Generally I carry 3 bladders on every trip, 2 - 1L bladders to fill and go along the trail, and 1 - 2L platy liner for those spots that water will be scarce, a possible shower on a longer trip or if I just need a decent amount of water for camp chores. The platypus liners are one of the lightest bladders and hydration systems, but have a narrow fill hole and take forever to dry on their own. Last year I got accustomed to just throwing them in the freezer to prevent the water bottle mold from forming, but really would prefer to put them away with my gear. So after the trip to The Shipwreck Coast I decided to swing by Petco and get the parts to assemble a 3 bladder drying system.
Materials Required:
--> single line fish tank air pump ($8.99 at Petco and comes with hose, just get the cheap one)
--> 2 - 3 way T fittings which will be in the same area as the pump ($1.29 each)
The assembly is easy, stick a hose to the bottom of the bladder cut it off with a few inches of play outside the bladder, and assemble your fittings and than their should be just enough hose left to attach the pump to the first fitting. When you are finished there should be a small section of hose coming off of the air pump to a T-fitting. From the T-fitting one side should go to the biggest bladder's hose and the other to another T-fitting which goes to the other 2 bladders. Here's some pictures to get an idea of what I'm talking about.
Drying time isn't a definitive time frame, but if you leave them overnight they'll be dry in the morning. The whole idea is to get the air moving within the bladders and exchange the moisture ridden air with the outside of the bladder faster. If you were to leave a platy out to dry on it's own it could take a week plus. The only thing I might do differently is buy some stiffer hose, which is sold next to the fittings. The hose that came with the pump is a really flexible silicone hose which likes to curl up in the bags. It will still work great, but you might need to work the hose down in the bag. It doesn't have to be at the bottom to circulate the air, but the deeper it is in the bag the better.
I like the new blog layout. I don't bother drying them. They're essentially never empty except in the winter.
ReplyDeleteYeah, I don't get around to drying them every trip when I'm going every weekend like right now. But for longer term storage or if they get stored for more than a week I try and dry them to help prevent the bacterial growth. Eventhough I use ClO2 to purify my water... So there shouldn't be much of any bacteria left...
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