Simple And Cheap Method For Clean Water

If you want to have a look at those special videos become a member and join by clicking this link / @thinkingandtinkering You can buy my books, our conductive ink and kits and materials for your own experiments from our webshop at www.workingink.co.uk

[@theyoutubeguy1545]

Just another tool for the common man‘s toolbox. As always, you take a complicated process and break it down giving us a simple, cheap, easy to understand and easy to scale method for self sustainability. Thank you Robert, once again!!!

[@your_utube]

If you continue at this rate you will be well on you r way to KZbin sainthood. This is really powerful and could be a game changer in countries where water is a scarce and needy resource, but were salt or non-potable water is not such a scarcity. Thanks again Robert. The world salutes you. Unbeatable!

[@ThinkingandTinkering]

cheers mate

[@4thllamaofthealpacolypse712]

The first videos I saw of yours were the ones on Low Pressure Desalination about 5yrs ago, so it's interesting to see desalination still being on your mind. Great channel, good to see you're doing well.

[@ThinkingandTinkering]

I worry about all of these problems all of the time mate - it's just there is only me - so it can take a while lol

[@kenykeen]

@@ThinkingandTinkering Obviously, 96.5% of all the Earth’s water is contained within the oceans as salt water, only 3.5% almost clean water. I wonder if we can get it up a notch, cooling solar panels while (pre)heating water for desalinization for example an add on to existing panels using a cheap flexible heat conductor would pave the way to it...

[@breannfoley2115]

Thanks for the research you do. I'll definitely remember this one. Clean water is so important and many take it for granted. Definitely could make a floating solar distillation rig with this idea. Clean water from a pond...nice. thanks 💯

[@feednspeed1835]

Up to a few hundred million people in china may need this type of quick, cheap and replicable technology in the coming weeks.

[@ThinkingandTinkering]

nice one mate - that is exactly the idea

[@johnnorris1983]

We may need it sooner..for our drinking water as our government’s fail us. And the infrastructure that collapses with them will be unsupportable.

[@joohop]

Rob Me And My Younger Brother Gareth Have Been Talking For Years About Using Floating Units On The Shore To Get Us Pure Water Our Latest Idea Looks Like A Big Transparent Mushroom That Soaks Up Sea Water And Then Drips Fresh Water From Around It's Rim Into A Reservoir Ready To Drink , Pure Distilled Water Without Using Any Electrical Energy . Last Year I Bought A Liberty Lifesaver Water Filter Pump It's An Amazing But Expensive Unit Costing About £100 Now I'm A Poor Man And It Took A While To Save Up For It Plus The Ceramic And Carbon Filters Eventually Fail Inside. Lad If You Could Come Up With A Unit That Negates All The Costs Currently Involved IT Would Be Such A Boon For Humankind And Mother Earth ! I'm Going To See Gareth Tomorrow And I'll Let Him Know About Your Work That's Good Work Your Doing There Bless Up

[@skysurferuk]

What keyboard are you using, with every word capitalised? Just wondering... :)

[@PatrickKQ4HBD]

@@skysurferuk It has to be a lot of extra work! 😳🤣

[@ThinkingandTinkering]

cheers mate and thank you for posting

[@joohop]

@@skysurferuk Just My Little Phone Buddy Bless Up

[@joohop]

@@PatrickKQ4HBD YES It Is Extra Effort But That's How We Are Buddy Blessings From Birmingham England UK

[@bethwilton8075]

Wonderful news here! Beautifully simple, something nearly everyone can do to produce such an important basic need. This might be your most valuable video yet. Thank you for sharing your genius to make our world a better place!

[@garysmith9818]

Off to a good start! Of course there are probably too many "vested interests" to see a commercial version soon, but any backyard tinkerer should be able to rig up a working system of her/his own in little to no time. Looking forward to the follow up proof of concept videos.

[@JesusSaves86AB]

The best methods are often the simplest. Big corps would rather sell bottled tap water at a premium.

[@garysmith9818]

@@JesusSaves86AB Eeyup, like Coke selling Dasani water.

[@ThinkingandTinkering]

it is certainly one for those with an inclination to tinker mate

[@frankdelucey2137]

What boggles my mind is why you don't have millions of subscribers.

[@philipvernejules9926]

.......it's because he doesn't have a bikini clad assistant, and that would go down well. A talking bird on the shoulder in various States of ecstatic outbursts would complement the production even more. Round things off with casual strokings of a nice fluffy kitty .

