Fire Burn and Cauldron Bubble...The 5 Stages of Boiling©

 

 

Boiling water, video by the Author.

For more on water disinfection and boiling read “Water Disinfection: When is boiled, boiled enough…? ©”, HERE and  “True or False, You Should Drink Water From The Spring Where Horses Drink?©”, HERE – Author’s note.

 

The five stages of boiling...

 

Recently I was chatting with my daughter, when she asked at what temperature do the first bubbles appear in boiling water.  This is important question because, raw water should always be disinfected or pasteurized before you drink it, and most, but not all pathogens are killed before the water is at a full boil.  I didn’t know, so, I did what I always do, and I did some research and found the answers. 

 

Graphic by the Author.

In undisinfected water there can be three different kinds of pathogens that are harmful to humans: protozoa, bacteria, and viruses.  Protozoa that commonly found in water, and that are harmful to humans, are cryptosporidium and giardia intestinalis (also called giardia lamblia), while commonly occurring, harmful bacteria are campylobacter, salmonella, shigella and escherichia coli, and harmful viruses often found in water are enterovirus, hepatitis A, norovirus, and rotavirus.  This is why raw water should always be disinfected or pasteurized¹and made potable before you drink it.

 

Per the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention), boiling water is the best method to disinfect water² by destroying dangerous pathogens and making it safe to drink, even when it is turbid or cloudy, or you are at a high altitude. 

 

Without using a thermometer, a rolling boil is the only absolute, easily recognizable, visual clue to the temperature of water.  However, as you are heating water there are some other visual clues to the temperature of the water as it is heating.  This is important because, while most pathogens in water are killed at temperatures well below the boiling point of water, the hepatitis A virus is heat resistant and can only be destroyed by water heated to a rolling or full boil.

 

Water less than 160^o F (72^o C), photograph by the Author.

Bubble do not begin to appear at the bottom of the pan until the water reaches about162^o F (72^o C).  If you heat water and keep it at 145^o F (63^o C) for thirty minutes “the enteric pathogens will be significantly reduced, likely to potable levels”¹, by what is called “vat pasteurization”.  However, the problem with “vat pasteurization” in the field, is that there are no visual clues to the water’s temperature and without a thermometer you won’t know what the temperature of the water is.

 

Stage One...Shrimp Eyes

 

Stage one of boiling, tiny bubbles appear at the bottom of the pan, photograph by the Author.

In stage one of boiling, tiny bubbles begin to appear at the bottom of the pan.  At this point the water about 160^o to 162^o F (71^o to 72^o C) and if the water is kept at this temperature for 15 seconds it will be pasteurized, and the enteric pathogens will be reduced to potable levels.

 

Stage Two...Crab Eyes

 

Stage two of boiling, the bubbles become slightly larger, photograph by the Author.

At stage two of boiling, the water is about 175^o F (80^o C), and the bubbles are lightly larger, also wisps of steam begin to rise.

 

Stage Three ... Fisheyes

 

Stage three of boiling, the bubbles at the bottom of the pan are about the size of fisheyes or small pearls, photograph by the Author.

At stage three of boiling, the water has reached the temperature of about 180^o F (82^o C) and the bubbles at the bottom of the pan are about the size of fisheyes or small pearls.  Also, there is more rising steam.

 

Stage Four ... Ropes of Pearls

 

Stage four of boiling, the bubbles stream to the surface like a rope of pearls, photograph by the Author.

In stage four of boiling, the bubbles stream to the surface like a rope of pearls and the temperature of the water is between 200^o to 205^o F (93^o to 96^o C).  At these temperatures it will take between .1 and .05 seconds for the enteric pathogens to be reduced to potable levels and the water to be disinfected.

 

Stage Five ... Raging Torrent

 

Stage five of boiling, a raging torrent or a rolling boil, photograph by the Author.

