Anyone have any experiences with these solar - water stills? Good - Bad? Pete

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayIS...50&rd=1

Yep. Well at least a similar unit without the chemicals. It does work, but the water surface must be very still or the contaminated water can splash into the clean distilled water. Perhaps they have found a way around this with these units.

Very low production rate. I think we had 6 to a kit and it would just about make enough for one person. If I were on a life raft in a calm ocean I would like to have several because they are better than nothing. I have no idea about the chemical additive.

If you read Into a Desert Place, by Graham Machintosh, you will get a little input into those things. This guy, a Brit, walked all the way around the coast of Baja California, most of it right at the waterline. He took a similar thing along (it cost A LOT more than this one), but he found that his best source of drinking water was a cheapo aluminum tea kettle and some coiled SS tubing. Boiled seawater using driftwood and drank the condensation. Of course that won't work in a life raft...