[@frankdelucey2137]

@@philipvernejules9926 I agree. But the knowledge he shares out ways the extra fluff. He is straight to the point most of the time and makes learning fun. As my kids get older I will be doing some projects with them that I learned on here. : )

[@ThinkingandTinkering]

I don't mind mat - the word gets out lol

[@dylanl2258]

It's the algorithm. He isn't great for advertisers because he doesn't get people upset (which makes them vulnerable to various manipulations) and his subject matter is almost anti- consumer mindset.

[@guyward1743]

You have an mind that works in a remarkable and unique way. I’m learning so much out of these videos. Although some of it goes over my head. Great video.

[@ThinkingandTinkering]

cheers mate

[@benthere8051]

I like it. The carbon felt is only loosely coupled thermally to the source and is free to achieve a much higher temperature than the main body of water to be distilled. That higher temperature translates into a much higher rate of evaporation. I have never seen that done before. The typical solar still just exposes the entire body of water to be processed and you don't get the benefit of the carbon felt's higher temperature and enhanced surface area. It is apparent that the felt's surface area is going to be many times that of just a tray of water, and the evaporation rate will be far better as well. I really like it. A condensation apparatus could be assisted by a piece of fabric as well. If the vapor was to pass through a condenser that was wrapped with a white fabric that was kept wet with raw water, the evaporation would cool the condenser below ambient. That would enhance the recovery rate. That would result in a very productive still that needs no power other than that provided by the sun.

[@petermiddleton6902]

Thats a really great idea! :) (y)

[@ThinkingandTinkering]

very nice share mate - cheers

[@dorcasowens1210]

Thank you Robert for all you share. Brilliant. Finding carbon felt here in Texas has not been easy. This water project is practical. Im saving this video on my off grid how to videos.

[@wendytweedie2327]

Self-sufficiency is vital now more than ever. Excellent stuff! Love your videos, your inquisitiveness and your passion.

[@fritanke2318]

Guess comparing with and without the carbon felt is left as an exercise. But an intriguing consept. And so easy to put into a classroom. Clear Plastic bag. Tube in the midle bending over making a reservoir at the top of the bag = science project.

[@ThinkingandTinkering]

I already tried it mate - more goes on behind a video than is shown in a video - but yes it would be a good exercise

[@MiniLuv-1984]

Brilliant ideas as usual Robert. I've thought of adding carbon dust to the water to increase its heat absorption, but this approach is brilliant - no tampering with the water!

[@mamupelu565]

I think if the water has oil it'll help separate and not boiling it along

[@ThinkingandTinkering]

I was thinking of large lakes, pools, ponds - that kind of thing - here you just chuck the float on top and you are ready to go

[@williamwitter3783]

What a wonderful process. This has an application as a solar survival still for the offshore sailing enthusiast.

[@karlmyers6518]

Finally the day has arrived 🙌 . Looking forward to getting the time to catch up on all this extra content. Thanks again mate

[@ThinkingandTinkering]

awesome mate lol

[@ylluminate]

What a brilliant and dead simple observation and idea. This is fantastic Rob and sure would make for a tremendous setup for anyone with a body of water they'd like to leverage for clean water production. Of course this could be used for storage barrel/tank purification as well.

[@ThinkingandTinkering]

yes mate I think it could

[@BrianSmith-li3zs]

You are unlimited. Respect and gratitude

[@ThinkingandTinkering]

cheers mate

[@mitchelldenny6292]

That is awesome information. I live on my sailboat and have been thinking about getting a water maker. It would be nice if a person could make a system that could make 5 to 10 gallons a day that wouldn't take up a lot of space. I might have to do a study and see.

[@scottthomas6202]

I wonder if you could use that as a solar swamp cooler in a hot , dry environment? It reminds me of a science demo I saw in elementary school. The teacher dug a fairly large hole , put a cup in the bottom, a sheet of plastic over the hole with a large marble in the center, making a cone shape over the cup. The next day , the cup was maybe a third full. The foam arrangement set up is way more efficient...but it reminded me of the demo I saw back in the early '70s. The foam distillation setup would make a great sunny window project for a science class.

