Easy way to capture steam to create distilled water?

[PhenoMenal]

Ok i need some brainstorming help here please!!

Id like to make my own distilled water rather than buying it (gotta put the environment and my wallet first).

Im thinking all i need to do is boil it using a pot or kettle, and capture the steam, having it recondense into distilled water. But for the life of me i cant think of any good/efficient ways to capture the steam and have it drip down into another container ..... anyone?

 

[Relapse]

h**p://www.aquatechnology.net/portable_distillers.html

Google is your friend

But a cheaper way I was thinking of is like a alcohol distiller fashioned to catch steam. Reminds me of high school science class.

 

[Fidel Castro]

I think you use the same process to make moonshine... Ive never tried it but I dont think using this process for water would be very energy efficient.

But if you must, use a pressure cooker and run a tube out of the top into a cool place for the steam to condense back into liquid

 

[PhenoMenal]

Thanks Relapse, and indeed Google is one of my only friends, but i'd like to do this without buying anything - just using things from around the home. I mean im pretty sure we did this in school when i was about 8, but cant remember how we did it

 

[bounty29]

I think it would really be worth the $0.60 per gallon of distilled water. Making your own with things from around the house would be a pain in the ass, and it would take a long time to get a decent amount. If I'm wrong though, I'd love to see an easy DIY way, I'd probably use it if someone showed how.

 

[PhenoMenal]

Depends how much you want to make though ... I only want to make a litre or two every few months or so, so buying something just for that isnt quite as appealling as putting together something from bits around the house

 

[Fidel Castro]

if you wipe the condensation off your mirror every time you shower for a few months you'll get your 2 liters

 

[Sheriff Bart]

^lol

i use/save the water from the dehumidifier everytime it gets full...

 

[bounty29]

Careful with dehumidifier water, it's not the same as distilled. Distilled water, when bought in a container, has 0-1ppm. My dehumidifier water has 20ppm, and I think I've read that those 20ppm are mainly copper, from the condenser coils. To compare, my tap water has 100ppm.

 

[Sheriff Bart]

eh, at least it aint chlorine and flouride!

 

[Liam]

Tsk tsk, where are all the eco-friendly hipies?!

If you want distilled water, cheap and easy... well during the summer anyhow... take water, place it in the sun with a plastic wrap covering the top. With a smaller container under the plastic wrap, with small weight above it and the plastic wrap.

So as the beads of water form on the plastic wrap, the weight in the center will cause them to streak towards it and drip into your container.

 

[PhenoMenal]

If you want distilled water, cheap and easy... well during the summer anyhow... take water, place it in the sun with a plastic wrap covering the top. With a smaller container under the plastic wrap, with small weight above it and the plastic wrap.

Ahhh, thats one of the ways we did it at primary school
Its winter here at the moment though, but, hmm ...... i might be able to use a microwave .....

 

[bounty29]

Is this thread just a waste of time like the other one? Seriously, if you need a liter or two every couple months, why not just buy a gallon of it? I could understand if you wanted to make your own to save money because you needed a lot, but this would cost you like... $5 a year.

Things to remember about the microwave - water can get superheated and explode depending what you microwave it in, and plastic can melt.

 

[I2KanGrow]

Hey - why not consider a SOLAR STILL?

These plans will yield 1 gal./day in the summer.

Liam has the right idea!