Device to extract drinking water from humid air

[Bobsuruncle]

I'm starting to look into the possibility of creating my own drinking water from the humidity in the air.

I'm hoping to find a company or distributer here in Thailand that has a decent reputation that sells these devices.

So far I've only come across three companies that make them. Source hydropanels, Aquaboy, and Genny by Watergen. But I haven't recieved any responses back from them as to their avaiability here in Thailand.

At least two of the companies say that their units can run off of solar power and/or the photovoltaic panels are built right into the units.

Has anyone here had any experience with companies that sell these devices? 

 

[Pilotman]

That's how a de humidifier works? Whether you would be wise to drink the water it collects is another matter.  

[Bobsuruncle]

6 minutes ago, Pilotman said:

That's how a de humidifier works? Whether you would be wise to drink the water it collects is another matter.  

The companies say that the water is filtered through 3 filters and then run through/past a UV light to make sure that the water is purified to drink. They also add Ca and Mg to mineralize the water. I'm no expert on the process. I was hoping that someone here has had experience with one of these.

[Bobsuruncle]

Apparently Tipco Foods company in collaberation with Watergen brought in one of the commercial sized AWG (atmospheric water generator) and installed it up near Chiang Rai to help the elderly obtain safe drinking water. But the video is short and doesn't give much detail: 

 

[ExpatOilWorker]

Rain?

[Bobsuruncle]

I lived on water catchment for 17 years in Hawaii and it was no problem as there was never a month without rain. It's definitely a good idea but here in Thailand there is a lot less rain so not as practical if you need to depend on it.

[tonray]

You'll find that a de-humidifier uses more electricity than your air conditioning unit. Add to that the cost of filtering and testing your water and you're looking at a very cost in-effective plan. Rainwater is your best bet, collecting in wet season, storing and filtering with maybe some commercial supplementation (7-11 water) to fill in the gap periods.

[rwill]

Pure Aqua Thailand (pure-aqua-thailand.com)

[unblocktheplanet]

We all use some A/C, so cost should not be a terrible factor. Here in BK, we're drinking brackish water so this kind of easy system work be a great solution.

 

Wonder if existing dehumidifiers could be repurposed?

[Brock]

Catch the water from your aircon unit, store it in a tank and fillter it. Easily catch 10 litres a day. Those water extraction units are just a big fridge coil, the cold air generated is wasted to atmosphere.

[Bobsuruncle]

2 hours ago, rwill said:

Pure Aqua Thailand (pure-aqua-thailand.com)

Thanks rwill

[MarleyMarl]

Reminds me of this video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nXU8Ru57RG0

[alanrchase]

I half fill a glass with whisky then top it up with ice. A puddle of water soon forms under the glass. Repeat as necessary. 

[natway09]

The pay back on these is just not worth it.

In saying that I catch the water out of my aircon, the plans seem to enjoy

[Carlos Primeros]

You mean something like that?

There is a guy in Hua Hin selling these machines. A friend of mine bought a machine like this and gave me  the tel number 086 539 0003. I hope the number is still correct.

Good luck.

 

[ross163103]

14 hours ago, rwill said:

Pure Aqua Thailand (pure-aqua-thailand.com)

I contacted the Thai distributor--a farang,  of this product several years ago, he responded once but never got back to me after the initial correspondence. He said something about his chinese suppliers not fulfilling their obligations. Sounded like a good product just no way to buy it.

[Bobsuruncle]

13 hours ago, Carlos Primeros said:

You mean something like that?

There is a guy in Hua Hin selling these machines. A friend of mine bought a machine like this and gave me  the tel number 086 539 0003. I hope the number is still correct.

Good luck.

Yes Carlos, you and "rwill" have the same guy. I contacted him yesterday and have ordered the HR-88c from him. I'm getting his last unit until his next delivery in May. I'll be sure to leave my feed back on it as soon as I get it plugged in.

[Bobsuruncle]

12 hours ago, ross163103 said:

I contacted the Thai distributor--a farang,  of this product several years ago, he responded once but never got back to me after the initial correspondence. He said something about his chinese suppliers not fulfilling their obligations. Sounded like a good product just no way to buy it.

ross163103, I guess I was lucky, as he has one unit left and will get his next order in May. He has been very good about responding back to me, sometimes within an hour or two. So if you're still interested I'll keep you posted as to how the whole purchasing process goes and how the machine actually works and the taste of the water.

