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CAprepper
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# Posted: 12 Feb 2011 03:14
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As a register nurse I am concerned with quality of water for food preparation, cleaning and drinking. One relatively inexpensive option is the use of the British Berkefeld Water Purification/Filtration system. It is often called a Berkey for short. Look it up on Amazon and around the net for specific details. In short, this is a gravity driven system. It sets on your counter. You fill the top where the filters are with any kind of water. I suggest you also keep a supply of Clorox Bleach. Treat your water with the bleach in the top. As the water filters through all bacterial, fungus and paracytic life forms are distroyed. The bleach in the top kills all viruses. And the filters even clean out bad tastes, including the clorine bleach you used in the top. Each filter processes about 3,000 gallons of water, most use two filters and the water is processed pretty quickly. The filter also removes heavy metals, and other enviormental polutants. These filters have been used all over the 3rd world by relief organizations. It is totally worth checking out. Plus it's easily portable so when you aren't at the cabin, bring it with you. Think of all the money, lugging and bottle waste you will save. Hope this helps some of you.
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rayyy
Member
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# Posted: 12 Feb 2011 05:36
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Thanks C,great info.I am planning on buying a Berkey for my cabin.
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Invictus
Member
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# Posted: 12 Feb 2011 15:52
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The Berky water filter is way over priced imo. You can buy or build a comparable water filter for much less money.
Also clorox bleach is not a wise choice for water purification methods. A little known problem with long term storage of bleach in your disaster emergency supply cache is that it degrades over time. Consulting a Chlorox bleach representative produced this statement:
"We recommend storing our bleach at room temperatures. It can be stored for about 6 months at temperatures between 50 and 70 degrees Fahrenheit. After this time, bleach will be begin to degrade at a rate of 20% each year until totally degraded to salt and water. Storing at temperatures much higher than 70 degrees Fahrenheit could cause the bleach to lose its effectiveness and degrade more rapidly. However, if you require 6% sodium hypochlorite, you should change your supply every 3 months."
If you still insist on using bleach make sure its not scented bleach as scented bleach contains harmfull chemicals that will hurt you and your family.
Calcium hypochlorite is one of the best chemical disinfectants for water, better than household bleach by far. It destroys a variety of disease causing organisms including bacteria, yeast, fungus, spores, and viruses.
Calcium Hypochlorite is widely available at swimming pool stores in white powder that is much more stable than chlorine bleach.
Another plus for using calcium hypochlorite to disinfect water for emergency use is that a little goes a very long way. A 1-pound pag of calcium hypochlorite in granular form typically costs only a few $US dollars and can be obtained in any swimming pool supply section of your hardware store or online. This amount will treat up to 10,000 gallons of drinking water, which is enough for a family of four for some six or seven years at a gallon per day per person.
http://www.survivaltopics.com/survival/better-than-bleach-use-calcium-hypochlorite-to -disinfect-water/
Good luck and be safe!
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MtnDon
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# Posted: 12 Feb 2011 16:40
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Ceramic filters, as well as many other types, can be damaged by freezing. So if the place of use is winter bound like our cabin that could present a problem. We snow shoe in so like to keep the backpacks as light as possible. Just thought I'd mention that in case anyone else has a cabin that is frozen when vacant between winter uses. Or between summer uses for that matter.
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bugs
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# Posted: 12 Feb 2011 16:59
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Was wondering if anyone has ideas/leads for a prefilter water treatment system to get rid of the larger bugs before filtering the water.
Our pond is full of water fleas and other bugs (about 150 to 200 species) and usually has an Aphanizomenon (blue green algae) and other algal types blooming for parts of the summer. I imagine these would clog up the filters rapidly. Not to mention a healthy population of beaver.
For us it is "water, water everywhere but not a drop to drink." lol
It would be nice not to have to lug water to our shack every trip.
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sm paul
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# Posted: 12 Feb 2011 18:27
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Before we dug our well, we lined a clean five gallon bucket with a clean king size pillowcase. Then filled the bucket with river water and slowly lifted out the pillowcase. Works great for a prefilter. We then ran that through the aquarain filter system.
