Repackaging Potable Aqua Revisted

While surfing around for tiny glass vials to repackage iodine tablets, I ran across the following site:<br><br>http://www.clmorgan.com/gvial.htm#tiny<br><br>They offer 1/2 inch tall amber glass vials. Seems perfect, but I wonder about the "screw-top polycone seal caps" and if they would react with the iodine or if you could just put some cotton between the tablets and the cap and be good to go.<br><br>Also found some plain round tins that might be useful:<br><br>http://www.specialtybottle.com/tins.html

Ive become quite fond of "Ranger Rick's" method using drinking straws and silicone sealant.<br><br>btw: its good to be home. I "survived" two weeks in Canton Mississippi.

I have just gotten around to rplacing all of my expired medications from my PSK. I have repackaged the potable aqua as Doug has prescribed but what I ahev found scares me a bit. The instructions around the vial and everything near it has turned brown. <br><br>A final question is if the tablets change from gray to brown does that mean they are no-longer any good.

Hmm. I would think if the instructions turned brown that the container you're using doesn't have a proper seal. The iodine vapor has probably reacted with the pulp.

I've been in e-mail contact with WPC, so I've edited out non-essential info from the letter.<br><br>Me: "When the tabs have changed colors, is<br>this a sure fire sign that the tabs have gone bad?"<br><br>"Not necessarily. The tablets do change color over time this is OK. When the tablets turn whitish and have a crumbly texture the tablets have expired.<br><br>Once the bottle is open, the seal is broken. Opened bottles will only last approximately one year.<br><br>Sincerely<br>Jean xxxxxx<br>Regulatory Coordinator<br>WPC Brands<br>800/ 558-xxxx"<br><br>I hope this helps.

Thanks for checking!

No problem. I also think it's important to realize the difference between conversations on and off the records. WPC has to make sure they CTA. But I believe Jean provided a good way to check if the iodine has degraded.<br><br>I also have been in discussion with them about them manufacturing the potable aqua in smaller packages. Some may find the following of value:<br><br>Me: "Is there any chance we would see potable aqua in a smaller container instead of a bottle of 50. Maybe in a bottle that has a smaller profile and holds maybe 25 instead. I know many people are repackaging potable aqua in order to fit it into hiking, camping, and canoeing kits. For many people, potable aqua provides insurance on a hike or camping trip in case water filters break or boiling is unavailable. The smaller bottle would more likely to be carried on their person when it is needed most, in an emergency. I would be more than happy to round up some ..... interest in such a product. I don't know if it would be cost effective, but that's a different story alltogether. "<br><br>The Response:<br>"I am forwarding your question on to marketing and giving you the regulatory answer.<br><br>Potable Aqua is registered with the Environmental Protection Agency for emergency drinking water. The EPA requires proper labeling of our product. Virtually everything on the bottle label is required by the EPA. In addition we are currently changing our labeling to include addition verbiage<br>required by the EPA. ( We will be printing on the back side of the wrap around.) WPC Brands has investigated packaging this product into a smaller package, but do to the label requirement it's basically impossible. In addition the glass bottle gives the product a better shelf life than plastic or a foil strip pack. The glass bottle we are currently using is one of the smallest glass bottles available. <br>As a side point the glass bottle used for Potable Aqua is the same bottle that we package the US Military's purification tablets in, which are used by our troops.<br><br>Sincerely<br>Jean xxxxx"<br><br>I'll let everyone know what I hear from their marketing department if interested.<br><br>Oh, and gear freak, I'm not trying to take away from your topic. I think it's great that you found new containers for PA. I'm just hoping we can avoid repackaging all together.

The original bottles use a medal lid then seal the bottle with some sort of material attached to a piece ofsealing paper (whatever you call it). On my next try I will take the wrapper, trim it down and put it into the lid before screwing the lid on.<br><br>As to the jars leaking, I am using the same type suggested by Doug I wonder if this gives him a different result.

I found some small aluminium capsules (about 1/2 the size of the little glass bottles they come in) with a screw top and a rubber gasket seal at REI in the impulse items by the checkouts.<br><br>They look to be perfect for tabs.

