On Mon, 11 Jul 2005 19:01:15 -0400,
Larry wrote:
Jim Richardson wrote in news:8qu8q2-
:

How much power does it take to make a gallon of fresh water from
seawater with your distillers?


25c at 8c/kWH from South Carolina Electric and Gouge.


what do you do about the scale buildup in the distiller?


Not that it matters much I suppose, since 3KW/h isn't exactly going to
work on a sailboat not tied up to the dock, (and to shore power)

What I can't figure out is why marine engine builders can't build a good
distiller right into the engine heads. The coolant in there is BOILING,
already! In yachts with dry stacks, a simple heat exchanger right in the
exhaust stack would provide an amazing amount of distilled seawater in
motor yachts, just like an evaporator does on a steamship. It isn't rocket
science, like RO is. You need a seawater pump, already mounted on the
engine that's pumping cooling water into it at some pressure, a float-
regulated tank to maintain the seawater in the heat exchanger tubes perking
away in the exhaust stack, and a seawater condenser using the same seawater
pump on the engine to cool the steam back into distilled water. Feed that
through a carbon pile filter to take out distillables like benzenes and
what comes out is the freshest water in the world...no toxins, no
chemicals, no bacteria leaking through tiny holes in million-dollar
membranes. It would run 24/7 in a motor yacht until you ran out of tankage
to store it. A backflush timer would dump the salt and residues every few
hours overboard or you would have an overflow at some level to constantly
lose some of the huge energy in the stack dumping it over continuously
cleaning it. It's just salt and bugs and seaweed crap left over. Make it
out of stainless tubes so it doesn't corrode with a zinc in it, if
necessary.

Distillers are FAR less complex than RO science projects....really simple
devices. The boat would probably be overrun with fresh water in a yacht
with twin dry-stack diesel beasts burning up 20 gallons an hour, most
energy going right up that stack.

yeah, and distillers make sense on big power boats, like fish
processors, and lux yachts, can't see them working that way for a 35'
sailboat though...



--
Jim Richardson http://www.eskimo.com/~warlock
I came; I saw; I ****ed up

Jim Richardson wrote in news:clccq2-
:

what do you do about the scale buildup in the distiller?


We've got fairly heavy calcium buildup from city water, here. Strangely
enough, the scale only builds to a certain point, then flakes off as solid
calcium into the boiler, which would be easy to flush overboard. My big
commercial distiller has never been descaled and works fine. The
countertop Sears unit is a stainless, 1 gallon boiler you fill from the
sink. Its manufacturer recommends descaling with the same acid used in
coffee pots. I did it once and didn't see any difference in performance.
It draws about 1100 watts for a little over 2 hours to make a gallon.

I agree about sailboats having distillers. I suppose it boils (pun!) down
to what you tradeoff for your health drinking RO water that may be
undetectably toxic until it is too late.

Isn't it odd we always hear about a hundred people on a cruise liner with
RO water getting sick.....but never hear a report about what the
investigators find, that may cause people to not book vacations on them?

--
Larry

This jerk called my cellphone and was nasty.
Continental Warranty -- MCG Enterprises -- Mepco-
24955 Pacific Coast HWY Suite C303
Malibu California 90265
888-244-0925
Fax: 310-456-8844
Email:
Read about them he
http://www.ripoffreport.com/view.asp...3&view=printer

Jim Richardson wrote:

yeah, and distillers make sense on big power boats, like fish
processors, and lux yachts, can't see them working that way for a 35'
sailboat though...

If the sun is available, solar distilling could easily be used.
Piece of glass (with drainage for distilled water) at an angle
over a tub of salt water would work.

Haven't done that my self, but it does sound like a viable
DIY project.
--
Katukivien alla on rantahiekkaa.

Nuutti Gylling wrote in :

If the sun is available, solar distilling could easily be used.
Piece of glass (with drainage for distilled water) at an angle
over a tub of salt water would work.



Navy lifeboats used to have a balloon in them. You put salt water into the
bottom and blew them up. around the middle was a collection channel where
the condensate dripped to with a spigot to tap it off.

--
Larry

This jerk called my cellphone and was nasty.
Continental Warranty -- MCG Enterprises -- Mepco-
24955 Pacific Coast HWY Suite C303
Malibu California 90265
888-244-0925
Fax: 310-456-8844
Email:
Read about them he
http://www.ripoffreport.com/view.asp...3&view=printer