Temperature of Water in Water Bottles on a Hot Day
Summary (see below for links to details)
I wanted to see what type of water bottle would keep water cool during a hot bicycle ride. I used four types of water bottles: clear, white (opaque), wet sock on bottle, insulated. I set the bottle in the sun & took temperature measurements throughout a three hour period. The first experiment started with room temperature water. The second experiment started with cold water. The air temperature during the experiments ranged from 81 to 92 deg. F.
When I started with room temperature water, the bottle with the wet sock was the clear winner. The order of the other bottles, from coldest to warmest were: insulated, white, clear.
When I started with cold water, the insulated bottle was the clear winner. The order of the other bottles, from coldest to warmest were: sock, white, clear.
Note that the hottest temperature I found was in the clear water bottle, 109 deg. F!
Charts & Graphs, room temperature water