If the taps run dry

[Propwash]

I live in the middle of a city and wonder what me and other thirsty citizens would do if ever our water taps run dry for whatever reason in an apocalypse situation?
I'd have a few bottles of stored tapwater on hand of course but it's bound to run out, so what would we do then?
I live near the sea so is there a simple gadget or something available to filter out the salt?

 

[MNwr786]

Have enough water to get you to the next two for sure sources of water. There are RO filters that can get the salt out of seawater, but if I lived anywhere near the ocean, I would want a small thermos-sized stainless steel still in my go bag.

 

[MNwr786]

There is one product out there that comes to mind, the one that looks like a straw that everyone on youtube sticks in their septic drain field to look cool, but I heard about a lawsuit so I dare not recommend it to anyone. (disclaimer, I have not read the lawsuit, but I bet some youtubers are lol)

 

[Arcticdude]

There are several desalination kits on the the market. They range from small to large units. Some are solar powered too. My brother had one on his sailboat.

 

[Kevin L]

I expeimented with an idea about sea water when I used to kayak around the islands in the Miami bay.

A tea kettle can be rigged with a length of spiral copper tubing (like a moonshine still), so that the steam from the boiling water condenses in the tubing.

My rules for this experiment was that I had to use the fire from dried, burning seaweed, as seaweed is, essentially, limitless if one knows how to swim and snorkel.

Seawed does burn if it's dried out carefully, but not as efficiently as wood or coal. It also smells pretty bad.

I was--however--able to make about a gallon and a half of pure water every day with two large tea kettles.

Just keep in mind that this procedure is very labor intensive, needs constant tending, and that salt residue needs to be regularly cleaned out of the tea kettles.

Also, certain materials (like a cast-iron tea kettle) will rust much quicker because of the salt water. It works and is practical . . . but barely.

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Teakettle Still!

I would use this method in conjunction with other methods at the same time. A transpiration still can be set up with a plastic bag, twine, a pebble, and live vegetation. A solar still requires a shovel, a large plastic sheet, and some aquarium tubing.

This is a transpiration still:

Below is a lifeboat solar still available for less than $250.00.

Below is a solar still from a plastic dropcloth:

I hope this helps.

Let me know if I can answer any questions.

 

[DrHenley]

Any source of water, not just seawater, can be safely purified by distillation. But it's probably better to use an Erlenmeyer flask rather than a metal teakettle. It won't corrode. Just don't buy a bunch of them at once or you'll get flagged as a suspected drug dealer.

You can get the flask online if you can't find it locally, and you can get coiled copper tubing from big box hardware stores like Home Depot or Lowes, or plumbing supply houses, although you'll want to make the coils tighter.

 

[GaRp58]

There are just toooo many ways to get water drinkable. Stop worryin about how clean and how to get it, worry about having enough and let it be. After the end of the world as we know it, you will be eating plants for water, eating meat raw for water and drinking directly from the rain gutter...death by dehyrdration is a terribly painful way to go as all your organs start to fail, as your blood gets too thick to move and your brain wants to explode with a pain which NO PAIN TABLETS OR SHOTS CAN MAKE GO AWAY.... You will drink dirty water and get the shits, but your body will get accustomed to the bad crap (if you survive) and the bacteria will no longer bother you like those who drink the water in Mexico or parts of Africa and South America do.....if you get the runs from the water:
remember the word: BRAT
Bananas
Rice
Apples
Toast
Those will help get your intestines and stomach dried out again.
BTW: everybody should have several bottles of ELECTROLYTES in their pantry for such a situation.....live free, Gary

 

[Kevin L]

Any source of water, not just seawater, can be safely purified by distillation. But it's probably better to use an Erlenmeyer flask rather than a metal teakettle. It won't corrode. Just don't buy a bunch of them at once or you'll get flagged as a suspected drug dealer.

You can get the flask online if you can't find it locally, and you can get coiled copper tubing from big box hardware stores like Home Depot or Lowes, or plumbing supply houses, although you'll want to make the coils tighter.

I agree. I just see a glass flask as more fragile than a tea kettle, although a glass flask won't corrode from salt water.

 

[Danil54grl]

We have an LNVA canal that runs along our property. I do know that can be shut down so not something we can count on. It is also not something I would want to use for drinking. . . There is all kind of crap in there, even being filtered it is just shuttering. What we did do was drilled a well for our property. It's mainly for watering all the animals and the big garden. We are on solar now, but if that fails we also have propane. Our last ditch effort will be installing the hand pump. At this point, it's drinkable, but I also do boil just incase. We have had to use this during hurricane times over the years.

 

[Kevin L]

I did buy a Katadyn pocket filter with a ceramic element that is supposedly good for 14,000 gallons. I also have a replacement filter element, and spare parts. Also the maintenence supplies.