At stage five of boiling, the water is a raging torrent, a rolling or a fast boil and has reached the full boiling temperature of 212^o

F (100^o C).  At this temperature it will take between .01 seconds for the enteric pathogens to be reduced to potable levels and the water to be disinfected.

 

Boiling, “100% effective in removing all pathogens”

CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)

 

The CDC states that “Except for boiling, few of the water treatment methods are 100% effective in removing all pathogens”.  The CDC also suggests that prior to boiling, cloudy water should be filtered through clean clothes, or left to settle, before drawing off the clear water for boiling.

 

Research by Howard D. Backer, MD in 1996, the CDC in 2009 and the World Health Organization (WHO) in 2011 has shown that pathogens are killed rapidly by water hotter than 140^o F (60^o C).  In fact, the research shows that the time it takes to heat water on a stove or over a fire, from 131^o F (55^o C) to a rolling boil of 212° F (100° C) at sea level, will kill all disease-causing bacteria, viruses, and protozoa, and therefore disinfect the water and make it potable.  According to the CDC, heating water to rolling boil water for just one minute is “high effectiveness in killing” protozoa such as Cryptosporidium, Giardia intestinalis (also called Giardia lamblia), bacteria like Campylobacter, Salmonella, Shigella and E. coli, and viruses such as enterovirus, hepatitis A, norovirus, or rotavirus. 

 

So, just to be safe...

 

Graphic by the Author, from Water Disinfection for International and Wilderness Travelers, by Howard D. Backer, MD, pages 357 to 358.

Because of the heat resistance of the Hepatitis A virus, however, the CDC recommends heating water to a rolling boil for one minute, and for an additional three minutes at elevations above 2,000 meters (6,562 feet), to ensure that the water has remained hot enough, for long enough, to destroy any dangerous pathogens³.  So, even if the enteric pathogens are destroyed at temperatures below 212^o F (100^o C), just to be safe always bring your water to a rolling boil before you drink or rehydrate food with it. 

 

For more on what to do with that nice pot of boiled, and now disinfected, water, read “Drinking Black Tea to Stay Hydrated...Say What?! ©”, HERE, “Coffee, Tea or … Chocolate? Part One ©”, HERE; “Coffee, Tea or … Chocolate? Part Two ©”, HERE; “Coffee, Tea or … Chocolate? Part Three ©”, HERE; or “Coffee, Tea or … Chocolate? Part Four ©”, HERE.

 

Don’t forget to come back next week and read “...no soldier should drink any water without it being boiled...©”, where we will talk about water disinfection during the late 18^th and early 19^th centuries.

 

Photograph by the Author.

I hope that you continue to enjoy The Woodsman’s Journal Online and look for me on YouTube at BandanaMan Productions for other related videos, HERE.  Don’t forget to follow me on both The Woodsman’s Journal Online, HERE, and subscribe to BandanaMan Productions on YouTube.  If you have questions, as always, feel free to leave a comment on either site.  I announce new articles on Facebook at Eric Reynolds, on Instagram at bandanamanaproductions, and on VK at Eric Reynolds, so watch for me.

 

That is all for now, and as always, until next time, Happy Trails!

 

 

Notes

 

 

¹ What is disinfection, is it the same thing as sterilization or pasteurization?  And what exactly does potable mean?  Disinfection means the removal or destruction of harmful pathogens and is the desired result of water treatment in the field, where it is typically accomplished by boiling.  Pasteurization is like disinfection but involves lower temperatures over a longer time than disinfection.  The goal of both disinfection and pasteurization is to create potable water, which means that the water has a minimal microbial hazard.  Sterilization is the destruction or removal of all life forms and is required for surgical purposes.  Sterilization for surgical purposes requires that the water and the items to be sterilized, be brought to a rolling boil for 15 to 20 minutes.

 

² “Effect of Heat on the Sterilization of Artificially Contaminated Water”, by Howard D. Backer, page three

 

³ An excerpt from “Water Disinfection: When is boiled, boiled enough…? ©”,  HERE.

