Water for US
Our product, Water for US, is designed to help people who lack access to a clean drinkable source of water, using the humidity in the environment, which is powered by natural resources. Saving money, helping people, water business.
Step 1: Introduction
For our third world problem, my group and I chose water insufficiency. Everyone knows that there are many places in the world that don’t have water or have access to it. My group and I knew that just last year Puerto Rico suffered through Hurricane Maria and Hurricane Irma. So we decided to make our project to ensure you have access to water anywhere you are. We incorporated a dehumidifier to suck the water out the air and 3 separate filters to make sure the water is bacteria free and is drinkable.
Our process was like a rollercoaster. Brainstorming was pretty okay, we were throwing ideas at each other hoping that we would all like at least one. None of us didn’t like any of each other's ideas and when we did there was, there was something someone didn’t like. But eventually we Erika mention how Puerto Rico suffered through many hurricanes and then Brenda said that we should build something with water since we all knew that they were scarce in clean drinkable water.
Our project contains a dehumidifier which reduces the humidity in the air but sucking out the moisture and putting it into a container then the water going through a clay filter that contains a sawdust so the water can be filtered. But the dehumidifier is powered by a solar panel Next the water then goes through a tube and is pumped into another filter which is a UV light so it can kill all the bacteria. Lastly, after it is done in the UV light it will go through another pipe and into the last filter which is a Brita filter, through the Brita Filter we drip out from the bottom and into a considerable size container.
Step 2: Materials and Tools
A 280 Watt Solar Panel High quality materials, tempered front glass, and high-load capability. A dehumidifier requires 280 Watts-hour to operate .
http://sepbatteries.com/sunedison-280-watt-poly-me...
The Farm & Ranch FR100F Steel Flatbed Utility Cart is a transportation tool that will make moving our product around easily
https://farmgardensuperstore.com/product/farm-ran...
10 inch PVC Pipe (3 inch in diameter)
https://www.lowes.com/pd/3-in-x-10-ft-Corrugated-...
PVC Fitting T Sanitary Tee, Hub, 4" Pipe Size - Pipe Fitting
https://www.grainger.com/product/20LU54?cm_mmc=PPC...
High-Speed Steel Replacement Bearings Set(comes in a pack of 4)
https://www.homedepot.com/p/Diablo-High-Speed-Ste...
dynamo 3V
https://www.ebay.com/i/262249031045?rt=nc
elbow pvc 1" White 3 Way Elbow
https://www.usplastic.com/catalog/item.aspx?sku=2...
GI sheet 24 in. x 36 in. Galvanized Steel Flat Sheet
https://www.homedepot.com/p/Master-Flow-24-in-x-36...
Marine-Grade Wire 6-Gauge
Step 3: the Building Process
3.1: The Wagon, Your wagon needs to be 12 x 13.25
You need 6 pieces of 3.5 x 2, 4 pieces of 2 3/8 x 2.5, 2 pieces of 32.75 x 5.5 and 2 pieces of 22.5 x 5.5 and 2 3 ft 1.5 x 1.5 plywood
Use the 4 2 3/8 x 2.5 pieces of wood and put them on the top of the 6 3.2 x 2 so they can hold the pieces together. Then get the 32.75 x 5.5 and 22.5 x 5.5 pieces of wood and screw them on the perimeter of the 6 pieces.
3.2: The Tiny Table
The tiny table is 13.5 x 7.5.
You need 8 pieces of wood and about 12 screws for the table
3.2 The 45 Degree Solar Panel Holder
The solar panel holder is 3/4 thick 16x8 inches
back 16x11
1.5x1.5
Step 4: the Building Process
Step 4.2: The dehumidifier
In our project, we decided to but a small dehumidifier and take it apart so we can build our own. We took the inside of the dehumidifier and set it aside so we could use it for later and build our own version of the dehumidifier.
Step 4.3: The plexiglass
25.5 x 19.5x 45 degrees
We used the plexiglass for the sides and back of our project. We made sure it was a right triangle and the hypotenuse was a 45-degree angle. We decided to laser cut because it would give us a more precise cut.
Step 5: the Filters
The Clay Filter
We used red clay and sawdust for the filter because once the filter goes into the kiln the sawdust heats up and supposedly be able to filter wat through
The UV Ray Filter
The UV Ray filter is, unfortunately, missing from our project but it would've been in between the clay and the Brita filter. It would've killed the remaining bacteria that was missed in the clay filter
Brita filter:
We bought a Brita filter instead of making one because the materials we needed were too expensive and we didn't have it in our budget. The Brita filter consists of activated charcoal and Ion exchange resins
Step 6: Putting It Togther
Your project should look like the pictures above. We painted ours white because the paint was water resistant and we thought white would better and more professional.
Last Step
Our experience throughout this process was definitely something. We had my ups and many downs, for example, just yesterday our inside of the dehumidifier went missing and that was very stressful. Also, we realized we bought the wrong size tubing for the pump. Although we had many, many, many setbacks, we managed to work together as a group and ...
Our goals were to complete this project, have a functioning dehumidifier, and make sure everything is working properly, although we did not meet some of our goals, my group and I would improve the small things and make sure everything is functioning now. For example, the clay filters don't work because they soak up the water instead of filtering it.
Knowing what we know now, my group and I would trim the border so it is more space efficient and finish the back so it looks more aesthetically pleasing