 

[EastenerWesterner]

There are just toooo many ways to get water drinkable. Stop worryin about how clean and how to get it, worry about having enough and let it be. After the end of the world as we know it, you will be eating plants for water, eating meat raw for water and drinking directly from the rain gutter...death by dehyrdration is a terribly painful way to go as all your organs start to fail, as your blood gets too thick to move and your brain wants to explode with a pain which NO PAIN TABLETS OR SHOTS CAN MAKE GO AWAY.... You will drink dirty water and get the shits, but your body will get accustomed to the bad crap (if you survive) and the bacteria will no longer bother you like those who drink the water in Mexico or parts of Africa and South America do.....if you get the runs from the water:
remember the word: BRAT
Bananas
Rice
Apples
Toast
Those will help get your intestines and stomach dried out again.
BTW: everybody should have several bottles of ELECTROLYTES in their pantry for such a situation.....live free, Gary

To add to Gary’s post- you can save space by getting powdered electrolytes to add to water.

 

[Danil54grl]

To add to Gary’s post- you can save space by getting powdered electrolytes to add to water.

Are you talking animal grade?

 

[EastenerWesterner]

Are you talking animal grade?

No. Common one is Propel. Another is Liquid Hydration Multiplier found at Costco.
I drink a bottle of Propel every day. I take powdered on trips.

 

[MNwr786]

Any source of water, not just seawater, can be safely purified by distillation. But it's probably better to use an Erlenmeyer flask rather than a metal teakettle. It won't corrode. Just don't buy a bunch of them at once or you'll get flagged as a suspected drug dealer.

You can get the flask online if you can't find it locally, and you can get coiled copper tubing from big box hardware stores like Home Depot or Lowes, or plumbing supply houses, although you'll want to make the coils tighter.

As Walter White would say, "You don't cook (anything) in an Erlenmeyer flask"! But if you want to, there is no danger in ordering those in great quantity. What they will flag is a purchase of a 22L round bottom boiling flask (which is what you want)! Whatever your method, if you are gonna use chemistry glassware, you may as well use ground glass joints and a Liebig condenser (24/40 is a good size for the home distiller).

 

[MNwr786]

I envisioned making a device like a thermos with certain chambers at a vacuum for insulation, have it seal good with a pressure relief valve at 250°F and have a chamber open to the air on top for filling with water at atmospheric pressure to cool the condenser surface below. Imagine taking a kettle, putting a wire rack inside, on that wire rack set a cup in the middle, fill it almost to the rack with water, place lid upside down on kettle and add ice water to cool vapor. I think if the "jail still" were refined for slightly higher than atmospheric pressure to allow for RT water to cool the condenser, it could work good and fit in a go bag easily. Make it out of 18-8 stainless and have a few extra o-rings in the kit and you should be fine for a long time.

 

[MNwr786]

With a glassware setup though, one could also grab a Vigreux or Snyder column and pour in some mash...

 

[DrHenley]

As Walter White would say, "You don't cook (anything) in an Erlenmeyer flask"! But if you want to, there is no danger in ordering those in great quantity. What they will flag is a purchase of a 22L round bottom boiling flask (which is what you want)! Whatever your method, if you are gonna use chemistry glassware, you may as well use ground glass joints and a Liebig condenser (24/40 is a good size for the home distiller).
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Yes...if you are doing this in a laboratory...

You will also need a stand for the round bottom boiling flask, and another stand for the round bottom receiving flask, and a Bunsen burner (the stand doesn't work too well over a campfire), and a source of gas for the Bunsen burner, and a constant stream of cold water flowing through the cooling jacket.

But if you are doing this over a campfire...

Coiled copper is air cooled, and you don't need a laboratory stand for the Erlenmeyer flask.

 

[MNwr786]

Yes...if you are doing this in a laboratory...

You will also need a stand for the round bottom boiling flask, and another stand for the round bottom receiving flask, and a Bunsen burner (the stand doesn't work too well over a campfire), and a source of gas for the Bunsen burner, and a constant stream of cold water flowing through the cooling jacket.

But if you are doing this over a campfire...

Coiled copper is air cooled, and you don't need a laboratory stand for the Erlenmeyer flask.

Practically speaking, nothing glass is going to survive long on the move in a survival situation (which is why I figured do it right if you're goin' with glass, because you will be at home anyhow if the glassware has seen a month or more of use). I know all too well how easy those beakers and flasks break.

 

[DrHenley]

I think I could pack one carefully enough. We're talking about a safe source of drinking water which is pretty high on my list of priorities, so I'd be extra careful packing it. Not talking about carrying it around in a BOB on foot though, I'd use filters for that. Maybe in an INCH bag or in the truck.
But yes at home too using whatever heat source I have, or at the BOL although we have an artesian well there.

 

[Propwash]

I suppose this simple arrangement for ridding seawater of salt is good for a modest cupfull or two of water per day (if the sun is shining).
The saucepan lid is transparent and is used inverted so drips can collect in the cup.
We could use a dozen or more to get more water.
And I suppose we could light a fire underneath to speed things up-