- Joined
- Nov 28, 1999
- Messages
- 12
There has been ample discussion on how long to boil water, with opinions ranging from one minute to twenty. (Please excuse me if I've left anyone out!>) It has also been pointed out that prions (the infectious agent in Mad Cow Disease and probably its human counterparts) are not hurt by boiling, though they are probably still trapped in the British Isles. So if you want to be more careful, you should filter your water. And if you REALLY want to be careful, you should distill it.
Distillation leaves almost everything behind, except volatile chemicals such as alcohol (and other "aromatics" fondly regarded by drinkers of whiskey). There are solar stills, which usually involve some sort of plastic sheet. But if you have no plastic sheeting, or you are interested in a higher volume of water than can be produced by a solar still (perhaps you are trapped on a rock in the Aleutians in a dry winter), then you, like me, would be interested in a saltwater still.
A saltwater still is, in principle, nothing more than a kettle (or a billy can with a tightly fitting lid, and a hole in that lid) where the fresh water steam generated by boiling salt water over a fire comes out a tube, and is cooled to turn the steam back into water. A kettle with a plastic tube (made out of a plastic that can withstand the temperature of boiling water) is probably sufficient. Just run coils of the plastic tube down into and out of a nearby handy pot of cold saltwater. The plastic is not a terrific heat conductor, but it will probably cool the steam enough to cause the steam to condense on the insides of the tube, and as more steam keeps coming from the kettle, the water will be pushed out the end of the tube, into a waiting can. Presto chango, distilled water.
It would be MUCH nicer to use a system where a metal tube coiled inside the cold saltwater condensing pan. And it would be nicer still (punintentional) if the metal tube were soldered to the outside of the condensing pan, so that the coil could exit lower than the entrance, and so not require the steam pressure from the kettle to push the condensed water up over the height of the edge of the condensing pan. And it would be downright terrific if someone SOLD a kit to convert a camp kettle into a saltwater still, with the condenser all ready and a flexible tube tip to join with the kettle.
The problem is... the "saltwater" still makes a perfectly serviceable "moonshine" still, and various government entities know this. So if you open your favorite camping gear catalog, you're not going to see a still kit, saltwater or otherwise. And if you get enterprising enough to offer it to the public yourself, the folks who sell those tax stamps that cover the tops of the hooch we buy at the local store will be paying you a friendly visit. Even if you and all your customers swear they're only using it for turning saltwater (or free range water) into fresh. Which isn't to say you shouldn't do it anyway and sell one to me!
So... anybody out there have experience with making camp stills? Know what types of easily obtained plastic will work with steam? Is there come part of a car's air conditioning system I should know about? Ever made a camp still out of available natural materials? Anybody know of a hollow vine that could be used in place of a plastic or metal tube (that wouldn't leach out some vile poisonous sap into the otherwise pristine distillate)? Inquiring minds might want to know. I know I do.
Distillation leaves almost everything behind, except volatile chemicals such as alcohol (and other "aromatics" fondly regarded by drinkers of whiskey). There are solar stills, which usually involve some sort of plastic sheet. But if you have no plastic sheeting, or you are interested in a higher volume of water than can be produced by a solar still (perhaps you are trapped on a rock in the Aleutians in a dry winter), then you, like me, would be interested in a saltwater still.
A saltwater still is, in principle, nothing more than a kettle (or a billy can with a tightly fitting lid, and a hole in that lid) where the fresh water steam generated by boiling salt water over a fire comes out a tube, and is cooled to turn the steam back into water. A kettle with a plastic tube (made out of a plastic that can withstand the temperature of boiling water) is probably sufficient. Just run coils of the plastic tube down into and out of a nearby handy pot of cold saltwater. The plastic is not a terrific heat conductor, but it will probably cool the steam enough to cause the steam to condense on the insides of the tube, and as more steam keeps coming from the kettle, the water will be pushed out the end of the tube, into a waiting can. Presto chango, distilled water.
It would be MUCH nicer to use a system where a metal tube coiled inside the cold saltwater condensing pan. And it would be nicer still (punintentional) if the metal tube were soldered to the outside of the condensing pan, so that the coil could exit lower than the entrance, and so not require the steam pressure from the kettle to push the condensed water up over the height of the edge of the condensing pan. And it would be downright terrific if someone SOLD a kit to convert a camp kettle into a saltwater still, with the condenser all ready and a flexible tube tip to join with the kettle.
The problem is... the "saltwater" still makes a perfectly serviceable "moonshine" still, and various government entities know this. So if you open your favorite camping gear catalog, you're not going to see a still kit, saltwater or otherwise. And if you get enterprising enough to offer it to the public yourself, the folks who sell those tax stamps that cover the tops of the hooch we buy at the local store will be paying you a friendly visit. Even if you and all your customers swear they're only using it for turning saltwater (or free range water) into fresh. Which isn't to say you shouldn't do it anyway and sell one to me!
So... anybody out there have experience with making camp stills? Know what types of easily obtained plastic will work with steam? Is there come part of a car's air conditioning system I should know about? Ever made a camp still out of available natural materials? Anybody know of a hollow vine that could be used in place of a plastic or metal tube (that wouldn't leach out some vile poisonous sap into the otherwise pristine distillate)? Inquiring minds might want to know. I know I do.