Actauly starting construction on desert homestead and like to share the experience.

any updates dave?

Looks like my brainstorm idea didn't go over well. . . =/

just trying to help.

 

It's been a long time since I have posted an up date, Sorry guys.

I've been making 2 trips a month since October, and work is progressing slowly. It would appear that I'll be going down this road alone. Mostly due to my and those whom had pleaged their support, but it would seem that our different ideas have gotten the best of us. The group is no more. Although some are still in touch.

However I'm pleased to report that not all is lost. The Village however is not to be. But the homestead is now under construction. It is still my intension share all that I have and I'm learning on this journey. All surveying is now complete and construction is now underway. I have installed a air well of my own design. It is unfortunately producing less water than I had hoped for, just over half of what I had originally calculated. It is producing 35 gals. a day which is a good start since I wasn't even sure it was going to work.

Work has halted for now due to bad weather here on the west coast, giving me an opertunity to write you this up-date. However plans and preparations are continuing to be made durring the down time. As I don't want to waiste any of my time out there.

Any input and questions are incurraged, I'll have some pictures soon to share with you all as I begin to breakground. The exacted location will remain undisclosed until which time I move to the land on a full time bases.

 

right on. pics are always good.

Hey dave I'm interested in your Air Well... how exactly does that work?

 

The air well works by creating a cold surface on the inner core of the device by using a intermintent amonia solar refridgeration unit. the core then cools to below the dew point and the atmospheric moisture then condenses on the inner core, creating usable water. which is then channeled down to a storage container. No power other than solar is used. making it very economical to opperate.

The unit I have now is small and has 20square feet of innercore surrface, and has averaged 35 gals per day thus far. This unit is portable and wieght about a 75 lbs. It cost me 500.00 to build and about 150 man hours to put it together.

Here are some links to do your own research.

http://homepower.com/files/solarice.pdf
http://www.halfbakery.com/idea/Desert_20Endless_20Drinking_20Water
http://moisture.greenmuseum.org/
http://www.rexresearch.com/airwells/airwells.htm

These were the most helpful in my search for alternative water sources.

Dispite what other say with a little willpower and enginuity you can live comfortably anywhere on the planet.


Where there a will there's a way!!!!!!!!!!

peace to you all

 

what a great idea the airwell is. i was recently in crestone,co. it's not a desert there but water is definitely an issue. i bet you could water plenty of plants with 35 gallons and a drip irrigation system. 35 gallons could go plenty far if you had composting toilet and took sponge baths instead of showers. thanks for the info. peace

 

Do you have plans or have you tested the water your collecting to see if anything else comes with the H20 your getting?

I'm not doubting it, just curious if you have put it to the scientific test to guaruntee the water is pure and clean.

Mainly I'm wondering if this could produce water that has the same qualities as acid rain if the air is extremely polluted. . . even if it did, im sure you could integrate a filtration system along with it!

great info! thanks SO MUCH for sharing!

 

Also, what happens if tempature outside goes below freezing?? Will the well still produce?

Just more of my curiousity. I love this freakin idea though!

 

Yogi, the water quality is equal to singal distilled water. Yes the airwell will cease to opperate once the air temperature drops below freezing. The device was tested here in L.A. with no signs of the end product being poluted. Although if you don't clean the device regularly, you may end up with a polution problem.

With the heavey rain we've been having here I hope that the device is still in one peace, and hasn't been swept away. I guess I'll find out this weekend.


Hope this answers your question.

Peace man.

 

I went out this weekend to find the air well missing. With fresh tire tracks leading in and out of the area. I guess I should have placed a fence and some no trespassing signs or some dam thing. The next unit will be too large to move and sunken into the ground some what. But first fences and signs will go into place on the next trip out in feb. some time.

With as scares as water is out here it doesn't surprise me. The storms only brought 0.94 inches of rain to this parched land this past week. The wash filled up with no more then 3-5 incches of water. Some changes to the land will have to be made to harvest the rain more effectively.


The following posts have pictures and comments.

