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A new device developed by VICI-Labs, in collaboration with UC Berkeley and the National Peace Corps Association, aims to provide a sustainable source of clean safe water for the millions without a reliable water supply. In the developed world, where most homes and businesses have ready access to clean water at the turn of a tap, we don't really have to worry about most waterborne diseases, or dehydration, or the ability to wash our selves, our clothes, or our eating utensils, but those worries are still very real for the millions around the world without a reliable clean water source. The WaterSeer could help to alleviate some of those water poverty issues.
The WaterSeer is relatively simple device, designed to be operated without an external power input, and without the need for costly chemicals or maintenance, that can 'pull' moisture from thin air and condense it into water using the temperature difference between the above-ground turbine and the collection chamber installed six feet underground. The potable water can then be delivered to the surface for use via a simple pump and hose, and the device is said to be able to produce up to 11 gallons per day, even in arid regions.
First reported by us here.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday October 12 2016, @09:37AM
A lot of these dry places are rather dusty. I'd like to know how it deals with dust and other airborne crap.
Specifically how it gets 11 gallons a day of moisture from air into that underground collection chamber without significant amounts of dust etc getting stuck in there as well.
Would cleaning/replacing that underground collection chamber be that cheap and easy?
See this: http://www.geek.com/geek-cetera/prototype-wind-turbine-condenses-1000-liters-of-water-a-day-from-desert-air-1483891/ [geek.com]
In that link there's mention of a purification step, and that it was successfully tested in Abu Dhabi.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday October 12 2016, @10:01AM
I just used Google to convert the 11 gallons from the summary into liters (it would have been nice if the summary provided this, BTW), and got a bit less than 42 liters. Which is much less than the 1000 liters claimed in your link.
(Score: -1, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday October 12 2016, @02:53PM
Yeah, that confused me too. I also thought for sure that there were 100 liters per gallon too before you ran the conversion.
Boy, I guess with the metric system you lose all sense of proportion with your love of powers of 10.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday October 12 2016, @04:56PM
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday October 12 2016, @11:54AM
I think you could easily filter that out when pumping the water up. The problem I saw was dust in the bearings in the rotating part.
Also, they claim that the soil is always cooler than the air. But if you flow in hot air (and it cools, so the heat goes somewhere) the surroundings will warm up as well, in the end reducing the efficiency. At night time the inside might be hotter than the inflowing air.