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Post by zionnow on Feb 11, 2013 11:35:27 GMT -5
Creating alternative water sources is hugely important to a self-reliant family or community. Ran across an article once about how soldiers are trained how to build a simple solar water still if ever lost in the desert. They dig a 3 or 4 foot radius hole and report you could get shy of a quart of water a day - enough to survive in a desert. The water evaporates out of the ground. Interested in alternative water sources, I wondered, "What if I built one 75 feet long?" I calculated I'd get about 3.5 quarts a day. So, I built it: Ran raingutter down the middle sloping toward one end. Then, covered it in plastic with rocks as weights down the middle: Unfortunately, it never occurred to me that wild and tame neighborhood animals would jump or fall into the system and ruin it... which they did - the first night. My thought is to either try again using cement and some kind of plexiglass, or, try an underground water condenser in the same pit. That article behind that link indicates that an underground water condenser works best in hot, humid areas, like the deep South, so I'm not sure it will work all that well here in the cooler, dryer mountains of Utah. Might just go with the cement and plexiglass version.
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Post by zionnow on Aug 21, 2013 10:15:15 GMT -5
To prevent animals from falling into and destroying this solar water still, my nephew suggested using plexiglas and angling it upward to a peak, then have water collection trays at the bottom of each side.
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