Plastic tubing is one of those items that nobody ever thinks about, but could come in extremely handy when things go bad. From siphoning water out of watering holes, to siphoning gas during a SHTF disaster, plastic tubing has a number of survival applications that make it a great piece of emergency gear to add to your supplies.
Why You Should Carry Plastic Tubing in Your Survival Bags:
- Plastic Tubing can be extremely useful in desert survival. It’s a good idea to carry a few feet of clear surgical plastic tubing with you in your survival kit. It can come in handy when trying to find water in the desert.
- Dry Riverbeds can contain water just beneath the surface. To get to the water you need plastic tubing. The tubing will help you get down deep enough to suck up the water.
- It is an essential part of a survival stills, because it can be placed at the bottom of the still before construction and used to suck out water without disturbing the still.
- It can be used to Siphon Gas or other liquids during an emergency.
Using Plastic Tubing to Siphon Water and Gas:
Before we start, one small disclaimer. Siphoning untreated water or gas can be dangerous; it should only be performed during a life threatening emergency. That being said, it is a skill that takes practice; first timers may end up with a mouth full of liquid, so you might want to practice it with a safe liquid at home first.
- To begin, your water source should be lower than the container that you are using to catch the water.
- Place one end of the plastic tube in the water, and take the other end over towards the container.
- Make sure the tube is positioned in a U Shape. Begin sucking on the dry end of the tube until the water reaches the top of the bend.
- Once the water starts to flow up the bend, the siphon should be complete and the water should no start to flow on its own.
Check out this video on how to Siphon fuel without getting a mouth full of gas.
I always carry small sponges with fine holes (small) too, to collect dew, or small collections of water which can be squeezed into a container, which i cover with fine mesh to filter,then purified if necessary. Sometimes a tube cannot do it but a sponge will.
Very good idea!
tubing can be used with para cord run through it for slings and snares.I keep a couple of hundred feet with a back-flow preventor in case i need to get water from a well.
This is backwards: “your water source should be lower than the container that you are using to catch the water.” Your container should be below the water source or else you need a mechanical pump of some sort (or very tiny capillary action). Siphoning works because of gravity – once you get gas flowing through the tube, it will naturally continue flowing as long as you keep the tube lower than the level of gas in the tank.