 

Graphic by the Author

The CDC recommends the additional three minutes of boiling time because, at sea level the boiling point of water is 212^o F (100^o C), however, as elevation increases, atmospheric pressure decreases and water boils at lower temperatures.  For every 500-foot (153 meter) increase in elevation, the boiling point of water decreases by just under 1^o F (approximately .5^o C).  For this reason, the CDC recommends boiling water to a rolling boil for an additional three minutes at altitudes greater than 2,000 meters (6,562 feet).  These additional minutes of rolling boiling time at higher altitudes are intended to ensure that even at these higher elevations, enough boiling time is achieved to ensure the destruction of any pathogenic organisms in the water. 

 

Similarly, the National Wilderness Conference advocates bringing water to a rolling boil for one minute at sea level and boiling it for an additional one minute for every 1,000 feet (305 meters) above sea level, to ensure that dangerous pathogens are destroyed.  It will be noticed that the National Wilderness Conference is more cautious than the CDC, as it advocates bringing water to a rolling boil for an additional minute for each 1,000-foot (305 meters) increase in elevation above sea level. 

 

These additional minutes of rolling boiling time at higher altitudes are intended to ensure that even at these higher elevations, enough boiling time is achieved to ensure the destruction of any pathogenic organisms in the water. 

 

The CDC and the WHO, now agree that boiling water for drinking purposes for ten minutes is unnecessary; and in fact, it is a waste of time, fuel, and water since, water cannot become any hotter than 212°F (100°C) and remain in a liquid state.  To continue to heat water once it has reached the boiling point, more than one minute at low elevations and an additional three to six minutes at elevations above 2,000 meters (6,562 feet), merely wastes fuel, water, and time; all of which might be in short supply in a survival situation.  So, boil your water only as long as the CDC recommends or if you prefer to be extra cautious, use the National Wilderness Conference’s recommendation, and then your water will be boiled enough.

 

Sources

 

Backer, Howard D.; “Effect of Heat on the Sterilization of Artificially Contaminated Water”, [Journal of Travel Medicine; 1996] p. 3:1-4 https://academic.oup.com/jtm/article/3/1/1/1804390, accessed December 22, 2021

 

Backer, Howard D.; “Field Water Disinfection”, https://aneskey.com/field-water-disinfection/, accessed April 23, 2019

 

CDC, “A Guide to Drinking Water Treatment and Sanitation for Backcountry & Travel Use”, [2009] http://www.cdc.gov/healthywater/drinking/travel/backcountry_water_treatment.html, accessed August 31, 2015

 

Curtis, Rick; The Backpacker’s Field Manual, http://www.princeton.edu/~oa/manual/water.shtml, accessed August 31, 2015

 

Howard, “Boiling Water Verses Pasteurization to Make Safe Drinking Water”, March 19, 2015, [© 2021 Preparedness Advice], https://preparednessadvice.com/boiling-water-verses-pasteurization-make-safe-drinking-water/, accessed December 20, 2021

 

Green-Golden, Sharon; “Boiling: The Answer to High-level Disinfecting of Surgical Instrumentation in a Village of a Third World Country”, [2009] https://www.iahcsmm.org/images/News/Fellow_Papers/FellowshipPaper_SharonGrGolden__2009.pdf, Accessed May 3, 2019

 

The Engineering Toolbox, “Pasteurization Times and Temperatures”, https://www.engineeringtoolbox.com/pasteurization-methods-temperatures-d_1642.html, accessed December 20, 2021

 

“The 5 Different Stages of Boiling Water and How the Chinese Use Them for Tea”, [© 2021 Golden Moon Tea], https://www.goldenmoontea.com/blogs/tea/106687623-the-5-different-stages-of-boiling-water-and-how-the-chinese-use-them-for-tea, accessed December 20, 2021

 

Wood, T. D.; “Water Treatment for International Travel”, http://www.rei.com/learn/expert-advice/water-treatment-international.html#Boiling, accessed September 30, 2015