Playa Tested Greywater Evaporator

[captain voltaveus]

Thanks so much for the detailed reply, I'll go source those parts and try it out.
One question regarding your suggestion to tilt the pool a bit so as to keep the pump flowing, how do you manage to keep the whole thing vertical and not tilting off to one side? I imagine this would lead to uneven flow distribution around the disc.
Much respect!

[nocturnal_steve]

how do you manage to keep the whole thing vertical and not tilting off to one side?

just shim the bottom of pool one way with blocks or anything under, shim the hardware cloth where it sits in pool
counter the other way

[nocturnal_steve]

> How many GPH pump to use .... I estimate ( needing to evaporate) 20 gallons per day

I think my 500 GPH does 10-15 running partial day not sure .. .The trick is not so much the GPH but to get the entire hardware cloth screen to fill. The GPH pump you use will depend on if you use a 3' or 4' or 5' diameter pool & screen height. I am bringing a spare 750 GPH pump this year to test ( 4' diameter pool ). My guess is the LOWEST flow you use to achieve this (pinch the output hose if need be) the better... it enables the water to "stretch" to the thinnest possible in cells and slowly cascade down. More air/heat flow vs. volume in each little cell.

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>My bilge pump goes on, pumps for a couple of minutes & slows to trickle

You need enough water in the pool so bottom of pump is submerged, not sucking air. Shut it down, wait until you accumulate more gray water. For efficiency operate your pump starting mid morning when it's starting to get hot until late afternoon & shut it down. Also conserves battery power.

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> What is black ring of material on which hardware cloth rests on bottom of pool?

The one in the you tube video is not mine, I merely got the inspiration for the rotating head from them. Looks like a bicycle tube meant to keep the mesh anchored . Looks like they are also using an inflatable kids pool for the pond. I tried this .... terrible luck.... the thin vinyl got too hot, pliable, i vulnerable to holes, the whole thing just folded and gave up.

Much better for me with the rigid PVC blue kids pools about $12.00 Walmart, CVS drugstores etc.

The rigid pool can be folded like a taco for easy transport, at the end of the event I just shredded it with a knife
and put it in my trash; packed it out rather than mess with packing a funky dirty pool .

[Fan C]

I just had to deal with bilge pumps and switches (in a boat even) I'm surprised i didn't see anyone mention a bilge pump float valve. Works the opposite of a toilet, water level drops switch shuts off pump.

[Jovankat]

So I'm not sure this question is worth starting a new thread for cause it might be SUPER dumb. And I did do a search for "boil" and didn't come up with much so here goes;

Has anyone ever made an evap cauldron and boiled their grey water off? Or is that just way too gross? Cause apart from the grossness it would work right? You could combine a burn barrel and an eva cauldron... Two birds one stone.

I'm interested to hear people's thoughts on this and I'm totally prepared to be told it's not a good idea.

[FIGJAM]

It may stink.

[motskyroonmatick]

I just had to deal with bilge pumps and switches (in a boat even) I'm surprised i didn't see anyone mention a bilge pump float valve. Works the opposite of a toilet, water level drops switch shuts off pump.

My grey water evap setup used a float switched pump in the bottom of a big plastic tub. Worked like a charm and shut the system down when there was only one inch of water in the bottom of the tub. I wired it for both float switch activation and manual on/off for testing and getting that last little bit evaporated.

[jneilvindy]

So I'm not sure this question is worth starting a new thread for cause it might be SUPER dumb. And I did do a search for "boil" and didn't come up with much so here goes;

Has anyone ever made an evap cauldron and boiled their grey water off? Or is that just way too gross? Cause apart from the grossness it would work right? You could combine a burn barrel and an eva cauldron... Two birds one stone.

I'm interested to hear people's thoughts on this and I'm totally prepared to be told it's not a good idea.

I think we should build a steam-powered mutant vehicle and run it off grey water and burnable trash from camps we drive past!

[Jovankat]

I'm so glad you're in my camp

[The CO]

Pardon my lateness in posting.

Behold, the MK VIIa2 Evaporator (in steps)

Start with a basic A-frame of some kind. This one is about 3 foot by 3 foot. One could use a sawhorse and have to build less.




Layer of visqueen on the angle sides, running to a trough at the bottom. I ultimately used gutter downspout cut in half.




Add 1-2 layers of burlap over the black plastic.
The PVC pipe at the top is a drip tube-1/16" holes every 3/4".




I found 2 layers of burlap, one under and one over the drip tube, gives more surface area to evaporate from.




Reservoir is a 2 gallon bucket with a $20 garden fountain pump, does about 100-130 GPH.
***NOTE FOR BUILDERS OF ANY GREYWATER SYSTEM: THEY WILL FILL UP THE RESERVOIR. IF IT IS 2 GALLONS THEY WILL FILL IT. IF IT IS 30 GALLONS, THEY WILL FILL IT. GIVE THEM A SMALL RESERVOIR AND TEACH WATER CONSERVATION.***




Final results:
In 70-80 degree weather with 40% or higher humidity, this will evap 3/4-1 1/4 gallons per hour.
In 85 degree or hotter weather, with lower than 30% humidity, this will evap 1-1 3/4 gallons per hour.
On playa, 100+ degrees and 3% humidity, this thing is a thirsty monster. You may have to turn the pump off at times. Or, I'm going with an auto shut-off pump.

