Who here is gathering water from their air con?

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zolly

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Am curious to find out who is using water from their air con, how much are they getting and what brand/model of air con is it?
 
Ballpark guesstimate might be 0.5 to 2l per hour. Depends on multiple factors such as air temperature and relative humidity (or dew point), thermostat setting, closed or open cycle ventilation, unit power, and many other factors...

Edit: I don't have an aircon, since I am fortunate to live in a naturally ventilated apartment. My comments are based on thermodynamic principles, not actual measurements.
 
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Gordon_R said:
Ballpark guesstimate might be 0.5 to 2l per hour. Depends on multiple factors such as air temperature and relative humidity (or dew point), thermostat setting, closed or open cycle ventilation, unit power, and many other factors...
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Thanks Gordon. What type of air con do you have?

My room turns into a furnace during really hot days so am seriously considering getting a small unit and then gathering the condensate from that if it's a reasonable amount.
 
As mentioned in the thread already linked, I collect about 25l per day. I only have my aircon for a couple of weeks and started collecting last week.



On the dehumidifying setting i managed 50l in a 24hr period. I have 4 x 25l drums I'm collecting them in. My water had been off for the past 2 days due to a burst pipe and the water from the aircon has been a lifesaver.



Aircon is from House & Home 12 000 BTU.



Some pics below.



The three glasses are, from left to right, tap water, bottled water and condensate from my aircon.

Edit: Link https://mybroadband.co.za/vb/showthread.php/932781-Water-from-Air
 

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Just curious here? Isn't water from the aircon unit loaded with chemicals ? Won't it taste weird from all the chemicals?

Otherwise wouldn't aircons come with a tap? If it was that safe to drink?
 
eg2505 said:
Just curious here? Isn't water from the aircon unit loaded with chemicals ? Won't it taste weird from all the chemicals?

Otherwise wouldn't aircons come with a tap? If it was that safe to drink?
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No chemicals. It's just condensate. Just boil it to kill any bacteria before you drink it. Why do you want to put a tap on something that you want to drain? That's like putting a tap on your geysers overflow.
 
eg2505 said:
Just curious here? Isn't water from the aircon unit loaded with chemicals ? Won't it taste weird from all the chemicals?

Otherwise wouldn't aircons come with a tap? If it was that safe to drink?
Click to expand...
It can be used for the toilet or hand washing(unless you have one of those old top load machines like my gran use to have)

This could be helpful to people in capetown
 
signates said:
As mentioned in the thread already linked, I collect about 25l per day. I only have my aircon for a couple of weeks and started collecting last week.



On the dehumidifying setting i managed 50l in a 24hr period. I have 4 x 25l drums I'm collecting them in. My water had been off for the past 2 days due to a burst pipe and the water from the aircon has been a lifesaver.



Aircon is from House & Home 12 000 BTU.



Some pics below.



The three glasses are, from left to right, tap water, bottled water and condensate from my aircon.

Edit: Link https://mybroadband.co.za/vb/showthread.php/932781-Water-from-Air
Click to expand...

Yoh, that's pretty damn good. Any idea what this is costing in terms of electricity?
 
zolly said:
Yoh, that's pretty damn good. Any idea what this is costing in terms of electricity?
Click to expand...

The unit has only been in for nearly 2 weeks so early days. My electricity usage has gone up from an average of 25kkWh to 35kWh per day.

I have an efergy electric meter to check electricity usage. The a/c uses 1.1kw on max power.
 
I very much doubt that the materials used in an air conditioner are safe for humans. Now, this probably isn't a problem since the water isn't sitting inside the aircon for extended periods like with plastic bottles, but it is something to be aware of.
 
The_Assimilator said:
I very much doubt that the materials used in an air conditioner are safe for humans. Now, this probably isn't a problem since the water isn't sitting inside the aircon for extended periods like with plastic bottles, but it is something to be aware of.
Click to expand...

What makes it unsafe?
 
Gordon_R said:
Its full of dust, probably Legionella bacteria, heavy metals from motor vehicle exhaust, etc. Unless you clean and sterilise the condensation drip tray, treat like any rain-water or grey-water resource.
Click to expand...

I was more talking about the components that the aircon is made from, and the prospect of the chemicals from those components leaching into the water. But yes, bacterial contamination is a far more likely threat, which you can get around by first filtering the water, then boiling it for 10 minutes: https://en.wikipedia.org/?title=Boiling#For_making_water_potable
 
12000 BTU newly installed York aircon gives us only a trickle and wife uses it from 08:00 - 17:30 each day set at 23C. Unit is too efficient ;)
 
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