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Bicycle Bottle System Condenses Humidity From Air Into Drinkable Water

Posted by samzenpus on from the water-water-everywhere dept.

Diggester writes The weight of water limits how much can be brought on a long bike ride. There isn't always an option to stop and fill up from a clean stream or drinking fountain, but water could be obtained from a different source: the air. Austrian industrial design student Kristof Retezár has created Fontus: a prototype of a water bottle system that condenses humid air into clean, drinkable water. His design made him a finalist for the 2014 James Dyson Award.

2 of 167 comments (clear)

  1. "Industrial design student" by caffeinated_bunsen · · Score: 5, Informative

    Apparently the industrial design curriculum doesn't cover thermodynamics. Condensing water at room temperature requires shedding about 680 watt-hours of energy per liter, and thermoelectric coolers tend to burn off more than twice the energy they pump (depends on a few variables, but practical devices in practical situations usually fall in that ballpark). You'd need somewhere near a constant half-kilowatt to provide for one person's normal water consumption. Much more if they're exercising or in a hot environment.

    --

    Bugrit! Millenium hand and shrimp!
  2. Re:Hmmm ... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

    Yeah well I'm a 400km a week cyclist and I do Ironman. A 5K bike is NOT just about weight. Aero, stiffness, handling, quality of carbon, ride..... they all factor in and THAT means time savings or watt savings.

    Anyone that thinks 5K for a bike is just about weight is a cafe racer. Yeah sure, maybe a 2K sportive is about 10 minutes slower than a S-Works Tarmac over 90 kms but that is huge difference when your ass is on the saddle. The sportive is also wasting watts on frame twist, the S-Works puts every scrap to the wheel. Or how about alloy verses carbon aero wheels? I dont wear 45mm carbon wheels for weight, it's all about aero gains. Or how about a set of 3T aeromax handlebars? Dont have those for weight, those save 20watts at my typical speed. Oh and they remove road hum too.

    And the real reason why I ride expensive bikes? After 200 kms I'm feeling okay enough to turn around and do it again. Cheaper bikes leave you a rattled sore mess.