Water filters/purification

D

DiverDn

Joined
Jan 13, 2007
Messages
180
I hope this topic hasn't been beat to death and I just missed it or cannot find it.

I know absolutely nothing about water filtration or purification.

For someone who does not have anything to treat water, where do I start?

My perspective is I am out camping and do not have any water so I want to treat enough water from a local stream, pond or lake so that I can cook and drink without getting sick.

I would like to know:

1. What is the bare minimum I need to be able to survive? This may be simply boiling.

2. What would be nice to have to make things easy/simple? Would a simple hand held purifier work for all water borne nasty’s?


Thanks
John
 
Getting water to a rolling boil kills everything. All it has to do is reach a rolling boil, you don't need to boil it for X amount of time. Water purification tablets also work well for most any kind of bad water but can take up to a few hours to kill everything. The advantage to these two methods is they take up no room in your pack.

I have a Sweetwater filter but almost never use it as I day hike and it's bulky in the pack. If I need water because I got stuck out, I will use method one or two above.
 
DiverDn said:
I hope this topic hasn't been beat to death and I just missed it or cannot find it.

I know absolutely nothing about water filtration or purification.

For someone who does not have anything to treat water, where do I start?

My perspective is I am out camping and do not have any water so I want to treat enough water from a local stream, pond or lake so that I can cook and drink without getting sick.

I would like to know:

1. What is the bare minimum I need to be able to survive? This may be simply boiling.

2. What would be nice to have to make things easy/simple? Would a simple hand held purifier work for all water borne nasty’s?


Thanks
John
Click to expand...


1.) bring it to a boil. remember to always check it though...boiling only concentrates toxins and alkaloids. smell it and see if it has anykind of foul, acidic or metallic smell. if it does don't use it. don't use anything with dead animals floating in it, or with any kind of open pipes going into it. try to avoid it if you see animal feces in it, too.

2.) Potable Aqua tabs and/or AquaMira. Simple, easy. No worries. Same rules as boiling when it comes to smelling it beforehand and such.

3.) Remember too, that you don't need to treat or boil forms of precipitation: rain, snow, sleet, dew. You only need to treat forms of ground water as contaminated.
 
If you are talking camping and want to make sure it's ok boil it.

If you are hiking and going to be drinking a lot I'd buy a pump type water filter.
 
Actually there are a few nasties that can live in near boiling water, also if you are in high altitude water boils at a lower temperature, so whenever possible boil for a bit longer than you might normally do so, also remember to leave some leftover for brushing teeth, doing dishes etc.
There is also a straw filter that i have seen, but do not know name/price/availability/effectivness but I understand you can simply dunk it in a puddle and drink through it.
 
I tend to err on the safe side and use two of the three mentioned methods, filter, boil and chemicals.

Its a bit overboard but I rather be safe then squatting.
 
Filter will get everything but a virus, and bleach, iodine, or chlorine dioxide (Portable Aqua) kills the virus.
 
I have a Katadyn pump filter that is very sturdy and reliable. What is a bit easier is an Aquastar Ultraviolet purifier (same principle as the Steri Pen but a little simpler to use). I've used it on several week-long pack trips and multi-week river trips with no problems. My friends have also had good results with their three units. They are much less effort than pumping if you have clear water.

I usually carry the Potable Aqua iodine pills for backup. When I have time, wood, and a decent size boiling pot, that's a low-effort way to go.

DancesWithKnives
 
DSC_0002_00-1.jpg


Cabelas as a bunch of different types of water filters, this is the best 1 they offer. It works great, I've had it for 5 years.

http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/t...32_TGP&parentType=index&indexId=cat20132&rid=
 
I've had the predecessor of that unit (all white) for well over 20 years, so I must agree with you.

DancesWithKnives
 
my preferred method of water gathering is to use a hand filter (katadyn combi) with a hand purifier (steripen). the filter removes large debris and most bactrium up to 2 microns i believe. after that i use a steripen to purify the water (this process is probably over kill for where i live but its the ol better safe than sorry train of thought).

the steripen uses UV light to deactivate bacterium as well as viruses.

i also carry micropur water tabs as a backup just incase.

there are downsides to everything. filters can break and are actually quite fragile and sometimes fidgity in cold weather. for extended trips where you will have to heavily rely on the filter, a maintenance kit with some replacements parts is always a plus.

the steripen requires batteries. however if you purchase the adventurer model you can get the solar panel recharger accessory. the bulb life is supposed to be 8000 uses and each use filters 1L of water. the product costs 100 bux over here in canada. so if you take 8000L of purified water for 100 bux its quite a steal. i own the regular steripen and have used it many times without using a filter (the water was clear and fast running) and have never gotten sick.

also, chemical purification processes usually require time, sometimes up to 4 hours. however this method is probably one of the most reliable next to boiling.

hope this helps.

JC
 
I've never looked back since going to filters. Boiling is all well and good but some water tastes just plain vile. Safe but revolting doesn't appeal to me, and some of that sulphurous stuff can leave a taste in the mouth worse the Guinness. Grim at the best of times, but on a hot day when you're really thirsty... Then there's the choice of either the extra fuel you need to pack or the extra labour.

There are loads of great pump filters on the market. My personal preference is for the very compact PWP from Pre-Mac. There's an activated carbon stage that gets rid of particles and much of the unpleasantness, and a chemical stage. There are downsides to such a compact unit. Compared to others pumping can be more of a chore because the handle is designed to slot in out the way. I'm completely happy with the trade off though given the size and weight of the device. I've been using these for years now.

http://www.pre-mac.com/PWP_TTW.HTM
 
baldtaco-II said:
I've never looked back since going to filters. Boiling is all well and good but some water tastes just plain vile. Safe but revolting doesn't appeal to me, and some of that sulphurous stuff can leave a taste in the mouth worse the Guinness. Grim at the best of times, but on a hot day when you're really thirsty... Then there's the choice of either the extra fuel you need to pack or the extra labour.

There are loads of great pump filters on the market. My personal preference is for the very compact PWP from Pre-Mac. There's an activated carbon stage that gets rid of particles and much of the unpleasantness, and a chemical stage. There are downsides to such a compact unit. Compared to others pumping can be more of a chore because the handle is designed to slot in out the way. I'm completely happy with the trade off though given the size and weight of the device. I've been using these for years now.

http://www.pre-mac.com/PWP_TTW.HTM
Click to expand...
Then you need a filter with charcoal, unlike the ceramic filters shown above. We have some really stinky water around here. :barf:
 
Been a long term filter and Steri Pen user...have recently been experimenting with the Platypus system per a recommendation is a similar thread that appear here about a month ago. I ordered two and my biz partner and I have been experimenting with this system. So far so really good. Unzip, fill with H2o, hang and within 4 minutes or less I have a full Liter of clear water with no muss or fuss.

Simple effective system. Takes up very little room and easy to use...very easy. I also ordered a MSR adapter which attaches and can be used to fill my Camelbak or attach to my Nalgene for easy fill.
 
KEmSAT-Survival said:
1.)
3.) Remember too, that you don't need to treat or boil forms of precipitation: rain, snow, sleet, dew. You only need to treat forms of ground water as contaminated.
Click to expand...

..if you catch such precipitation before it has a chance to touch the ground that is..
 
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