solar still ideas

[maheel]

so i was over looking at AD and saw this idea about a solar still.... very interesting
i am not a member over there but thought about the idea as here in QLD we get plenty of sunshine like today :)

http://www.artisan-distiller.net/phpBB3 ... =21&t=4502

so grabbed a standard SS (35cm?) mixing bowl lined it with al-foil (home-brand and not real shiny), cover it with cling wrap to keep the heat in and stuck my temp gauge in it.

I have it on my front veranda and the air temp inside it is 80'C with no insulation and crap design

i would think a better design would yield more heat, a quick google showed me one that can make 3KW of heat....

over on AD the OP was thinking about vapour loss and how to get around it, i was thinking about using this idea for stripping low wines during the day, using a a brown 5L demijohn with a small "lid" and pipe running down into a "thumper" style set up that would go outside the solar still. Vapour rises and then goes out the tube and runs down to the thumper

if you primed the thumper then it woudl act like a condenser just not letting the vapor out collecting the low wines

thoughts ?

would the thumper idea create a pressure lock stopping the vapour coming out ?

photo to come later :)

[reknaw]

I recon it's a good idea especially in summer, how about "boiler" in the sun, tube going to the "shaded/cool" area once it hits the cool shaded area it'll condense. Collection bottle would have to be sealed but if it is cool enough there shouldn't be vapour loss or have a coper pipe going through a worm in a bucket in the shade?

[Kimbo]

Mate, they've definitely got potential :D

[maheel]

I am going to have a look around for something shiny (and cheap / free) to test a little more. with temp gauges etc to gauge effectiveness

thought if i could set up a 5L job and over summer it get the low wines happening over a few days could be a simple "unattended" stripping process.

just getting ready for the zombie take over :) so i can be the "go to man" for fuel / drinks
gotta make sure I can still get a bit pissed if the "end of the world" happens :lol:

i noticed that 2nd older thread on AD where someone suggested burning heads and tails to power the still or even pre warm for solar stilling ....

i am just f$#%ing about really and trying a few things for the fun of it, u never know what you can "discover" trying ideas

[reknaw]

Frank was telling me he had to cover one panel on his solar hot water system because it got to hot. I recon a copper sheet painted black with black copper pipe running over it would get the contents over 80 deg. I recon you would strip 20 liters plus on a hot summer day if you got serious about it.

Frank tell us about your hot water system 8-)

[Frank]

Frank was telling me he had to cover one panel on his solar hot water system because it got to hot. I recon a copper sheet painted black with black copper pipe running over it would get the contents over 80 deg. I recon you would strip 20 liters plus on a hot summer day if you got serious about it.

Frank tell us about your hot water system 8-)

..and so he did 6 months later :oops:

I've got a typical 300litre Solahart 1990's job (Model 303L, I think) on my North-facing colorbond roof but it came with 3 separate heating panels/collectors (rather than a typical 2), all interrconnected and each has 6(?) copper risers inside sealed aluminium frame/glass ceiling.

Anyway, once the house/air (i.e. shade) temp gets to about 35C, esp if its in a typical summer/daily pattern, the HWS thermosiphon cycle starts literally boiling water. This steam/water comes out the relief valve until enough cold replacement water cycles through. This will go on for hours at my place (I've got a 11lpm domestic water pump but with 'the head' involved here it'd replace hot-for-cold at a much lower rate I reckon). The boiling, I've been told, is because such a HWS, suitably setup, will get the water to roughly twice the air temp at its location and it'd no doubt be around 50C on the roof at that time.

So....I put a big sheet of lino over the 'last' panel in the series to 'cool the water' enough prior to returning to the tank to save my pump running all day (and f'ing hot water running back into the rainwater tank :roll:)

BUT...surely the same setup/principle would work if you WANTED 'double heat'?? :think:

BTW I bought this HWS at a 'junkyard' for less than $200 complete (I just replaced the hot water washers) AND no complaints from the wife here about the winter hot water temp ;) :laughing-rolling:

[Icarus]

A hybrid solar heated vacuum system would be the go.

Icarus

[Cane Toad]

Hmmm was gunna post here last night,but was bordering on coon drunk,when living in western NSW years ago,my summer HWS was a roll of 2"poly pipe rolled out on the roof.It used to get to almost boiling.
Now comes the brain fart,I was given an old Saxon HWS the other day,I needed some copper sheet to put weirs around the plates in Bertha,and when I cut it open,it was an old heat exchange type.So I got to thinking,if one had an old solar HWS and put a copper coil in ones boiler and hooked it all together in a recirculating system using a small pump of some description,would it work?Or would the roll of poly work if hooked up the same way????Maybe you wouldn't need a pump,the pressure created by the water heating up may be enough to recirculate the water if you put a backflow valve on the inlet side of the HWS or poly.
Dunno,just fkn around.There would be a few things to overcome,meaning one would have to cut a reasonable sized hole in the boiler to get the heat exchanger coil in and then weld the hole up etc....
All this thinking makes my head hurt :doh: :doh: :doh:

[maheel]

dunno if you would get enough heat for a bulk run on a large volume

hot and sunny here in BNE today, i reckon a few mirrors and you could get 5L -> 10L heated up pretty quick

i have solar heating for the pool on the roof and the water gets real hot up there in the black tubing, often think of ways to use some of it's energy...

will have to have a go at this one day... lol i am slack as at the moment