Hey, no problem. Your investigation is far more interesting than my net find! Keep us posted.

myopiks,<br><br>Check out this tread where aluminum capsules and iodine tablets were discussed. Flame on<br><br>I have been meaning to try the experiment with Potable Aqua and these aluminum capsules, (outside somewhere very safe), but have not done it. The iodine/aluminum firestarting methods are generally done with aluminum filings and elemental iodine. I think the iodine vapor coming off the tablets and the anodized aluminum capsule would be less violently reactive, but would still probably corrode (at best) the capsule....but hey I am an analytical chemist, not a inorganic chemist .

You too? I found those same vials at Galyan's and some unseen force compelled me to buy one, since they came in groovy anodized aluminum colors. Wasn't sure what it would be useful for, but it had to be good for something! I would be concerned, however, that the iodine would react with the aluminum, so I discounted it as an iodine container.

Donaldferman,<br><br>If you are using small glass vials with teflon lined lids to repackage, look carefully at the teflon seal and see if it is slightly offcenter. I have used these type of vials thousands of times for lab samples and every once and a while the teflon liner is just slightly too small or offcenter in the cap, causing leakage. The second common problem is a very small chip in the vial rim which will either prevent sealing or even slightly cut the teflon seal when you screw the cap down. The third common problem I have had with new people in the lab was them tightening the vial caps too tight...this generally caused the thick teflon faced rubber seal to shift or pucker and then leak.<br><br>Inspection of the leaking vial may give you some clues to why it leaked.<br><br>I generally carry a full-unopened container of Potable Aqua in my vest rather than carry a small potential corrosive leaker vial in my PSK. I am constantly into my vest pouch for various items and essentially inspect this bottle weekly. <br><br>

That's a good idea to go directly to the manufacturer and suggest smaller packaging. I can see the problem with the labelling requirements, but I am not buying their reasoning completely. I don't think they really want to address the problem (maybe because they have very little competition and they don't have to). <br><br>They could use the smaller bottle and have a large label that trails off the side of the bottle like a tag. If the end user chose to keep the tag on or remove it, who's to know? Also, the pharmaceutical manufacturers have extensive labelling requirements that they often meet by providing a printed insert inside the box along with the bottle of pills.<br><br>Too bad they are not interested in pursuing those kinds of options.

Castaway, the discussion I had been having was with the regulatory coordinator, I haven't spoken with the marketing coordinator yet. I'll let you know what he says.

I purchased a few of them to use for emergency supplies of some medication I need to take daily. I am interested in finding out about any possible reactions between the pills and the aluminum container. Does anybody know a good source to find this out (Physician's Desk Reference perhaps?). Chemistry wasn't my strong subject in school so something simple like "generally avoid items containing X substances when using aluminum containers" would help. I've avoided listing my medicine to keep this as general as possible.

I do not know specifically of any sources of information concerning medication/aluminum interactions.<br><br>My best guess is that these aluminum capsules from Bison are not the best storage for medications of any type. Some medications like Aspirin are acidic and bare aluminum and acid will corrode. Anodized aluminum is much more resistant to corrosion but still probably not the best. Many medications degrade with both heat and moisture. I have not tested my Bison capsule for waterproofness (fairly sure this is not a word). <br><br>I carry my medications in a stainless steel pill fob that is 12 x 60 mm. It fits aspirin and my other tablets perfectly. I trust it more than the Bison capsule since the O-ring is internal rather than exposed, and stainless steel is much less prone to damage from acids. I have tested my stainless capsule by running it through the washing machine, the tablets were completely dry. I did not run it through the dryer though .<br><br>My container is <br><br><br>The Key Chain version, I bought mine at a luggage store for considerably more than this one.<br><br>Also available <br><br><br> Fatter ones or even this 2 compartment one.<br><br>I have not ordered from these sites, just using their pictures for examples.

