DIY Atmospheric Drinking Water Generator

Atmospheric Water Generator

Introduction
I can't drink the water supplied from our city,  and the atmospheric Water generators out there cost more than many can afford.  So I made one for a little over $300.  That is one sixth the price of a lowest costing unit sold online.

Parts
1 - New Dehumidifier (this brand is Kolin) $225
1 - New Extreme Water Filter system (hardware or Home shops) $25
1 - 32" piece of clear vinyl tubing (found at Aquarium shops) $3
1 - Servo Voltage Regulator (in case of power fluctuations) $75
2 - 4"X9" 3M scrubber pads $2
1 - Zip tie 10cents

Tools
3/4 inch drill with a 1/2 inch drill bit
Philip Screwdriver
Scissors

Instructions
1) Remove all covers to your new dehumidifier. Rinse inside out thoroughly with garden hose don't use high pressure it will damage condenser flanges. dry completely before using.
2) Remove knock out for hose on back cover
3) Run clear vinyl tube through knock out and attach to hose connector inside the Dehumidifier (this will by pass the
internal one gallon reservoir )
4) Cut the 3M scrubber pads to fit air filter holder on front of machine for air filter (original filter does not trap a lot
of dust) attach filter holder to front panel.
5) Wash water filter Unit and filter before use. This unit has a 1 micron ceramic filter in top and a five stage filter in
the bottom.
6) Drill hole in top of filter unit and run vinyl tubing into the filter. Be sure not to crimp hose. Place top on filter
unit.
7) Plug unit into servo regulator and you are ready to make water from the air.

Turn on machine run for 6-8 hours depending on humidity levels to fill upper filter area.
Allow water to filter into the lower storage area.
Water comes out Neutral at 7.0 pH after filters it will be around 7.4-8.0 depending on what type of mineralization filters you used

Comments

[germeten]

One form of filter used in poorer countries is clay pot with 30 mesh sawdust added for proper micron porosity, see Potters for Peace dot org; I treat lake-water with colloidal silver & DIY ozonater, but I like your dehumidifier idea of extracting it from the air. There are even more efficient, patented systems used by NASA, employing compressors that force air into chambers bearing sponges and drain valves. The compressed air acts like a spring, returning piston back to go, so uses little energy over-all. Think: car engine with stainless cylinder inserts and/or teflon piston, o-rings, etc.

[chesterjohn]

wow great idea. but sounds expensive to make but great that it takes less electricity.

[chesterjohn]

I have addd the Berky PF-4 metals filter and this unit is making tasty water. and at 100% humidity I am getting 15 gals a day.

[gravityisweak]

chesterjohn you said there is a type of solar cell you can make from copper sheet and aluminum that when place in the sun will generate enough current to run it during the day. Can you please give some more details on that?

[chesterjohn]

OK I was looking around for the solar panel package I had in an ebook but I may have lost it when my portable drive went down. I found it by searching for do it yourself solar panels most were silkscreen ones but one had a copper sheet type. I will tell you the larger those copper sheet ones are the more dangerous as they generate a lot of current so don't be touching it when you expose it to the sun. when you find the process by searching as I did. you can make small ones for lamps and go larger from there. always keep it covers until you have it all wired in or it can kill you it will generate many amps very fast. I will try and post the name of the sight I found it on when I find it.

[dany100]

Dear chesterjohn,

I would like to get your contact details if you don't mind.

Regards,
Ms.Dany Bita
[e-mail]

[atmoswater]

Just a note about water quality testing---if you plan to drink the water from your machine over the long term I would recommend an annual comprehensive potable water test including conventional parameters, total metals analysis, dissolved metals analysis, and microbiological analysis. I did such a test with a similar dehumidifier-water treatment system and found dissolved fluoride was 2.1 mg/L which is higher than the maximum acceptable concentration of 1.5 mg/L. The fluoride was likely coming from the aluminum evaporator coil of my dehumidifier. The Kolin dehumidifer may be fine but testing will verify that the product water meets water quality standards.

Bacteria growth in the system (bacteria are always present in the air processed by the system) can be controlled by weekly cleaning of the system components.

