How to make a solar water distiller

Want to make drinkable water without a stove/fire? Here's a fun and simple solar distiller that might just come in handy someday. This is a nice survival tool.

Difficulty:

Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need

• Cook pot, big bowl, etc... (preferrably black)
• Clear or at least translucent plastic wrap, thin plastic lid etc...
• A smaller cup or bowl that easily fits inside the larger one you selected
• wire, sticks, tape, or anything at hand to suspend the small container inside the larger one.
• A weight, like a small rock.
• Sunlight
• water, from whatever source at hand for the situation.

1. Plan how you will suspend the smaller collection cup in the larger pot. The colletor needs to be as close to the exact middle of the pot as feasible. It shouldn't touch the water in the pot, or the plastic cover. Stiff wire works great, but duct tape will do in a pinch. Sticks, and string would also work, but be a little more difficult to work with. The pot being black in color will help it absorb more heat from sunlight, and speed up the process.

2. After the cup is properly suspended, fill the pot with your water from the source you were lucky enough to find. (rain puddle, stream, or rags to collect dew, etc...)

3. 

   Cover the pot with the plastic wrap or other cover at hand. The thicker/stiffer the cover the more weight will be necessary to bend it into a cone so the condensation formed will run into the collection cup.

4. Set the whole thing in bright sunlight, and prefferably out of the wind so it will get as hot as it can from solar radiation. Now go about your other survival activities, like procuring food, and shelter. The distiller will make about 1 quart a day in 12 hours of sunshine, if your container is big enough. Not much, but it will sustain 1 person for quite a while, and it's far better than total dehydration. Plus you might be able to replicate several if you brought enough camping equipment.

Tips & Warnings

• Putting the apparatus over a fire/stove if it is available will make production much faster, but in a survival situation weigh the fuel cost vs. benefits of doing so.

• Clean the bigger pot after use, because all the contaminates from the water will now be concentrated in it.

• Don't let the collector cup overflow or fall into the untreated water, or you'll have to start all over again.