I, too, look forward to doing some testing about this issue. In the meantime, the link below will take you to a site that sells small high impact plastic watertight capsules that might work for iodine. They (and some other sites) also feature metal containers that are lined with plastic and ones that contain a small, sealed glass vial inside the metal container. <br><br>All possibilities.<br><br>http://www.911medalert.com/catalog.asp?action=showcat&id=54&page=4

Many thanks! I wondered about the process for making the bison capsules when one of the ones I purchased appeared to have residue inside it (perhaps left over from the manufacturing process). Stainless steel sounds like it might do the trick.<br><br>Stressing about needed medication can be very distracting. In my case, I no longer have a thyroid (bad news) but I also no longer have cancer (good news). From what I have found out, I could probably go 3 weeks or more without my medicine before I would croak but life would be really uncomfortable long before then. I'm not worried about a long term loss of supply but skipping a couple of days of medication does adversely affect me so I always try to keep some extra pills around (mainly for when I forget to take one). I'll spread some capsules around in my BOB and PSK as well as one on a key ring for every day use. Replenishing with fresh medicine will be no problem.<br><br>

I have offered in the past a willingness to test for bactericidal effects after storage. Due to the labor involved, I would give a qualitative answer (yes or no) as to their ability to kill a hefty load of common water borne bacteria. Also, we use liquid tight plastic vials (generally polycarbonate or polypropylene, some snap cap, some screw down) for storing a variety of biological and chemical materials. While I don't want to take any from the lab, I often receive samples, I would be willing to send a few out (domestic US) to couple of people who may want to test run them for the group. When bought in bulk, they are generally .10 to .15 each. They also come in a longer size, which would be useful for storing a couple of sewing needles. Pete

I did an "experiment" about the aluminium + iodine issue yesterday. I put experiment in quotations because I don't claim to have any scientific training or expertise and the simple minded nature of the "experiment" will be demonstrated by the description below. Kids, don't try this at home.<br><br>I used two of the anodized aluminium capsules by Bison Designs that I bought at REI. <br><br>Iodine tablet + drop of water in open container+ 1 minute= nothing except gooey tablet<br><br>iodine tablet + drop of water in open container + 15 min = gooey tablet<br><br>iodine tablet + drop of water in closed container + 15 min = gooey tablet<br><br>iodine tablet + drop of water in closed container shaken violently for 1 min = more gooey tablet<br><br>iodine tablet + drop of water + aluminium and anodized shavings that I scraped off outside of container in open container + 1 minute = gooey shavings<br><br>iodine tablet + drop of water + aluminium and anodized shavings that I scraped off outside of container in closed container + 1 minute = gooey shavings<br><br>iodine tablet + drop of water + aluminium and anodized shavings that I scraped off outside of container in closed container + 15 minute = gooey shavings<br><br>iodine tablet + drop of water + aluminium and anodized shavings that I scraped off outside of container in closed container + 15 minute + shaken violently for 1 minute = well mixed gooey shavings<br><br>10 iodine tablets + capsule filled with water and sealed + shaken violently for 1 minute = dissolved green goo<br><br>10 iodine tablets + capsule filled with water and sealed + shaken violently for 1 minute + 15 minutes = dissolved green goo.<br><br>No explosions, flares or fireworks to report.<br><br>Girlfriend was a little concerned, though. Word "obsessed" was used.

If you are inclined, try completely drying the capsule, filling it with Potable Aqua tablets, as full as possible, then place the capsule outside someplace completely safe from fire (under a rock?), wait 3 months. Open and note any corrosion, flames etc.<br><br>Each Potable Aqua tablet is supposed to liberate 4mg of iodine, so a full capsule (say 25 tablets) will only contain 0.1gram of iodine. Magic fires generally are using 50+ grams of elemental iodine and a pile of aluminum shavings so I think it is highly likely that these capsules will not violently react.....but be safe above all things.<br><br>

Who says they have no competition? I just got back from Mountain Equipment Co-op and there are several water purification tablets on the market. <br><br>Katadyn makes a small plastic bottle of 100 tablets which they advertise will purify 100 litres of water (presumably, one tablet per litre); the active ingredient is Sodium Hypochlorite (used as household bleach). They also sell it in liquid form. <br><br>There's also a product called "Pristine" which uses Chlorine Dioxide - there are two bottles and it's a two-stage treatment. This is a liquid treatment, but it should be possible to pour some of the liquid into two small, sealed containers. <br><br>The Coghlan iodide-based water purification tabs did contain a warning on the package that the shelf life once the bottle has been opened was one year; in an unopened bottle, 4 years. So that appears to be the same product as the Potable Aqua. <br><br>Neither the Katadyn nor the Pristine water treatments advised against opening the bottles. The Katadyn tablets came in a plastic bottle, that looks similar to a regular aspirin bottle, so it doesn't look like they require any special packaging, either.