Recommend a brand / kind of water filter for 4x4 setup?

[Dan Grec]

Hi All,

I'm building / designing the water setup for my Jeep to go around Africa for a couple of years.
I have the tank, pump, etc.

I plan to plumb it all up so that I can pump water through a filter into the tank, then turn a few taps and have it go back through that filter on the way out of the tank and out a tap for drinking/cooking water.

I don't plan to ingest water from a murky swamp or anything that bad, but it would be nice to have a super high quality filter so I can sometimes ingest water of slightly questionable quality.

Does anyone have experience with what I need to get? I see I can get filters down to about 0.5mircons, but then will I also need something to get rid of bacteria?
I'm not even sure where to start, any help is greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

-Dan

 

[tarditi]

You want an onboard purification system? How about a portable one instead?
The big berkey filters are excellent http://www.bigberkeywaterfilters.com/.
You can filter your dirty water overnight, and restock your potable water containers for the day's trip.

 

[Dan Grec]

You want an onboard purification system? How about a portable one instead?
The big berkey filters are excellent http://www.bigberkeywaterfilters.com/.
You can filter your dirty water overnight, and restock your potable water containers for the day's trip.

Thanks for the idea, I'd like to have a permanently mounted setup that can filter 10+ gallons at a time (as it pumps into the tank).

I already have a permanent tank and strong 12V pump, so filter system makes sense.

-Dan

 

[1leglance]

Not to be mean but this is what I have run into on my trips....
Usually water is coming out of some kind of tap or pump...so I need a container to capture it in....the usual 5 gal scepter/jug sort of thing.
Folks are either waiting in line with you or standing around watching you do this.
So then your setup means you have to pump from your container into your tank, through a filter, then you want to go back through the filter and out a hose.

Problems....
You now have an empty dirty container.
You have to connect the clean side of your tank back through the inlet of your filter (bad idea).
Double filter run should not be needed.

So unless you really really need that underbody tank I would make my fill container jugs my "tank" and just filter on the way OUT of them into my clean hose.

OR if you really want that built in tank I would have a collapsable jug for water that can stow when empty...but those don't last.

There is some great build threads on water filter/setups on this forum. However I notice in smaller vehicles over time folks just go with jugs and chlorine.

Now if you think you will always draw from a tank/stream/body of water (not likely in camping areas/towns) then you could have an inlet hose to filter to pump to tank setup...but then you have to plumb some fittings from tank back to pump to outlet hose to get your water.
Or use a manual RV style faucet to bring water out of your tank for use.

I would still learn about using bleach/chlorine for water treatment in your tank/jugs as that will give you a double edge and make sure your tank/containers stay good.

 

[155mm]

If you already have the tank and pump, you could just buy a few Sawyer filters (https://sawyer.com/products/type/water-filtration/) and put them inline. They filter down to .1 micron, are inexpensive, and don't take up much room. They aren't as high flow as a big RO setup, but is fine for drinking water, etc. You can just backflush it regularly and they are small enough you can have lots of spares.

At .1 micron, you've pretty much got rid of any bacteria and parasites. The remaining danger would be chemicals and viruses. Dissolved chemicals can only gotten out with carbon filtration, RO, or distillation. Viruses you can get rid of with chemical treatment (such as bleach) or UV treatment. Viruses and chemicals are really only a concern in populated areas from industry, agriculture runoff, and raw sewage. Out in the boonies you should be fine with just the .1 filtration.

 

[DiploStrat]

In a classic case of a good thread in the wrong forum: http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/threads/82484-Water-purifying

I used to use a very simple system:

 

[Dan Grec]

Not to be mean but this is what I have run into on my trips....

First of all thanks very much for the input, I really appreciate it.

Usually water is coming out of some kind of tap or pump...so I need a container to capture it in....the usual 5 gal scepter/jug sort of thing.
Folks are either waiting in line with you or standing around watching you do this.
So then your setup means you have to pump from your container into your tank, through a filter, then you want to go back through the filter and out a hose.

Problems....
You now have an empty dirty container.
You have to connect the clean side of your tank back through the inlet of your filter (bad idea).
Double filter run should not be needed.

You're right that connecting the clean side of the tank through the inlet of the filter is not ideal, I had not thought about that.
I suppose I could just filter it on the way into the tank and not on the way out, I just thought double filter = better so why not.

So unless you really really need that underbody tank I would make my fill container jugs my "tank" and just filter on the way OUT of them into my clean hose.
OR if you really want that built in tank I would have a collapsable jug for water that can stow when empty...but those don't last.

My build all along has been space constrained, so there is no way I'm carrying jugs of water. There is nowhere to put them, and I don't want them anyway.
I will have an underbody tank, for certain. Actually I already have the tank and pump, need to buy filter setup.
collapsable jug not an option, it needs to last 2+ years in Africa.

There is some great build threads on water filter/setups on this forum. However I notice in smaller vehicles over time folks just go with jugs and chlorine.

I'm not going to put chlorine in my water for 2+ years, I need a more permanent solution than that.

Now if you think you will always draw from a tank/stream/body of water (not likely in camping areas/towns) then you could have an inlet hose to filter to pump to tank setup...but then you have to plumb some fittings from tank back to pump to outlet hose to get your water.
Or use a manual RV style faucet to bring water out of your tank for use

That's exactly the plan, I just need to figure out filtration, everything else is designed.

