PaulJ
Member
I am currently reading a book called "The wind calls the tune" by Stanley Smith and Charles Violet in which they chronicle a voyage across the Atlantic they made in 1951 in a 20 ft boat. They carried no fresh water but several references are made to some "Permutit de-salting kits".........
"Our greatest weight-saver was the Permutit de-salting kits. This modern scientific miracle changed sea-water into absolutely untainted fresh water in half an hour."
And elsewhere in the book......
"The making of fresh water from the sea was usually done in the afternoon. We would get out eight of the rubber bags which had a filter and a stopped rubber tube at the bottom. Into each bag we would put half a pint of sea-water and then add a block of four cubes. According to instructions, the bags, after being sealed at the top, should then have been occasionally shaken. We tied them in the rigging where they got all the shaking they needed. Half an hour later we pressed the finished product from each bag into a bottle. This produced half a gallon and lasted us twenty four hours."
It seems to me that these things would be an invaluable addition to the grab-bag...... Does anybody know anything more about these water makers, like are they still available and if so where from? I have done a quick search and as far as I can see Permutit are still in business but they don't have a web-site.
"Our greatest weight-saver was the Permutit de-salting kits. This modern scientific miracle changed sea-water into absolutely untainted fresh water in half an hour."
And elsewhere in the book......
"The making of fresh water from the sea was usually done in the afternoon. We would get out eight of the rubber bags which had a filter and a stopped rubber tube at the bottom. Into each bag we would put half a pint of sea-water and then add a block of four cubes. According to instructions, the bags, after being sealed at the top, should then have been occasionally shaken. We tied them in the rigging where they got all the shaking they needed. Half an hour later we pressed the finished product from each bag into a bottle. This produced half a gallon and lasted us twenty four hours."
It seems to me that these things would be an invaluable addition to the grab-bag...... Does anybody know anything more about these water makers, like are they still available and if so where from? I have done a quick search and as far as I can see Permutit are still in business but they don't have a web-site.
