My Idea of a Solar Still

[caters]

I had an idea about how to make an almost all metal solar still.

Here is my idea:

Take metal and shape it into a wide and shallow bowl.

Put an insulator on both sides of the metal so that the heat stays inside.

Take some pipe and put it above the bowl
.
Take coiled pipe and put it in a metal container filled with cold stuff like ice for example.

Put a spigot at the very end where you have a quart or gallon bucket to collect the water.

This can be built during a sunny day and as long as the weather ranges from it being mostly overcast with sun peaking through the clouds to mostly sunny the sun does its job of heating the water. The bowl there collects rain and if there is a storm it might overflow a little but that gives water to plants and a little bit more water won’t hurt if you have well draining soil so that is a plus. You also might need more buckets on sunny days after a storm.

 

 

[John Cuthber]

Where do you get the ice?

[Nicholas Kang]

Ice can be produced by any possible methods, like freezing water is one possible. Or from the poles on Earth. Am I right, Mr. Chemistry Expert? Learn to share, Share to learn.

 

Thanks.

 

Regards,

 

Nicholas Kang

[John Cuthber]

Do you not realise that, if you have ice, and want water, and you have sunshine...?

[CaptainPanic]

If you have the means to make ice (either by flying to the Arctic, or by using a refrigerator) you really do not need a solar still. You can just use the electric heating to distill the salt water, or use your airplane/helicopter to fly to the supermarket. Also, as John suggested, a lot of ice in the arctic (and certainly in glaciers) is sweet water, so you just have to melt it to get drinking water.

 

A solar still works through using 2 different temperatures, as correctly described by the OP. The hot side is heated by the sun's rays, and the cold side (where condensation occurs) is generally cooled by the ambient air, not by a complicated cooling machine. That way, you can make fresh water without the need for any outside input (i.e. electricity, ice, or other forms of active cooling).

[Nicholas Kang]

Ok. I got what you mean. Thanks.