Am I going to be drinking boiling water?

[kayell]

Those are just ceramic containers and they won't be cooler than the air temperature around them without putting ice in them.  if the air temp is 95F, the water will be, too.  Only when the water can ooze through the walls and evaporate will the contents be cooler.

The photos are a mix. You have to look for ones that are unglazed both inside and out. Those will cool well, 15 degrees F or more below ambient. Even better in a dry climate.

Another thing that will work is a steel walled container, wrapped in something porous (layers of cloth, batting, blanket, foam...) with the wrapping periodically kept wet and evaporating. On a small scale you'll see this in foam wrapped water bottles. Just avoid double walled containers. Those work well to keep already cold beverages cold, but don't allow for cooling. Give the foam a periodic dip.

 

[TrainChaser]

Yes, that's true. Anything that has a porous surface should stay cooler than a container that doesn't. But if you're looking for JUST terra cotta, and ignore the type of inner and outer surfaces, they are just bottles that hold water.

 

[SoulRaven]

***sigh***   Am I really the oldest person here?  SHEESH!

Does anyone remember these?  They were called 'Canvas Water Bags'.  You filled them with drinkable water, and hung them from something (my father hung them from the radio antenna when traveling in the desert).  A little water continually seeped out and dampened the canvas, and the EVAPORATION cooled the water inside.  https://img1.etsystatic.com/006/0/6364837/il_570xN.381130927_r5so.jpg

The pioneers had a slightly different method, but it was still based on EVAPORATION.

They made a 'box' with a floor and roof, and sometimes two opposing walls, but sometimes they had no walls, and the roof and floor were just separated by four sticks in the corners.  They covered the sides of this 'box' with burlap with the fabric sitting in a bowl/bucket of water on the 'roof' and a rock holding it in the water.  The food was set inside the 'box' on the 'floor'.  It was hung in the sun, the burlap soaked up the water, and  and the evaporation kept the food cool.  

Okay, I finally found one online, although this one is sitting in the water source:  http://www.chelseagreen.com/blogs/project-evaporative-cooler-box-draft/

No, you're not the oldest person here... I remember those as well.

 

[highdesertranger]

I should have added I not only remember the Desert Water Bags but I remember using them. I still have an old one and will be buying a new one. highdesertranger

 

[TrainChaser]

My parents used to own some property in the SoCal desert outside Palmdale. I remember seeing an old 'desert rat' in an old, beatup pickup at the gas station, and he had a pole in both front corners of the truck bed, and he had six or more of them (full) stacked up on each pole.

He's probably still out there.

 

[Tedrow42]

Hate to bring up a dead post but somewhere in the middle east I read 2 large pots one smaller than the other, about 4 to 6 inches space all the way around and fill that space with sand and keep it wet. Stays cool from evaporating.

Could just keep your water bottles in a bucket of wet sand

 

[Every Road Leads Home]

I hate cold water. I don't refrigerate it. It sits on my porch so whatever temp the porch is my water is. I imagine in the summer it's about 80 degrees +/- 10 degrees depending on weather that day, winter it's 65 degrees, same temp I heat my house.

 

[caretaker]

remember the plastic water bottles that get little more then warm will start to leach chemicals, in other words if it taste like chemicals it has chemicals in it, so be careful