I actually reinvented this myself recently. I saw water dripping out of my ac and realized it did not smell like rot like the house water did. I am able to do dishes and take baths with a small AC window unit. I put a gallon jug under it with the neck of a mountain dew bottle for a funnel and ran a bit of soap through the channel to clean it out and the water is nice and clear. I had no idea it was such a thing.
I'm in central TX (between San Antonio and Austin, with a portable unit and we collect 15-20 gals per 24 hrs. Thinking about harvesting condensate from our main AC (5 tons) and redirecting it to our rainwater collection barrel. I'm looking to move my 250 gal barrel (intended for rain water collection). 15 gals per, when the unit is running, probable fill the 250 gal in 10 days to a 2 weeks. We're in drought this would help our trees.
Couple things: I tested the water coming out. It test at about 25-35 ppm testing for heavy metal and other chemicals. This is as clean or cleaner than your typical in fridge water filter, (Brita, ect.) The stuff coming out of our faucet in Nashville is about 130ppm; condensate clearly wins! The amount you collect depends on how much your AC is running. If it's mid 80s you may only get 5 gal. a day. That being said, how many millions of gallons of water are we wasting a day in the US. Why isn't there a bigger push to claim/harvest this water? It's absurd. I now collect condensate from work and at home.
@@davidreynolds731 This is only true for condensate from condensing boilers, which contains combustion byproducts that lower the pH. Unless the air in your home is highly polluted, the condensate from air conditioning should be close to neutral pH.
I actually reinvented this myself recently. I saw water dripping out of my ac and realized it did not smell like rot like the house water did. I am able to do dishes and take baths with a small AC window unit. I put a gallon jug under it with the neck of a mountain dew bottle for a funnel and ran a bit of soap through the channel to clean it out and the water is nice and clear. I had no idea it was such a thing.
I live in Arizona and I am getting at minimum 5 gallons a day from a single-room portable ac unit.
I'm in central TX (between San Antonio and Austin, with a portable unit and we collect 15-20 gals per 24 hrs. Thinking about harvesting condensate from our main AC (5 tons) and redirecting it to our rainwater collection barrel. I'm looking to move my 250 gal barrel (intended for rain water collection). 15 gals per, when the unit is running, probable fill the 250 gal in 10 days to a 2 weeks. We're in drought this would help our trees.
Good job. Water from HVAC can damage a foundation footing by expanding the soil. If you don’t collect it you should route it away from the foundation.
Couple things: I tested the water coming out. It test at about 25-35 ppm testing for heavy metal and other chemicals. This is as clean or cleaner than your typical in fridge water filter, (Brita, ect.) The stuff coming out of our faucet in Nashville is about 130ppm; condensate clearly wins!
The amount you collect depends on how much your AC is running. If it's mid 80s you may only get 5 gal. a day. That being said, how many millions of gallons of water are we wasting a day in the US. Why isn't there a bigger push to claim/harvest this water? It's absurd. I now collect condensate from work and at home.
Because it’s acidic
@@davidreynolds731 This is only true for condensate from condensing boilers, which contains combustion byproducts that lower the pH. Unless the air in your home is highly polluted, the condensate from air conditioning should be close to neutral pH.
Very smart experiment, I will be doing this with ours soon. Thanks for the video!
My AC drain comes out of the wall about 2' from the ground. It really limits the size of the water tank I can use for capture.
That's rough.
If you have an outlet near the discharge you could add a condensate pump to go to a tank.
reroute it to your air conditioner condenser coils so the evaporation can cool them better and improve your air conditioner efficiency.
How is someone supposed to this by just looking at your message?