Anyone ever try collecting water from a plant/tree?

[Victor3]

 If so, how well did it work?

[Almtnman]

I never tried that, but have cut grape vines and muscadine vines and a lot of water runs out of the cut portion of the vine.

[Dee]

I actually never thought of it. How well does it work?

[Victor3]

 I've never done it (I stole the pics). I saw Ron Hood demonstrate it in one of his survival videos.

 Apparantly one can seal live branches (still attached to the plant and the more leaves the better) in a clear plastic bag exposed to the sun and the 'breathing' of the plant creates water vapor that will condense inside the bag and collect at the bottom.

 I'm gonna try it on some bamboo here...

[myronman3]

very interesting....

[Couger]

That looks like a take-off of the idea behind a solar still, except a solar still classically involves digging a hole in moist or "humid" soil and capturing and condensation on the inside of a plastic cover.

Thought when opening this thread you might be referring to cutting open a barrel cactus or vine like was mentioned.

Recently read somewhere about how clean cotton clothing or cloth can be worn on the legs when walking through grass with dew, to capture the moisture.

[Victor3]

That looks like a take-off of the idea behind a solar still, except a solar still classically involves digging a hole in moist or "humid" soil and capturing and condensation on the inside of a plastic cover.

 In the Ron Hood video, he did the standard solar still in the ground and compared it to the "plant still."

 Taking into account the labor (and resulting water loss in sweat) involved in digging, setting up and maintaining the in-ground style one and comparing the water able to be collected from both, he concluded that multiple plant stills would be more efficient if there are enough suitable plants/trees around. If it works as advertised, it certainly would be a lot less hassle.

 I just bagged my bamboo so we'll see what happens by tomorrow afternoon...

[Dee]

From everything I have read, the in ground solar still is a waste of time, and will not produce enough water to even keep you alive, unless conditions are perfect. This tree and plant thing is worth looking at though. Let us know Vic.

[Victor3]

 This here 'still' was in the sun for ~6 hours...



 I shook the bag to get most of the droplets to collect in the bottom of the bag...



 Poked a hole in the bag and drained the water into a cup...



 Conclusion - It works, but I figure I'd have to set up a lot of them to get a substantial drink. I dunno, bamboo may not be the best choice. I'll try it on different kinds of plants when I get time.

[Couger]

In the Ron Hood video, he did the standard solar still in the ground and compared it to the "plant still."

 Taking into account the labor (and resulting water loss in sweat) involved in digging, setting up and maintaining the in-ground style one and comparing the water able to be collected from both, he concluded that multiple plant stills would be more efficient if there are enough suitable plants/trees around. If it works as advertised, it certainly would be a lot less hassle.

 I just bagged my bamboo so we'll see what happens by tomorrow afternoon...

You mentioned "multiple" stills, which sounds like the key to getting any significant water, more than worrying about still-type.  I like your idea Victor.  I've been studying "survival literature and techniques since I was a young boy, but your 'plant still' is the first I've heard of one!  (my literature was lacking apparently, but whatever!  I do know however, that plants use carbon dioxide to give us oxygen (contrary to global warming hoax's)  I din't doubt there losts of moisture moving around photosynthesis and [respiration].

BTW, was your condensed water pure-tasting?  Or plant-tasting?  Thanks!

[Victor3]

 Couger - Not knowing the history of the bag, I didn't drink the water.

 I sealed the hole in the bag and let it do its thing for another round and found that 2x the water had collected in the bottom compared to the 1st try. I assume the increased amount is mainly due to the previous condensation trapped in the upper portion of the bag coming down with the new stuff.

[LabRat2k3]

You will have better results if you use a tree with broad non-waxy leaves, like a maple or popular. *nerd alert* It happens because of a process called transpiration, plants have special openings called stomata which open and close letting water out and CO2 in. On a hot day a large tree can loose several gallons of water through this process, although to get all that you would have to have the whole tree in a bag. Several factors will effect the amount of water you get this way, like temperature, how much water the plant has avalible to it, and the amount of sun the plant is getting. I would guess that on the second and third day you may get more water due to the plant opening the stomata wider to try and get more CO2 as the level of CO2 dropped in the bag. I'm sure there would have to be a break over point where water production would drop off. It would be wise to try several differant plants in your area so you would know which worked best if the need ever arose.

[Swampman]

Any more Hoodlums on this site?

[Dee]

Any more Hoodlums on this site?

 

[myronman3]

i am guessing he is refering to the ron hood who inspired victor to try this....but i had to go back and try to figure that out; it is a purely a guess.   

[Swampman]

Those who frequent

survival.com

Refer to themselves and each other as Hoodlums.  It's a brotherhood......

[Dee]

Ok, now we got ya. Without that bit of trivia, we were clueless to what you meant.