It was our wedding anniversary this week so I decided to surprise my wife by arranging to have the day off and take her and our daughter to the seaside for the day.
 |
| Dip your toe in! |
We had a cracking day at Barry Island (with plenty of Gavin and Stacy quotes and sight seeing) but you always have to take something from the beach home with you. I did, in the form of 7 litres of sea water!
 |
| Not what everyone brings back from the beach! |
This meant I had to walk all the way to the sea and fill loads of bottles with sea water, I happened to choose low tide when I decided to do this with a big pink bag but don't worry, I'm used to funny looks!
 |
| Not a dirty protest but sea water strained through muslin |
when we got back I strained it through 4 layers of muslin to remove any sand, before putting five litres in a large pot and boiling it.
 |
| 5 litres of sea water |
When it got close to boiling dry I turned off the hob and left it to cool. Then today we left it in the sun to evaporate more (free energy) before finishing it off in the oven to drive out the last bit of moisture.
 |
| Salt! |
 |
| Quite a bit collected |
I was quite impressed with the amount of salt it produced, but on purely economical terms this little experiment isn't viable, as the electric hob probably used more electric than the salt is worth. But if you had a wood stove heating the house all day then this would be a way to get free salt and another step towards self sufficiency (but only if you live near the sea - which we don't)!
Looking at this post I still not sure why my wife puts up with me!
