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Build a Self Filling Water System for $12 - Engineers Have Known This for Centuries
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- Published on Mar 13, 2026
- The atmosphere holds 12,900 cubic kilometers of fresh water, and for centuries engineers and ancient civilizations have been pulling it from thin air. Commercial atmospheric water harvesters cost $2,000 to $30,000, but the underlying physics works the same with $12 in hardware store materials. This video breaks down the science of dew point condensation, radiative cooling, and fog interception, then walks through three DIY systems anyone can build: a radiative dew condenser using polyethylene sheeting and foam insulation, a solar still that purifies contaminated water through evaporation, and a fog mesh collector modeled after designs that supplied water to 300 villagers in Chile. We trace the history from Inca fog fences sustaining cities above the rain line, to a Russian engineer's working dew condenser replica in 1912, to the spectacular failure of a 14-meter stone tower in France that proved massive structures cannot shed heat fast enough. The critical lesson: thin, lightweight surfaces always outperform heavy monuments. Nature figured this out first - the Namib Desert beetle harvests fog with textured bumps on its back, and redwood forests survive on fog dripping from needles. Recent research shows this technology could provide safe drinking water to over one billion people. No electricity, no plumbing, no moving parts.
📚 SOURCES:
Rao, Fix, Yang, Warsinger, Thermodynamic limits of atmospheric water harvesting, Energy & Environmental Science, 2022
Caldas, Andaloro, Calafiore, Water harvesting from fog using building envelopes: Part I, Water and Environment Journal, 2018
Norgaard, Dacke, Fog-basking behaviour and water collection efficiency in Namib Desert Darkling beetles, Frontiers in Zoology, 2010
Lord, Thomas, Treat, Forkin, Bain, Dulac, Behroozi, Mamutov, Fongheiser, Kobilansky, Washburn, Truesdell, Lee, Schmaelzle, Global potential for harvesting drinking water from air using solar energy, Nature, 2021
Peters, Blackburn, Armedion, Environmental assessment of air to water machines -- triangulation to manage scope uncertainty, The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment, 2013
Alobaid, Hughes, Calautit, O'Connor, Heyes, A review of solar driven absorption cooling with photovoltaic thermal systems, Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 2017
Li, El Fil, Li, Graeber, Li, Zhong, Alshrah, Wilson, Lin, Design of a Compact Multicyclic High-Performance Atmospheric Water Harvester for Arid Environments, ACS Energy Letters, 2024
Guo, Guan, Lei, Lu, Shi, Yu, Scalable super hygroscopic polymer films for sustainable moisture harvesting in arid environments, Nature Communications, 2022
Shi, Ilic, Atwater, Greer, All-day fresh water harvesting by microstructured hydrogel membranes, Nature Communications, 2021
LaPotin, Zhong, Zhang, Zhao, Leroy, Kim, Rao, Wang, Dual-Stage Atmospheric Water Harvesting Device for Scalable Solar-Driven Water Production, Joule, 2021
Nikolayev, Beysens, Gioda, Milimouk, Water recovery from dew, Journal of Hydrology, 1996
Beysens, Milimouk, The case for alternative fresh water sources, Pour les resources alternatives en eau, Secheresse, 2000
Fessehaye, Abdul-Wahab, Savage, Kohler, Gherezghiher, Hurni, Fog-water collection for community use, Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 2014
Schemenauer, Cereceda, A Proposed Standard Fog Collector for Use in High-Elevation Regions, Journal of Applied Meteorology, 1994
Khalifa, Hamood, Performance correlations for basin type solar stills, Desalination, 2009
Lawrence, The relationship between relative humidity and the dewpoint temperature in moist air: A simple conversion and applications, Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society, 2005
Bolton, The computation of equivalent potential temperature, Monthly Weather Review, 1980
Li, Wu, Aleid, Zhang, Wang, Wang, An integrated solar-driven system produces electricity with fresh water and crops in arid regions, Cell Reports Physical Science, 2022
Manikandan, Shanmugasundaram, Shanmugan, Janarthanan, Chandrasekaran, Wick type solar stills: A review, Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 2013
To anyone who was hoping to see how that contraption in the thumbnail was made, it's not in the video.