 

[1FinickyOne]

On 4/9/2021 at 6:35 AM, Bobsuruncle said:

not as practical if you need to depend on it.

depend on it? 

 

Did your local 7/11 go out of business? 

 

Depending and practical don't seem to rhyme here.. 

[Carlos Primeros]

6 hours ago, Bobsuruncle said:

Yes Carlos, you and "rwill" have the same guy. I contacted him yesterday and have ordered the HR-88c from him. I'm getting his last unit until his next delivery in May. I'll be sure to leave my feed back on it as soon as I get it plugged in.

I think this is not the same guy. Because before there was a company in Phuket "Generation Water" who sold those things. I contacted them various times more than one year ago. But they never replied. And now it seems they are out of business.

My friend is very happy with his machine. He bought it end of last year. The only problem is, that it makes a bit of a noise when operating, same as a dehumidifier. So maybe not to put in the bedroom????????

[Bobsuruncle]

On 4/15/2021 at 11:26 AM, 1FinickyOne said:

depend on it? 

 

Did your local 7/11 go out of business? 

 

Depending and practical don't seem to rhyme here.. 

1FinickyOne.

I'm not sure we're talking about the same thing. My quote was about not being able to depend on water catchment for your drinking water. It's great during the rainy season, but you'd need a huge catchment tank to get you all the way through the dry season up in the northeast here.

[Bobsuruncle]

On 4/15/2021 at 5:10 PM, Carlos Primeros said:

I think this is not the same guy. Because before there was a company in Phuket "Generation Water" who sold those things. I contacted them various times more than one year ago. But they never replied. And now it seems they are out of business.

My friend is very happy with his machine. He bought it end of last year. The only problem is, that it makes a bit of a noise when operating, same as a dehumidifier. So maybe not to put in the bedroom????????

The phone number you quoted in your first post is the number I called and that guy is located in Hua Hin and I think it's called Pure Aqua. I don't know about "Generation Water".

[sirineou]

On 4/8/2021 at 4:26 AM, Bobsuruncle said:

The companies say that the water is filtered through 3 filters and then run through/past a UV light to make sure that the water is purified to drink. They also add Ca and Mg to mineralize the water. I'm no expert on the process. I was hoping that someone here has had experience with one of these.

If you are going to do all that to water you extract from humid air with an expensive machine, , why not simply do that to water that is available everywhere? Water that is sold in those large green bottles is very inexpensive, If you are concerned about it, why not run that water through those filters that are readily available at any DIY store?

[Carlos Primeros]

That's what I did. I bought a Stiebel Eltron Waterfilter and filter now my drinking water from our tap. We have a water tank and a prefilter into a separat clean water tank which is used for the house water system. This prefiltered water is run through the drinking water filter. From that I fill smaller plastic bottles for house use. This is very nice. No more waterbottles buying in the shops and no more plastic waste.

The water machine Air to water, was too expensive, too noisy and uses too much electricity for my taste....

[Bobsuruncle]

14 hours ago, sirineou said:

If you are going to do all that to water you extract from humid air with an expensive machine, , why not simply do that to water that is available everywhere? Water that is sold in those large green bottles is very inexpensive, If you are concerned about it, why not run that water through those filters that are readily available at any DIY store?

As long as there is cheap water available everywhere, you're absolutey right.

[ross163103]

22 hours ago, Carlos Primeros said:

The water machine Air to water, was too expensive, too noisy and uses too much electricity for my taste....

Thanks for that, I was worried about the heat/noise aspect of these machines. I guess if you keep it outside somewhere maybe it's alright.

[Bobsuruncle]

Well, I went ahead and purchased one of these units from Pure Aqua and the process was quite painless. The unit was fully padded inside a cardboard box which was shipped inside a plywood crate, so it was really protected from any damage.

I'm not the brightest tool in the box when it comes to reading and understanding instruction manuals, but I was able to set it up myself and with an extra phone call to the seller everything is up and running and producing drinkable water.

When my Thai wife first heard me say that I was going to buy a machine that produces water from the air she thought I was getting early dementia. But now that she has had her first glass of water from the machine, she's looking at me as though I am Einstein.

The machine puts off a bit of heat and has noise comparable to our air conditioner so I won't be keeping it in our bedroom. But I'm pretty satisfied with it. And the taste of the water is better than I thought it would be.

Thanks to those (rwill and Carlos Primeros) who posted the link and phone number of this company.

Cheers