Mr Water Distiller
Why would anyone want to spend money and energy on a water distiller. The most logical reason is to assure that the water to be consumed is free from harmful bacteria and chemicals. Nature uses two processes to purify and distribute water. The first is evaporation of water. The second is condensation of water vapor. A water distiller uses these two methods to purify water.
Solid and insoluble material is best filtered out of water before it is poured into the boiler of a water distiller. This aids in minimizing the residue left behind after the water has been evaporated.Another benefit is it takes less energy to heat the water. Any solid material will insulate the heat from the water thus making it less efficient.
Another necessary step is to filter the water through activated charcoal before the water enters the boiler. Activated charcoal absorbs and reacts with many contaminants. A class of contaminants known as volatile hydrocarbons are removed by activated charcoal. There are several types of activated charcoal distinguished by their source of carbon. Many prefer activated charcoal produced from coconut shells. AC is produced from wood and coal. Wood usually contains less heavy metals than coal and is a better source of activated carbon than coal for making distilled water.
Once water reaches the boiling point it vaporizes. Any dissolved material having a boiling point higher than water’s will stay behind. Water vapor and any vaporized gases will evaporate and travel into the condenser tubing. The next step is to condense and collect the mineral free water.
The condenser dissipates the heat contained within the water vapor. A heat exchange between the condenser and cooling air or water returns the water vapor into a purified distilled water. The more times this purified water is re-distilled the purer it will become up to a point. Distilled water contains extremely small amounts of impurities. The most common gas to dissolve in distilled water is carbon dioxide. Since most minerals are not present the carbon dioxide will ionize and become a dilute form of carbonic acid. This is what many people call acidic water. It does test as a weakly acidic solution.
This weak carbonic acid is easily neutralized by a slight amount of calcium carbonate. Many prefer water containing some minerals. They can make the taste more appealing. Concern over acidic water is in my opinion overrated considering the much higher acidic containing foods we consume such as carbonated soda and many other foods. Other alkaline foods tend to bring the ph back into balance or a more neutral ph of about 7.0.
Condensed water known as distilled water is best collected and kept in clean glass containers. They will maintain the water’s purity. If a consumer wishes to remineralize the water for better taste only food grade or better minerals should be used.
Producing water by distillation is energy intensive and thus increases the cost substantially. However, the small quantity of distilled water consumed per person is small and cost effective when other pure water sources are unavailable. Drinking impure or contaminated water is a health risk and to be avoided. When your health and well being are concerned a water distiller is a valuable low cost aid in producing good clean drinking water.