Ask HN: What should I do with an unlimited water supply? | Hacker News Reader

Ask HN: What should I do with an unlimited water supply?

3 pointsalecbibat7 comments

I'm a college student in an off-campus apartment complex separate from the university. My apartment complex does not charge for water (hot water included). I've been trying to think of a way to make use of the water supply that exceeds traditional use. Do you guys have any cool ideas? Some of the things I've thought about:

1)Electricity generator. This would most likely be from kinetic energy rather than heat. The sink is a couple feet above the ground and the shower head is about 7 feet above the ground. The water doesn't get hot enough to boil for steam energy (although I did find a company that makes a device that generates electricity from a temperature differential [http://www.ergenics.com/])

2) Some sort of room heater. Maybe grab a water pump, an insulated tub, and some copper pipe to run through my room for a space heater/cooler.

This is really all I've got at this point. I'd love to hear from you guys!

If you want my honest opinion on this: don't waste the water. Just because it's there doesn't mean you should abuse it, you could ruin it for everyone. They might not charge now, but if you go using mega-litres on a weekly basis then they might reconsider. There are tonnes of countries and areas that would kill for any amount of water. Besides I doubt the pressure would be there to run anything of the likes of a water powered generator, it's not just the quantity but the force that powers traditional hydroelectricity.

I have a more resourceful idea. Go and buy a few hundred empty 1L water bottles if you're determined to use unneeded amounts of water on a large scale and then fill them with water and then give them out to people or if you really want too, find a way to send them to those in need (although could be expensive for transport). Think of a way to benefit someone else instead of pouring it down the sink.

That would be great. It certainly doesn't need to be for my personal gain. More of an exercise than anything.

You got the point.

I don't really believe, this is a serious question. No way water is unlimited nor _free_.

> My apartment complex does not charge for water (hot water included). I've been trying to think of a way to make use of the water supply that exceeds traditional use.

You must not have much life experience. If you exploit the fact that the complex doesn't charge for water, they will start charging for water. The explanation? The only reason they don't charge for water is because the cost of metering and billing exceeds the income that would come from a fair price for the water. By trying to use more water than a typical household, you will change the paradigm, and they will start charging.

So ... wake up. Realize that your plan will change your environment for the worse. Everyone will be hurt by your action.

Build a business around it, then howl loudly when they turn the supply off. Seems to work for a lot of people. Even better, just pour it down the sink and claim you built a business around it. This gets you all the sympathy without any of the hard work.

I'm joking, but the fact is that there is an audience who eats up that sort of story so you could think of it as a marketing hack to get a bunch of free publicity.

Which university is this?

The complex is independent from the university.

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