I have a website dedicated to providing accurate scientific knowledge about water-from-air systems. You are welcome to visit www.atmoswater.com

[chesterjohn]

Atmos,

So how many PPM's per gallon would 1.5 mg/l equal?

[atmoswater]

1.5 mg/L = 1.5 ppm

Please see unit conversion examples at http://www.ausetute.com.au/partspm.html

One would simply say "ppm". The phrase "ppm per gallon" is invalid. You could use units of grain/gallon (US) if you wish. To convert a unit from milligram per liter (mg / L) to grain per gallon (U.S.) (gr / gal) ., multiply by 0.058417834731272 [source: http://metricsystemconversion.info/grain-per-gallon-U.S.-gr-gal-.-to-milligram-per-liter-mg-L.html?func=detail]

[chesterjohn]

That works out perfect then

As a precaution I bought a Berkey PF-4 Reduction Element. which under testing based on 20-30ppm (2.0-3.0mg/L) reduced fluoride by 95% and in some cases 99%.

Lead is reduced by 99%

Also it absorbs heavy metal Ions if there be any.

So the Addition of the Berkey PF-4 would eliminate any harmful metals from this Atmospheric Water Generator is well worth the investment.

Currently the water being produced after the PF-4 has a 7.0pH completely neutral. A mineralization filter put in the bottom of this unit will increase the pH to 7.4.

[MindbenderMike]

If you're looking for the purest water possible after extracting it from the atmosphere, you could either Ozonate the water, that'll kill all virus, bacteria, fungi, and should neutralize heavy metals & other nasties. You could also get a bit more tricky and runs some electric leads into your gathered water and generate some HHO(Browns Gas/Oxyhydrogen), burn that, which recombines into PURE molecular, unadulterated water. And of course you can then pull heat from the HHO burn and generate steam/hot water/energy(which then can be rerouted to power the AWG), etc. Hope that helps.

[chesterjohn]

interesting idea. food for thought that is for sure. I have a multi stage filter for tap water and I have the AWG. the water from the AWG is so much more refreshing to drink. What process of Ozonation were you thinking? I know if you steam water and expose the steam to a strong UV it converts the steam to Ozone. then you cool the steam down through distillation and you get a pure water with traces of Hydrogen Peroxide. This happens in nature in the upper atmosphere as the evaporated water gets to the Upper atmosphere it is exposed to high UV and creates our Ozone layer. Good points you got there

[MindbenderMike]

Well, I could get all conspiratorial and connect the dots, showing how Ozone production, Tesla, cures for cancer, free energy, anti gravity, transmutation and other oddities were all suppressed about a century ago by the industrial elite, buttt, I'll just say:
Google "Medical Ozone Generator" "Water Ozonater" "Ozonated Olive Oil" & "Ozone Therapy"...and there's now even HHO geneators that turn the Oxygen into Ozone and then use the Hydrogen for fuel supplementation.

[chesterjohn]

Great Article on the UV. My lamp is much Higher than the ones you have in your study and it is a lamp designed to be in the water placing it correctly is important,

Our water temp never drops below 60f or above 70f. We are in a warm tropical country even our air temperature when it is cold it is 76f but as high as 98f.

Our humidity levels on an average are between 86%-100%. During our dry season our humidity level is 79%-89%.

[chesterjohn]

I did want to ask a question as your concern was one of mine when I first was looking for a dehumidifier.

would not the fluoride cause the water to have a higher than normal pH?

Keeping the unit clean if true for any water filter and storage system. I am wanting to place a UV light in the storage unit that also helps with killing bacteria.

[atmoswater]

Because pH is related to the hydronium ion concentration, [H3O+], in the water the presence of fluoride anions, [F-], should not affect the pH.

A couple of useful references about using UV in small water systems such as water coolers are:

- http://www.watertechonline.com/disinfection/article/water-temperature-and-uv-systems-0407

- http://www.watertechonline.com/disinfection/article/cooler-sanitizing-%E2%80%94-with-o3-uv-h2o2-or-chlorine

[burntferret]

The addition of fluoride anions decreases pH.

[F-] + [H30+] -> HF + H2O

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_fluoridation

[chesterjohn]

the water directly from the generator has a 7.0pH.

