Collecting Dew

[KnowledgeSeeker]

So far as goes I've been trying to find ways to collect dew, enough for alchemical work or an 'elixir' but its very hard. I've tried to find dehumidifiers but nearly every single one requires being plugged into an outlet, and the ones who don't use moisture absorbing beads (You cannot collect dew from them).

How would I go about this? I also live in a relatively unclean ghetto suburb or close to an urban area but where there is vegetation and areas with grass including around my unit. I've also looked into buying Dew in bottles but cannot find any place that sells it.

 

[Florius Frammel]

There are many possibilities.

You could use deliquescent salts. Sometimes they are sold in hardware stores in dehumidifying devices like these:

[image link broken]

I can recommend Calcium Chloride. It's hygroscopic as frick and not that corrosive like for example KOH most people seem to use.

After quite some time it so full of water that the solution becomes liquid. To get the dew you would have to distill it from the salts, but they can be reused afterwards.

Another good method was first described here by JDP or Illen (correct me if I'm wrong). You can use plastic( not glass!) bottles, fill them with water and freeze them. You could hang some outside and put bowls below them to collect the drops.

You could also think about and test different conditions of collection.

Day/night only collections
Natural air humidity
Season
Temperature (high or low, especially with the freezing method)

Just a few examples I also planned sometime, but haven't done yet.

 

[Schmuldvich]

Another good method was first described here by JDP or Illen (correct me if I'm wrong). You can use plastic( not glass!) bottles, fill them with water and freeze them. You could hang some outside and put bowls below them to collect the drops.

Does plastic differ from glass in the amount of dew collected, or is plastic being used here for another purpose?

So far as goes I've been trying to find ways to collect dew..

How much dew are you wanting to collect?

What is your plan once enough dew has been collected?

 

[Florius Frammel]

Does plastic differ from glass in the amount of dew collected, or is plastic being used here for another purpose?

 

[KnowledgeSeeker]

Does plastic differ from glass in the amount of dew collected, or is plastic being used here for another purpose?



How much dew are you wanting to collect?

What is your plan once enough dew has been collected?

To use it in alchemical work as outlined in several sources I've found through research (Can't remember because I've been so focused on finding how to get Dew) or experiment with making the historical elixirs to get the hang of its uses.

Atleast enough for working with materials in most alchemical works.

There are many possibilities.

You could use deliquescent salts. Sometimes they are sold in hardware stores in dehumidifying devices like these:

[image link broken]

I can recommend Calcium Chloride. It's hygroscopic as frick and not that corrosive like for example KOH most people seem to use.

After quite some time it so full of water that the solution becomes liquid. To get the dew you would have to distill it from the salts, but they can be reused afterwards.

Another good method was first described here by JDP or Illen (correct me if I'm wrong). You can use plastic( not glass!) bottles, fill them with water and freeze them. You could hang some outside and put bowls below them to collect the drops.

You could also think about and test different conditions of collection.

Day/night only collections
Natural air humidity
Season
Temperature (high or low, especially with the freezing method)

Just a few examples I also planned sometime, but haven't done yet.

Would it be the same Dew used for alchemical work you are instructed to collect from the atmosphere or possibly referred to as 'the peacock's tail' though? Just wanted a little clarification on especially the freezing part.

 

[Florius Frammel]

Would it be the same Dew used for alchemical work you are instructed to collect from the atmosphere or possibly referred to as 'the peacock's tail' though? Just wanted a little clarification on especially the freezing part.

I think the peacock's tale has nothing to do with dew collection.
Most alchemists said that dew is merely a deckname for something else.
Many have worked with it though. There are many examples and book recommendations for dew work in these forums.

I heard RAMS seems to be full of recipies, but I never looked at those there.

 

[KnowledgeSeeker]

If using the plastic bottle method or JDPs one what aspect of it would I be collecting which would constitute the same substances as 'dew'? May be useful I guess still. I mean if it was the ice that forms on the bottle wouldn't that be the same as regular water?

 

[KnowledgeSeeker]

There are many possibilities.

You could use deliquescent salts. Sometimes they are sold in hardware stores in dehumidifying devices like these:

[image link broken]

I can recommend Calcium Chloride. It's hygroscopic as frick and not that corrosive like for example KOH most people seem to use.

After quite some time it so full of water that the solution becomes liquid. To get the dew you would have to distill it from the salts, but they can be reused afterwards.

Another good method was first described here by JDP or Illen (correct me if I'm wrong). You can use plastic( not glass!) bottles, fill them with water and freeze them. You could hang some outside and put bowls below them to collect the drops.

You could also think about and test different conditions of collection.

Day/night only collections
Natural air humidity
Season
Temperature (high or low, especially with the freezing method)

Just a few examples I also planned sometime, but haven't done yet.

Sorry, what I meant to ask again was would I need to wipe away anything on the surface of the frozen water within the said plastic bottle before hanging it in order to ensure its the dew rather than water from the freezer? And plus would just putting it in a bowl on the ground work?

