Desalination plants filter saltwater into fresh.
Fresh, clean water is essential to life. You need it to cook and to clean and hydrate your body. Those trying to save money and resources by living off the grid need to ensure their water is clean and salt-free. Humans can't drink saltwater; it will eventually kill you. However, you can desalinate ocean, rain and estuary water with a homemade desalination plant. Does this Spark an idea?
Instructions
1. Spread your plastic tarp out in a single layer on a clean surface. Lay your lampshade frame on its side on the tarp. Roll the frame first to the right, then to the left, tracing the path of the larger end of the frame with a grease pencil. Repeat with the smaller end. The result should be a large U-shape.
2. Cut out the large U shape. Wrap it around the lampshade frame and secure it at the top, bottom and along the side seam with aluminum tape. You should have a clear lampshade at this point.
3. Place the shade upside-down on the tarp. Trace around the top of the shade. Cut out the resulting circle and tape it to the top of the shade with more aluminum tape.
4. Measure the height of your lampshade with a carpenter's square. Touch the top of the long arm to the underside of the plastic circle in the lampshade. Line up the small arm so it's parallel to the bottom rim of the shade. A lampshade for this project should be about 10 inches high.
5. Measure your beverage cooler from the inside of the bottom to the top of the upper rim. Add this measurement to your lampshade measurement. Cut a piece of PVC pipe this same length using a hacksaw. For instance, a 36-inch-high beverage cooler and a 10-inch-high lampshade requires a piece of PVC pipe 46 inches long.
6. Run a bead of silicone caulk around the top end of your pipe. Set the plastic shade down on it, fusing the two together. Let the caulk dry overnight.
7. Place your 5-gallon bucket down into your beverage cooler. Fill the bucket with salty or rain water. Place the lampshade over the cooler, making sure the pipe sits in the center of the smaller bucket. Place the cooler in sunny spot.
8. Check on the cooler after several hours. The sun should draw the water up out of the bucket and cause it to condense against the inside of the shade. The water will then run down the shade and into the cooler.
Tags: beverage cooler, your lampshade, aluminum tape, lampshade frame, lampshade this, piece pipe