All told, you can build this in a day for about $50 brand new everything, or salvage what you can and save money.

Oh and in field, you build a standard black visqueen evap pond, just a bit larger than the footprint of your MK VII, to catch any spillover. Pipe your shower and kitchen sink drain to it and enjoy!

[FIGJAM]

Great design!!!

No "pond" for random people to throw stuff in.

I would run a ratchet strap across the top to stake it to the playa.

[The CO]

Yah, it always gets staked down.

Figgy, I just finished a FigJam Patent Pending Swamp Cooler, and am working on the box version.

[FIGJAM]

I thought you made one last year?

[The CO]

Made one 5 years ago. It was lost in the move from OR to CA.

Modding the box version to specifically hold/cool beer for Rosie's Bar.

[FIGJAM]

Pro tip: If you build out of wood, after you get a heavy coat of the roof coating inside and out, spray the inside with a good coat of epoxy spray paint for extra peace of mind.

[Elderberry]

I have a question or two:

1/16" holes? Do they ever clog? Or, do you use burlap over the bucket to filter the water that people pour into the bucket?

[The CO]

Always filter grey water before attempting to evap. We have a camp sink that drains to the evap system, gets filtered inline.

The 1/16" size allows most particulate matter (playa dust bits) to escape. The close spacing makes a clog here or there irrelevant.

***PRO TIP***
Your evap system should allow for any part to be replaced easily. Parts should be common, easily available, easily improvised, and failure of any one part shouldn't stop the whole system.
It should be designed in such a way that if it fails completely, you are not left with 50+ gallons of nasty water.

[Elderberry]

Thanks.

[guerrillayogi]

Has anyone tried lining the INSIDE of the hardware cloth with burlap?

I know this may mess with the surface tension on the squares blah blah. But, it has the following advantages:
1) increases / disperses water exposed to the wind
2) hardware cloth prevents burlap from flapping around in the wind

Also, I want to place burlap over the TOP of the surface to retain more moisture that is exposed to direct sunlight.

thoughts? thanks!

[LowePro]

Cool idea, Thanks CO!

[The CO]

Has anyone tried lining the INSIDE of the hardware cloth with burlap?

I know this may mess with the surface tension on the squares blah blah. But, it has the following advantages:
1) increases / disperses water exposed to the wind
2) hardware cloth prevents burlap from flapping around in the wind

Also, I want to place burlap over the TOP of the surface to retain more moisture that is exposed to direct sunlight.

thoughts? thanks!

My old MK V evap. The red terrycloth rings around the top help evenly distribute the water across the disks. The mesh is a fabric rather than metal.
I ditched this design since failure means you are stuck with 15+ gallons of grey water.

[maladroit]

The biggest drawback would be people gathering around it with champagne glasses (or if your greywater is really thick, strawberries).

[2WheelGuy]

SLO FLO SOLAR COIL EVAP POND 2.jpeg

Powered by an 12volt Attwood Sahara S500 sump pump with auto float, 350 GPH at 4 foot head, added a solar coil to increase the grey water temp, added an in line ball valve to slow the flow rate and did away with the plywood top....easily adjusted to achieve a level surface.....split old bath towels and hung on outside, held close with string

seems to work fine, the flow rate slows the RPM to a crawl

[guerrillayogi]

That looks awesome. My new design includes burlap sheeting stapled 1 inch inwards from the edge / hardware cloth. Thus, I have doubled my evaporative surfaces! Will send pic when constructed.

I'M HAVING TROUBLE! Can't find the hard plastic wading pool in any online inventories. Has anyone seen these RECENTLY at our well-known big box retailers?

[2WheelGuy]

My experience was that big box stores had sold their inventory; bought mine at neighborhood hardware store.

[DoctorIknow]

I'M HAVING TROUBLE! Can't find the hard plastic wading pool in any online inventories. Has anyone seen these RECENTLY at our well-known big box retailers?

I also found mine at a local Ace Hardware.

Get two and use them as one. The extra strength will be appreciated.

[guerrillayogi]

That looks awesome. My new design includes burlap sheeting stapled 1 inch inwards from the edge / hardware cloth. Thus, I have doubled my evaporative surfaces! Will send pic when constructed.

Here's my system. Double the evaporation, and without wind-related spills! Also using rectangular tables rather than plywood rounds, so that legs provide stability and level height.

greywater.jpg

[SourPatch]

My build of a vertical windmill evapotron has not been tested yet, but Mike Robertson (bootywild) took one to BM 2010.

[LowePro]

Found our kiddie pools at ToysRUs. a big Concrete mixing tray from a hardware store might work.

[100 Proof]

Curious to know how the MK VIIa2 Evaporator worked on Playa. Any updates or modifications to improve performance?

100 Proof