 

This is the house site. It's located right in the center of the property, close to a wash. I know what your thinking, "Isn't that dangerous?" No its not. The reason this location is two fold.
1. To be close to a natural source of water.
2. Availablity of building materials, in this case clay.
Thats right clay 2ft. under the wash is a huge deposit of clay. As
well as an endless supply of sand the two main ingreadents for cob.
The consentration of clay is 35% and sand being 65% which could
be considered ready mix. All I need is straw.

The risk of flooding will be eliminated as the wash is deepened. Rocks and trees will be planted along the shore line to prevent erosion. And cisterns will be placed under the wash with sand filters to store water for later use. I will give more details later as the wash catchment area is constructed.

Oh, as a side note I just got a cell phone and it works out here what a plus.

But wait theres more.lol

 

Only the most afluent member of the animal kingdom was invited.lol Yes its non-other than Scruffy him self here to give his blessings as I take the first of many many shovle fulls of soil out of the wash. Which the Wash Catchment Area is to be the first of many projects.

Why shovle you might ask? Well as I see it you get a better feel for the land when you work with hand tools. This connection with the land it self is of the utmost importance to me. And I doen't wish damage the land by bringing in heavy equipment. Being poor might also have some thing to do with it.lol

Blessed Be This Land And Those Who Are Stewards Of The Desert, Amen.

 

The wash project is going to rise the elevation of the home site by 2-3 feet and lower the washes elevation by 3-5 feet. The rest of the soil will be used to build an elevated road out to the east side of property and improve the road coming in. This will take much time effort to do. Plus I'll be putting up a fence around the property with 4 foot breaks to allow the larger wild life passage through the land, while keeping off roaders out.

Here are a few more pictures of the wash next to the home site and another of the soil being deposited around the edges of the home site.

Once the elevating of the home site is completed, the next step will be the house itself. While at the same time working on many side projects like fences and washes and roads.

So please be paitant. If you would like to help do the work let me know. But for now its mostly digging and dumping ,moving earth. I will supply food and water only the rest is up to you. This way only the serious folk will come. This is no pleasure criuse . If interested please let me know, and the coordinants will be sent to you along with the next trip date and a list of recommended supplies.

Trips will stop at the end of April and resume in September.

Peace, love and a swift kick in the ass too All.lol

 

Dave,

So sorry to hear about your lifted Airwell. One of the reasons I make sure I live in the hollow is just that reason - have way too much valuable equipment to leave for others to come and say "O what a find" I also keep a rather big wolf looking dog up there - course she loves people and I've only seen her once, nope twice become at all aggressive and both time it was when old crone was threatened once by another dog and the other time by her abusive ex. The other great joy about living on the land is stepping out of your trailer (have a travel trailer which can work for visitors once you have a dwelling up - you should be able to find a used one in good shape for under $1500 - and it sure makes it look like the site is being used) and breathing in your freedom and being faced daily with the work to be done - harder to find excuses then - or so I've learned. And O what a difference it makes to the spirit to actually be there.

Know your situation might not allow for it but maybe something to consider.
And Thank You for keeping us posted - too many people, especially after setbacks, fade off into the ethers and we never hear from them again.
Blessings along your Way and may the right compadres find their Way to make it all the more real.

 

Dood with a lil quick research,,,

http://www.rexresearch.com/airwells/airwells.htm#airwells

I have to say theres no fucking way that you can construct a airwell large enough to produce a 100 gallons per day much less 400 gallons per day in the california desert unless ya gonna use your whole 20 acres for the contraption...

I aint no expert but the facts dont lie,, an the facts are right there on that web page...

ya really should recalculate yer calculations there bro...

 

Ah, but a little common sense will get you further than you know. His first air well produced 35 gallons a day, right? And apparently it's big enough to steal. Sounds to me like 3 of the small size ones would produce 105 gallons a day.

The links you provide are in regards to passively cooled condensers. They are literally letting a big surface cool down over night due to the air temperature, and then allowing it to produce water during the warmer days.

It sounds to me like Dave is using slightly more sophisticated technology. He shouldn't have trouble producing over 100 gallons per day.

That being said, I want to thank you for your posts, Dave. I've been considering starting my own ecovillage as well and it's great to learn from each other. The inspiration and energy that comes with talking with like minded folks is also very helpful. I must say, the desert is quite a challenge, but it sounds like you've got a good plan. I actually hadn't heard of air wells and was interested to hear about them. Good luck, brother, and keep us updated!

