Making drinking water from contaminated water

[Common Tator]

I was thinking about the Air Force Survival School that I attended some 30 years ago, and I remembered the solar still that they taught us to make.

I just did a search and found commercially made solar stills available.

The principle is that you use the heat of the sun to evaporate contaminated water, and capture the evaporated water which is suitable to drink.

There are commercially made solar stills available, but you can make one yourself for less money.

Here is a link to an article with great instructions from the Mother Earth News. http://www.motherearthnews.com/Renew...lar-Still.aspx

[Common Tator]

This article tells you how to make a different type of solar still from a strong plastic sheet, 6 feet by 6 feet, a cup or a container, and 6 feet of plastic tubing. This is much like the one they taught us to make in survival school.

http://www.ehow.com/how_12584_make-solar-still.html

What is especially great about this one is that you don't need water to make drinking water from. You can use the solar still to get drinking water from moist ground.

[Common Tator]

This illustration shows how to make a solar still from the sheet of plastic, cup and plastic tubing (which you can pack in your car or BOB if you live in the desert).


This kind of solar still will also capture rain water on the top surface. The solar still will make one half to one liter of water per day, so you may want to have supplies enough to make several.

[NCLee]

Good info. Thanks for posting.

Also have a question. If one of these (pictured above) is set up where the water table is high, along side a stream for example, wouldn't it yield much more safe drinking water?

The reason why I'm asking is that I have an area in my backyard where the water table is about 18" below the surface of the soil. If I dig down to the water, set a clean weighted can in the water (only an inch or so depth of the water), would this be a highly productive way to obtain safe drinking water?

Lee

When it comes to solar stills my advice is to actually build one. Do it under the most perfect conditions you can manage and build one. Then measure the actual drinkable output you achieve in say, one full day. Then compare that to your minimal bodily water needs for the weather conditions and physical output you had to experience in getting it done.

Then and only then will you have a good grasp of whether you can rely on one of these things.

Under the best conditions you were able to manage.

.....Alan.

[Common Tator]

Originally Posted by NCLee

Good info. Thanks for posting.

Also have a question. If one of these (pictured above) is set up where the water table is high, along side a stream for example, wouldn't it yield much more safe drinking water?

The reason why I'm asking is that I have an area in my backyard where the water table is about 18" below the surface of the soil. If I dig down to the water, set a clean weighted can in the water (only an inch or so depth of the water), would this be a highly productive way to obtain safe drinking water?

Lee

Build one now and try it our to see how much water it will produce. Yes. it should be placed where the water table is close to the surface.

Here is a commercially made one that allows you to take brakish water. http://www.watercone.com/product.html

And here is one that appears to be for creating drinking water if you are boating. Must be for an emergency kit? http://www.landfallnavigation.com/memss.html

[Cyngbaeld]

What Alan said. Try it at home before even considering relying on it in an emergency.

[insocal]

Originally Posted by Common Tator

This article tells you how to make a different type of solar still from a strong plastic sheet, 6 feet by 6 feet, a cup or a container, and 6 feet of plastic tubing. This is much like the one they taught us to make in survival school.

http://www.ehow.com/how_12584_make-solar-still.html

What is especially great about this one is that you don't need water to make drinking water from. You can use the solar still to get drinking water from moist ground.

You can also distill drinkable water from vegetation.

[WolfWalksSoftly]

Also keep in mind, for the most dry soil you need to add vegetation or even Urine to produce any reasonable results.

[Txsteader]

Good and valuable knowledge. Thanks for sharing.

[Ernie]

Originally Posted by A.T. Hagan

When it comes to solar stills my advice is to actually build one. Do it under the most perfect conditions you can manage and build one. Then measure the actual drinkable output you achieve in say, one full day. Then compare that to your minimal bodily water needs for the weather conditions and physical output you had to experience in getting it done.

Then and only then will you have a good grasp of whether you can rely on one of these things.

Under the best conditions you were able to manage.

.....Alan.

Heh. I think when you have conducted Alan's experiment that you will decide that a solar still is about the least effective method of purifying water and you'll sweat more than you take in from this process.

Keep in mind that 99.9% of everything taught in Air Force survival school is meant as a last resort to someone who just landed in hostile terrain behind enemy lines with nothing but a flightsuit and a parachute shroud. For the rest of us, there's almost always a better way.

[texican]

What Alan said...

Better yet, take this advice..... avoid any situation that might require you to try and get drinking water from a solar still. Get's that bad, you're in really bigtime trouble.

[Common Tator]

I suggested this for if someone is in big time trouble. There are much better methods if you have prepared properly. If you do find yourself without water, this could save your life.

[Blu3duk]

the picture in post #3 is a great example of a way to obtain about a quart of water per day in or under optimal conditions but it works and is great to have as knowledge to be able to set one up in a pinch. remember to save your urine and dump under it to evaporate the salts out too.

William
Idaho

[rabbitgal]

After losing power for two days AND having the well pump burn out this month...

What's the easiest way to get clean water assuming you have relatively unpolluted surface water available? Filter it through some fine cloth/sand to get the chunks out and boil the dickens out of it?

[wyld thang]

WELL! I saw Bear Grylls (supposedly, they blurred out his butt) show how to give oneself a enema with water unfit to drink. If you stick it in your colon your body sucks the good moisture out and the bad goo comes back out....he said a family was adrift on the ocean for like 40 days and survived giving themselves sea water enemas(mum was a nurse).

there ya go.

20 years ago in outdoor school we made a water filter with sandy dirt, moss, duff and charcoal etc and filtered muddy river water thru and drank it. Back in the days when people still drank from "reasonably/probably okay enough" sources of water. I've never gotten giardia from drinking stuff in the woods(choosing well of course). your mileage may vary.