[@ThinkingandTinkering]

it is just an upgrade of exactly that demo mate

[@frederickwood9116]

That’s a fun like little experiment. Thanks. What might a simple condenser look like? Some random brainstorming. -It needs to be closed all around so as not to loose the evaporated moisture. -It needs a slope to concentrate the condensation for collection. -It needs a collection container must to be low down in the physical apparatus as the condensation needs to fall into it. A bag of some sort might be good for a collection vessel as it can sit in the source medium and not generate any lift when empty. -Condensing surfaces wants to be as cool as possible to encourage condensing. Possibly a metal surface with fins or ridges on both sides and part of the material actually dropping in the source medium to keep it cool. Fun fun fun.

[@ThinkingandTinkering]

good ideas mate - cheers

[@kenykeen]

Actually, for a floating device, two concentric sheets of transparent material filled with the water underneath the device and recirculated by a heat pump would do the trick (condensing), I suppose; some percentage from the total surface would be lost for pumping the water.

[@guysomething]

This reminded me of an old humidifier my grandmother had when I was growing up, it used fabric on a roller that spun in and out of a water tank. Then a fan blew through the fabric while it was wet. Also wondering how well just hanging sheets vertically into it would work.

[@ThinkingandTinkering]

now that is interesting - gives me an idea - cheers mate

[@williambianchi2006]

This was brilliant. Great thinking. I was considering using a solar oven to boil the water, then run the steam through a condenser coil to a catch container outside the solar oven. This is another method that is both cheap and workable.

[@harrybrown4815]

remember back in junior school drawing chalk rings around puddles every hour during a bright spring day after it had rained the night before. To my mind this is much the same experiment but scales measuring the reduction rather than a chalk line on the floor and gives a clear indication that some thing has happened. more so in one case than the other. Using a wicking layer to permeate a medium that promotes evaporation that brilliant especially as the materials used are relatively cheap and readily available.

[@ThinkingandTinkering]

cheers mate

[@JohnTarbox]

As a control, it would be interesting to see a third dish with just water and carbon felt. I suspect it would outperform water alone.

[@fallknight5405]

Or one with black oasis foam

[@jwioo]

many solar stills have a black liner to absorb the heat, so maybe just a black sheet, the same size as the carbon sheet in the control, would be more representative.

[@jasonf8910]

at 3:30 it looks like the water level in both bowls is the same, I'd expect the one with the block to be higher due to displacement, some evidence that they had the same starting volume would also be helpful.

[@GRBtutorials]

Yes, the comparison wasn’t fair, because water doesn’t absorb most of sunlight, which is visible light. In fact, it should actually perform equally well with just the carbon felt, as total absorbed heat is what matters.

[@Seishin_Tengu]

@@jasonf8910 yes, he stated that both started with 2 liters of water

[@smob0]

I wonder if putting some heat pipe into the oasis foam and adding in some external heat would also work/boost the system effectively. Might be a nice use of industrial waste heat, or be able to use the system when the sun isn't shining.

[@ThinkingandTinkering]

it would for sure mate - nice one - cheers

[@codedesigns9284]

Great video! Back in the day, I did a similar experiment with used black tire tube (presumably from a tractor, or similar) to simulate being on a ocean escape pod. By setting the glass beaker on the rubber during the heat of the day the theory was that it would excellorate the evaporation by comparison with a control, as you did. Being that it was many years ago, the results of this experiment were lost; however, from what I remember, the radiant heat on the rubber surface area was almost enough to burn my arm, and evaporate all water within only a few hours. Adding your method to my method may increase the efficiency even further (theoretically) considering heat from both top and bottom. Loved this experiment Robert! 😁

[@breannestahlman5953]

Very interesting! Thank You at around the end to specigy what and where to find carbon flet, as more often than not, I have some difficulties to find products you're showinf around. Not the same country, not the same languages & brands & regulations . . ., make it somewhat difficult to grasp what is the product but if you show the composition during a short laps of time it'll greatly help to get a hand on it.

[@lubbock2704]

Imagine acres and acres of this sprawled out in a near-sea desert, pumping out unimaginable amounts of drinking water that would otherwise need to be imported to the area at a high relative cost.

[@rodciferri9626]

One the size of a sheet of plywood would make around 4 gallons in an average day!

