Drinking Water. SHTF Options.

[jaxyaks]

I have a couple of these, they come in handy in all kinds of different circumstances, I take them on international trips, hiking trips, canoe trips etc. I don't have to worry if I am carrying enough water. Great for international travel or travel anywhere for that matter.

Its a purifier so it gets rid of virus's as well, which a lot of the filters (Sawyer etc) do not. Filters do not last as long so you have to stock a few but its a solid piece of gear that you can use in an emergency or everyday.

24oz GeoPress® Purifier - Covert Edition

The best selling and top-rated GRAYL GeoPress® Filter & Purifier Bottle, now in Covert Black, makes 24 ounces of clean filtered drinking water in 8 seconds (5L/min) anywhere on earth. Removes global waterborne pathogens (virus, bacteria, protozoan cysts) and filters microplastics, particulates...

grayl.com

 

[poopdaddy]

Do NOT get the MINI, spend an extra ten bucks and get the Squeeze model for $30. The mini gets clogged much easier.

as a bag filter i like the mini. mine will screw onto a water/soda bottle. you just fill the bottle and reverse it. then a good squeeze a few times and your back filtering.

 

[Winterborne]

Lots of good information here:

Making Water Safe in an Emergency

Not sure if your water source will be safe after an emergency? Learn how to treat it before using it.

www.cdc.gov

Read carefully about Cryptosporidium & Giardia.

I actually have experience in this field and my advice is filter and disinfect.

Filtering will help remove some total organic carbons, dirt & bugs...the small kind ya don't see...also makes the CL2/Bleach more effective with less CL2 demand and the residual CL2 will last longer.
You need the residual CL2 to keep the water good for a few days.

Also Bleach/CL2 has a contact time to work it's magic whether your cleaning or making disinfected water.

I have been to places where people where getting sick....a water filter had been installed in every instance...the filter never maintained/changed at the proper intervals causing a build up in bacteria which the broke through.
Some of these were restaurants & hotels by the way.
Almost every time you read about a Legionairs disease outbreak and it's a hotel a filter has been installed.

Ice makers are never maintained properly either.

The filter on the refrigerator you bought...did it have a filter on the water/ice maker 15 years ago?
Yep...personally run a sample I thought was sewer water at first smell...the guy made a full recovery after he purchased a new refrigerator.

Hot water heaters can breed iron bacteria... especially if they sit for a bit...say in a church.
Really stinky.


Oh..and no physical connection between a well & potable city water is NEVER allowed.
People have died from cross connections.

Some wells go bad...not all mind you but it is an uncontrolled factor so they will not allow any connection to a treated water system.

There was a guy who got caught with a well connection....seems he had a water bill in the thousands of dollars.
LOL....the city pressure was higher than his well pressure and he was unintentionally filling his well up with billable water.

A chicken house had a water connection with no back flow protection.
A water main broke down past a restaurant and sucked dirty chicken water down towards the break..but some went into the restaurant's lines...I think some people died in that one as well.

The water utility is supposed to maintain .2 mg/L CL2 minimum & 20 psi minimum or issue a boil water notice.
They are supposed to disinfect/flush before returning to service and receive negatives on bacteriological test
(Most likely a Colilert 18/24 or plate count test)
for coliform bacteria...possible indicator for e-coli before returning a line to service...this doesn't happen with a well connection.

Episode of Alone where the guy is drinking from a creek...gets very sick and had to be evacuated.
It was flowing from a slow moving stagnant pool a ways up stream.

I have multiple filters for different task:
Sedimentation stage then decant.
Pre-filter with a larger micron rating than my primary filter.

Also have a gravity filter system I can use on the move with a water bladder filter and water bottle...which is slow but good if you plan ahead and have iodine tablets.

You can buy your set up or make your own with a bit of research.

 

[moosensquirrel]

What’s the downside? Link is just a Google search.

The downside is it takes a minimum of about 30 psi to back flow purge them. Not a problem for a short term shtf. Longer than 30 days depending on usage and you’re gonna out pace your supply. Especially with more than one person. Id have 2-3 sets of their filters on hand if that was my main source of filtration.

Around our house, we used a big berkey for a couple years. Then we saw where it doesnt filter out as much stuff as we wanted. So we just distill our own drinking water. Cost about .70 cent per 6 liters and is as pure as you can get. The Berkey got dried and stored for…you guessed it.

Agree, and will ad from the instructions, the filters must be rinsed with "clean running water"....which may not be available...and if it is, why would one need a filter in the first place?

 

[Bear44]

Agree, and will ad from the instructions, the filters must be rinsed with "clean running water"....which may not be available...and if it is, why would one need a filter in the first place?

Rinse them with water that has already been filtered?

 

[Winterborne]

The trick is rinsing them before you need to.

 

[Dusharoone]

Get an AlexaPure or a Berkey. Gravity fed water filter systems that require no electricity.

the alga they put in the water grows on those at my house. I got on ebay found old NSA silver inpregnated carbon water filter minnows live in the water that comes from reg tap water cheep and very effective lasts for years it also has micron screens

 

[titan2k10]

Astounding seeing people not knowing the difference between filtration and purification AND the recommendation of Berkey's who, to my knowledge, have still yet to submit their products for independent testing. No thanks. Go with a better brand name, not lean on anecdotal evidence on these forums, and also ensure purification and not just filtration are achieved.

 

[Simple Man]

Which gravity system do you recommend ?