Freezing Camelbak bladder

Morning all,

Who freezes their camelbak once they have washed it out?

Do you empty it before you freeze it?

Are there any side effects?

Basically I wash mine out and use milton tablets every so often but have heard it is a good idea to store it in the freezer between use…

Cheers

I do and have been doing it for years. I just make sure there is no water in the bladder and tube just in case the ice expands and splits the tube. It always comes out fresh and clean.

pros- don’t need to worry about drying it, doesn’t go mouldy or smelly

cons- does seem over time to make the bladder less pliable, not split one yet though so doesn’t seem to be an issue really

Mine lives in the freezer and has never caused any problems. Been doing it for about 18 months now after my old one ended up black inside and far from tasty!

I just bend the hose back through the opening to let air circulate and hang it up with the tea towels.

Only problem I’ve found is water in the mouth nozzle swelling when it freezes – this in turn stretches the nozzle lips and stops it from self-sealing – it ends up dripping.

I now take the nozzle off before freezing.

Gotta be worth doing. No hassle, and mine’s years old, still like new.

Just rinse it out, tube poked inside to be out of the way and in it goes. Easy.

APF

Cheers all, freezer it is!!

Quick rinse, make sure there isn’t too much water in the bladder and the hose is clear, chuck in freezer – been doing it for years, apart from the times I forget and it turns into a horrid black bio-hazard inside my camelbak!

Cheers, Rich

yes take the bite valve off and its fine
i left one in for 6 months [ dont need 2 litres of water in winter so never removed it without any adverse affects so i assume it is safe.
i have done this for about 4 years and both bladders are fine.
I empty it of water quick rinse/flush and freeze so there is always some water in it repeat this a few times when I defrost it

Had mine about 10 years now and its never seen a freezer, probably once a year or so it gets a bit of bleach in it and a brush round. The rest of the year it just sits in a cupboard with whatever fluid is left in it from the last ride. I only use water though so that could help.

We’ve been freezing them for as long as I can remember. I empty out what I can and (usually) hold it up to drain the tube. The bladders outlast the bags they come with so doesn’t seem to shorten the life. Definitely keeps the mank level down.

Only problem I’ve found is water in the mouth nozzle swelling when it freezes – this in turn stretches the nozzle lips and stops it from self-sealing – it ends up dripping.

That’s possible. One of our nozzles seems to drip a bit – that might have been the cause so should probably be a bit more careful on that front.

We’ve been freezing them for as long as I can remember. I empty out what I can and (usually) hold it up to drain the tube. The bladders outlast the bags they come with so doesn’t seem to shorten the life. Definitely keeps the mank level down.

This!

How bad is the water over there?
Mine are 3 & 5 years old & never been cleaned. Only had water in them. Emptied & refilled next time I use it.

How bad is the water over there?

Even with just water you end up with black mould eventually (looking at my camelbak water bottles) but our bladders get regular fills with Torq Energy or a juice/water mix.

I have always put mine in the freezer, without the bite valve, never had any problems.

Same bladder/camelbak bag, they just never die, IME. 🙂

Short on freezer space so ours go in the fridge – that seems to keep them pretty mould-free. Give a bit of a sluice out with fresh water before and after use. Use sterilising fluid every couple of months just to make sure.

Never understood this freezing lark, just clean it, rinse it dry as much as possible, store back in pack. Never had a problem.

I give it a good rinse out bladder and tube then put a ladle inside it to keep it open then hang it up to dry. Every now and again i’ll clean it with a sterilising tablet and its fine.

I normally just leave mine with water in it as thats all I normally use. On big rides I put electrolyte tabs in it and absolutely clean it as soon as I get home. I have learnt my lesson about not cleaning it after that.

I stick a bent wire coat hanger in it and put it on the radiator to dry our if I’m not going to use it for a while but store it in the freezer if the heating isn’t on. If I’m going on a long hot ride I half fill it with water and inflate it then put it in the freezer on its side overnight, icy cold water all day long the next day.

Hmm, is this just because you can’t clean a camelbak bladder very well due to the opening? We use hydrapaks, you can turn their bladders inside out to wash and dry them properly, never had a problem with mank…?