I'm checking the comments Just for that info! So where is the instructable for the cool looking device ? 😢
@Violet_Lotus_ Ya know. Maybe I'll be the one to make it. 😂😭
Saran wrap, funnel, bamboo skewers. 🤞
TY
Rt on
Ty
Use glass and copper tubing instead of PVC and plastic.
Smart, thank you!
Please explain in detail...copper and glass system?
Yes, AI just wants to keep it within reach of all peoples. What shocks me is we can get such well contextualized info from a machine and have it be useful -- shocker! But maybe their just doing this to sell us on that, AI, which could take over -- !
@ayoabdullah2929to prevent growth of unwanted stuff.
Using a combination of both PVC and copper is best... Start with a little copper to kill bacteria, but then switch to PVC to keep the water from ionizing so much
In the southern US I use water that pours out of my air conditioner to water my plants.
Yvonne: I have done the same but it is like distilled water and it often binds nutrients in the soil in potted plants. So I am now supplementing that water with extra fertilizer for my potted flowers. For my vegetables, I’m going to top dress my soil with organic (solid) fertilizer and see how it works. I’m glad to see that I’m not the only one who thought of this! 😊✌🏼💖
@YvetteArby 😁 I do the best I can with what I have to work with. I do no dig gardening ( which I recommend if you have the space and access to enough compost). Thanks for the info on distilled water. I have few potted plants during the warm season except for stuff like mint that can take over creation in a garden. I’ll water it with tap or rain water.
@Yvonne-o8q Haha! I was just at the local nursery looking for spearmint and lemon balm the other day. They didn’t have any, so I guess I have to wait until the weather warms up for the nursery to carry them. It’s so dry where I live that mint can’t take over. I’m going to grow them in pots so that I can keep them properly watered, the way that they like! I don’t have much space or access to compost, so I mostly garden in containers. ✌🏼💖
My grandparents had one and, dew 🙄 to the humidity levels in NW OK, not enough for that situation. Plus, a cistern well, many years ago, provided for necessary watering.
@YvetteArby can you drink that distllled water? (I've always wondered 🤔 )
In 2005 I moved my family to the desert in New Mexico. We had to haul water when we got there. I started digging a hole 5 ft by 5 ft by 6 ft deep. I put a tarp over the hole and put a 55 gallon barrel in the center of the hole. I placed a rock in center of tarp over the hole and I caught enough water for me, my lady and two kids to drink. We never went without drinking water. I did haul some water so we could have enough to bathe and use. There's water everywhere if you know how to catch it.
I am in high desert in Southern Cali. I'm gonna try what you suggest, but was wondering if you'd had success with any other systems. Also was it still fruitful in the winter months?.I'm way out in a rural area and live by myself with 6 dogs and some chickens, I'd really appreciate some practical alternatives to hauling water. I have practically no budget but am prepared to do the work like digging. Any links to places I could find useful tips and tricks also. Thanks 💓
@marymay5179I moved from the high deserts of northern California, did not try this there due to water sources around and close to my place. And yes it worked year round in New Mexico, except during cold spells. The day and night temp change is what makes it work.
@ThomasBranson-yv5ubthank you 😊
This is probably the clearest explanation I've seen on this topic.
This was one of the water systems created in the past before pipeworks. As the planet was not polluted, collecting rain was safer to use for hygiene, cooking and drinking.
Yes. Here in the tropics, we have always collected rainwater. Still good for plants and washing stuff. Polluted rainwater can be distilled with a solar still to get drinking water.
Not really. It doesn't work well.
Everything is a burial mound when they’re trying to cover up ancient tech
It's hardly forgotten tech. It's a solar still. Any bushman or soldier should know about this.
I have used this many times.
In it's simplest form, all you need is a container of some sort, a small weight, and a waterproof or semi-waterproof sheet.
Dig a small hole in the evening and place a container in the middle of the hole.
Cover the hole with a waterproof sheet, leaving it loose in the middle and weigh down the perimeter of the sheet with whatever is at hand.
