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peacmar · 11-07-13, 07:17 AM

My grandparents used to us a trick in the musty basement of their old farmhouse that utilized rock salt. Place one 5 gallon plastic pail inside of another, drill a couple 1/8 inch holes around the perimeter of the bottom of the inner pail, and fill the inside pail with rock salt.

They would fill 2-4 of these each spring and fall and they would last for months pulling gallons of water out of the air. No power or circulation, just check and empty the bottom outside bucket every other day or so. In the spring and fall at the worst times, I recall my grandfather emptying the couple quarts of water out of the bottom bucket 2 maybe 3 times a day. They also had a way of saving the salt and drying it by pouring the liquid into a large black tarp hung like a basket between some fence posts on a bit sunny day. When it dried to a crust all it took was a simple shake of the tarp to break then salt up into small pieces again. Maybe some automation to this system would make for a very efficient drier?

11-07-13, 07:17 AM	#8
peacmar Lurking Renovator Join Date: Jun 2011 Location: fond du lac, wi Posts: 26 Thanks: 0 Thanked 5 Times in 5 Posts	old farmers trick My grandparents used to us a trick in the musty basement of their old farmhouse that utilized rock salt. Place one 5 gallon plastic pail inside of another, drill a couple 1/8 inch holes around the perimeter of the bottom of the inner pail, and fill the inside pail with rock salt. They would fill 2-4 of these each spring and fall and they would last for months pulling gallons of water out of the air. No power or circulation, just check and empty the bottom outside bucket every other day or so. In the spring and fall at the worst times, I recall my grandfather emptying the couple quarts of water out of the bottom bucket 2 maybe 3 times a day. They also had a way of saving the salt and drying it by pouring the liquid into a large black tarp hung like a basket between some fence posts on a bit sunny day. When it dried to a crust all it took was a simple shake of the tarp to break then salt up into small pieces again. Maybe some automation to this system would make for a very efficient drier?