[@ThinkingandTinkering]

it would be great for sure

[@daddydog6963]

​@@ThinkingandTinkering Great your channel excellent Content. Take a look at Solar stills, a lot of research has been done look for example: PRODUCTIVITY ENHANCEMENT OF STEPPED SOLAR STILL - PERFORMANCE ANALYSIS byV. VELMURUGAN, S. SENTHIL KUMARAN, V. NIRANJAN PRABHU, and K. SRITHAR Orig i nal sci en tific pa per UDC: 663.551.2:697.329:536.24 BIBLID: 0354-9836, 12 (2008), 3, 153-163 DOI: 10.2298/TSCI0803153V

[@fidelcatsro6948]

when all was needed.was a floating green house of water evaporating houses above the sea!

[@Draakdarkmaster6]

hell, just install it in california, they apparently have no water... despite being a seaside state lol

[@jasonwitt8619]

The panel that you said to sit over the two and collect the steam drip to filter the water, gave me an idea. If the panel was a piece of copper it would remove bacteria. Have it drip down through some more carbon felt to filter it out even more. I bet that would be some pure drinking water and would be better even than deionized water for projects even. At the same time one bowl could be a negative and the other a positive, the steam would be the electrolyte, I bet that would work. It just sounds right. Let the felt that is in the return hang off of the copper drip panel and touch the water that has been filtered, this way we get a full contact. Add a piro lens on the outside pointing at the unfiltered bowl somewhere at that would increase the steam 10 fold. Awesome stuff Robert, you never let me down at the amount of science mixed with engineering. Love it mate

[@jasonwitt8619]

Your video is the only video I look forward to watching each day, You get me thinking and awake every time. You are my, wake up video 100%.

[@ThinkingandTinkering]

i wouldn't worry too much abou bacteria mate - it's in the sun for hours at a time the UV is going to kill just about everything

[@ThinkingandTinkering]

lol - cheers mate

[@jasonwitt8619]

@@ThinkingandTinkering WOW, and you know what, I knew that too, LOL - sometimes I just walk right past the obvious, cheers mate

[@Julioargent]

Wonderful simple solution! I'm maybe a little lazy to research but I wonder how it's the vapor collected later. Grettings from far away South America dear Robert!

[@user-ms7um1ge5j]

Coarse crumbled charcoal spread on the foam would provide more evaporative area, is cheap and available everywhere. Greetings from Southern Maryland, USA

[@markhodgson2348]

Interesting idea for a focus point building a plastic enclosure with two ports rob I'm sure you can work the rest out

[@ThinkingandTinkering]

for sure - cheers mate

[@chrisgriffiths2533]

Very Impressive. Robert I assume No Water Contamination from those Materials. Thanks again Robert, I did Enjoy.

[@johnmcfadden9336]

Chris Griffiths the ac felt would absorb some of the possible contamination

[@ThinkingandTinkering]

Glad you enjoyed it -nd no - no contamination

[@wibblywobblyidiotvision]

No, because the clean water would be recovered by condensation of the water vapour generated by the evaporation of the dirty / salt water source. There might be some volatiles released by the green foam, I guess, as it's a petrochemical source, but it's not actually necessary for the process anyway - all that's needed is something to wick the water away from the main body and allow it to heat faster in the carbon foam, you could probably do this with a pile of tee shirts :)

[@bobkelley8291]

I found this interesting as in 1985 I was visiting a remote mangrove island where the locals got their water from digging a hole and scooping the water from the muddy soil which was close to a spring. And then carrying the containers two miles back home during the dry season. So I showed them how to built a still hanging a black cotton towel inside of a glass aquarium with a glass slanted cover which had a gutter attached to a tube which went to a one gallon container. So the family I was visiting could have fresh drinking water. It worked rather well as the salt water being distilled was very close. after a few days they were laughing at me and what I had made. It was not long before the aquarium was cracked and leaking and they were using the black towel for something else. They thought it was all a joke. And I thought they were a waist of my time. I believe they just wanted money from me to use for their bad habits. Which reminded me of that old saying "you can lead a horse to water but...

[@philipvernejules9926]

........that wasn't the type of still they had in mind . reference to mangroves means I know where this might likely be .

[@frederickwood9116]

You hit on an interesting topic. If you are Star Trek fan you will know about the rules of engaging other civilisations/cultures with different technology. They may not be ready on other levels for a change in technology. We humans seem to often be in different “places” of development. It’s a tricky space though. It’s easy to put it into a context of one tech being better than another but there are often other factors in the culture that don’t get accounted for. The Romans had historical writers who noted how the modernisation and improvement of Britain was the death of many beautiful things.

