SOLAR STILL SURVIVAL ADDENDA
PRIMING THE SOLAR STILL

BASICS OF A SOLAR STILL
A solar still is basically a depression in the ground, about three
feet across or three or four feet deep.  A plastic sheet (should be a
clear one) is placed in the depression, in an inverted cone shape.  A
cup or some other container is placed in the bottom, preferably with a
tube running to the outside, so you can suck the water out without
disturbing the setup.

PRIMING THE STILL BY ADDING WATER TO THE HOLE.
What the idea is to prime it.  That is, pour water you think might not
be clean in the bottom of the hole.  You could place some sort of
bucket or other container, if you have it, in the depression, or just
pour it on the ground.  Place your container on a rock or log.

The point is you will increase the amount of water you distill by
about four times by priming the hole with some water.  Otherwise, you
are depending entirely on water seeping through the ground.

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    Always remember to place a stone on the bottom of the plastic 
    forming the inverted cone, on the outside, to keep it in place.
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Priming the solar still will apply well here, where we have so much
running ground water.  Experts expect that most ground water, no
matter how remote, has some contamination. 

Whatever the area, you can increase the power and effectiveness of the
survival solar still by placing some unclean water in the bottom of
the hole.  The distilled water will be clean.

_ Paul Phillips 29 March 2002.   
(Got this idea from the web, indirectly.)