Too much electricity

[BruceS]

Slowhand the houseboat next to mine has such a facility on his. His 'handles' all grey water AS WELL AS blackwater.
The only thing he has to do is empty the dry 'dust' (impurities) from time to time. Just like emptying ashes out of a slow combustion fireplace.
It's been inspected and certified as complying with EPA rules & regulations regarding discharge etc into the River Murray. (Very strict guidelines & inspection)

[dapope]

Bagmaker, there are already units which do all you ask, the space station works on those principles very successfully, except for solid wastes I believe, but is extremely expensive. That's the approach they are using for the proposed colonising of Mars, which will be an interesting time when and f it happens.

You can already convert house grey water to fresh very simply, and using no energy or power. I have a one I'm playing around with at home, an environmental engineer friend of my kids is advising me with it (through my daughter). It's really just common sense, the techo aspects don't interest me at all, just that it works ad how to make it happen..

Interesting Mr Hand, can you get some more information on the greywater system for us?

Yes please!

[slowhand]

Bagmaker, mine is a long flat low sided tank, slightly sloped and a gable glass roof. The sun heats the water and it evaporates onto the glass, runs into channels which flow into a couple of homemade crushed charcoal filters and then through a glass tube solar powered UV light chamber. As I don't use any chemicals or processed foods, the only waste is organic mostly, so makes brilliant compost. Make my own soaps from olive oil for personal use and seed oils for washing and cleaning.

It will filter about 20-50lt a day and goes on the inside garden presently. Soon it will feed my aquaponics system, once it is built. Drunk it and tastes just like the filtered tank water. Been thinking of how to set it up on the bus roof and use the movement as well as sun to do the filtering, with solar pumping and gravity feed back into the secondary water tanks. Have two water system on the bus, one for washing, showers etc and one purely for drinking, which is also filtered. I only drink filtered water, just love the pure taste compared to the chemically saturated crap you get out of taps.

Even thought of incorporating the composite toilet system I have which provides methane to compliment my biogas digester in the bus, and use the moving air mass when driving to evaporate the liquids from grey and black water. Then all that's left is composted solids and never any smells. If you keep air circulating in your grey and black water system, you don't get smells.

Now I'm retired and live by myself, am putting all the things I've learnt and idea's I've developed during my building working life into action and no one to complain or hassle me. So there a many projects I have under way, including building a 4 seater electric car with a range of over 1000klms with a mate. We are currently working on the frame design using racing car chassis methods for safety and lightness ad a carbon fibre Kevlar body, my youngest daughter is handling all the electrical technical logistics, we will just out it together. But that's another story, already got an electric mountain bike which we've increased the range from 35-50klms, to 100k+kms. So simple to do and soon we hope to convert a 125cc trail bike with a longer range. Keeps me out of the pub and hunting for the non existent perfect woman.

[T1 Terry]

Thanks Slowhand, a great reminder of just how simple the system can be. The solar still is a well known device that's been used through the centuries, here is an interesting adaption http://www.instructables.com/id/Build-a ... lar-still/ There are a lot of other examples you can find with a Google search, the glass tube and window reflective tint in the storm water pipe is a great idea I first saw around 5 yrs ago, still haven't made one yet

T1 Terry

[bagmaker]

Fantastic stuff, Slowhand, thanks for the explanation!
I might put it on my own list of things to do, make a commercial system for travellers to convert grey water into drinking water. The KISS principal is working well for you with a solar still.
Would you be offended if I borrowed the idea?

Not too sure about a moving air mass within the tank though, I fear you may pollute the evaporated air mass with grey water droplets

Might be a good thread by itself?

And looking forward to some updates of electric vehicles too!
I wouldn't focus too much on the perfect woman, focus on making a fortune. The Edelstiens, Packers and other 1%ers worldwide seem to be swimming in beautiful women and although I hate to generalise, those blokes cannot ALL have great personalities

[slowhand]

Fantastic stuff, Slowhand, thanks for the explanation!
I might put it on my own list of things to do, make a commercial system for travellers to convert grey water into drinking water. The KISS principal is working well for you with a solar still.
Would you be offended if I borrowed the idea?

Not too sure about a moving air mass within the tank though, I fear you may pollute the evaporated air mass with grey water droplets

Might be a good thread by itself?

And looking forward to some updates of electric vehicles too!
I wouldn't focus too much on the perfect woman, focus on making a fortune. The Edelstiens, Packers and other 1%ers worldwide seem to be swimming in beautiful women and although I hate to generalise, those blokes cannot ALL have great personalities

Will give you a full description of how it works when I recover from this afternoon, you can do what you like with it, that was just a simple outline. I'm happy for anyone to use what knowledge I have, that's what improves our world and lives, it shouldn't be restricted or made to hard to understand.

There is a proven method for using mobile air mass to remove waste smells, will try to explain that as best I can also later. Its revolves around what is around us every day in nature, but fail to notice.

Don't need to make a lo of money, been there done that and just enjoying my retirement and helping others. The perfect women situation, is another story and not worthy of putting here, unless I want to be hung. I see perfection as the art of change, another controvesial subjjet. Must go, the neighbours are here and the pepper berry gin and lime is becoming very tasty. Enjoy your day.

[bagmaker]

I understand moving the airmass will reduce any odour, as you say a proven thing. I am just musing about mixing that vapour with the evaporated water - two different things, on is merely water molecules and the other? I am not sure it would be so pure, due to the agitation.

[Busman]

The first part of the air movement thingy is what we discovered on our first bus.
If you have a little bit of spare power its not hard to do
We have pvc pipes from black and grey exiting under the solar on the roof.
We made a small "fan box" out of an electrical enclosure box and mounted 2 x http://www.electusdistribution.com.au/p ... &SUBCATID=
on it, as you can see the 2 only draw about .4 of an amp. The fan box is in the bins so it is removing any heat from the eutectic fridge at the same time
If you really, really strain you can hear them running, otherwise you would not know they were there.
Thats basically all we do, occasionally throw a bit of napisan in especially if not moving, to assist breakdown but it probably is not necessary.
It works !

[bagmaker]

So how much electricity are we typically wasting?
Can we get some input as to estimates?
I guess (note that word) that if you are topped out at 1400 oclock, sunset was at 1800 and you had 1000w of solar panel then its a pretty easy equation.
But if you were travelling from 0800 that day you might also have considerable alternater power going in to the battery, adding to an early "full" status.
Put down a reasonable guess, it will be a great benefit to developing real-world systems.

Also, advise of a "maximum dream" electrical capacity as well. For example -should a system come along that you would love to have, like an engine maintenance robot or micro-brewery for campers- and you COULD add more solar charge capacity, what would you max out at using the same circumstances as above? Panels will get cheaper, systems will come along

[dapope]

We were full just before midday, I burned some off with a fan, l should have switched the hot water back on as well, I reckon at sunset I will be at 98% full
lunch on the induction plate used a whole 1% out of the battery. Boiling the jug knocks 2% off the first time going from cold, thats a 2200w element which stuffs running anything else on the 3000w inverter, unless its below about 500w, toasterat 800 threatens to overload the inverter.