks on it Stuart. Oh sorry, wrong topic. Continue. :)

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Originally Posted by Beprepared

How about pasteurizing at 165 F?

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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.

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

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

Anyway, is ashy water safe to drink?

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.