[@ThinkingandTinkering]

that is a shame mate

[@ronaldd2154]

"...... But have to knock them out with anesthetic and feed them via drip tube" 🤣

[@grahamh4960]

Rob NEVER disappoints, Thanks again... ✔✔✔

[@ThinkingandTinkering]

cheers mate

[@jonnyswalk4674]

Great 👍 stuff as always Robert - Thanks 😊 👍 - Jonathan from South Wales 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿

[@ThinkingandTinkering]

cheers mate

[@justinw1765]

I'm going to be using similar principles to make a system to heat my home in the cooler months. I'll be taking a large fish tank, and paint the outside of it with some sort of ultra black material (probably a blend of my carbonized/graphitized crystalline nanocellulose with glass water). Then I'm going to insulate it with some glass panes and pull a semi vacuum between the the fish tank and glass panes. Then there will be a glass pane semi vacuum insulated top (obviously all clear). Then there will be solar reflectors on the sides. If it doesn't get hot enough that way, I'll make some of the colloidal copper to put in there as well. This will be on top of sun room roof which is much flatter than the rest of the house (it will be placed on some heavy duty EVA exercise foam puzzles bonded together to protect the roof and make sure there is no sliding--also helps to insulated the bottom as I don't think I would be doing a double pane on the bottom). That will be gravity fed down (via insulated tubing) into a long and tall Al container in the house. There will be a valve on the bottom of that, connected to pump, which will pump the water back up into the tank when the heat as dissipated enough. Hopefully the copper nanoparticles don't react with the aluminum if I have to use it. I don't expect it fully heat the house completely by itself, but it should allow me to use the main heater less. (electrical, plus a woodstove)

[@ancapftw9113]

I have seen someone that heated their water with black painted heat pipes that they put it the sun. Could also stored the heat in the form of hot water for use at night.

[@sailingoctopus1]

Interesting idea. I suggest you experiment on a smaller scale with suitable controls, before going ahead on a larger scale. You might discover ways of improving the performance.

[@ThinkingandTinkering]

that is an interesting idea mate - thanks for sharing

[@justinw1765]

@@ancapftw9113 Yeah, I've seen those as well. I'm hoping my system will be more efficient since I'm using more insulation, more black materials, Solar reflectors, and larger volume of water.

[@justinw1765]

@@sailingoctopus1 Makes sense Chris. Cheers

[@RuelHernandez]

Such a great idea, I'm excited to build. Thanks for sharing.

[@ThinkingandTinkering]

You are so welcome!

[@wayne00k]

If I remember, the oasis material is rather stiff. There are more traditional sponges that can be used as replacement and those can be dunked and squeezed well enough in clear water to clean them to maintain wicking efficiency. Glass, plastic sheeting or even a poncho can be used suspended over nearly any ground for collection. This, in nature alone is particularly efficient in the few short hours after dawn, until the wicking action of the surrounding ground becomes more effective than evaporative action. But by 8 am it is generally time to be moving on already.

[@malakilab]

The fact it floats is a magnificent property of your setup. Could even be focus on the black tarp using mirrors, improving even more the efficiency of the surface area. Could also add a Stirling engine to pump water into the condenser and/or force water vapour into the condenser, even pump more water inside the tank. Would make a very efficient all solar/thermal solution to get clean water from any source.

[@Barskor1]

KISS it

[@ThinkingandTinkering]

for sure mate - but most of all I like the thinking that is going on in your brain

[@dremaboy777]

Just fantastic. i hope you get to test it in a nice sunny hot day soon. 600ml+

[@philipvernejules9926]

......no, you don't hope. Be careful what you wish for . More new records we don't need .

[@ThinkingandTinkering]

Fingers crossed!

[@paulcrouchley6289]

I will wait for our summer in Western Australia and then try it on a 40+ degree day.

[@pachamama8586]

Amazingly simple and effective. Thank you very much and all the best!

[@ThinkingandTinkering]

Glad you liked it!

[@Jimbaloidatron]

For dealing with bacteria, viruses, protozoa and worms, but of course not salty water, I've read about just putting the water in old PET drinks bottles and just leaving it out in strong sunlight (no evaporation loss from a bottle with the lid on!)

