Water filter and freezing temps question

K

keyser223

Joined
Apr 1, 2011
Messages
182
So, I just purchased a Platypus Gravityworks system today. While reading reviews I saw that you can not leave filters in freezing temps. To that point my new filter (still boxed) had been in the car for exactly 30min's with an outside temperature of 22degrees. Is the filter ruined now?
 
I think the problem would be that the water would freeze in it.

Then you couldn't use it.

Guess it could also burst if it was super full.
 
keyser223 said:
I had just read that freezing destroys or degrades the filter media.
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I think that implies the filter's been used. If it's brand-spankin' new and never been used - no water inside, i believe you're good to go.

I don't see how the freezing temps would affect completely dry media, but i'm not a chemist either.... How do they ship brand new units to, say, Alaska, in the winter time? Maybe they don't....
 
I need to know the answer to this as well. I keep my MSR in the trunk of my vehicle in my kit. Is it now ruined because it routinely gets to 20 and below here.
 
Doesn't anybody read the directions? If you're going to expose a filter to temperature below freezing you have to get all the water out first, or it will expand as it freezes and ruin the filter. It doesn't matter whether it's ceramic or plastic microtubes; nothing can resist the pressure of freezing water.
 
What couger said. You could similarly ruin a can of beer by leaving it in the freezer. By ruin I mean it will expand and explode. Best to think about this over a can of cold brew.
 
Cougar Allen said:
Doesn't anybody read the directions? If you're going to expose a filter to temperature below freezing you have to get all the water out first, or it will expand as it freezes and ruin the filter. It doesn't matter whether it's ceramic or plastic microtubes; nothing can resist the pressure of freezing water.
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Yeah that. Most of the stuff used in filters these days isn't particularly temperature senstive (though I wouldn't suggest dropping your filter when it's 15 degrees as plastics can be brittle in the cold). Water in the filter that freezes will crack your filter open like nobody's business.

We backpack frequently in places where the temperature gets below freezing at night. We do our best to dry the filter out as much as possible before night, then pack it away deep in somebody's pack to keep it insulated as possible from the cold overnight. Haven't had any issues so far.
 
DrivebyTrucker said:
What couger said. You could similarly ruin a can of beer by leaving it in the freezer. By ruin I mean it will expand and explode. Best to think about this over a can of cold brew.
Click to expand...

I have had this happen, but it worked out, the can was sitting in the ice in the icemaker so I had beer ice cubes afterwards. No more paying extra for cold beer for me!
 
I'd think that aside from ice expansion damaging the filter itself, you might also have an issue if there are any thermosensitive seals in the filtration system. Frozen seals can crack as well.
 
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