Will it still work if I live in an apartment that has a sizeable balcony also?

 

[Florius Frammel]

I don't understand the part with the wiping away on the surface of the water within the plastic bottle.

Your other questions: Why not? I guess you know what to do to find it out, don't you?

 

[pierre]

Hi, KnowledgeSeeker, maybe you can use a large surface of extended Plastic, without it touching the ground.
in the center of plastic, you could gather some liters of unpolluted dew

 

[crestind]

It really just comes down to surface area and lowered temperatures. Ammonium salts like the chloride and nitate tend to be endothermic upon dissolution, particularly the nitate. Perhaps their very presence inside the water bottle you are using as a cool surface to condense might add a little extra kick to whatever it is we are collecting, who knows.

 

[KnowledgeSeeker]

I don't understand the part with the wiping away on the surface of the water within the plastic bottle.

Your other questions: Why not? I guess you know what to do to find it out, don't you?

I meant wiping the surface of the plastic bottle itself, because you know when you place it into a freezer ice sometimes forms on the surface of the container for some reason. Or stuff in general.

 

[Appleheads]

I found a great collection technique

Infinite Water ~ The Forgotten Engineering Trick

When they turn off the water, you'll have wished you had made one of these, I promise you.

www.bitchute.com

The video says you have to take it down everyday and move it to the direction of the wind.

I would construct one end of the device to have a rotating platform like a lazy Susan, and the other end with some kind of tent pole so I could easily lift one side out, rotate to the wind and then be able to easily stab it in the ground.

 

[Phyllobius]

With atmospheric pollution (both in radio waves and chemicals), is it worth to collect the dew?

 

[Lux Natura]

With atmospheric pollution (both in radio waves and chemicals), is it worth to collect the dew?

There are some good studies that show the contaminants in dew collected around various locations. The takeaway is that there are more pollutants in the dew around areas of human inhabitation (heavy industry, "civilization", even areas close enough to roads that the dew is impacted by exhaust gasses from vehicles).

There are good weather / atmospheric mapping programs that can show you the air quality index, no2's / so2's, particulates, aerosols, carbon monoxide concentrations, dust masses, aerosols, and so on. Cross reference this with the humidity and temperature forecast for your area to know the if the dew point will be reached, and if it is, what the level of pollutants are in the air. Basically all those "pollutant" maps will show you areas in cities and surrounding cities or within the areas impacted by wind currents will have a dew with higher toxicity. These maps will also show you areas that are "cleaner".

One of the sites I use for this data is windy.com

I guess it depends what you want to use the dew for - you can make dew "synthetically" in several different ways, depending on what your intended use is.

 

[Mahavira]

With atmospheric pollution (both in radio waves and chemicals), is it worth to collect the dew?

This reply from Andro comes to mind:

I was always informed over the years that twice a year was the only time that the dew collected was of any use.
It had to be collected in May and September and now it was getting very difficult because of pollution.

That's why it has to 'die' first - be pu(t)rified by death.

Nothing escapes alchemical death, certainly not pollution

After the black work though (and in general), a low EMF environment (as low as possible) is still obviously better.

 

[Lux Natura]

After the black work though (and in general), a low EMF environment (as low as possible) is still obviously better.

You can shield from emf and light to reduce the breakdown, but it still occurs, albeit more slowly. If you don't work towards the white, the breakdown will still occur though. The black is the "food" and the white is the "waste" of the process, so important I think to keep the food preserved so it does not break down before the process that needs it is ready to consume it.

 

[Pilgrim]

I found a great collection technique

Infinite Water ~ The Forgotten Engineering Trick

When they turn off the water, you'll have wished you had made one of these, I promise you.

www.bitchute.com

Is this vid available on any other platform? Sadly Bitchute is barred in the UK.

 

[Lux Natura]

Is this vid available on any other platform? Sadly Bitchute is barred in the UK.

The video is a repost of tiktok slop - you aren't missing anything. Basically a vertical mesh with a gutter on the bottom. More or less the same you see on this wikipedia article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fog_collection

 

[Phyllobius]

Thank you very much for your answers.

 

[ArgentSeeker]

NDC said a good method was to get pvc pipes with one open end and one capped end, put them in a container, and then put ice between the pipes. The large surface area and cold temperature will condense the dew on the inside of the pvc pipes, thus making collection easy. It's questionable whether this can be considered "universal" or "unspecified", however. I'm not sure what plastic falls under. I'm sure a similar method of collection could be done with glass and ice. I also think a good method of speeding up collection would be to use something like an air ejector/eductor, where the suction was in-front of the collection apparatus causing a negative draft, thus meaning the air wouldn't touch anything metallic prior to collection. They also say the spirit comes from the north.

 

[Lux Natura]

Large glass vases, thin walled, filled with ice, that sit in glass baking dishes, placed outdoors overnight. The condensation on the outside of the glass filled vases drips down to the glass baking dishes below.

If you've ever used an air compressor, and afterwards released the excess pressure through the bottom valve of the tank, you will see moisture that comes out that immediately freezes.