[@MrTomtom1952]

Great idea john. May I be so bold to suggestion a single action but duel purpose up grade for the inevitable mark II version. An atomising spray to cool the Plexiglass (condensing plate ) Out side pointing straight at the sun. The round shape of the spray will optically create a Lensing effect there-by harvesting light from a larger foot print.

[@ThinkingandTinkering]

good idea mate - cheers

[@royharkins7066]

And with a few tv fresnels 25% better again 🌈

[@ThinkingandTinkering]

building one now mate

[@juicedmaster]

I'm sure adding the lense sheets from the inside of the LCD display would increase its efficiency further...

[@ThinkingandTinkering]

see the next video mate

[@juicedmaster]

@@ThinkingandTinkering looking forward to it! Thanks for taking the time to make and share!

[@elisabethloxley6124]

Great idea, endless applications. Many thanks Robert. Always interesting

[@ThinkingandTinkering]

Glad you enjoyed it

[@hollisday6308]

Exciting indeed. Pretty useful concept.

[@herbetone]

Very interesting, thanks Robert.

[@miken7629]

I think you have something here. I had done some experiments with black painted cans as an emergency solar still for a life raft, and it wasn't efficient. The surface area on top being evaporated was a key factor, and I would need a large surface (in several square feet) to get a glass of water. I like your foam idea, because it can float alongside a raft. There is a need for this technology.

[@ThinkingandTinkering]

absolutely mate - so many people are thinking of this as a fixed solution - when it would really work well if you just chucked it on a body of contaminated water

[@lnwolf41]

I agree that there will be a big difference with open air evaporation. I would rather see what you get when both are 99% sealed, with you collecting the condensed clean water, and see if there is just as much of a difference. I understand it is a proof of concept, but would like to see just how much more efficient the closed system is, since this is what you are really looking at.

[@ThinkingandTinkering]

go for it mate

[@danielade9694]

Really cool research in the warm sense. that you come up with this easy way to do this for making safe drinking water. Are you going to do now is do the condensation system in some way that makes it as efficient as the evaporation setup

[@Barskor1]

Ten F degrees cooler in the shade so just have the hot wet air go to a cool box in the shade.

[@ThinkingandTinkering]

yep

[@ThinkingandTinkering]

nice one mate

[@edwinlipton]

Excellent young man!

[@ThinkingandTinkering]

cheers mate

[@hiro91]

Brilliant!

[@ThinkingandTinkering]

cheers mate

[@GRBtutorials]

Actually, the reason for the better performance is the black carbon felt, which absorbs visible light, and water doesn’t. That’s because in order to evaporate water, you must input enough energy to break the bonds (latent heat of vaporization), and that is constant, it only depends on the liquid. The only way to increase the rate of evaporation is to increase the power absorbed, and to do that you can either use materials that absorb more sunlight (as you did with the carbon felt) or increase the surface area *exposed* to sunlight. The difference is very significant because the majority of sunlight is visible light (which is why it’s visible, as we evolved to see the most abundant source of light). I suspect you’d get similar results using just the carbon felt (or maybe slightly worse if the felt isn’t completely opaque, I’d recommend using other kind of black material in that case).

[@Barskor1]

Yes but rather than paying for three inches thick of carbon felt you get to do it cheap using the oasis foam ok?

[@ThinkingandTinkering]

Mate - I said that in the video - but thanks for the summary

[@GRBtutorials]

Barskor1 No, because you don’t need 3-inch thick felt, just something that absorbs visible light and transmits the heat to the water.

[@GRBtutorials]

Robert Murray-Smith Wait, you did? I didn’t see that. What I’m saying is that the Oasis bricks aren’t really necessary, as it’s the dark color of the carbon felt that actually improves the performance

[@philipvernejules9926]

........at 262mls versus 399 mls , you meant to say 55% better performance ... ..we all know that boiling point temperature increases with pressure increase. Intuitively it should also rise with increased gravity. This is an experiment that wasn't conducted during the moon landings or was it? .We're inclined to think that doubling of gravitational force should double the energy required to achieve boiling point but that doesn't quite mean an increase from 100°c to 200°c .

[@ThinkingandTinkering]

ok - cheers

[@artytomparis]

Thanks Robert. Very interesting.

