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Solar still

(16 posts) (6 voices)

Started 7 years ago by wlb
Latest reply from amun-ra

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wlb
Member

Does anyone know of a small solar water still on the market? A web search only seems to find DIY instructions, or portable inflatable emergency drinking water units.

I'm looking for something that will just produce enough water for off-grid battery top-up, so the output doesn't need to be very high.

I don't have time to build one. If possible, I'd rather just buy one. The inflatable and/or portable emergency units wouldn't be durable enough.

If I can't find anything I guess I'll just have to make something, but I thought I'd ask first.

Posted Friday 16 Nov 2012 @ 4:54:10 am from IP #
Lance
Key Master

I have one here, a mob in SA makes them, damned if I can remember the name now, will try to find it when I get a chance...

Posted Friday 16 Nov 2012 @ 5:23:25 am from IP #
wlb
Member

That's great. Thanks Lance.
No hurry.

Posted Friday 16 Nov 2012 @ 5:28:55 am from IP #
Lance
Key Master

Ok, it's these guys, the little one I have is no longer available by the look of it. http://www.fcubed.com.au

Posted Friday 16 Nov 2012 @ 5:32:00 am from IP #
johnmath
Member

You could catch the condensation water from a heat pump evaporator, if you run an air conditioner.

Posted Friday 16 Nov 2012 @ 5:33:11 am from IP #
wlb
Member

Thanks Lance. They look serious, and expensive.

No heat pump John. But once I get the new PVs on the roof, it will be a possibility.

Posted Friday 16 Nov 2012 @ 5:44:05 am from IP #
Lance
Key Master

There's plenty of DIY versions out there, a quick google should bring them up, I recall one made from soft drink bottles that produces 1-2 litres a day.

Posted Friday 16 Nov 2012 @ 6:05:23 am from IP #
sun2steam
Member

This one http://solarcooking.wikia.com/wiki/Solar_Steamer creates several kg of steam per day which can be condensed to distilled water.

Actually the system I installed in Kenya was found to be most useful in making a buck from selling distilled water for car batteries.

Posted Friday 16 Nov 2012 @ 1:18:30 pm from IP #
wlb
Member

Now I understand your sun2steam username. Thanks. Still a bit more than what I need.

I guess it will have to be a DIY. Maybe I could persuade junior to knock something together over the holidays. I'd be lucky to need 1 litre a fortnight.

Thanks for all the suggestions.

Posted Monday 19 Nov 2012 @ 11:30:16 am from IP #
sun2steam
Member

For one litre per fortnight one glass tube will do.

Just fill the tube with water. cap it somehow and attach a silicone rubber or PP hose (not PE or PVC as they are not heat resistant, PEX is borderline) of about 1m length to it running downhill. There comes your distilled water.

SAFETY: do not close the tube tight as it might explode!

Posted Monday 19 Nov 2012 @ 10:22:39 pm from IP #
wlb
Member

Thanks for persisting with your replies and my apologies for being so slow on the uptake.

I didn't realise that the tubes were available singly. I've also had a closer look at your link. (I was reading it on my phone before). Are the tubes really that cheap?

Your suggestion sounds perfect. One of my arrays is on a frame fixed to the north wall of the battery shed. I could mount the tube on the frame on one side of the array and its top would be higher than the shed roof. The distillate tube could simply run back down into the shed and into a suitable receptacle.

Do you sell the tubes? If so, how are they shipped without being smashed?

Posted Tuesday 20 Nov 2012 @ 7:31:32 am from IP #
sun2steam
Member

Shipment is indeed the difficulty. There is no problem in shipping a container full of tubes. But a box of tubes hardly ever arrives intact.

While I was dealing in larger scale the only trick I found was to combine the manifold and all tubes for a solar collector onto one heavy pallet. The issue appeared to be manual handling with throwing around the boxes or not fixing boxes during transport.

Tubes survive easily transport in a normal car if they are carefully loaded (=do not touch any hard surface). If you ever come to the Central Coast, drop me an email and I can offer you a single tube at low cost. The silicone rubber hose will actually be more expensive with $10/m.

You should also be able to get a single tube if you talk to a solar hot water company and purchase one spare tube off them (no heat pipe required).

Posted Tuesday 20 Nov 2012 @ 9:24:39 am from IP #
wlb
Member

Thanks. I can't see myself getting up there in the foreseeable future. I'm down in Gippsland. We do have a couple of local solar hot water installers though. I'll make some enquiries.

Thanks again.

Posted Tuesday 20 Nov 2012 @ 9:50:54 am from IP #
Russell Moore
Member

Years ago my dad use to set out plastic containers to collect rain water, and used that in his batteries. Could rainwater be considered distilled?

Posted Tuesday 20 Nov 2012 @ 10:55:26 am from IP #
wlb
Member

I think it's okay if it's clean. No dissolved solids, salts or metal ions - that sort of stuff. We're on tank water that's supplemented by delivered water when necessary, but due to the dust, pollen and organic matter that you find settling out in the tank, you would need to filter it well unless you used a dedicated little collection arrangement that you kept clean. That's why I was thinking about a solar still - if you have to set up something, it may as well be a still.

The biggest common battery plate "poisoner" is chlorine in town water.

Posted Tuesday 20 Nov 2012 @ 11:12:35 am from IP #
amun-ra
Member

you could try your local reece plumbing store they will sell you 1 Apricus tube but it may cost aa little more

Posted Tuesday 20 Nov 2012 @ 11:46:20 am from IP #

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