For more than ten years, Watergen, an Israeli atmospheric water generator (AWG) company, has been one of the participants in the improvement and development of air-to-water technology, which can effectively extract water vapor from the air and collect it as fresh Filtering drinking water. Its previous work focused on large-scale installations that power communities, businesses, and homes. Its latest innovation has reduced water collection technology to a portable enough form that is suitable for land users, RVers, and small households. Residents and other off-grid explorers.
The last time we contacted Watergen was at CES 2019, which showcased the automotive AWG system. The center console integrated system is one of the highlights of the show, but for a technology with such potential, it seems to be a strange and limited use, a strange detour in a larger journey. Do ordinary passenger car drivers really need to put a tap on the cup holder?
If the mobile air-to-water generator is to find a follower among drivers, it is more suitable for vehicles that travel through water-scarce areas for long periods of time—RVs and camping trailers, specialized remote-working trucks and vans, and perhaps long-distance tractor-trailers , To name just a few examples.
Watergen has already demonstrated its new mobile product lineup on Israel's Smart Mobility Project earlier this week, taking a clear step in this direction. The most common member of the Watergen mobile series is the simply named Mobile Box. It looks a bit like a traditional portable generator, but instead of burning fuel to generate electricity, it uses electricity to draw water from the surrounding air.
Plug the Mobile Box into a 12-V or 220-V car socket. The device sucks in air through a fan and passes through a filter system on the way to a patented heat exchanger. Stage filtration system and store it in the reservoir. The user can pour water through the tap or take out the entire water tank. Watergen lists an average power consumption of 350 watts, a peak power consumption of 480 watts, and a noise level less than or equal to 52 dBA.
According to Watergen, the Mobile Box can produce up to 20 liters of water per day, which is a perfect match for the 20 liter (5 gallon) Jerry cans used by many car campers to transport water. The detachable internal water tank should be easily dumped into a separate storage container to free up more space to produce more fresh water.
Although compact for AWG, compared to many water filter and purifier solutions on the market, the 33 lb (15 kg) empty mobile box is still quite large, some of which can be placed in a pocket. However, it does provide a viable option for finding areas where the water to be purified may be problematic. Assuming that it works reliably, it can reduce the amount of water that campers set off, thereby offsetting their own weight and volume, saving the volume of water tanks and the weight of stored water.
RVers looking for a more streamlined design will find it in Watergen's "On Board" system, which places the main heat exchanger unit on the roof of the car, like an air conditioner. The circulating water then passes through the RV pipe to the tap. This version can produce up to 50 liters (13 gallons) of drinking water per day.
Watergen is far from the only entity working in this particular corner of the market. From nano to macro; from competitions to university research to world records; from dense desert fog to sunny sea water; from trailerable portable devices to mature buildings, since we started discussing technology nearly 20 years ago Since then, we have seen the theme of atmospheric water production appear again and again.
Watergen's Mobile Box is smaller and more portable than other products we have seen, but it is not the only model in this category. Earlier this year, Oklahoma-based Exaersis Water Innovations once again demonstrated its portable AWG for campers and off-grid travelers at the virtual CES and outdoor retail summer market. Its AquaTap has a slightly more digital high-tech appearance and promises the same speed of 20 liters per day.
It seems that Exaersis and Watergen may be competing to bring their mobile systems to the market because they have not yet been sold. Exaersis said in a statement in July that it plans to begin retail purchases of AquaTap in early 2022. Watergen also plans to bring its first mobile product to the market in 2022.
Prior to the Smart Mobility Initiative exhibition this week, Mobile Box was unveiled for the first time on the bed of a Ford Ranger Tremor land display truck at the SEMA show last week. The concept, developed by Ford and Outdoor magazine, shows how Watergen's 21.7 x 15.8 x 15.8 inch (55 x 40 x 40 cm) water tank can be easily integrated into a campervan. In this concept, it fits perfectly next to the slide-out ARB refrigerator/freezer and in front of the BioLite FirePit.
It may be more difficult to squeeze into a camper with limited space, but the Mobile Box seems to work well within the frame of an open pickup bed under a raised roof tent. Campers certainly want to carry a main water tank or water tank, but the mobile tank can be used as a good backup to replace the on-board water collection/filtration system sometimes built into expedition trucks and trailers, whether it is used in an emergency or Just add supplies for long-distance travel.
The following video details how the On Board system is integrated into the camper.