[@pressurechangerecord]

I think I will give a go to make my own drinking water! Thanks

[@ThinkingandTinkering]

awesome mate - go for it

[@paulanthony9766]

Drinking distilled water is not necessarily a good idea as it doesn’t contain any minerals. It still contains the volatile organic compounds because they evaporate earlier than water. The jury is still out on the health benefits and drawbacks. We probably get enough minerals in our diet to compensate for those missing in distilled water but it’s worth reading up on.

[@jagardina]

Solar stills are a great idea.

[@ThinkingandTinkering]

Yes they are!

[@patrickforbes6745]

What if you put the felt on the bottom of the one with no oasis? Your experiment had it on red brick. Try felt in the water and then felt below the dish. Also, as the outside air cools in the evening the one with the most residual heat should give off the most moisture. Don’t cut it shot just because it is time to go home. Thanks for the thinking exercise.

[@johndoe-bq1xt]

That's a great lesson to learn, thank you !

[@mechanical1955]

I love this concept , What about an inflatable still , it could be rolled up and a plastic screen could work just as well It would def float no probs

[@jeffreycoulter4095]

Interesting process. I think I'll try it out

[@ThinkingandTinkering]

Go for it!

[@avalonkingdom9098]

Cheers Mate! The test is a bit unfair, need to paint the bottom of the glass black, because we want to know if the sponge makes any difference?

[@strongforce8466]

very cool, be nice to see in a full zero cloud sunny, if there is such a thing in UK aha, also making a tutorial to get the water from evaporation could be nice too !

[@ThinkingandTinkering]

for sure mate

[@InterdimensionalWiz]

also great for solar fridge! solar air con.

[@edwardhughes352]

Really cool experiment. I would be interested to see it with the control in a black container or maybe resting on a black surface. I might try it my self with the water collection as well.

[@edwardhughes352]

I didnt read the comments to see the point has already been made.

[@ThinkingandTinkering]

give it a go mate

[@ThinkingandTinkering]

don't worry about it - folks often don't lol

[@akentomanobaton]

Thank You for sharing this.

[@3dmaker699]

SEA PODS FOR GROWING FOOD FOR A HUNGREY WORLD ! Robert does it again! You could use this method on seawater and have large floating pods along the coastline of Africa and grow tons of food.

[@ThinkingandTinkering]

now that is a good idea mate

[@jathmarjames855]

You do some very interesting things. Keep up the great work!

[@ThinkingandTinkering]

cheers mate

[@pinballrobbie]

I think the breeze would have some effect especially over the Carbon felt. Great video as usual.

[@ThinkingandTinkering]

I think so too! and cheers mate

[@cherilynnfisher5658]

H2O. . .MG! (lol)This is genius! Thank you Robert!

[@andrewharbit7449]

I'm thinking a larger version, perhaps 6x3ft with a mineral cartridge for the distilled water to pick up some electrolytes, drinking distilled water long term can syphon minerals and salts from the body. Granted the stilled water is clean its just too clean. I have access to a small lake on my property and have been pondering various methods for grid disconnect, so clean water is on the list.

[@Charlie8food]

I wonder when designing a collection system for the purified water that one could cover the insides with a hydrophobic paint so that the water only condenses where you want it to condense.

[@sailingoctopus1]

That might work using sodium silicate (waterglass). Maybe you could paint a pattern on your condensing plate to accentuate the formation of rivulets and guide them into your collector. It would be interesting to try.

[@ThinkingandTinkering]

good idea mate

[@philipvernejules9926]

.....polystyrene foam panels..moisture doesn't condense onto polystyrene

[@toml.8210]

It makes no matter if the foam is non-biodegradeable, because you would definitely want to keep it with you! I'm presuming you'd be in a survival situation, to be using this method. You'll keep the foam at least until you get a dependable source of clean water. And at that time you'll probably be back in a city, where you can deal with the foam properly.

[@johnmcfadden9336]

Take my thumbs up as times a million 😀

[@ThinkingandTinkering]

lol - cheers mate

[@MrAnderson4509]

well Robert, I missed this, awesome👍

[@pulesjet]

Now contain both set ups within say a Dry Cleaners plastic bag and collect the water.

[@ThinkingandTinkering]

yep

[@kolinevans9127]

Cool experiment, would this be a case where a lens would add greatly to efficiency due to the thermal absorption and the ‘Peltier effect’?

