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Atmospheric Water Generator. This is a home made AWG. Here in California we need all the water we can get.
This is a dehumidifier that gets h2o from the moisture in the air about 5 Gallons a day. It has a 30 Gallon tank and extra black Berky filters in side.
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That's a really good thing to have. What are the details, i.e. how does it operate and about what does one cost to put together?
Not bad! 5 gallons a day? After passing through those filters do you need to refilter to make the water potable?
Hi Rob,Diyer,
Water is pulled into the condenser via a electric fan. which gathers the water on the fins, small fridge,, then it gos to the 5 gallon bucket that is inside the 30 gallon drum. The 5 gallon bucket has two Berky filters that remove most of the contaminants. The water is then pumped thru a line to a spicket. There are many ways to filter water, it depends the area you live in to know which ones are the best to use, it is best to consult a professional to know which filtration to use for your area.
Cost of all the parts between $400. and $5oo. This unit was made to operate outside.
Thanks Captainleeward! I've added your Atmospheric Water Generator to our Miscellaneous category, as well as to your builder page: Captainleeward's Homemade Tools. Your receipt:
<div id="blocks"> <div class="block b1 pngfix"> <div class="bimg"> <div> <a href="/atmospheric-water-generator"><img src="/uploads/106662/atmospheric-water-generator.jpeg" alt="Atmospheric Water Generator" /></a> </div> </div> <div class="head pngfix"></div> <div class="left pngfix"></div> <div class="right pngfix"></div> <div class="blockover b1 pngfix"> <div class="title"> <a href="/atmospheric-water-generator">Atmospheric Water Generator</a> <span> by <a href="/builder/captainleeward">Captainleeward</a></span> </div> <div class="tags"> tags: <a href="/tag/fan">fan</a>, <a href="/tag/drum">drum</a>, <a href="/tag/5-gallon-bucket">5-gallon bucket</a> </div> </div> </div> </div>
You mentioned a small fridge, plus a fan. How many watts does it consume? I do know that in your case, you've got free power.
Hi Diyer, consumes 400 watts electricity here in California it is still cheep, but I can use my solar/wind generator system to power it up for 5 o6 six hours if I really need to. it stays on mostly at night. this is when the humidity is the highest here. :O)
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Very Cool!!!!!
400 watts per hour assuming it runs for 8 hours per day means that here in Ontario, Canada it would cost about $0.60 per day. Cheap water.....
Hi Power Design, of course the amount of humidity in the air varies we have usually 50 to 60 % because we are near the ocean so we get the on shore clouds and fog ect. it is necessary to have more that 30% humidity for the unit to be useful.
60% will yeald 5 gallons of h2o per 8 hr. day.In the house the humidity is 10% higher but we like the humidity so better to have the unit out side for us. I have more pictures of the build if any body is interested. :O)
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this is a float switch turns off the unit when the tank is full
Very neat. Free water from free power.
Very cool, very cool! I'm really fascinated by this setup, captain!
Thanks Diyer, gotta have my H2O.........:O) and just after i finished building it it starts to rain here???
Hahaha! Well, that rain's badly needed, you know.
Hi Captainleeward,
Now, that's a useful homemade tool! Your Atmospheric Water Generator is the 'Tool of the Week'!
You'll be receiving one of our official HomemadeTools.net T-shirts:
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Let me know (via PM) your size, color choice, and mailing address. We'll get the shirt in the mail to you directly.
Congrats!
Ken
Well done. I would think you would not want inside operation in most of CA given the already dry air, no?
Though in humid climates it would serve a dual purpose of generating water AND moderating inside air.
What is the quality/purity of the water yield?
And as point of interest what do you pay for residential water if you don't mind my asking.
Hi Shopstorm,
You must remember I live near the coast where water in the air is higher then the desert areas. What is the quality/purity of the water yield?
i don't know I am waiting for a water testing kit at present. our water and sewer costs are put together so I Don't know. :O)
If you're so inclined you might look a the effects of relative humidity and ambient temperature on your device. At higher humidity levels it will make more than at lower of course. I would be very interested to know how the capture rate falls off at low humidity levels. Those of us in arid areas could then decide on building one.Quote:
Originally Posted by Captainleeward
hi Rob, Yes I will share some results of the awg will take a few weeks as I need more time...:O)
In my situation living in calif. I need to have h2o back up system in the event of earthquake ect.