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bugs
Member
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# Posted: 12 Feb 2011 18:35
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sm paul
Thanks. Ingenious (I think that is the word I want.)
We were just talking about digging a shallow well..... But we are kind of getting lazy and the shed now. Your idea sounds much easier.
bugs
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sm paul
Member
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# Posted: 12 Feb 2011 18:44
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Lugging that water got old really fast!! It only took us two days of backbreaking work and a few hundred dollars, including the pump, to get the sandpoint in.
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bobrok
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# Posted: 13 Feb 2011 16:58
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I pump lake water for use in shower and kitchen sink. I would say it is mildly turbid at times and we are upstream from the beaver outlets, etc. We don't drink the water but we do use it for showering and dish washing. I went to a water systems type place and asked a lot of questions. I ended up with a 1 micron rope filter which seems to be doing a good job. Their suggestion was that if our 1 micron filter clogged easily to add a pre-filter of, say, 50 microns in front of the main filter. Another recommendation was to place the filter at the output end of the pumping line as opposed to nearer the source. The less force at the filter the better job it will do and you could avoid the possibility of blow-by contamination.
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Just
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# Posted: 14 Feb 2011 09:34
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we have never ran out .. use it for every thing accept drinking even coffee and tea .sorry i have no pic i'll get you one first trip in the spring.. 2 ft. snow hear now !!!
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Just
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# Posted: 14 Feb 2011 09:47
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try again
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spee
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# Posted: 14 Feb 2011 14:46
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cool idea, at our hunt camp we have used 2 basic rain barrels with a window screen on top, held town by a piece of wood.
we use this water for cleaning hands,shower, cleaning dishes( boild first), we get our cooking water from our well .
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larryh
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# Posted: 14 Feb 2011 23:08
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I have used a Berkey lite for some time and it does remove the objectionable chemicals that are prevalent in the water systems around here due to farming. I ordered new filters this fall and wondered if I could figure a simple and inexpensive way to recycle them to make a small version for my moms house.
I searched for a ready made item to use for the containers. After a lot of searching at a local walmart I was about to give up when I spotted a clear plastic beverage cooler as they called it. It used a lower chamber for ice and had a spigot already in place on the lower part of the upper chamber. It also had a lid. I checked it out at the store and found that I could easily place the lid under the lower section and then it would sit on the top. Both pieces have a round mark right in the middle which made it easy to drill each one out with gradually increasing bits so as not to crack the plastic. I made it big enough to allow the plastic threaded part of the filter to pass though the two pieces. When you tighten the wing nut on the filter it holds the two parts together. I found a pyrex glass lid that was exactly the size of the containers to make a top for it.
I took the old filters and was able to pull the plastic caps off the lower end, some of the filter broke off in the cap, but with a small screw driver I was able to remove all the old filter and silicone that was holding it. Then I sawed the top portion to a length of 5" with a miter saw to make sure it was level. I purchased some food grade silicone on ebay in a small tube and glued the cap back in place.
One assembled it worked like a charm. The filters take most of the filtering at the lower part so when I installed the upper piece it acted like a new one and filtered quickly.
I think including the silicone I spent about 20.00 on the whole thing.
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larryh
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# Posted: 14 Feb 2011 23:12
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Here is a photo of the above described low cost recycled water filter.
Berkey water filter recycling old filters in smaller container.
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CAprepper
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# Posted: 15 Feb 2011 03:42
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You all are so creative and interesting. Today, my husband and I took a road trip to a place called Solar Cookers International, they have a website www.solarcookers.org. I was interested in checking out a solar cooker for home use and perhaps in a cabin situation to reduce fuel consumption. They seem cool. But to get to the point, they also have a product called Aqua Pak. It solar pasteurizes four to five quarts of water at a time and up to 15 quarts per day depending on sunshine. Included is a built-in WAPI which indicates when the water is pasturized and is reusable. While this wouldn't be a long term solution, many of us like to hike and this thing could really help make source water safe, so I thought I'd through it out there.
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bugs
Member
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# Posted: 15 Feb 2011 07:13
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Err It is cloudy today and tomorrow and for the next 2 weeks. Solar cookers and purifiers don't do well in cloudy weather.
