Information on making salt water fresh for hiking at the shore.

Wise Old Owl · Dec 25th 2016, 12:13pm

I like going to the beach and kayaking the back bays, but I end up hauling all the water for the trip in the back of the kayak. I end up with two bladders of water. Making a stay on a island for a week impractical. (catching fish etc.) So over the years I keep looking for an affordable practical small water still. I have been thinking that an aluminum portable set of nesting pots would be the way to go. And Kenneth Kramm has been working on this idea too. But I think we need to improve some of the ideas. So here is where some folks got to this year.

Wise Old Owl · Dec 25th 2016, 4:43pm

When returning you can clean those bottles out by boiling vinegar and then water.

From our experiments from alcohol stoves we learned wider is better - I am looking at a nesting pot that can be clamped down for dirty water and a nesting pot for the copper chiller.

Dan76 · Dec 25th 2016, 8:20pm

WOO:

After viewing the referenced video, may I recommend the following?

From past observations of stills in action (locations remained undisclosed), suggest inclining the condensing coil at an upwards angle by placing the collection container higher than the boiling container. Thereby escaping H2O droplets will return to the heat source, revaporize, and further reduce potential contamination of the collection vessel.

Additionally this procedure will allow more rapid boiling thereby decreasing the amount of time necessary for purification.

As for a heat source, several high production still units utilized a series of rocket stoves to better direct heat, reduce fuel requirements, and minimize smoke signatures.

If you often kayak to a specific location, suggest dedicating one trip for transport 10 to 12 common bricks for rocket stove construction at such sites. Upon departure, cach the bricks to ensure availability upon return. There are several stealth sites in the Pacific NW with cached bricks.

If frequenting multiple locations, suggest either building a break down sheet metal rocket stove or consider acquiring such an unit. As you may know, the fabled rocket stove produces concentrated heat with minimal fuel consumption.

Wise Old Owl · Dec 25th 2016, 8:31pm

Hey that is really helpful but my plan incorporates a twig fire and Qwiz's Ti wood stoves as I have two. I like the bricks - might use the 1" flats for a hearth. I go to different islands each time. ** When Qwiz's fire is fired up - there isn't much smoke!

Wise Old Owl · Dec 25th 2016, 8:38pm

best video --

Dan76 · Dec 25th 2016, 9:25pm

Wise Old Owl wrote:

Hey that is really helpful but my plan incorporates a twig fire and Qwiz's Ti wood stoves as I have two. I like the bricks - might use the 1" flats for a hearth. I go to different islands each time.

A hearth will enable a site to remain stealthy.

Wise Old Owl · Dec 25th 2016, 9:51pm

Dan76 wrote:

Wise Old Owl wrote:

Hey that is really helpful but my plan incorporates a twig fire and Qwiz's Ti wood stoves as I have two. I like the bricks - might use the 1" flats for a hearth. I go to different islands each time.

A hearth will enable a site to remain stealthy.

well you know me well, I am stealthy.

odd man out · Dec 26th 2016, 9:24am

I'm not sure that having a condensing coil slant upwards is necessary for desalination. This is a reflux condenser and gives better separation of volatile substances. This would be good if you are purifying alcohol or getting rid of organic contaminants. But the salts you are removing in desalination have no vapor pressure so a simple distillation set up would be more efficient. As long as the only water that makes into the condensing tube is water vapor, you should be fine. The trick is cooling the condeser. This would limit the rate you can collect water.

Wise Old Owl · Dec 26th 2016, 9:53am

I have pulled out some old Aluminum pots from BS days and will install a coil into the smaller pot, so it will nest well in the pack. I understand there is a high temperature gasket seal at Pep Boys I can pick up for the two holes I plan to make. The tough part is identifying the type of nipple to the lid to get the steam out.

Odd man out - is that the Wisconsin Dells in your avatar?

Wise Old Owl · Dec 26th 2016, 9:57am

If the tests really work out - I will install a power pot to the underside of the sea water pot! Then I can charge while desalinating.

Socks · Dec 27th 2016, 3:09am

You'll need a sacrificial anode if using aluminum, unless ya wanna tinker.

odd man out · Dec 27th 2016, 9:21am

"Odd man out - is that the Wisconsin Dells in your avatar?"

No, it's from Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore. I hiked the length of the park in the Summer of 2015.

Wise Old Owl · Dec 28th 2016, 11:06pm

I just discovered power pot is not in production.

odd man out · Dec 29th 2016, 10:16am

a pressure cooker would be ideal, but I suppose that is too heavy for what you want?

Wise Old Owl · Dec 29th 2016, 9:29pm

odd man out wrote:

a pressure cooker would be ideal, but I suppose that is too heavy for what you want?

You and I are on the same page- Don't need a pressure cooker for sea water.

odd man out · Dec 30th 2016, 11:01am

just thinking that a pressure cooker has a tight fitting lid with an outlet you could attach a condensing tube to.

Wise Old Owl · Dec 31st 2016, 7:15pm

odd man out wrote:

just thinking that a pressure cooker has a tight fitting lid with an outlet you could attach a condensing tube to.

On I don't disagree - don't want to haul the weight.

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