A moisture vaporator, also known as a vapor spire, was a device used on moisture farms to capture water from a planet's atmosphere. They were typically found on desert planets such as Tatooine where surface water was scarce. Moisture farmers collected water using moisture vaporators for sale or for use in hydroponic gardens. Owen Lars, for example, was a moisture farmer.
Moisture vaporators were relatively tall and slender devices, used to harvest water from a planet's atmosphere. Costing up to 500 credits, moisture vaporators came in various different models, and could reach up to 3.5 meters in height. The devices were stationed at ground level and coaxed moisture from the air by means of refrigerated condensers, or chilling bars, which generated low-energy ionization fields. Captured water was then pumped or gravity-directed into a storage cistern, which adjusted its pH levels. Vaporators were capable of collecting 1.5 liters of water per day, even when the relative humidity of the air was only 1.5 percent. Higher-end models, such as those manufactured by Pretormin Environmental Corporation, were equipped with computers, which could adjust the strength of the ionization and refrigeration fields to compensate for changing wind speed and temperature. Patch-in droid units were used for communication with the binary brain unit of moisture vaporators, and could also interface with external droids.
Moisture vaporators were used throughout the galaxy, and most commonly found on dry desert worlds such as Tatooine, though they were also used on more lush worlds such as Lah'mu.
Early colonists of Tatooine were forced to adapt to the planet's harsh climate, using moisture vaporators to gather any water they could from its dry air.
Years into the Galactic Empire's reign, there still existed many moisture farms across Tatooine, such as those of the Great Chott salt flat community. Working for profit and survival, moisture farmers with higher-end moisture vaporators could collect enough water for sale, while those who could not afford them used their water for hydroponic gardening. The Great Drought was a difficult time for many farmers, as they couldn't get the necessary water from their vaporators, and Jabba the Hutt collected heavy water taxes from them.
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