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3D-Printed Water Distillation Doodad

This doodad transforms a 2L pop bottle and a .5L plastic bottle into a solar distillery for drinkable water.

kendoken.do
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Great for your post-apocalyptic adventure, this thingamabob can extract safe drinkable water from anything containing moisture; pond water, mud, moss, your sweaty socks, rotten fruit, any live plant matter, etc...
Speed of distillation entirely weather dependent.

Inspired by http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:464463, this doodad transforms a 2L pop bottle and a smaller 300mL to 500mL bottle into a solar water distillery. The smaller bottle is screwed directly into the doodad. The 2L bottle is cut latitudinal. The moisture containing material is placed in the bottom section. The doodad with bottle attached is placed in the bottom section. The top section is placed over top the doodad and the entire apparatus is placed in the sun for the distillation to commence.

Look to the thingiverse page for an STL ot print your own.

  • Plastic type and evaporative cooling

    ken.do • 05/29/2016 at 04:19 • 0 comments

    I am a little concerned about the heat resistance of the PLA. Temps can get quite high in full sun. I think a high temp PLA or an alternate type of plastic would be more warp resistant. I had a 3D-print quad in a car for a day and the arms were totally deformed after.

    The efficiency is not great as the water in the smaller collection bottle also evaporates, condenses and returns. Not sure how to shade that...

    Using a damp cloth wrapped on the top section creates shade and evaporative cooling to occur, boosting the condensation rate.

  • Success!

    ken.do • 02/12/2016 at 12:43 • 0 comments

    Now sized correctly, the bottle halves fit into the thingy instead of around. Should be lots more stable. Now I have to wait for some sun to test... may be a while!

    Still looking for help with customization scripts!!

  • Okay, this should work...

    ken.do • 02/10/2016 at 03:56 • 0 comments

    Redesign with a top and bottom collar going outside bottle. I think this is the ticket...

    Will print in the morning!

  • Sizing and Construction

    ken.do • 02/10/2016 at 03:43 • 0 comments

    I am trying to size this thing for North American 2L straight-walled pop bottles. After many iterations and sizing changes I finally found the size that works, with the bottom of the thing slipping over the cut bottle bottom and the top fitting inside the bottle top. The inside fit doesn't seem the way to go, so I plan to change the top of the thing to match the bottom with an inside fit.

    It is getting bigger... not what I had in mind initially, but I guess we have to go with what works.

  • Looking for SCAD help

    ken.do • 02/09/2016 at 02:54 • 0 comments

    I would like to make this project customizable to fit different diameter bottles. I need help creating a SCAD file, or something else that would work in the thingiverse customizer (or outside stand-alone for that matter). I am really not sure how this stuff works.

    The end goal here is to make this thing universally adaptable for all parts of the world. Combined with a #PET Bottle Recycling 3D Printer, many of these could be manufactured where they are needed the most.

    So if you care about this project enough to contribute, please let me know!

    Thanks!!

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Discussions

Andrew wrote 03/07/2017 at 03:07 • point

What if you tried a can in the middle instead? Shades the water from the sun then.

  Are you sure? yes | no

ken.do wrote 03/07/2017 at 04:03 • point

Good idea! Evaporation of the distilled water could be an issue with a clear or translucent container. Although a metal can may heat up as well... hmmm.

  Are you sure? yes | no

ken.do wrote 05/29/2016 at 04:10 • point

It does work, but much better with a damp cloth to shade and cool the top section

  Are you sure? yes | no

Gabriel wrote 04/14/2016 at 22:28 • point

Did it work?

  Are you sure? yes | no

Gabriel wrote 02/14/2016 at 23:49 • point

awesome proyect... post a pic with the smaller bottle inside.

  Are you sure? yes | no

ken.do wrote 05/29/2016 at 04:11 • point

I found a 'Fiji' water bottle works the best size-wize, but mine got recycled before I could get a pic. Will get another and pic it.

  Are you sure? yes | no

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