Place a weight (small stone, coins, a wristwatch- whatever - in the middle of the sheet so that a cone shape is formed and the point of the cone is centered Above your container.
In the morning you will have some safe "distilled" water to drink.
Yes, even in the desert.
😊
Can you plz make small video how to do it in your channel.
And post the link of the video here. Thank you
@gulmiraparayil9807 there’s plenty already. Just search RUclips for solar still
Please stop using AI voice-overs. It's jarring when it messes up.
Turn your volume down & Read the transcript or the summary
The whole video is AI generated
Those are actually interfering with your brain. It’s highly invasive. Think subliminal if it was on crack
Better yet. Think strobing lights to someone that has episodes. Just because it doesn’t affect you into seizures it doesn’t mean it’s not doing something.
It’s hacking you. If this comment gets deleted then you know for sure.
Headaches while watching is a sign too. Share
The phoney accent is so annoying.
This is fascinating! I had never even wondered about this technology.
I remember seeing an article in a Popular Mechanics article from the1930's I think. In the article it was stated that an "air well" constructed near the Sahara produced several thousand gallons of fresh water a day.
I used glass jars and vertical netting in my rural Ozarks garden.
Smartest comment I have seen so far!!
@michaelbaldrey5902 Thank you. I'm Tsalagi and decided on using glass to collect condensation because glass is free. I saw the netting used in Peru on a vacation 50 years ago. It was made with natural fibers back then. They use polymers today. I made frames to dangle jute strings weighted with pebbles. River rocks also collect condensation when used as a strategic "mulch". It helps to live in a humid area with cool nights.
@GeckoHikerI would love to see this. Could you post a photo of this?
good video. I hope your channel success
Огромная благодарность за информацию!
Очень важная тема!
Быть Добру!
Nice comment ❤
It disappeared from common knowledge because rich and powerful men could not make money off of it. That's why MIT is getting involved to make chemical coated copper sheets so some manufacturer can make them and achieve a profit.
Who specifically?
@chrisr9402 oh, you want the names on a list?
@paulawagstaff686specifically
@chrisr9402 LOOK IT UO YOURSELF
Thank you for this video. I enjoyed it and I learned something. Lots of love
The reason we have not been taught this is because they can't profit from uncontrollably subjects, that's why the US government paid people to kill every buffalo. The buffalo was the entire source of the Indians lifestyle.
If they can't control it, then they make it illegal.
basicly 0,03mm stainless steel sheets would be ultimate?
awesome, thanks for sharing!
The AI narrator was paid too much--reading out Inca as individual letters 😂
Very interesting! Thank you for sharing.
And there are dry climates getting dryer.
Great information, thank you for making this knowledgable video for all to see.
Even the water in the air is polluted with contamination.
You're paranoid. but you have to ask yourself are you paranoid enough? 😅
any dehumidifier collects water too...
Also uses electricity. This video is about passive systems
@jonnykent7402 true... and it's possible to make your own too...
What about when there’s no power to use the dehumidifier?
You cannot use water from a dehumidifier unless it has been run through RO AND it has been boiled or gone through UV treatment for pathogens.
@londamull7501 boil it... glass jar it place it in the sun... use it...
Luke luke...
Check the moisture evaporator.
Those Droids are crucial for the harvest.
Florida, the wettest air anywhere.
The heat and humidity is absolutely brutal for all of us living along the Gulf Coast. I'm in Louisiana, south west of New Orleans. I feel ya 🥵
At least you guys have that white beautiful hot sand. We have muddy ground.
I do know, ig Island Hawaii might just rival Florida for moisture in the air!!! 😂😂😂😂
Needed information
My trees do this every morning. They drip water back down onto my plants ! I love it 😊
❤ more videos like this please 🙏🙌❤❤❤❤❤❤
My Tampa Florida Heat Pump Produces 600 to 1000 gallons of Water per Month that I use for irrigation during summer months....(Warning Add Nutrients and Micro Nutirents to Condensate Water in small trace amounts or it will kill your plants)
A blessed day to everybody.💖
Wow, I need to really study more about the history of the Een-see-aye Empire 😅
Fkin slop.
