Jarez Mifkin

I'm looking for an incar drinking system that places the water 'somewhere' in the car and then has a hose routed to inside the helmet like what's used in F1....anyone have any ideas?

Mike in Chi

Camelback backpack strapped to passenger seat. Reach over for the mouth tube when you need it.

I know a couple guys wwho use this.

Jarez Mifkin

Thanks Mike, that's what I was sort of leaning to.....Do you think it should be covered with Nomex? or would that be overkill?

Mike in Chi

I would think if there's any sort of flame, I'd hope it would leak.

Stuttgart

i've never seen anybody do this before but it might be a good idea to rig up the camel back inside the coolsuit cooler, that way it stays nice and cold and isn't flopping around the cabin.

Juan Lopez

I use to use a Camelback strapped to the roll cage behind my seat. The problem was keeping the "nozzle" accesible to my mouth. I resorted to biting it while racing (which was a pain...).

Another problem is the height of placement, you don't want to have to lift the liquid from way below your mouth.

silver44

I bought a 1/2 gal cooler at the hardware store along with 1/2" clear tubing used for domestic water applications and plactic 1/4" bulkhead fitting (bought from my local Parker-Hannifin dealer). I drilled out a hole in the top of the cooler and threaded the bulkhead fitting into the cooler and attched the tubing. It works like a champ and looks great. I ran the tubing along my roll cage with wire ties. I can put ice in it and water and it really makes a difference.

Tim Pruitt

I have a 1/2 gallon water cooler with a hose attached to a windshield washer pump. Put the hose thru the front of my helmet and put it in my mouth during the race. Put porsche sunroof switch near gear shifter. Whenever I want water just push the switch and water shoots into my mouth.

Mike in Chi

Tim
that is very good to know.

(Do not be surprised if your teammates replace that motor with a more powerful one as a little HWFM prank.)

Robert Henriksen

Do any of you guys w. the hoses wear a balaclava? Did you cut a hole in it for the hose, or something more clever than that?

mistressmotorsports

Whichever system you try, you might want to think about insulating the tube between the cooler/Camelback and your mouth. Maybe rear engine cars aren't so bad, but in my Vette, the inside of the car was well over 100 degrees when racing. So, I drank hot water for a second until the cool stuff got to my mouth. There is a nice insulator that is made just for this that you can get with a Camelback. I used a 70 ounce Camelback right behind the seat attached to the roll cage. Ice plus water or Gatorade or whatever I wanted that day.

Mike

Mark in Baltimore

I use a CamelBak, but I've also seen Longacre's trick looking drink bottle and holder.

Professor Helmüt Tester

Har...$50 bucks for a $7 cooler, $1.50 vinyl hose, $6 Camelback bite valve and a holder. No margin there...

The Professor's enduro team spec:

Bicycle bottle, large - $4
Bicycle bottle "cage" holder - $5
4' vinyl hose - $1.50
Camelback bite valve - $6
Total = $16.50

Drill the appropriate size hole in the top of the plastic bottle, insert the hose so it reaches the bottom. Wrap a zip tie around the inside so it doesn't accidentally pull out. Slide bite valve on the other end.

Hoseclamp the bottle 'cage' to the rollcage, someplace around driver's waist-level. Keeping it low keeps it from siphoning out if the bite valve leaks, and keeps the car's CG low (har again). Just stick the hose under the shoulder-belt, in the middle of your chest. When you want a drink, just reach down, grab the hose, stick it under your helmet chin-bar and SUCK. If you're wearing baklava, you need a mouthhole...or a Greek diner.

When you climb in for your shift, have the bottle filled with half ice and half 'whatever you're drinking' (beer goes flat too fast, we stick to margaritas). It'll stay cool for a tank of fuel. Each driver has his own damn bottle.

Cheep. Durable. Effective. We've been using this stuff for the past 10 years - two 24 Hour wins, six 12 Hour wins, innumberable 2-3-4-...wins. We haven't had anyone die of dehydration yet.

The bigger issue - what about the other end ? Depends...or a "texas cather" ? You decide...

PMS993

No...just wear a dark racing suit. You'll get a warm feeling inside and nobody will notice.

Great discussion on the bottle. The longest I've run is a 90 minute enduro. With a cool suit, I've not been bothered by dehydration as long as I've sufficiently hydrated before the start. When the 5 minute mandatory pit stop happens, the water bottle while waiting is generally fine.

mm86911

I also use a camel back strapped to passenger seat. Slide hose under balaclava and tend to bite it during the race.