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Just
Member
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# Posted: 16 Feb 2011 15:56
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spring thaw had a great walk in !! here is a pic of our rain barrel filter
we boil our drinking water
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Anonymous
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# Posted: 6 Mar 2011 07:59
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So what do ya think?Is this Berkey filter trustworthy?They claim to filter out absolutely everything harmfull.There are a lot of Youtube video's on this subject.Pretty simple application.Filters are $99 bucks a pair.
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dvgchef
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# Posted: 6 Mar 2011 13:28
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Does anyone have experience using the AquaPak? I saw the above mentioned web site, but I'm not sure if it will work in my non-tropical environment. Let me know!
I have had a good - not great - experience using the SteriPEN Classic for drinking water.
The Pros: small, fast and it works - fits in my pocket (I have big pockets!), does about 1 liter in 60 seconds, and no one has ever gotten sick.
The Cons: flies through batteries and only does a liter at a time - a problem when I have a crowd on the property.
The SteriPEN Classic would not work as a solution if you live on the property, but is just fine for weekend visits.
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tony
Member
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# Posted: 6 Mar 2011 18:00
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We use a Berky, have for the last two years. We mostly put pond water through it, no problems so far and it tastes great!
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bugs
Member
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# Posted: 6 Mar 2011 18:36
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dvgchef
Thanks for the info. I read the steripens were in hi demand in Australia after the flooding. Good to hear they work.
Tony
Thanks for the info too. We will be using pond water too. Maybe we will give the Berky a try.
This is what is so great about the forums here. Real life evaluation and advice. Can't beat it.
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pizzadude
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# Posted: 13 Jan 2016 23:59
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DIY Berkey ...
Good to use at the cabin, or to store on a shelf somewhere, just to have. And so simple to build.
https://youtu.be/CjGxUAOrkrM
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LoonWhisperer
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# Posted: 14 Jan 2016 12:58
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Quoting: pizzadude DIY Berkey ... Good to use at the cabin, or to store on a shelf somewhere, just to have. And so simple to build. https://youtu.be/CjGxUAOrkrM
Nice! Added to my project list. Thanks
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MtnDon
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# Posted: 14 Jan 2016 14:21
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Quoting: pizzadude to store on a shelf somewhere,
Keep in mind that if stored wet the temperature should not drop to freezing.
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groingo
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# Posted: 14 Jan 2016 22:12
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I've been using the Sawyer Mini filter that takes out the nasty bugs but as I learned this fall, if you have water that has had a lot of leaves rotting in it it does still have a light brown tea look which according to Sawyer is the tannins from the leaves which are harmless, use it for stream drinking water no problems.
Sawyer also says it is good to filter 100,000 gallons and can easily be back flushed all for around $14.00.
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pizzadude
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# Posted: 15 Jan 2016 01:01
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Quoting: groingo a light brown tea look
I think the difference in quality filters vs the lesser ones might be noted in the tap water vs Berkey filtered water, both boiled, the residue left in the pot in the video.
Perhaps one should experiment with stained water and the Berkey filters to see the difference.
Pure water is colorless.
Stained water=impurities
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Julie2Oregon
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# Posted: 15 Jan 2016 01:25
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I guess a lot depends on the type of water with which you're starting out but aren't the Pur or similar filters you install on your faucet OK? They're simple and relatively inexpensive.
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pizzadude
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# Posted: 15 Jan 2016 02:15
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Yep, exactly right Julie.
Under pre-necessary circumstances, you would prefer the cleanest water source possible to filter.
In an emergency situation however, swamp water may be your only option.
Whether or not you're comfortable with stained, murky water in a survival situation is one thing. I think most people would take it to survive. I certainly would.
I'd rather not though, if given a choice.
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Layout1
Member
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# Posted: 17 Jan 2016 17:15
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Yes online at Amazon they sell micron filters to fit 5 gal. and 55 gal. buckets and barrels.
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hamish
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# Posted: 17 Jan 2016 19:15
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Swamp water is highly purified to begin with, why all the hate for swamp water?
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