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Water Purification system

zhanx

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Ok, Right now i am adding a portable shower system to my truck, cause the wife wont camp in areas without a shower. I was thinking the long term plan is to take a trip to the bottom of South America (In about 6 years or more which would be a sweet trip) like they do in the Camel Series. So instead of carring a ton of water on trips why not add a water purification systems as part of the shower system. One problem I know nothing about it. Does anyone?
 



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It's not complicated to run an inline water filter in the area where you connect your garden hose to refill the tank. Just buy a filter with 3/4" fittings, and use some plumbing fittings to adapt it. Garden hose 3/4" is a course thread compared to 3/4" NPT (National Pipe Thread). Use a cartridge between 50-5 microns. The 50 will last longer than the 5. The 5 will filter better. 1 micron is equal to 1/25,000".
 






thinkin a three filter setup setup. 50 5 and a media filter.
 






You only need one filter. Anymore than that is not necessary, and will only decrease the rate at which you could refill your water holding tank. If you want a really fine filter, then use a .5 micron cartridge. I install water filters for people, and they sometimes prefer to buy their own brand. Some have 2 filters inline. When I open them up to replace the cartridges, they aren't that dirty. If they were used for a very long time, they are usually dirty. If they were installed on a main line of a house, they get dirty almost immediately, but are still usable for a few months. I have a 5 micron filter on my main line for over a year. It is overdue. They are recommended to last about 3-6 months. For your application, they could easily last a year.
 






would i be able to use them on stream water? or other "non-potable" sources to make them potable.. maybe i have said i fix water purificatoin unit for hte army but know nothing about the hows and why it works really.. as in the filter process.
 






Is your water being pumped out of a well? Either way, the single cartridge in a 5 micron should be fine. If you are concerned about getting a foul taste, or odor out of water, they make a carbon filter in a 5 micron style that is also a 10" cartridge. Some dual inline systems use this in addition to the regular 10" cellulose, or twine cartridge.
 






would this work on stream water?
 






The best single stage water filter is a reverse osmosis. Second best is a 0.5 micron filter cartridge. I would not use a 5 micron, it will let most bacteria and some protozoans pass. A little chlorine (1 part per million) as a great way to may water safe to drink.

Basic water treatment first step is settling, lets heavy particles and floaters be removed. Second step is chemical enhancement, floculation, ect and additional settlement. Secondary treatment is filtration. Micro filtration may be included. Lastly is disenfection, Chlorine, ozone, UV radiation to kill microorginisms. Carbon may also be used for polishing to remove chlorine and other organic matter.

What else do you want to know.
 






unclemeat said:
Basic water treatment first step is settling, lets heavy particles and floaters be removed. Second step is chemical enhancement, floculation, ect and additional settlement. Secondary treatment is filtration. Micro filtration may be included. Lastly is disenfection, Chlorine, ozone, UV radiation to kill microorginisms. Carbon may also be used for polishing to remove chlorine and other organic matter.

What else do you want to know.

thats a lot of big words... i guess i need to hit up home depot and see what they have for systems. and parts.
 












Unclemeat has got it down there.

Take it from a long trail backpacker. .5 micron filtration will remove most all protozoa (giardia) a carbon filter 5 micron pass through will eliminate a lot of negative tastes. Then a chemical additive to kill bacteria. I prefer chlorine as I am used to city water anyway.
 






i stopped at home depot. none of the filters list the filterization microns (or however it is). They had a few filters but nothing for me to use so far but maybe a filter to use as a prefilter. found the rest of the parts for my shower. including a "bubbler" to use a sump filter
 






The GE cartridges in the Home Depot's that I've been in have micron ratings on their cartridges. In preference, I've never had any happy customers with the GE cartridges. The Whirlpool cartridges in Lowes are better. The Whirlpool filters (actual plastic housings) have a metal insert where the pipes get connected. The GE models don't have that. The Whirlpool models don't come with a mounting bracket, or any other hardware, when the GE models are complete. Each company has its advantages, and disadvantages.
 






so i can do a setup like this unclemeat?

first a standard large carbon/media (9"x2-3/4) filter to be a catch all and to help the other filters last longer.
Second a 5 micron filter to remove most everthing else
third a filter (when i find it) the gets to .5 microns..
after that a UV light

sounds like a lot of work. Maybe no second stage filter. thoughts on this?
 






If you use a .5 micron filter, you wouldn't need a 5 micron filter. A regular filter goes first in the line, then the carbon filter for the taste. The regular filter catches most of the thick sediment, then the carbon filter is for taste, and sediment.
 






these water units youre talkina btou are called reverse osmosis ( i use them for my coral reef tank) They are great for filtering water and it doesnt take long to pass through a RO unit, but if you get a ro/di (dionization) it will take forever. You can just buy a fitting and whether you are using a garden hose or just a bin of water to filter get a pump to connect to a power source.
 






As I said reverse osmosis is the best filter for potable (drinking) water. It does take an energy source because it work by using a pressure differential to force water through a very small opening size. They do not produce large amounts of water.

A general use system would use a prefilter 5 to 10 microns and a 0.5 micron final filter then a disinfect like chlorine (liquid bleach). You can buy chlorine test kits to get the concentration right with tablets or bleach for use with a batch method. UV radiation is still not widely accepted for potable water, it sterilizes the microbs not kills them. A charcol or carbon filter will remove the chlorine and organic (stinky) matter.
 






This is the system I carry in my back pack. Basically you need a larger scale version with the same specs. I have not looked to see who carries the filters in various sizes, my idea in posting the link is just to show you what we use to filter mountain streams and lakes when on foot so you can match the specs on a larger scale. I have pumped literally over a hundred gallons of water through this little bugger. From Murky lake water to crystal clear stream water. It always comes out clear , tastes fine, and I have never gotten sick.


http://www.rei.com/online/store/Pro...category_rn=4500461&vcat=REI_SSHP_CAMPING_TOC
 



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thanks dreamr. you know, its weird no one thinks i am crazy for wanting to do this. We all must be a little wierd. Found a place to make me a custom tank gonna run duel 5 gal tanks. One for a shower for the wife and one for potable water. And both for back up in case i overheat and pop the cap again. just need to get under the x and measure the space and hope its enough should be. Got to get my gear together to go jump first tho.
 






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