How do I make a solar still?
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What is a solar still?
A solar still is a way to obtain pure water using condensation. Because it first evaporates, the water will be pure and safe to drink even if you don't have water purification equipment. You can build one with very few materials, and it's a good trick to know for if you ever get caught without water. You will need a cup and a sheet of plastic at minimum.
How to Build a Solar Still
1) Find a place with damp soil. You can also usually do it in the bed of a dried up stream. If you cannot find a damp area, go get leaves (ONLY green ones, not dry ones) and put them inside. Wet leaves are OK too. You can also pee in the hole - this is a source of water, and it will be pure when you're done. It's gross, but all the water you drink has probably been pee at some point anyway, so suck it up.
2) Dig a hole. It needs to be a couple of feet deep and a couple of feet across. The hole should be big enough that there's some space between the cup/container and the top.
3) Go get some rocks or something heavy. You probably need at least one real rock, but you can use other stuff as weights too.
4) Put the cup in the hole at the center.
5) Take the plastic sheet and drape it over the hole. Use something to weight down the edges and put your rock in the center on top of the sheet, hanging over the cup. It should push the plastic down, but not actually into the cup (basically you want it hovering over the cup, but angled into it).
6) Take dirt and pack it on top of the edges of the plastic sheet - seal the hole in.
Here are some rough sketches of what it will look like - the side view:
The little black circular scribbles are rocks - one in the center to push the plastic down towards the cup, angling it there. The other two are weighting the plastic sheet down. What will happen is that heat from the sun will evaporate water in the damp earth, leaves, or your urine. It will come upward, and condense onto the plastic sheet, where it will roll downward along the angle, falling off into the cup where the rock is pushing it down.
This is an even cruder top view. The circle is the hole - black circles are rocks weighting down the plastic sheet. The jagged edges show that you've packed dirt around the edge of the sheet to seal up the hole, keeping moisture that is evaporating from escaping. After awhile, the cup will fill up, and you've got yourself some water.
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