hot water bottle fail

**hikinghombre7** · 01-03-2011, 05:40

Ok....so I've used the hot water bottle in my hammock once and it worked nicely. So I figured....why not try it at home in bed? I always kick off the furnace at night cause I like to sleep with the room cool and get all warm under the covers. I sleep well that way but initially getting in bed is a cold shock every night. I thought why not use the bottle trick? Well, it worked great for the first half hour then had some major leakage. Dunno what went wrong but am leaning toward the hot water affecting the plastic lid somehow cause that's where the leak was. I did tighten it down before tossing it in so not sure how it loosened. I'm using the Nalgene Canteen bottle. Anyone else ever have this happen? Sure glad I wasn't in the hammock when this happened. Not sure I want to try this ever again.....

**MedicineMan** · 01-03-2011, 05:45

yes try again but have an insurance policy....chinamart has decent roll top dry bags, usually sold in a 3 pack, even the largest is light. put the hot metal bottle in a sock to keep from burning you, then into the dry bag. You're right...in the piney woods it could be catastrophic in seriously cold weather but with the above precautions you've have a heat source all night long and sterile/warm water in the morning. I've even double dry bagged for even more insurance.

**Joey** · 01-03-2011, 05:48

OH MY! My Nalgene has never leaked. I don't even think about it. Now I'm going to pause and double check the lid closure for sure!!

**hikinghombre7** · 01-03-2011, 05:46

doesn't all the extra bagging take away from getting heat?

**hikinghombre7** · 01-03-2011, 05:54

yep, trust me....I made sure it was tight before tossing it in my bed. was shocked when I felt the water!

**The Rambler** · 01-03-2011, 06:20

In my experience this can be an issue with metal containers as the metal expands and contracts just a little. I havn't ever had a lid loosen on a regular hard plastic nalgene.

**Syb** · 01-03-2011, 07:06

hikinghombre7, how much water did you put in the bottle?

Syb

**hikinghombre7** · 01-03-2011, 12:26

Originally Posted by Syb

hikinghombre7, how much water did you put in the bottle?

Syb

I left the water level a good two inches below from the full mark.

**Doctari** · 01-03-2011, 12:45

The 2 times I have done it, & I just use an old Gatorade bottle, I had the lid tight (that's TIGHT!) & let it cool just a bit before putting in the bag that I think pulls the lid tighter. I also left an air space (about 1.5") So far, no leaks either time.

**Syb** · 01-03-2011, 13:40

Originally Posted by hikinghombre7

I left the water level a good two inches below from the full mark.

Maybe check the threads? I've used it back when I was a ground-dweller with no issues. Also, are there any cracks? I've filled bottles with a soapy solution (like the tires guys do looking for leaks), shook the bottle and that gave the leaky spot away instantly.

Hope that helps.

Syb