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C-Stepper
10-12-2004, 08:28
Has anyone attempted to repackage their iodine-based water treatment? Any knowledge about the tablets retaining potency while doing this (only for the short-term, weekend hike)?

I have Potable Aqua and the Vitamin C (ascorbic acid) neutralizer. If I carry these in the glass bottles that they come in they are pretty hefty (according to REI, 6 oz for 50 tabs of each and 2 glass bottles). I was thinking of repackaging so the weight is nearly negligible:

remove iodine tabs to a small plastic baggie. Keep it with its fabric plug ( I don't think its cotton, but it is some fibrous material) from its bottle, which I assume absorbs moisture.

Place this in the bottom of a used plastic travel advil bottle (really light, I don't have a scale but I'm sure it weighs well under an oz w/ cap).

place the vitamin c tablets in the same bottle on top, close it up.

orangebug
10-12-2004, 09:04
Won't work. This is the same problem with keeping your nitroglycerin in a small glass bottle. Some folks try to keep them with a few aspirin, then wonder why their headache gets worse from the aspirin and the NTG didn't work so well.

Iodine tabs will release their iodine gas and go away. It will bleach the interior of the baggie and the plastic container, at least until it hits the Vitamin C tabs.

Polar Pure deals with this by making a supersaturated solution and using a heavy glass bottle, shaped to keep itself well sealed and to prevent the iodinated pellets from getting out.

Dances with Mice
10-12-2004, 09:46
...If I carry these in the glass bottles that they come in they are pretty hefty (according to REI, 6 oz for 50 tabs of each and 2 glass bottles). I was thinking of repackaging so the weight is nearly negligible...


6 ounces! Can this be right?

That is what REI says, I'm not questioning your reporting, but is REI right? These bottles aren't much bigger than a quarter. There's no way they could weigh over a quarter of a pound.

Maybe REI is listing the shipping weight? The unopened product may weigh that much if the paper and blister pack packaging is included. I doubt if the two bottles weigh over an ounce, if that.

Oh, and the packing is cotton. Trash it. It's just there to keep the pills from shaking around and getting chipped during shipping.

C-Stepper
10-12-2004, 14:42
D w/ M,

No, the bottles I have are much bigger than a quarter. Each bottle (there are 2 of them) is about 2 inches tall and maybe 3/4 inch in in diameter (the bottles are at home, I'm at work, so these are pretty close estimates w/o being able to measure each firsthand). The glass is amber, and pretty thick.

Each bottle contains 50 tablets. There is a plug of cotton (or similar substance), a foil/paper seal, and a stainless steel screw cap.

They "feel" heavy, and this is due to the glass. This is why I was inquiring if I could repackage into a plastic container. I tried packing all (as I described) into a plastic container and it was noticeably lighter (again, no scale, can't compare literally).

However, if the chemicals are rendered useless (I wonder how it could be so, though, over a 48 hour or so period), then it is a moot point.

Thanks for the help.

Dances with Mice
10-12-2004, 14:55
I'm thinking about these tablets, which Campmor lists as weighing 1 ounce.

http://www.campmor.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?memberId=12500226&productId=13585

Are they the same product that's sold by REI? They look the same. But REI lists them as weighing 6 ounces, just as you said.

http://www.rei.com/online/store/ProductDisplay?storeId=8000&catalogId=40000008000&productId=603&parent_category_rn=4500460&vcat=REI_SEARCH

So buy the Campmor ones! Mine are at home too, I guess I could weigh them.

C-Stepper
10-12-2004, 18:33
...they look to be the same.

By the way, I tried these out while at home...didn't want to try them out in the wild green forest with my daughter in tow and find they were nasty.

I was curious if the Vitamin C (what they are calling "neutralizer) made any difference, too, since it adds 2 bucks to the price at REI.

After the wait time of the iodine tabs (30 minutes) I opened the top of my liter bottle...whew, there is no WAY I would have slurped any of that down unless I was dying of thirst! After using the neutralizer and waiting a couple of minutes, the water tasted the same as my city water here near Raleigh, and the water was clear and colorless.

Next time I think I'll just slice up some of my Vitamin C tabs that I buy anyway (to ward off germs the kids try to bring home from school) to use as neutralizer.

Dances with Mice
10-12-2004, 22:37
OK, good, we're talking about the same product. I still don't think they're 6 oz, but I have a new bottle that I'll weigh tomorrow.

So you already know you can cut the weight in half by not taking the neutralizer bottle and using Vitamin C tablets that you'd be carrying anyway. You can also use drink mixes that contain ascorbic acid (Vit C), like Gatorade or Powerade. But take care that your containers are rinsed well to remove all neutralizer before adding more iodine.

You can place the Vitamin C tablets in a lighter plastic container but the iodine tablets need to be kept in a glass container.

I usually drink the iodine-treated water neat, I can't taste the iodine. I don't treat water for cooking since it'll be boiled.

orangebug
10-12-2004, 22:44
Drinking iodinated water is a lot like sleeping on a Z-Rest. It sucks the first couple of times, but then it seems like no problem at all. The Vit C is only a way to turn any lingering elemental iodine into a tasteless odorless salt. It becomes tasteless pretty quickly once you have gotten used to it.

Bill...

Pencil Pusher
10-13-2004, 02:28
I've done that, put the tablets in a little baggie. I'd count out however many I thought I would need, didn't include that cotton swab from the bottle. So it's either yes you can do this, or ignorance is bliss.

orangebug
10-13-2004, 07:19
Sublimation! Yeh, thats the word I was looking for!

The elemental iodine will sublimate. You get a whiff of iodine each time you open the glass bottle. Eventually, iodine will escape even that relatively air tight container. The pills will look just as good as ever. Hence, iodine tabs carry an expiration date that Polar Pure lacks. It is real obvious when a Polar Pure bottle is used up.

Of course, this is no problem for those who use Polar Pure only for an antiseptic agent for treating wounds. Sublimated iodine tabs are just another way to become a non-treater of trail water.

Bill...

Dances with Mice
10-14-2004, 18:11
Each bottle weighs about 30 grams, and that's an ounce.

So it's not 6 ounces, but I didn't think they weighed even that much. And the bottles are about 2 quarters tall x 1 quarter in diameter.

Hmph! I used to be able to tell pretty accurately how much an ounce was...

Pencil Pusher
10-17-2004, 18:51
You should be glad you can't tell how much an ounce is! Better yet, that you don't measure everything in ounces or (shudder) decimal ounces!:sun

smokymtnsteve
10-17-2004, 18:55
You should be glad you can't tell how much an ounce is! Better yet, that you don't measure everything in ounces or (shudder) decimal ounces!:sun


I can make a purty close guess on a ounce. ;)

Pencil Pusher
10-17-2004, 19:05
I can make a purty close guess on a ounce. ;)Is that how much each baggie weighs?:p

smokymtnsteve
10-17-2004, 19:07
Is that how much each baggie weighs?:p

a baggie doesn't weigh near an Ounce, more like 2 grams ;)

The Hog
10-18-2004, 06:42
Iodine effectively kills bacteria and disables viruses, but unfortunately, there is evidence that halogens like chlorine and iodine actually help protozoans like cryptosporidium emerge from their cysts. That is not good news, because cryptosporidia have been shown to have a widespread presence in surface waters, including so-called "pristine sources." Bottom line: Iodine alone does not protect you from everything that is in the water.

One answer: there are filter systems on the market that first filter out bacteria and protozoans, then deactivate viruses with an iodine resin. The one I use has no aftertaste.