Treat Your Own Water
(Page 2 of 4)
January/February 1980
By the Mother Earth News editors
Even the most rudimentary still can accomplish sterilization and the separation of liquids and solids. Therefore, the challenge in distiller design involves the removal of volatiles ... chemicals which vaporize with the water and that will-if allowed to-condense in the distillate in a highly concentrated form! (Trihalomethanes, for example, can-if present in water that's run through a poorly operating still-show up in the finished product at ten times the concentration that they made up before distilling!)
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CRYSTAL CLEAR STOVETOP DISTILLER
Crystal Clear-like the other two companies included in this discussion-markets a variety of distillers which differ in both extent of automation and cost. The stovetop model (shown in the photographs) is by far the least expensive and most compact distiller we've encountered. And, since the device can be used on any heating source, it's possible for folks without electricity to purify H20 with the Crystal Clear.
Despite the stovetop's low price, its water inflow-which provides cooling for the condenser and keeps the boiler supplied -is automatically controlled by a ball check valve located on the upper level of the unit. This model also features an exhaust valve that can be adjusted to vary the flow of water around the condenser to provide different condensation temperatures (for the removal of specific con taminants). However, the Crystal Clear's compact construction doesn't allow the use of a distillation column ... which is the only currently accepted method for extracting several volatiles at one operating temperature.
NEW WORLD DISTILLER V
New World's latest distiller resembles the production design stills which MOTHER has used to manufacture alcohol fuel. The vertical column permits fractional distillation . . . which is the extraction of substances with different vapor pressures at varying specific heights in the column. In addition, the fact that the flow of water around the condenser can be adjusted-assuring the continual exchange of liquid around the heating elements to limit scaling and prevent concentration of toxic compounds in the boiler's water-allows the operator of the Distiller V to carefully control the temperature of the distillate being produced.
