...; transferred from the Ministerie van Marine (Department of the Navy), The Hague, to the museum, 1883

Object number: NG-MC-1108-2

Distilling apparatus for distilling fresh water from salt water (NG-MC-1108-1), with an explanatory note (NG-MC-1108-2).

The system has two separate waterflows: cold salt water from outside the hull enters the outer, cylindrical container from below and once heated, leaves the container through a pipe in the side above and is led out of the ship again. Steam is admitted to the apparatus through the top and distributed over a number of parallel pipes, where it is cooled by the water in the outer container and condenses into fresh water, which is tapped from below. Two extra cocks are attached to the outer container, leading to one pipe. The tops of the outer container and the distilling pipes are bolted.

James Bouvery Grant’s condensor or distilling apparatus was much appreciated for its simplicity and effectiveness. He obtained a patent for his invention in the United Kingdom in 1866. The Dutch Navy experimented with these condensers and gradually improved them: the most important problem was the need for completely watertight seams, which could not be achieved with solder and led to the use of bolts and nuts.