6 Responses to DRIPS Prototypes

1. 

   joel.schopp on April 23, 2012 at 2:12 pm

   In order to have good dew collection you need to maximize the temperature differential between your collector and the air to the point the collector is at or below the dewpoint. This means minimizing thermal mass, maximizing thermal raditation, and insulating against absorption of thermal radiation. The academic literature indicates an inverted cone with a 30 degree angle to the ground is likely your best shape (your funnels above are too steep). See “Radiation-cooled Dew Water Condensers Studied by Computational Fluid Dynamic” by Clus Owen et al http://arxiv.org/pdf/0707.2514 . As for material PETB would work a lot better than the metals you have used, see http://205.186.138.171/assets/snippets/workingpaperpdf/2005-01-05gsharan.pdf for experimental data, also being close to the ground it would be useful to insulate the underside of the collector from ground heat radiation.
2. 

   Olga on April 23, 2012 at 2:51 pm

   Thank you! These are very useful links and suggestions. The Tal-Ya project in Israel is using their structures as a shade, but they also admit to not collecting much moisture from air. We had a hard time trying build prototypes for DRIPS, but perhaps the information collected here on this site would help others build what they can from the materials available locally. Your contribution is very valuable. Did you see the hydrophobic coating created by the Japanese company? There’s a link in the last post. Thank you!
3. 

   lillianball on June 5, 2012 at 2:06 pm

   Great project guys. I’d like to talk about showcasing your prototypes at the Burning Man Festival this summer.
   Please contact me at ballstudio@thing.net or http://www.lillianball.com
4. 

   veganbill on November 8, 2012 at 1:16 am

   Would love to try this system in my permaculture project here in southern Turkey where we have very dry hot days but a lot of morning dew. veganbill@gmail.com
5. 

   antiqlove on November 11, 2012 at 7:30 pm

   Hi. Isn’t it true most vegetable roots only grow down to about 15″? I am wondering how the plant roots will reach the evaporation level to get to the water if there is no water above that they can use. Will trying to grow deeper roots stress the plants further? I am just wondering.
6. 

   Olga on March 9, 2013 at 1:44 pm

   DRIPS would work well for fruit trees, I think: olives, for example. The saplings would have to be watered and shaded until they are large enough to be supported by DRIPS. But DRIPS also provides a bit of shade and thus decreases the depth of the evaporation layers, making it closer to the surface and requiring shorter roots. (Just something that we learned over time…)