# Salt Water to Fresh Water



## RevWC (Mar 28, 2011)

A few ideas..

http://www.htiwater.com/shop/seapack_crew.php?Vl=19&Tp=2

http://www.wikihow.com/Turn-Salt-Water-Into-Drinking-Water






The wikihow seems to me to be the best...


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## Emerald (Jun 14, 2010)

Also the sea salt would be great item for trade for folks away from the ocean.


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## RevWC (Mar 28, 2011)

Emerald said:


> Also the sea salt would be great item for trade for folks away from the ocean.


Awesome! Whood a thunk :dunno: obviously not me..Thanks for idea..brilliant..


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## siletz (Aug 23, 2011)

Yep, Lewis and Clark boiled sea water down for the salt when they overwintered on the Oregon coast. Built a fire right on the beach.


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## Emerald (Jun 14, 2010)

Used to be a time honored tradition to gather salt and salt was more valuable than money at times.. you can use salt to cure the fish from the sea to make it easier to use the cured/dried fish as barter inland. salted meats and jerky will outlast just dried meats, salt can be used as brine for pickling.. 
We tend to take salt for granted in this age in fact due to our lifestyles we even villianize it. 
After SHTF salt will be needed to make sure we can make it thru the lean times in the winter so it has been finding it's way into my stash for sure.. and salt doesn't go bad.. it just gets hard and clumpy but a good whack with the hammer or rolling pin and it is good as new.


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## md1911 (Feb 9, 2012)

Emerald said:


> Used to be a time honored tradition to gather salt and salt was more valuable than money at times.. you can use salt to cure the fish from the sea to make it easier to use the cured/dried fish as barter inland. salted meats and jerky will outlast just dried meats, salt can be used as brine for pickling..
> We tend to take salt for granted in this age in fact due to our lifestyles we even villianize it.
> After SHTF salt will be needed to make sure we can make it thru the lean times in the winter so it has been finding it's way into my stash for sure.. and salt doesn't go bad.. it just gets hard and clumpy but a good whack with the hammer or rolling pin and it is good as new.


My great something grandpa was a buffalo hunter. He kept a jornel. I remember reading he always took 100 lbs of salt in his wagon when he left the settelments. Just a thought. In ancient times salt traded for gold


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## Meerkat (May 31, 2011)

Thanks,good thing to know.


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## Jimthewagontraveler (Feb 8, 2012)

Anybody that has a pressure canner only needs 10' of 
Copper tubing screwed into the pressure relief port.
Put the tubing a few inches under fresh water if you 
have any this will make up for the short collection line.
( yes this is just like a home still. Don't even 
think about it!)
Salty crap will build up and eventually have to be
Scraped out even with fresh water.


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## backlash (Nov 11, 2008)

Sounds like salt would be a great trade item after TSHTF.
Might have to look into how to store it long term.
Thanks


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## bahramthered (Mar 10, 2012)

The basic concept works. Problem is it's wrought with issues. Like the salt getting into that collection pan and defeating the point. The shape of the design in the video is also a no go, the water vapor will rise and condense at the tip and fall back into the purified water pan. And of course the video lied, it's not scalable after a certain point, there's just so much sun.

If I needed water and was in a situation I needed water from salt water and had any parts I wanted I'd go with a bunch of black metal drums. Run lines from them into a large plastic bag built with a funnel underneath, into my tank. And a large white tarp over it to allow the water vapor to cool back to water. 

In a perfect world I'd pick drums that where both clean and immune to the effects of the salt. A major downside would be as the drums filled with salt I could get less water into them but as pointed out the salt could be a valuable resource in it's own right.


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## Highwater (Mar 22, 2011)

Jimthewagontraveler said:


> Anybody that has a pressure canner only needs 10' of
> Copper tubing screwed into the pressure relief port.
> Put the tubing a few inches under fresh water if you
> have any this will make up for the short collection line.
> ...


Aren't you concerned about copper leaching into your finished product? I would recommend stainless steel tubing. It doesn't leach.