Of course, any material that is capable of absorbing moisture will do so if the moisture outside is higher enough - you can place dried leaves out on a table overnight and find them more hydrated in the morning if there was any humidity the night before.

Many ways to do this, but I think there is a difference between simply capturing atmospheric humidity in some matter, versus capturing the dew to work with in other ways, for example if you want "living" dew.

 

[ArgentSeeker]

Encyclopedia of Extract on the Dew - Diderot and d'Alembert by Diderot and d'Alembert

Encyclopedia of Extract on the Dew - Diderot and d'Alembert DEW, sf (Physiq.) aqueous meteor which can be distinguished into three species, namely the dew…

www.alchemy-texts.com

Black (dark) surfaces, typically in the form of flat boards, plates, or cloths/wool of various shapes, exposed outdoors overnight under clear, calm conditions.According to accounts of Pieter van Musschenbroek’s experiments (referenced in his physics texts around the discussion of dew/ros in sections such as § 1535 of the relevant essay/edition), he systematically compared the deposition of dew on different materials and surfaces by leaving them exposed to the night air (often in Holland, sometimes noting association with low mist or haze).

• Method: Bodies of different compositions, mechanical states, and colors were placed similarly situated (e.g., on or elevated above the ground) during calm, clear (or lightly misty) nights and examined the next morning for the quantity of condensed moisture. He observed preferential formation on non-metals versus bright metals (which largely resisted dew on their upper surfaces) and further differences by color and surface properties. Quantities were assessed by visible wetting, drop formation, or (in related later work building on his observations) weighing.
• Shape of material: Flat surfaces such as boards, plates, or sheets (and also fibrous materials like wool or cloth formed into flattened parcels or similar shapes) were commonly used, as these allowed clear comparison of upper-surface deposition. Thinner or more finely divided forms generally attracted more than thick/dense ones of the same substance.
• Color: Black (or dark) attracted the most dew. Darker surfaces cooled more effectively by radiating heat to the clear sky, dropping below the dew point of the adjacent air more readily than lighter/white or metallic surfaces.

These findings supported the reality of dew’s preferential “fall” or condensation and were later refined by experimenters such as Wells (who explicitly tested black vs. white wool and pasteboard and found a modest excess on black). Exact wording and numbering can vary slightly by edition of Musschenbroek’s Elementa, Institutiones, or Introductio.

Slight follow-up. Maybe black-tinged glass would be the best collector of all.

 

[Lux Natura]

Slight follow-up. Maybe black-tinged glass would be the best collector of all.

It approaches a blackbody. I think the ideal dew collector reflects all visible light frequencies, thus does not take on any heat from them, and emits all infrared light frequencies nearing the theoretical efficiency of the perfect black body.

Some of the materials used for large scale dew collectors are white (at least that is how they appear to our eyes), but are black under infrared - for example titanium dioxide containing paints. That they are white under normal light is great because they reflect the most visible light and don't take on extra heat, and that they are black under infrared is great because they emit ambient heat as efficiently as possible.

I did a bit of online searching, and the suggestions are to mix titanium dioxide with calcium carbonate, mixed either into an clear acrylic based paint, or into clear polyurethane, at a ratio of 1 part paint to 1.5 parts powder. The best types of boards to paint on should have very little thermal conductivity, so insulating foams such as rigid polystyrene that have a thin layer of aluminum on them as a backing onto which the paint can be applied are often used. The aluminum has a high thermal conductivity, but it is never exposed to the actual sun as it is underneath the paint layer, and it can also help pass on any ambient heat to the paint layer which helps release it in the IR range, i.e. it acts as an equalizer to the whole panel, moving IR heat around internally so it all cools down or is radiated evenly.

 

[ArgentSeeker]

It approaches a blackbody. I think the ideal dew collector reflects all visible light frequencies, thus does not take on any heat from them, and emits all infrared light frequencies nearing the theoretical efficiency of the perfect black body.

Some of the materials used for large scale dew collectors are white (at least that is how they appear to our eyes), but are black under infrared - for example titanium dioxide containing paints. That they are white under normal light is great because they reflect the most visible light and don't take on extra heat, and that they are black under infrared is great because they emit ambient heat as efficiently as possible.

I did a bit of online searching, and the suggestions are to mix titanium dioxide with calcium carbonate, mixed either into an clear acrylic based paint, or into clear polyurethane, at a ratio of 1 part paint to 1.5 parts powder. The best types of boards to paint on should have very little thermal conductivity, so insulating foams such as rigid polystyrene that have a thin layer of aluminum on them as a backing onto which the paint can be applied are often used. The aluminum has a high thermal conductivity, but it is never exposed to the actual sun as it is underneath the paint layer, and it can also help pass on any ambient heat to the paint layer which helps release it in the IR range, i.e. it acts as an equalizer to the whole panel, moving IR heat around internally so it all cools down or is radiated evenly.

Don't they say to not let it touch metal, as it discharges the spirit?