I would still learn about using bleach/chlorine for water treatment in your tank/jugs as that will give you a double edge and make sure your tank/containers stay good.

Thanks, I will look into that.

-Dan

 

[Dan Grec]

If you already have the tank and pump, you could just buy a few Sawyer filters (https://sawyer.com/products/type/water-filtration/) and put them inline. They filter down to .1 micron, are inexpensive, and don't take up much room. They aren't as high flow as a big RO setup, but is fine for drinking water, etc. You can just backflush it regularly and they are small enough you can have lots of spares.

At .1 micron, you've pretty much got rid of any bacteria and parasites. The remaining danger would be chemicals and viruses. Dissolved chemicals can only gotten out with carbon filtration, RO, or distillation. Viruses you can get rid of with chemical treatment (such as bleach) or UV treatment. Viruses and chemicals are really only a concern in populated areas from industry, agriculture runoff, and raw sewage. Out in the boonies you should be fine with just the .1 filtration.

Thanks, that's exactly the kind of thing I'm looking for. Though it would be nice to get something a little bigger and sturdier - do you know of a more "RV" type approach to the same thing (down to 0.1 micron) - it doesn't have to be backpacker lightweight, it will be permanently mounted in the Jeep.

And what's RO?

Thanks,
-Dan

 

[155mm]

RO is reverse osmosis. There are systems that would be compact enough you could mount in the jeep, but certainly not as portable as the Sawyers. Keep in mind those Sawyers are rated for 100,000 gallons and cost less than $20 each at Walmart.

Anyway, RO systems will get you cleaner water, but there is also more maintenance. You can read up on it and decide if it's worth the extra space and effort. It won't cost very much if you source parts from ebay and the like, but it will cost you quite a bit if you buy a prepackaged system.

 

[Dan Grec]

In a classic case of a good thread in the wrong forum: http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/threads/82484-Water-purifying

Ah- ha, thanks very much,.

From there I followed the Hackney's approach and am looking at these options http://www.purauv.com/puraundersink.htm

This is exactly what I was looking for - a 0.5 micron cabon filter AND a UV lamp to kill bad stuff.
I might put a cheap(er) 10 micron in front of it so it doesn't clog up to fast.

-Dan

 

[cruiserpilot]

RO is reverse osmosis. There are systems that would be compact enough you could mount in the jeep, but certainly not as portable as the Sawyers. Keep in mind those Sawyers are rated for 100,000 gallons and cost less than $20 each at Walmart.

Anyway, RO systems will get you cleaner water, but there is also more maintenance. You can read up on it and decide if it's worth the extra space and effort. It won't cost very much if you source parts from ebay and the like, but it will cost you quite a bit if you buy a prepackaged system.

RO is a very good system. But also the Sawyer system is really designed for 3rd world, but it is not $20 at Walmart.
Go onto the Sawyer website, look at the different filters. But with a good water tablet, the Sawyer filter is offered down to 0.02 microns. They advertise
the ability to remove virus'. So that is what I would start at. The ability to drip filter 5 gal at a time is very beneficial.
I have seen a 5 gal scepter style can for sale with a filter built in, but I can't find it.

 

[Dan Grec]

RO is reverse osmosis. There are systems that would be compact enough you could mount in the jeep, but certainly not as portable as the Sawyers. Keep in mind those Sawyers are rated for 100,000 gallons and cost less than $20 each at Walmart.

Anyway, RO systems will get you cleaner water, but there is also more maintenance. You can read up on it and decide if it's worth the extra space and effort. It won't cost very much if you source parts from ebay and the like, but it will cost you quite a bit if you buy a prepackaged system.

RO is a very good system. But also the Sawyer system is really designed for 3rd world, but it is not $20 at Walmart.
Go onto the Sawyer website, look at the different filters. But with a good water tablet, the Sawyer filter is offered down to 0.02 microns. They advertise
the ability to remove virus'. So that is what I would start at. The ability to drip filter 5 gal at a time is very beneficial.
I have seen a 5 gal scepter style can for sale with a filter built in, but I can't find it.

Thanks again for the info all.

Do you think one of those Sawyer inline filters will hold up to my pump pushing water through it at 3 gallons per minute at 55psi?
It just seems more designed for lightweight backpacker stuff than slightly heavy duty like I'm looking for.

Thanks,
-Dan

 

[Maninga]

I'm getting one of these for filling the tanks with, along with a couple of prefilters to keep it clean

http://www.bestwaterfilters.com.au/BEST-Inline/

And have one of these for drinking water

http://www.highwaterfilters.com/PurestOne-Under-Counter-Water-Purifier-p/uc-1.htm

Should make for a simple system that'll last a while

 

[cruiserpilot]

Best to read the website. The Sawyer filters can be back flushed and re-used time and again. I don't know if they are meant to be
used under pressure.

 

[Dan Grec]

I'm getting one of these for filling the tanks with, along with a couple of prefilters to keep it clean

http://www.bestwaterfilters.com.au/BEST-Inline/

That looks like a nice one-stop solution, but you're not going to use it for drinking water?
Do you think it's not good enough?

How do you think it compares with the Pura UV-1 on this page: http://www.purauv.com/puraundersink.htm ?

Thanks,
-Dan