DIY Modular Water Purifier – Open-Source, Solar-Ready, and Scalable

Project: KidneyLoop

"Not a company. Just a citizen trying to help."

Hi Hackaday!

This is a personal DIY project I’ve been working on called KidneyLoop — an open-source, modular water purification system that runs off small solar panels, rain barrels, and basic pumps. It uses micron filtration + UV-C light to cycle dirty water through multiple sanitation loops until it's clean.

It’s based on the principle of how kidneys work: loop it, clean it, return it.

🌍 Why I Built This

  • Millions of people worldwide — including folks in places like Flint, Michigan — still don’t have access to clean water.

  • Most solutions are expensive, plastic-heavy, or not portable.

  • I wanted to create a simple, scalable, low-power sanitation loop using parts you can order on Amazon or get locally.

  • The design is modular and can be scaled up from a couple buckets to full 1000-gallon rain tanks.

This is not a business. This is a community-licensed CC0 (public domain) project, released for anyone to build, improve, or even sell.

⚙️ How It Works (At a Glance)

  1. Water leaves the dirty tank.

  2. Goes through a micron filter to remove debris.

  3. Flows through a UV-C sterilizer to kill pathogens.

  4. Through another micron filter for polishing.

  5. Into the clean tank.

  6. A second pump routes the clean water back to the dirty tank, completing the loop.

Repeat 3–6 cycles. The water gets cleaner each time. Add a carbon filter to also remove chlorine and fluoride for tap water use.

🔧 Parts Used (Real-World, Amazon-Friendly)

  • 2x 55–1000 gal rain barrels or water tanks

  • 2x 12V micro water pumps (~$12 for a 2-pack)

  • 12W inline UV-C sterilizer (~$60)

  • 1/4” food-grade tubing (10–30 ft)

  • Micron filters (before and after UV-C)

  • Solar panel (20W or higher) OR AC power

  • (Optional) 12V battery, carbon filter, tubing clamps

🧪 I’ll upload real pics of the components and actual white papers. This is untested, but based on known principles and safe materials.

💡 What This Is

✅ CC0-licensed
✅ DIY + open-source
✅ Modular (can be scaled)
✅ Designed for water-stressed regions
✅ Fully solar-operable
✅ Does not require plumbing or grid hookup
✅ Can sanitize tap, rain, or stream water

🔍 What This Is Not

⚠️ Not yet tested for WHO/EPA certification
⚠️ Not a product — no sales, no marketing
⚠️ Not a one-size-fits-all solution — it's a framework

📂 GitHub Repository

Includes white papers, parts lists, diagrams, and real photos:
🔗 https://github.com/Polymath8/KidneyLoop-Water-Filtration

You’ll find:

  • 💧 The Flint, Michigan white paper (removes metals via carbon filtration)

  • 🛠️ The modular system paper with build steps

🙏 Let’s Build This Together

If you're into DIY, survival setups, off-grid sanitation, or just care about clean water — I’d love your feedback or ideas. This isn’t perfect, but I wanted to get it out there and evolve it together.

Let’s build this into something that could help people anywhere.

— Polymath