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Any water we harvest in the wild should be purified. But what do we do when the only water available is saltwater? In this video, NightHawkInLight explains how to make a DIY saltwater survival bottle.
This portable desalination kit will make short work of converting saltwater to freshwater by capturing steam. The steam is concentrated through cooled, copper coils and the result is pure, distilled water. Here’s how to make it…
Article continues below.
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Equipment
- 1 stainless steel, non-insulated water bottle with metal cap
- 4 feet of flexible ¼” copper tubing
- Right angle brass compression fitting with ¼“ openings
- Plumbing solder (lead free)
- Soldering flux/paste
- Fine grit sandpaper
- Butane torch for soldering
- Drill
- 1/4” drill bit
- 1/16” drill bit
- Pipe cutter
Directions:
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- Remove the metal cap and any rubber or plastic gasket on the cap
- Drill a ¼” hole through the top of the cap
- Drill a second hole with the 1/16” bit between the hole in the top and the rim to let heat escape while soldering
- Cut a length of copper tubing that will emerge ½” from the top and bottom of the cap
- Cut 2 small pieces of solder and wrap them around the tubing on the top and bottom of the lid
- Coat the solder with flux and melt to solder to create a weld
- Solder and seal the 1/16” hole
- Reattach the gasket after the cap has cooled and screw the cap back on the bottle
- Attach the right-angle brass compression fitting to the tube at the top of the cap
- You can insert a rubber gasket into the fitting to create a watertight seal to use the bottle as a conventional water bottle
- Take the copper tubing and wrap it tightly around the bottle 8 or 9 times
- Bend the top of the tubing up along the bottle and the other end down along the sides of the bottle
- Remove the coiled tubing and attach one end to the brass fitting and tighten
- Remove the rubber stop gasket from the brass fitting if installed
- Fill the water bottle with saltwater and suspend the bottle of over an open fire or a fire contained in a can or hobo stove
- Set a container at the other end of the tubing protruding away from the water bottle
- As the water begins to steam it will condense in the tubing and begin to drip fresh water into your container
- To better condense the water, immerse half of the coiled tubing in a pan or can of cold water so the bottom is surrounded by water or wrap the coils with a continuously wet rag
- Stop the process before the bottle is empty so you don’t concentrate salt and minerals on the side
- Add a splash of the saltwater to the distilled drinking water to provide electrolytes
- You can also use a solar reflector oven to heat the bottle but paint the bottle black
Watch the video below to see it done.
I actually have all the materials needed to build this desalination kit. Some naysayers think it is only for “survival” in an extreme situation. I am making it for a trip to the coast where there is no tap water, no creek flowing fresh water into the ocean, no people at all. Just tons of clams and myself. I don’t have to carry 40 pounds of water. I can make it all on my own as I sit using driftwood for fuel and all the salt water I could ever dream of to make drinkable. Pessimistic naysayers are a hindrance to real survivors and people who just have a specialized problem to solve.
Interesting project, but kinda worthless.
Unless you travel over salt water and/or expect to be stranded on a desert island, it is not worth the effort.
Then unless the completed project ( along with provisions for a heat source), is packaged in a flotation container, it will probably go down with the ship or plane you were on.
In emergencies, people seldom have the time or the rational thinking processes to gather up things that they might need later on.
Knowing the basic principle is priceless, as you can always adapt it to whatever materials you have on hand. But then that is the same method that you should already know, as one way to purify any water source.
It seems like it is just common sense, but then I guess, common sense is not ” common”, anymore.
THINK about taking a long hike along a coastline. THAT is when it would be most useful. It is NOT worthless. Only a shallow thinker would only think something is for survival.
If you are short of the bottle, boiling water in an open pot with a lattice (or sticks across the top of pot) built over the pot and cloth over it to capture the steam should do the trick. The boiled vapor is salt free – wring out into container or over your mouth (after cooling of course !).
Actually you have a better system than that in the video.
One of the problems is it’s size.
To get only steam (no salt water) from this or any other closed system, you can only fill it 2/3rds to 3/4 full. Otherwise as it starts to boil it will force your salt water into the outflow (condenser) pipe.
Since you need a gallon of water a day to survive, you will have to multiple several distillation, runs.
Since there is no outside feed line, it will need to cool down between resets. As you will have to open it to refill it.
In most survival scenarios, you will not really have the time to watch and care for it.
You will be needing to build shelter, find or gather food, fire wood, etc.
So a large open pot and a make shift collector/condenser, though greatly inefficient, is most probably a much better choice.
Thanks very useful in a desperate situation!
Nice job! One of the most informative and well-produced videos I’ve recently seen. Keep up the good work.
Love it. Common sense highschool chem lab. Cheap, easy, and basic tools. If you’re not comfortable soldering, you can substitute a 1/4″ brass compression fitting . Just drill the hole in the top to the proper size of the threads.