This thread has been moved to the Must Read subforum. Congrats (and thanks) to Captainleeward for making such a valuable contribution!
Hi Captainleeward,
Great post on the AWG. I would be very interested in all the details and pictures, as I am planning on building one of my own.
Thanks...Jeff
Hi Jeff eddi887, can do give me a day or so to find photos. :O)
I started with a 30 gallon food container $25.00 at the local container store.
I made a round insert hole in a piece of plexi glass that holds a 5 gallon bucket. inside the bucket are the charcoal filters 2 of them.
I bought two water level gauges so it will stop the unit from putting water in the tank when its full. i also use this for filtering tap water.
there is some 3/4 inch white pvc that goes down the full length of the food container this tube allows the suction pump to suck the water and put it in the spigot for filling water jugs. there is a float switch inside the food container tank to stop the pump from over filling the tank. I purchased a dehumidifier and took out the small water tank and put a tube in to the food container tank so as the unit makes water it goes into thru filters and then into 30 gallon food container tank .
in my area I get 5 to 10 gallons of water at night depending on the humidity near the ocean.
these small dehumidifiers can be run on solar with ample storage battery's.
I keep 500 gallons (10 x 55 gallon barrels) of emergency water here and can filter this water in this unit if need be.
I do not use this unit at all it is for emergency only so it stays off until I really need water.
These are the only photos of the unit I have. hope this helps go online to find others who have made these as units. Cap....:O)
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I think I could benefit from more pictures and build instructions.
Hi chowdeshell,
I'm not really in the business of making plans for projects because each project is different and requires special attention.
But I can tell you that I get an idea and search the web to get all the best ways to proceed on the project and go from there.
also each of us must except responsibility for there own skill levels this is another reason I do not give out plans as some people get excited about building a project and get hurt because they don't learn the needed skills.
So I hope you can benefit from my pictures as well as from others on the web. CAP.
While browsing through the 50 best builds I happened to re read this thread. In setting up my water tower I kept thinking that there was something else I wanted to include in the system it will be connected to my well plus have the ability to be refilled from hauled water and hopefully in the future to include a runoff collection from the roof. But that left in my mind at least one more essential method of collecting water it wasn't until the other night while watching a news segment on hurricane Harvey showing a commercial water from air generator that I was reminded of Captainleeward's simple little water generator. Any filtration system is what it is and whit the inclusion or activated charcoal, sand filters, fiber media, solar evaporation& recovery systems, Ozone generators and UV filters almost any water can be made potable.
With my proposed 1000 to 1500 gallon storage just a small unit like this will be a neat addition and added plus is the size will be comparable with my existing solar array and battery storage I plan on powering my system with.
O Hi Frank how have you been? Your plans seem to have a good foundation with sound principles. Your ideas will serve you well. Good Luck. :O)
I might try a build on it. you say you have more pictures?
Hi Grayhounddollie, regarding Atmospheric Water Generator. I have up dated the verbiage as best I can I don't have any more photos. best to go on Google to find other diy er's for this build... good luck.
Is there a market for this sort of thing? I've been playing with absorption/desorption systems and might be able to bang something together.
On small and novelty scales possibly, on large scales unless it can be completely run by solar or thermal energy without the requirement to consume energy to extract the water from the air then it may have a commercial value.Quote:
Originally Posted by Elizabeth Greene
the heat pump HVAC system I have in my house can produce up to 5 gallons of water per day just from the condensation my dogs and cats love the cold water emanating from the drain as I allow it to collect in a small wading pool on hot days they will play in it for hours on end
I'm thinking of this and I wont use the filters, this will good for distilling purposes!
Since it wasn't designed to generate potable water I'd be surprised if the condenser coils didn't introduce heavy metals into the condensate, and a Berkey filter doesn't eliminate heavy metal contamination. Use the water for non-potable applications.
I've seen a billboard set up as a collector. Gathers quite a bit of water into a stock tank at the bottom.
Native peoples built these things way back before history. Not sure you'd call that a commercial scale but they got their drinking water from it.
Around here it would yield much more per day. In the middle of summer the RH is probably about 450 to 500%. ;)
If water from San Diego tastes salty, thereby fruity from San Francisco?
Need to open a sales office on Tantooine ! Nice design, now I need to build one.