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## Jimthewagontraveler (Feb 8, 2012)

Hey highwater
Good question 
My answer is that when corn had to come off the mountain as cheap as possible no one had ever heard of stainless steel.
Any alcoholic content would have had a much greater effect on the copper than distilled water.
Lead core auto radiators was the big no no.( blindness)
Running the condenser coil in and then out of the water allowed much less copper tubing to be used ($) and created a higher grade product.
When distilling water this way you can use even less tubing ( 1 less contact time 2 cheaper 3 lighter) because you can use previously created water to condense the vapor more efficiently .
If the vapor exits the tubing 6" under water a lot of the true steam bubbles never break the surface. However escaping air will.
Also stainless will flex less often before it breaks.
Hmmmm.
There is a problem that everybody over looks in the salt collection aspect.
The salt content WILL be high in metal content or plastic or what ever is used as the pot.
The only way to get beyond this that i know of is air drying 
In this aspect even stainless will fail.
Now don't even get me started on electrolysis
Basically anything we can do to preserve life short term is going to bite us long term.
There are many Meds / foods that WILL kill you in 200 years at 10 times the recommended rate.
So let's all remember 1 MODERATION 2 VARIETY
YOU KNOW THE WORST PART ABOUT A FOREM?
There is no one to say HEY old man we got it 15 min ago AND you got totally off topic 20 min ago!


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## The_Blob (Dec 24, 2008)

backlash said:


> Might have to look into how to store it long term.


It's been in the ground for hundreds of millions of years... I don't think storage will be a problem.


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## Highwater (Mar 22, 2011)

Jimthewagontraveler said:


> Hey highwater
> Good question
> My answer is that when corn had to come off the mountain as cheap as possible no one had ever heard of stainless steel.
> Any alcoholic content would have had a much greater effect on the copper than distilled water.
> ...


Jim, thanks for this. I had a little trouble following but I'm interested in the topic. If you or anyone can explain the difference in flow rate between different sized coils, I'm interested. I do understand that if the coil is submerged under water, it's more efficient. Does it need to be at least 6" submerged?

Also what do you know about the difference between 304l and 316l stainless steel? From what I understand, if distilling sea water, the 316l is best because it resists corrosion.

Thanks for your response!


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## tsrwivey (Dec 31, 2010)

backlash said:


> Sounds like salt would be a great trade item after TSHTF.
> Might have to look into how to store it long term.
> Thanks


One of the few things that can be stored in the attic! No vitamins to worry about damaging. Just keep it dry, I wouldn't think you'd even have to put O2 absorbers in it.


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## tsrwivey (Dec 31, 2010)

:2thumb:Great topic! We've got a saltwater pool & if we could make that water drinkable we'd be set on stored water.


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## Jimthewagontraveler (Feb 8, 2012)

Hey highwater 
Is there any chance you might be WAY over thinking this?
Stainless this vs stainless that?
Flow rate?
How many thousands of people will you be purifying 
water for?( not serious)
How wealthy are you?(not serious)
Will you adopt me? (Hmmm?)
Oook the only thing I remember about flow rate is all
Other things being equal a hose/tube that is twice the size
will carry/release 4 times as much because it has 4 times as
much end surface area ie a 2" tube would have to be replaced
With 4 1" tubes.
Ok releasing 6" under water is a rough deal if you want
the best transfer you can get just wait till all the air is out
( pure live steam) and all bubbles will completely condense.
And in this case since we are not concerned about what's 
Coming out the tube mixing with what is cooling the tube
Just cram it under the surface and let it bubble.
I said 6" because it's a good trade off between condensing 
The steam and not raising the back pressure on the pot.
If you get rediculous enough and put it several feet under it 
Might build up pressure to a dangerous level.
When ever you mess with live steam always make sure it has
A good escape path.
And remember in factories they use steam to remove meat
From the bone!


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## Highwater (Mar 22, 2011)

Jimthewagontraveler said:


> Other things being equal a hose/tube that is twice the size
> will carry/release 4 times as much because it has 4 times as
> much end surface area ie a 2" tube would have to be replaced
> With 4 1" tubes.


Jim thanks for your response. And I take it the longer the coil, the better flow rate. I wonder if a larger diameter with a shorter coil might be better or equal?

Anyway, I'm just interested in portable, non-electric water distillers. Not that I am going to use one myself, unless I have to. Ya never know. I plan to always have on on hand.


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## Jimthewagontraveler (Feb 8, 2012)

Hey high water I'm going to try to private message you
Please let me know here if it doesn't work.
For any one else who is paying attention here shorter+ bigger = better.
1/4 in by 6 ft is fine for many many many people.
And 6" under should keep back pressure very low


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