Oh, and back to what Yogi was talking about. He made some good points. I know you've a lot on your mind now, but in the future you really may be able to get some sort of research type grant going, perhaps in regards to using those air wells in combination with other techniques to survive in the desert.

Take care,

humandraydel

 

The device I have biult produced 35 gal. per day during a time of year when the relative humidity is 80-45%. you can comferm this through accuweather if you like. and yes the airwell that is depicted in the research material by it self would produce almost no water by its self because the ground temps are not low enough. However if you use some sort of refredgeration you could get the condensing surface of the unit cold enough to produce even more water than the origenal air well design. Hell I even seen a small window air conditioner can produce 10 gals. of water on a day where the humidity is 20%.

Now if it were summer with the humidity at 10% the unit I had biult would have produced 1-2 gals in a 24 hour period. only enough to keep one person alive and well hydrated. Perhaps you would need to read all the research matereal sites provided before making an assumptions. And if you have any scientific back ground you would Know how hard it would be to get an exact calculations on such a device without knowing all the variables involved in an experimental unit until it is biult, Accept under highly controlled conditions.

So please get your facts straight before trying to debunk what I have worked so hard for

If you are talking about the Airwell as It stands in the research matereals than you are absolutely correct in your above statement. Thats why I have to incorperate a intermitent amonia solar refridgeration unit into the design. Which is part of the research links that I had provided.

To all of you discouraged by hippiehillbilly; Don't be I will be happy to help anyone who wants more info on how to conbine these two technologies to get the desired results. And for those who want togo with the Airwell design as it stands in the reseach matereals, your ground temperature at -6 feet below ground level will have to be at least 50 degrees ferinhiet. You can determine the underground temp by averaging the mean air temperature over the course of a full year. the formula is as follows: mean air temp for the day or month , add all mean temps together and divide the sum by the 365 for days in a year or 12 for months in a years, the number you get is the ground temperature 6 feet under.

Thanks to all of you who are living your dreams, you are my inspiration.

 

Nice project dave, however I must agree with hh as ive lived out in the west and have family in the az desert...It would be nice if you could post pics of this awsome willy wonka and the chocolate factory device, sure thiers no doubt your system will produce water and I hope its enough to fill your needs.

Well all need to think in a positive way, thats the key. So please post some pics, do you have a website for you venture?

 

dave dave dave i aint doin nuthin but usin logic an facts,,

Humidity
Period,Year
4 A.M.58
Noon27
4 P.M.16
Average yearly Temperatures71.9, Rainfall 3.96Humidity ,see above,,
source,,
http://www.paloverdevalleylibrary.com/about_blythe,_ca.htm

So just when is yer one day a year of 80% humidity,, an how much rain ya get said day???

Dont get me wrong,, we gonna build one of them to suplement our critter water,, but i gotta ask,, with 150 hours and 500 bucks invested in yer project,,why no pics of said project before it was ripped off???

i meen,, we here on the farm always take pics of our major projects like the cabin,,:sunglasse




that there is about 500 man hours an about 900 bucks so far...

So noones slammin,, just wantin to see more than words,,..

Oh also,, so yer contraption has how big of a holdin tank??
here at the farm our cistern is 1550 gallons and it dosent manage the water needs anymore with our average rain of over 70 inches a year,,thus the need to build a contraption like you speak of..

www.feelfreefarmproject.org

 

oh,, an a afterthought,,not to be a skeptic,, but so when ya had the one day that ya got 35 gallons,, mutha nature musta timed that sucka perfect fer yer seasonal once a month weekend in yer workin season huh???
or did ya just assume it was one day??

 

Yah Dave,
Don't go taking HHB as negative it's just his MO to come off this way. Seems to think vinegar works better than honey - maybe it does. He's got a heart of gold too.Think that too much of his life re-affirms his beliefs in the bad side of human nature and so the cycle continues. What he's doing personally is truly awesome - but damn when he gets on the key board.... too bad he can't look into people's eyes as he's typing sometimes - Aye?

We are all interested in what you're doing and any time anyone comes up with anything good - it's going to be taken down by others - don't let it get you down.
Blessings along your way.