😂😂😂😂
You can produce water by using a dehumidifier. The bad news is it needs electricity the good news it does not use that much so you could use solar or something else to generate the electricity. You still need to filter it etc. to get any impurities out but still enough for any families needs.
I use them to clean my porch
Very good thinking ❤ Delighted you shared ❤
I would say not only filter but also UV or boiling for pathogens. For me, to be safe, the filter would have to be RO. Dehumidifer water is dangerous otherwise.
Thanks. This is useful
It’s called distilled water
A nice summer project. You can do mix and match, and get brackish water to mid 30's C in the daytime in a covered pond, and condense the humidity at night. Doesn't all need to be from the planet atmosphere if you're near the sea.
I live in the desert called Colorado... We don't have much moisture in our air, and we don't have much air...
Thank you ❤
- We can build humidity harvesting reservoirs up in the mountains and use that water. We don’t need to wait for any rain. It will be a lot more effective.
Great video. The ppl who enjoy the video benefit from this info. Humanity is going to enter a time period in which water is very scarce. Everything that we can learn and apply will help us, even if its very little
I LOVE THIS!
The coils on you AC systems outside dripping all day
The water isn't safe to drink , but anything else is fine you can buy systems that are designed and use safe materials for human consumption
Dew ponds and dew fences are still used. And they’re virtually free.
Anyone with the title DR wolf 🐺 klaphache has my undivided attention and respect 😂😂😂
Maybe that was the real use of the Maltese "cart ruts" at "clapman's junction" at Dingli near the cliffs and the Buskett "forest"... Those really high cliffs sometimes catch low clouds.. I witnessed myself...
I already learned this from watching Better Call Saul ;-)
That's why I hardly ever water my yard. Early in the morning the yard is very wet
Wow amazing
One could make the radiative cooling system work during the day utilizing ground air tubes and A solar chimney
AIR IS LIQUID..........
WATER IS CONDENSED AIR...........👩💻
6:52 tells you what you need to build your water system.
All solutions point to nature 🌱🌞🌳
So now my next project is to get a dew collector and use the water in the Olla i have put in the garden :-)
Whoa, no negative comments?
Awesome, you SEE!!!
Good luck with the garden!
Using both products would benefit you, a solar still (water cleaner) and the atmosphere collector (water collector)!!! Should be able to connect both of them to one unit!!!
Thank you
It's AI, but the physics seem sound.
There was a guy on sharktank, a tree farmer. He just wanted some capital to help save the lives of Millions of farmer. His request was beyond humble. Cost was like 30 cents and he was charging a few dollars. It was a tear jerker.😊
PIRATES, USE THIS SIMILAR WAY OF COLLECTING FRESHWATER?.
unlimited PFAS contaminated water
@RozaTruchinski247 yeah, you're right. Hydration is more important than PFAS contamination.
@RozaTruchinski247 correct, that's why it is secondary to hydration
@LuBaLuThat makes zero sense.
folks in some Pacific islands 'caught' rain H2O running down tree trunks & diverted them into containers...
Yea, have to look at diy vids.
Hi, I need one for rv living. Does anybody have a small transportable design for 1 persons needs? Thanks
Now we have chemi-clouds so can’t trust atmosphere.
you can build this thing on a tube type floatation device(picture a umbrella sitting on a car innertube) and float it in the ocean and automatically desalinate water for nearly no cost you could link them together with flexible water lines and harvest as much water as you need cleaner than anything you get from the tap!
Trouble is, at moment all the chemtrails
Radiative sheets collect dew [07:16].
Surfaces radiate heat [07:24].
Water runs down angle [07:31].
Gutter captures liquid [07:10].
Solar heat evaporates moisture [08:31].
Plastic traps vapor [08:39].
Droplets drip into container [08:31].
Mesh intercepts fog [09:12].
Wind drives droplets [09:21].
Gravity pulls water [09:21].
Why they always trying to blame ALL THE THINGS on burial grounds or tombs😂😂😂😂
because they want us to be ignorant and compliant to what THEY WANT AND NOT WHAT WE WANT. THEY WANT US POOR
wow!
this is important information polluted with rrelevant images
Knock, knock
Who's there?
