Salt Water Purifier

In this Instructable I will show you how to build a salt water purifier. When using this it will produce about a third of a cup of drinkable water an hour.

Step 1: Materials

• Metal can
• Empty soda can
• Aluminum foil
• 2-3 ft of tubing
• Rubber band
• Towel / paper towel
• Hot glue gun
• Sizzors

Step 2: Now We Will Make the Canister for the Salt Water

1. Remove the label from the coffee can
2. Next cut a piece of aluminum foil about 12" x 12"
3. Now cut it in to four squares
4. Now remove the lid of the Coffee can
5. Now take 3 of the sheets and place them on top of the metal can
6. Now fold the sheets down over the edge like in picture 4
7. Now put the Rubber band around the tin foil
8. Next place the fourth sheet of aluminum foil over top of the rubber band

Step 3: Attaching the Tubing

1. The first thing you need to do is take the tip of the scissors and place it near the edge of the can
2. After you place the scissors near the edge of the can you need to spin it until there is a hole about the size of the tubing
3. Next insert the tubing into the hole about 1/3 of an inch down
4. Now thoroughly apply hot glue around the tubing

Step 4: Now We Will Make the Collector

1. First cut a piece of tin foil a little bit bigger than the top of the can
2. Now place the aluminum foil on top and fold the sides down
3. Now make a hole by twisting the scissors over where the hole in the can is
4. You are now done In the next step I will show you how to use it

Step 5: Using the Purifier

1. First you need to pour salt water into the metal can until it is about halfway full
2. Now you need to take the tube and put it into the hole in the soda can
3. Next you need to make a small fire you could also use a back pack stove
4. Now you need set the can on the fire being care full the flames do not come two high
5. Now you need to wet the paper towel or towel with cool water
6. Now place the paper towel/towel over the tube check this often and make sure it is cool and damp
7. Your purifier should now start to produce water in about 5 to 10 minutes

This purifier works because when you boil water it creates steam. The steam rises to the top of the can then goes through the tubing. Because of the paper towel the steam cools and turns back into water. Which then collects in the can free from impurities.

Comments

[Luna10064]

how would the hot glue not melt under the heat

[mrsnone]

I don't think the hot glue step could be used in a survival setting.. where would you plug in your hot glue gun? lol.

[kekker70]

Use Strike Any ware Wood Matches, go back of match head 3/8 " and put a mid to large gob of HOT GLUE on the stick, let Fully cool. to use, Strike the Match, hold it out striate and let the flame burn back and Slowly melt the hot.. use as needed.

I have at least a Dozen in my Bug Out Gear, my truck, my car, even my Hunting and fishing geer.

[dad_a_monk]

Actually you can use hot glue without a hotglue gun. Take a hot glue stick and cut off about 1 inch...then use a drill bit or heated nail to create a hole through the middle. Place a long match inside the now created channel. Leave the head of the match and about 1/2 an inch of wood above the glue stick. Now, when you need hot glue...you light the match, and as it burns...it melts the hot glue.

[Azmerelda]

Yeah, I'm thinking maybe you could just use more fold and compress it down tight over the tube area? Or use some sort of putty, or mud even, if you are in a survival situ. Hose clamp?

[jaybo2099]

FYI, this has been the primary way that the U.S. Navy has created potable water onboard ships for years. They pump heated sea water into a vacuum chamber, it then flashes into steam, rises into another chamber to be cooled and condensed back to a liquid.

[Solot01]

Have used this in a survival situation in north west Australia....it works....a little time consuming but u get water - and u live....I buried the tube in the ground and wet the ground with salt water to add in cooling....good post

[JimG50]

Interesting distillery. Paint the outside of the coffee can black. Set a couple mirrors to reflect sunlight on the black surface. If cool, running water is available immerse the tubing in it or maybe bury it. Keep the collector in the shade or even bury it too but be careful of a siphoning problem. Maybe this would avoid having to use a fire although that is quicker.

[Eddie the Invemtor]

intresting idea I think I will try that

[JoshuaW23]

I will definitely do this for the zombie apocalypse.

[swilliams79]

Good job Eddie... This is a basic survival need. Let the naysayers make drinkable water so other way...

[swilliams79]

*some ;) just in case someone wants to correct my spelling or grammer

[ronald.ferreira.39]

only if you light a match it wi;ll blow up

[Kona-chan]

I'm pretty sure that's only for H2..

[Snidely70448]

Dr Strangelove on why one should drink only distilled water:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OcHNYenN7OY

[TimothyJ999]

This myth just keeps popping up--it won't die even though it's utterly wrong, and a modicum of common sense should tell you it's ridiculous.

There is NO RISK to drinking distilled water. Your body gets 99.99% of its minerals from the food you eat. Distilled water is just water with no dissolved impurities. Its pH is between 6 and 7 (about 10,000 times less acidic than soda, which has a pH between 3 and 4). Drinking distilled water is about as dangerous as breathing really clean air.

[Snidely70448]

That would be no dissolved SOLID impurities. If the water contains liquid or gaseous impurities they could transfer with the distilled water.

[Istarian]

I wouldn't recommend solely drinking distilled water. I substantially doubt that there is "NO RISK". The human body requires salts, etc to work properly which is part of the reason people drink stuff like Gatorade after they have exerted themselves (generally results in lots of sweat). If the rest of your diet adequately provides the things you need, then it's probably okay, but that's very different from no risk. Anything that changes the balance of electrolytes, etc has potential risks, even if they are minor. Distillation or reverse osmosis is different than merely filtering the water. If you don't like the tap water, just get a filter.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Distilled_water#Heal...

^ not the best source perhaps, but a lot less biased in this case.

[TeresaM7]

Thank you, TimothyJ999. Some idiot I used to work with, who would disagree with you if you said the sky was blue on a clear, sunny day (I am neither joking nor exaggerating - she was that bad), told me this nonsense when she saw me drinking distilled. I quit drinking tap water long ago and have felt much better for it as a result. She insisted it was dangerous and had all kinds of health problems. Thank goodness she retired several years ago. My office has been a MUCH nicer place!

[ABLEMOOSE]

I have been drinking distilled water for over 40 years. I drive a truck for a living and I carry it in the truck. When exactly can the beneficiaries of my Estate plan on my death due to cell explosion? This Instructable is a great idea! Everyone should have something similar in their contingency kit. The first thing trucker's haul to any Disaster Area is water. The added minerals myth was created as a sales tool by water purification equipment companies. GOOD FOR YOU, EDDY! You may have contributed something that will save some lives of people intelligent enough to be prepared.