So you’re floating out in the sea, waiting to be rescued. It’s gonna be a few days and your fresh water supply has run out and there’s no rain on the horizon.
What’s the mininum equipment (that’s readily available to the average schmoe) you’d need to make sea water safe to drink?
Expensive, but apparently effective:
A soda bottle. You can put some sea water in it, leave it in the sun, and gather the water that evaporates and collects on the sides of the bottle. I’m not sure how practical this would be, having never been lost at sea, but it might provide a small amount of water that might prolong survival.
Solar stills work on this principle, but they’re designed to collect the fresh water into a more convenient container. This one is USD200 and can generate enough water for a single person to survive reasonably comfortably, but there must be cheaper ones somewhere.
A sheet of plastic will work. Place seawater on the topside while the sun beats down on it. Fresh water will condensate on the other side. I’m not sure but I think that this is due to sublimation. You might want to have a cup to catch the fresh water with so that you are not licking the sheet all day.
The navy has inflatable solar stills on lifeboats. I would imagine one woldn’t be hard to build with some clear vinyl and 500mph tape.
The navy has inflatable solar stills on lifeboats. I would imagine one woldn’t be hard to build with some clear vinyl and 500mph tape.