Dehumidifier for water

[paintball]

While talking with some friends it was dicussed getting a couple dehumidifiers for water collection. I had one once and it produced up to 5 to 8 gallons of water a day. If water was unavailable due to creeks etc. being dry just turn it on and let it do its work. I know there is a couple of machines out there that do the same thing but also has a built in filter system for alot more money. Id just like to hear other opinions on this.

[Rifleman14]

I have thought of this also the only problem is

#1 I don't have a dehumidifier

#2 I would want to test the water I got out of it first to make sure there isn't any crap in it

besides that it's a great idea

[slowz1k]

Found this little blurb... Take it for what it's worth. I know that if I'm close to death from dehydration and have no cleaner source, I'll belly up to the dehumidifier in a heart beat. I'd still run it through a filter though.

"Dehumidifier water is *not* clean water. Dehumidifiers remove
moisture from the air by cooling it below the dew point and catching
the condensation. Along with the moisture that condenses it also
catches a good deal of what was floating in the air with it, namely
fungus spores of all kinds, dust mites, dust and who knows what else?
At best, you'd have to consider it as no better than ground water and
treat it accordingly."

"It's a good source of demineralized water, but from a biological
standpoint it's pretty nasty stuff. Dehumidifiers collect all sorts
of dust and dirt on their coils which then provides food sources for
fungi and bacteria. Unless you were taking to clean your dehumidifier
coils and catch basin every day with a bleach solution, it's best not
to drink it straight from the source."

[paintball]

Yea i had figured that the water should be ran thru a filter or purified before drinking. but thanks for the heads up and the comments to the post

[n.i.b.]

Besides other nasties, water condensated from a dehumidifier or airconditioning system can contain legionnaires disease. The good thing is that boiling the water kills the bacterium (158 to 176 deg F is disinfection range). Legionnaries is an airborne contracted disease with pneumonia results.

[Oscar Wilde]

Bad water is more desirable than NO water .... chlorinate then filter through activated charcoal.

O.W.

[Keitaboy]

If you didn't have water I could assume you don't have a large supply of power. Dehumidifiers suck up a lot of power. Wouldn't it be better to use a well to full some barrells in a short amount of time.

[tbkbtk123]

If you didn't have water I could assume you don't have a large supply of power. Dehumidifiers suck up a lot of power. Wouldn't it be better to use a well to full some barrells in a short amount of time.

Thank you for bringing up the use of a well, I luckily have a sweet well on my property, and have the well water going through a sand filter prior to going to the house. I pre-filter the water used for drinking and cooking.
My question, if the powergoes out is there anyway to pump the well to the sand filter mannually? The well is approx. 120' deep.
I have a 750 gal sand filter so initially I would have access to that amount of water, but nothing planned, lasts forever!

[Keitaboy]

There are deep well hand pumps. They are not cheap, but would be very usefull if needed.
Here's a link. http://www.survivalunlimited.com/deepwellpump.htm