[atmoswater]

Thanks for the correction to my chemical analysis. Theoretically, you seem to be correct but the paper, Can Fluoridation Affect Water Lead(II) Levels and Lead(II) Neurotoxicity?, at http://www.fluoridealert.org/urbansky.pdf, in section 5 has an explanation about the buffer capacity of a solution such as water. The practical net result is that adding fluoride to water has no measurable effect on the pH. It is interesting how complex things can get!

[chesterjohn]

so you are saying that fluoride makes water acidic?

I am glad the unit I have used Stainless Steel on it condensing coils. Salty air from off the sea eats up aluminum that is why this one is made with stainless steel.

[chesterjohn]

Atmos,

Thanks for those links. It is important for people to know how to keep their drinking water storage area clean and bacterial free.

that would even go for inline reverse osmosis filters as well. Cleaning filter cartridges and holders are a must for healthy drinking water.

[chesterjohn]

What I liked about the Kolin unit it that it uses Stainless Steel condensing coil not aluminum. It is made for Island and seaside use where there is high salt in the air. If they used aluminum it would corrode easily and quickly.

The Micron 1 ceramic filter keeps bacteria and airborne contaminates out of the drinking water.

Bacteria was and is the problem with the municipal water here. and the bottled water companies are not regulated and tested by the Local health dept.

Thanks for your link. I am looking into some strips to check dissolved metals they are not available here. I didn't want to buy a 100 strips bottle yet.

[chesterjohn]

Hi everyone,

I added a Solar trickle charger to an 12V battery and along with a 1500 watt inverter the machine runs great and the battery life is around 4 hours.

With a high humidity as we have been having here lately 99% it produces 6 liters. I let the batter recharge and I am ready to refill every two days.

Larger solar system will work best with a battery cell array.

I am still searching for on/off sensors. I can run it on a timer which will cut power at a set time.

[chesterjohn]

For those who are leery or can't get a unit made with stainless here is a suggestion use a Berkey PF-4 fluoride / metal absorbent filter before the mineralization filter. the cost for this filter is around $28 each.

For every problem there is always a solution

[blodefood]

I note from emptying several' dehumidifiers in various houses during the summer, the output can be higher than 3 or 4 L a day. This would be enough for two people should it be potable.

I'm not sure I would feel confident drinking it without proper filtration and cleaning. However, I would have no hesitation pouring the water from dehumidifiers into the clothes washer instead of pouring it down the sink.

[chesterjohn]

this unit was bought new for the soul purpose to generate drinking water. It is filtered and it is potable. this unit is rated for 18L a day but has produced 20L as I use it.

I keep the unit and units clean this is important.

[ironsmiter]

Any plans to add a float or sensor, to automatically run/shutoff the condenser based on a full/empty top reservoir? (something like auto-shutoff when top reservoir is full. auto-run when finished water reservoir is half empty?)
All of the water, non of the hassle :-)

[chesterjohn]

there is a built in sensor for the internal reservoir. there might be a way to do that by taking it from the humidifier and putting it is the filter.

I will consider that and look into it.

I never thought about setting up to be automatic

[stringstretcher]

Sensors are simple to rig. Optical sensor, externally mounted make no contact with the water... no need for a float. Clean and simple.

[l8nite]

thats really neat, now if you could set up a solar power station you could get totally FREE water

[chesterjohn]

It would not be hard to do just a solar panel, a storage cell (battery), and inverter and you are good to go.

I run it at night when the dew is the highest level and can make over 20L in 24hours even though the unit says it is registered for 18L in 24 hours.

But if you run during the day there is a type of solar cell you can make from copper sheet and aluminum that when place in the sun will generate enough current to run it during the day. you will have to test your solar cell and invert from there. With this type no sun no power.

Always remember if you make one buy a unit that used Stainless steel for the condensing unit because Aluminum is not to healthy.

[chesterjohn]

I am hoping to update this Instructable with a UV feature.

If you will look at the Photo you will notice a small red rubber stopper on the top of the Filter Unit. I had a UV lamp there. However it affected the ceramic filter.

I wanted to put it in the filter storage area but then I don't know how it will affect those filters. My Idea is to add a final storage area that contain no filters and place it there.