fdfederation
Confused Magikarp
Is it worth it to build a water distiller that uses greenhouse heating?
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Anyone distill their own water?
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I can't calculate the energy costs to boil water and then cool the steam in a condenser, but they must be pretty high. Do you use a lot of water?
I would think renting a mixed bed DI column and activated carbon column from a water treatment company would be cheaper. They come with an indicator light which tells you when you need an exchange column. The carbon is there to protect the resin from Chlorine in your water. If you have untreated well water, you would not need one for the Chlorine. The company can advise you what you would need.
How about melting snow? That is fairly clean pure water.
I would think renting a mixed bed DI column and activated carbon column from a water treatment company would be cheaper. They come with an indicator light which tells you when you need an exchange column. The carbon is there to protect the resin from Chlorine in your water. If you have untreated well water, you would not need one for the Chlorine. The company can advise you what you would need.
How about melting snow? That is fairly clean pure water.
Yikes... wayyyyyy too much work. If you really need access to a large volume of clean water, buy a cheap RO/DI unit. With (a whole lot of) Butch's help, I bought and put together a cheap RO/DI unit back in... June? I think? and it's still pumping out 0ppm water, and I've been using it for... I dunno... 30 or 40 gallons a week since then? Greatest investment ever.
Congrats on the outstanding performance Reaper, you should do a detailed thread on your experiences with the project.... it would be so much help to so many others yet to come.
It really pays to do it right the first time, the long term cost benefits pay off big time.
My system has been putting out 0ppm water for over 6 years now with only one membrane and bead change. I not only use mine for my plants but also for my ultrasonic humidifiers, icemaker, coffee, tea and cooking.
(btw with the time change coming up, its a great way to remember to do your semiannual prefilter changes)
Butch
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JB_OrchidGuy
Cardiac Nurse
Please a detailed list would be awesome! Do this this and this for an awesome system. In just lucky my water is acceptable to my plants lol but I would love an RO/DI to serve my house too like butch described!!!!
fdfederation
Confused Magikarp
Natalie, that was the same site that got me thinking about solar distillers 
I played around with the thought of installing something similar on the backyard patio roof.
jerrysmith, I don't use much water, about a 1~2 liters a month. I don't have very many plants to look after. I also use buckets to collect water when it rains.
I played around with the thought of installing something similar on the backyard patio roof.jerrysmith, I don't use much water, about a 1~2 liters a month. I don't have very many plants to look after. I also use buckets to collect water when it rains.
fdfederation
Confused Magikarp
Av8tor1, that's what I do right now. I get my water from Winco, but I would like to distill my own water.
riceman, that would be a great option, but I'm more focused on solar distillers because they don't require filters. However, they do need to be cleaned of mineral deposits.
riceman, that would be a great option, but I'm more focused on solar distillers because they don't require filters. However, they do need to be cleaned of mineral deposits.
1-2 liters a month?.... wow!
You definitely dont need a RO
With that little usage, I would just buy a gallon every couple months and be done with it.
Unless you are just wanting to play with the technology of course
I agree 100%. Buy the water.
---------- Post added at 12:48 AM ---------- Previous post was at 12:33 AM ----------
How much money do you want to spend? Here's a quick Google search result: http://www.nutriteam.com/servlet/the-Water-Distillers/Categories Prices vary from a few hundred to a few thousand.
I didn't read up on any of these products. But the minerals will always be left behind and will need to be cleaned out of the boiling chamber. We started using a product at work called CLR to remove scale from copper parts in a boiler. Very easy to use, and does not present a severe health hazard to use. Here's a link: http://www.shopclr.com/index.php?page=Product.Product&externalId=1443
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