Open Source Solar Water Distiller

Basics

• A device for turning sea water (and possibly even non potable water) into distilled water using only solar thermal energy

Used For

• Off Grid Water
• Cheap Production of Distilled Water for Home Use on Things like Fish Tanks
• Water for Scientific Applications
• Water Production of Yachts and Saiboats, Especially for longer ocean trips (This could be a highly profitable market)
• Water Production in rural/developing areas

Minimum Viable Product

• Modular
• ~1 Square Meter and 2 decimeters high
• As few parts and valves as possible
• Pour spout for backwash cleaning
• Can be chained together
• FreeCAD kit for designing one to your own dimentions fast and easily

Basic Design

• Strained seawater is added into a darkly painted and heavily insulated basin
• This area is enclosed with a transparent slanted "roof"
• Like a greanhouse the heat is trapped and water evaporates
• It condenses on the slanted roof and runs unto a collection ditch/partition
• It then exits the device

Side note/idea

• It may be worth investigating if pre running the incoming seawater over the transparent single roof, or in between 2 of them in a double roof arrangement, may improve water heating and vapor cooling thus increasing efficiency

Matinence

• Every Now and then (needs specific cycle amounts/liquid flow), it must be cleaned via washing with clean water (doesn't need to be distilled, though that can help, just not saturated)
• Also UV Light and/or Salt(water) destroy everything so lifetime is a concern, cleaning + paint + sacrificial anodes may help