Water, water everywhere..

[pam]

I saw a new product recently on HGTV and was fascinated with it.. it literally creates water out of air, was called the dragonfly and came from hyflux in singapore. I don't know about any of you, but I'm allergic to the chlorine in my water and don't particularly like the idea of all the chemicals I drink, so it piqued my interest.

The US distributor is air2water llc out of LAX. I've got an email into them now to see if/how I can get one. Does anyone else have one? If anyone else is interested, I'll post the info I get here on the forum.

pam

[QuadSquad]

well, I'm quite certain the water from the air in Niceville will be just fine, but what do you suppose the water from the air in LA will taste like[V][xx(]

[citivolus]

Pam,
I've looked at it but I don't know what it costs. It's basically a dehumidifier with a pump to pass the water through a standard carbon filtration unit and they have added a uv lamp to kill any legionella and viruses (virii?) that get through. I can't say I'm impressed by the throughput at only 1.6 Gal / day for the residential unit which is probably enough drinking water for a small family. One thing I couldn't find was power requirements but I'd wager it's somewhere between 200 and 300 Watts which can get expensive if it has to run all day everyday.

If it's too expensive it would be easy enough to replicate since you could buy a dehumidifier and the uv unit at sears and the pump, filters and tank at an rv/marine shop. From there a basic stamp at radio shack, a few sensors, relays, a free weekend or two and presto - done. Now that I think of it, it would make a fun project for some ambitious student(s). I think with a little guidance it could turn out quite well.

--
swiftly flying

[beckpm]

sounds like a nice science project, but it would be hard to beat the price per gallon of bottled water from COSTCO!

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[pam]

I think the firm that designed and created the unit is a singapore firm called hyflux (http://www.hyflux.com} and they've developed a special membrane for the filtering.

Since I'm not sure what is in the bottled water I drink (half the time I think it's just tap water ) - I'm intrigued. At least I'd know that I wasn't drinking tap water [:P]..

I remember when I lived in an Ashram in India and we all ran around drinking Bisleri (which was the bottled water like Dasani) - at one point someone tested it for amoebas, and it had them. (No wonder I couldn't get rid of mine!) Everyone was back to boiled water, at that point!

Pam

[citivolus]

quote:Originally posted by beckpm

sounds like a nice science project, but it would be hard to beat the price per gallon of bottled water from COSTCO!

Just a quick estimate based only on the dehumidifier: a 50 pint (per day) dehumidifier (sears spec.) uses 630 Watts, which at $.12/kWh comes out to $.29/gal. The amortization time of the $180 sale price, using the same $.29/gal. is 621 gallons or about 100 days. So for the first 100 days you pay $.58/gal. then you are down to half that from then on. I'd say that's not bad even if you double the capital investment for the rest of the equipment it's 200 days. The extra equipment might use another 50 Watts maximum bringing it to a $.31/gal base. Costco? Maybe not, but I know lots of places that charge less for soda pop than they do for water.;)

--
swiftly flying

[KSagal]

I use a reverse osmosis filtering system in my home. It is about as complete a filter as you are likely to find, and my system incorporates carbon filters and particulate screens as well.

What most people don't know, and I have been educated to, is that there is a great deal of re-contamination that occurs after the filtering, in the storage areas. The filter elements need to be replaced regularly...

I filter my tap water because I am concerned about chemicals and contaminates. My filter removes these well. As far as biological elements, I need to be diligent with the filter replacements...

Just my meager understanding of the topic...

Karl Ian Sagal

Each road you travel should be just a bit better for having had you pass.

[pam]

Yes, Karl, I think this is the "weak point" of almost any system. the filtering and storage. Good things to keep in mind.
Thanks,
Pam