Land shark
12:43
How to build @6:49
It's the basic foundation of air conditioners.
Thank you for your inspiring videos! I have to make one of these and then some kind of filtration system for it as well. Is there a DIY video for a water filter? 🙏💚☀️
Layers of cotton fabric sand and charcoal packed tightly in a cylinder.
Charcoal
That water has No minerals if there is; only coming from the dust and not enough for the body needs, because it is a distilled water but no problem to plants..
So for centuries plastic sheathing has been around ? You mean I carried around a gourd half full of water for nothing ?
Lloyd?
I wonder if a small system could work on sailboats
It does, a man on a life raft used it to save his life until he was found
@elenamilitopingitore5044 sailboats
Thanks for your inquiries .
I don't see why not 🤔 ?
Give it a try . Then POST your findings please .
How do we extract the graphene out of the water?
we all need to look that up
In peru they use panels
❤
I like these videos but they should point out that water condensation releases a large amount of energy. Condensing 1L of water from the air releases about 550 kcal of energy (latent heat = 0.72kWh). This release of latent heat makes your collection system inefficient unless it is constantly cooled down and for that you need AC and a lot of energy. Modern atmospheric water generators use large amounts of electricity. Collecting rain water and storing it in barrels or cisterns is much more efficient because the atmosphere has done the condensation for you.
🤔 thing is... WE CAN'T TRUST THE WATER ANYMORE.... RAIN ISN'T RAIN
Sadly, I think you're right. 😢😢
Wait until you hear about ground water.
BUT WE NEED TO DRINK . municiple water is CONTAMINATED TOO.....PLEASE LOOK THIS UP YOURSELF
If you do this now it will kill you.
Absolutely not needed at all in ireland as that crap falls from the sky on us everyday. 😅
Lol desert humidity can be 5 percent
until someone tells on you and you either go to jail or a fine 5000 dollars for each gallon stored ... better check laws, to see whether it is legal, in your area
or hide it very well
In Oregon it is ILLEGAL to catch ANY water.
Any idea why?
@marymay5179 because the water belongs to everybody and if you keep some in a catchment you are denying the guy downhill his water. I moved out of the city years ago and own my own property in the woods and Tina Kotek is such a nasty human being that she is trying to put water meters on peoples private wells.
@541systamatik541 insane. we are all being assailted by a lot of crap from all directions. fed and local govs now trying to get all city dwellers to REGISTER THEIR HOME GARDENS(so they can steal their food )
Sun is water
Lol so when did plastic get used as an ancient technique?
It's the physics of it, not the actual materials used.
And they continue to push their Globe Narrative when there is waters above as is below
Solar stills are so ineffective where water really matters. If there's enough water to make them effective, there's better ways. If there's so little water in a desert, you'll lose more water through perspiration and respiration than the still will collect. In addition, you have to break the seal and begin the condensation process again every time you retrieve water. Think twice before digging a still in emergency situations. Not too mention, who has a giant plastic on hand?
audio bad... extreme muffled undertones... annoying
5:00 they never say something is impossible, they have a feeble attempt QED. e.g. no airflow into the central part there, radiative cooling is best to a cloudless sky. (AI pacing is wrong about 3 minutes in with the explanation - need to slow down, when saying things to understand, not historical facts).
Genial saludos desde Arequipa Perú,
Greetings to you in Peru from Grants Pass Oregon may you be well and safe❤
Greetings from East Tennessee, Southern Appalachia, usa
ALL water is ‘free’. Nobody has ownership of water. People can capitalise on the drilling, sterilisation and distribution of water, but that capital does not come from the water itself. That would be like trying to charge money per breath or for a flame.
Gotta hate that AI.
I miss the days when a video was done by a human.
More bla bla bla. where is the system 12$ only plastic sheet. end again bla bla bla
We are not on a spinning rock in an absolute vacuum. Please stop using the bloody globe.
Free energy is in the air too. Y'all want to build the free energy device lmk. We can't sell em cuz the black budget gov will not be happy cuz they hold the patents.
TRUE
i've seen several ppl selling their own blueprints for building