[@ThinkingandTinkering]

should do mate

[@LAStars-sratS]

In cold Canada, a fair few months where this isn’t going to be so good. I would use a DEHUMIDIFIER and get a litre of water per hour so lots for a family of 4 in a day, about 5+ gal.

[@HiekerMJ]

Great idea. Does the Oasis foam need to back the black foam layer completely? I'm thinking of a unit (cell) with a central 'column' of Oasis foam to supply dirty-water, and the black layer held on a frame around the edges that also exposes the reverse side of the 'hot' layer - perhaps creating a convection of air through the foam itself to draw saturated air away from the surface.

[@ThinkingandTinkering]

I don't know mate - well worth a try - if you do it - can you share?

[@paulsomerville801]

Brilliant idea

[@illumencouk]

This simple demonstration could answer a interesting question, what was the real purpose of the Great Pyramid in Egypt? Lacking a Pharaohs body makes the tomb narrative hard to accept and therefore many speculate it was a form of ancient technology. Probably the greatest threat to life after a biblical flood is the lack of drinking water. The removal of particulates such as salt, bacteria, etc was achieved in a number of different ways - hydrophilic materials, charged water, bond and surface tension properties are just a few.

[@blandman3471]

I wonder if the green foam had fins cut in it what the rate of evaporation would be ? Or if the foam block was made of thin slices put in an irregular stack.

[@B2Hives]

What is the total above water surface area of the felt dish, compared to the water dish and does that affect the results? Enclosing it under glass or plastic increases the heat evaporation and collects the evaporated water. Good old survival collectors, even work in the deserts.

[@Barskor1]

Add a sheet of carbon felt to your good old survival collector.

[@ThinkingandTinkering]

cool

[@mrbunchofcells]

how about coloring the water black obviously the color won't evaporate so it's renewable or use nano particles

[@johnransom1146]

Add some reflecting fins like a solar oven

[@barrydesmond9288]

How about painting the out side of the glass bowl to see if that worked better than the foam

[@paulanthony9766]

If you do more experiments on this as people have asked, I wonder whether it’s possible to carve the bottom of the oasis so that not all of it is in the water. So maybe it has four legs. If the wicking is still as efficient but there is less heat conduction between the warm evaporating surface and cool body of water below, it may be more efficient.

[@ThinkingandTinkering]

or you could mate

[@samsmythe2207]

What contamination from the foam and the carbon felt process but putting into the water? That floral foam breaks down and into tiny partials.

[@dr.froghopper6711]

Right on! It’s 105*F outside right now. I have an empty aquarium. Hmmmmm

[@ThinkingandTinkering]

well now - I can think of a use for that aquarium lol

[@sadaavedan]

I believe the alternative you presented a while ago that did not use oasis foam is better.

[@ThinkingandTinkering]

yeah possibly lol

[@goldcountryruss7035]

Unless you are starting with pure (distilled?) water there will eventually be a lot of fouling as the dissolved solids are left behind. How would you clean the foam & the felt? OOPS, I should have waited until the end when you addressed the problem. Color me red faced!

[@ThinkingandTinkering]

lol

[@urnenfeld]

I did the same experiment some years ago. Indoor, 2 glasses of water, one of them with a rope inside. The evaporation difference was about 40-50%. Currently I am working in another one bigger scale. You mention you are chemist, so would this method make grey water(soapy) usable for watering the graden? Aren't any components in the soap or others going to evaporate together with the water?

[@ThinkingandTinkering]

awesome mate and no it wouldn't evaporate as well

[@rjds1800]

Would layering up the carbon felt increase the rate of evaporation?

[@richbuilds_com]

I have a fair bit of model making experience. The dust from that oasis foam is highly cariogenic and generally avoided at all costs. I wouldn't want it anywhere near my drinking water. I've not heard of the non-petro version. Perhaps that would be safer?

[@nilsschenkel7149]

I remember some scientists proposed large scale offshore evaporation of sea water as an option for mitigating global warming... I wonder if it would work for that, or maybe even open a possibility for weather manipulation.

[@ThinkingandTinkering]

dunno mate - but interesting

[@wibblywobblyidiotvision]

You could improve performance enormously by preheating the water, running it through black PE pipe exposed to the sun, circulation assured by convection.

[@ThinkingandTinkering]

for sure

[@raysymonds7147]

A 3rd way would have been a good thing ! That would have to put a piece of black carbon on the bottom which would heat all the water which would continue to evaporate during moments of cloudiness !