portable water purification

T

Tony Turner

Joined
Apr 15, 2003
Messages
175
I know this might have been covered in the past, but I could not get the search engine to work on this forum so I thought I would just start a new one. I have never used any of the back packing (portable) water purification pumps, siphons and such. I have always used iodine or just boiled my water prior to drinking it. I am now in the market to buy one and I am looking to see what some of you use and recommend. I am looking for more portable than anything from what I have read most of them remove all the really bad stuff. I want to be able to buy new filters for it.....so let's here it, the good the bad and the ugly. I will thank you all ahead of time for your imput.
 
The best value IMO would be with either the MSR mini-works, now on sale at REI $60.00.
Or with the Katadyn hiker model, about the same price.
The MSR has a carbon and ceramic component so it will filter some chemicals and help taste. Also easy to clean and replace filter. But they can freeze/crack depending on the weather or droping them.
THe Katadyn Hiker has a paper element, could be fiberglas (?) It works well and for a long time. Not sure about cleaning. Replacement of elements should not be a problem.
The USMC is using the MSR so it likely is G.I. proof!
Whatever filter you choose you should buy or make a decent pre-filter for it,
Every filter needs one.
<><
 
I second Katadyn Hiker recommendation. I've been using mine for a couple of years now and very fond of it to this day. One thing though, don't discard your iodine, it may come in handy as it did for me once.
 
My PUR Hiker (now katadyn) came with a pre-filter. It's probably the least likely of all the filters to become clogged. I've filtered some narly water and the hiker did a great job with it. The only drawback to the hiker, unless Katadyn has changed the pump, is that it will only filter about 300 gallons of water safely, compared to 1000s with one of the other Katadyns.
 
longbow50 said:
The only drawback to the hiker, unless Katadyn has changed the pump, is that it will only filter about 300 gallons of water safely, compared to 1000s with one of the other Katadyns.
Click to expand...


I doubled the filter life (at least) of mine buy wrapping a single coffee filter around the acorn prefilter and securing it semi tight with an elastic band. The coffee filter filters a ton of stuff out before it even reaches the filter inside. Carefull not to rip the filter if it gets wet.

Try it out.

Skam
 
The Hiker is a very good choice.
Personally I use the Mini Ceramic model. For me space and filter life is more important than production by minute.
There are two things to consider when making your choice is:

1. How many people will depend on that filter for their drinking and cooking water? This may make production per minute and filter capacity important. The Hiker has a poduction of 1 litter/minute. That's very good production, but it only has a 200 gallons capacity per cartridge. The Mini Ceramic model has a capacity of 2,000 galons, but a production of .5 litters/minute. In contrast the Pocket model has a capacity of 13,000 gallons and a production equal to the Hiker.

2. What's the general condition of water where you hike? The worse the water condition, the better filtration you need. The Hiker traps particles and bacteria as small as .3 Microns, which is good. The Pocket and the Mini Ceramic models trap particles as small as .2 Microns, which is better. These other models tend to clog faster and more often than the Hiker, because they trap more particles.

Then there's price. The Pocket goes for about $190.00, the Hiker for about $60.00, and the Mini Ceramic for $90.00.

keep in mind that Katadyn also makes water purification tablets. They cost around $13.00 for 30 pills. 1 Pill purifies a quart of water. These pills leave no unpleasant taste in the water, are actually more efective than iodine pills, and come individually wrapped.
 
I've asked here once about water filters.
Since that time, I've done some researches.
First no filter (ceramic or fiber-glass) will get rid of viruses. In some areas this is a minor problem, in some others it would require you treat any filtered water using chemicals (this doesn't make filtering completly useless, as removing particles helps chemical treatment a lot).

A few hints:
Treating pollution requires an activated charcoal.
Treating viruses requires some sort of chemical treatment. This is generally done (when offered) by iodine matrix (which leaves very little if any chemicals in water so can be used pretty extensively)
Ceramic may get some invisible cracks if dropped, which can substancially reduce filter's efficiency.

In the end I bought a Hiker which was available and not too expensive (and because viruses are not a major problem where I plan to use it). Many people highly speak of pre-mac filters which are endorsed by the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. I've tried one once. Pretty ergonomic but flow is quite slow.

Katadyn pills come in three kinds:
1) Micropur classic: Silver ions: these are adapted for water storage but you can't rely on them for initial treatment. No taste.
2) Micropur forte: these are silver ions plus chlorine. This means they are supposed to treat and then allow storage. Treatment is chlorine, with all chlorine limitations, including swimming pool water taste.
3) I've seen some express treatment pills for emergency situation once in a shop these are supposed to treat recommended water volume within 15 minutes. I don't know what chemical they use. Might simply be concentrated chlorine. Costed about 3 times M. Forte price. Might not be suitable for extensive use.
 
skammer said:
I doubled the filter life (at least) of mine buy wrapping a single coffee filter around the acorn prefilter and securing it semi tight with an elastic band. The coffee filter filters a ton of stuff out before it even reaches the filter inside. Carefull not to rip the filter if it gets wet.

Try it out.

Skam
Click to expand...

Thanks Skam. I use a pair of coffee filters for straining, along with a bandana and then I filter/add chems. Never considered wrapping the paper filter around the prefilter.
 
i use an MSR miniworks. it's small, light, and has good flow rate. it's also field serviceable. the ceramic element can be scrubbed in the field if flow rate starts to slow due to clogging. also included in the maintenace kit are extra seals/gaskets and a guage so that there is no guessing as to when you need to replace the element.
as far as the element freezing, a quick backwash will help prevent this and clogging as well.
if you're worried about viruses, use chemicals to treat the water first then use the filter.

First Need's portable filter is the only one i'm familiar with that gets rid of viruses.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top