# Water filters.



## readytogo (Apr 6, 2013)

Many of us are trying to better prepared for a time of need, many ideas float in the WWW, the wheel was invented long time ago and is round after many years so there is no used trying to re-invented it, we all need water and although water is all around us we all know that is polluted and salty, so a water filter and spared components(important) are a necessity for proper survival .Many are still trying to make a filter, Home Depot, Walt Mart and God knows how many more sell filters ,but very few out there ever mentions a Desalinator,and for the cost of a flat screen TV anybody can have one, especially living near the ocean like me, they need no heat just hand power and you are readytogo.
So next time you spend thousands of dollars on guns or ammo or big wheels for the truck think about the ultimate survival tool, a good and portable water filter system


----------



## alwaysready (May 16, 2012)

Can you post a picture of the one you have.


----------



## readytogo (Apr 6, 2013)

I don`t have a picture of my water filter but if you go to Home Depot you can get a nice charcoal one for less than $100.


----------



## stoner (Apr 29, 2014)

Water bottle charcoal coffee strainer i read should get all the nastys


Sent from my iPod touch using Survival Forum


----------



## Caribou (Aug 18, 2012)

I have a desalinator that provided my drinking water for a couple years. I'll try and get some info on it and post that tomorrow. If it is taking out the salt it also removes any viruses.


----------



## Caribou (Aug 18, 2012)

I have a PUR PowerSurvivor 40E desalinator that is rated at 1.5 gallons of fresh water per hour from salt water. It served me well. It is small enough to operate by hand if necessary.


----------



## Enchant18 (Feb 21, 2012)

Great idea if you live near the ocean and worth $4k but couldn't see spending that inland just to remove viruses. I am happy with my $20 sawyer.


----------



## hiwall (Jun 15, 2012)

+1 on the Sawyer!

http://www.ebay.com/itm/SP128-ONE-S...539?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item27e33a9fab


----------



## Caribou (Aug 18, 2012)

Enchant18 said:


> Great idea if you live near the ocean and worth $4k but couldn't see spending that inland just to remove viruses. I am happy with my $20 sawyer.


WHOA! Really? I didn't spend anywhere near that. I guess I bought at the right time.


----------



## Enchant18 (Feb 21, 2012)

Seen a range of 3500-4k when googled. Pretty awesome to own one though especially if you got it at a good price!


----------



## readytogo (Apr 6, 2013)

Water filter like any other tool must be well taken care and maintain in order to function properly,pre-filtering the water comes to mind , boiling or chemically treatment to kill bacteria ,in my many camping trips(younger days) I have always carry a filter also chemical to treat the water,now trips include bottle water or a state certified camp ground with city water,I`m to old to get sick
now I have a main house charcoal water filter and chemicals for that emergency situation plus bottle water, I don`t have a bob or backpack or ghp(gethomepack) filter.And if the event is a Nuke,well I don`t know.
http://www.foodandwaterwatch.org/food/foodsafety/the-nuclear-accident-in-japan/
http://www.petwowzetc.com/falloutinwater/
and.....
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/when-technology-fails-matthew-stein/1102237533?ean=9781933392455


----------



## machinist (Jul 4, 2012)

I made the mistake of buying the book, "When Technology Fails". I found it to be VERY rudimentary information on far too many topics. Each topic was thus cut so short as to be relatively useless. Tells just enough to make you dangerous and get in a lot of trouble. Bear that in mind before you buy it. If someone is close to southern Indiana and thinks they want it, I have a copy somewhere I will gladly give them. Worthless, IMHO. 

I think what really irked me about that book was that the promotion gave me the idea that it purported to be an encyclopedic work on all aspects of living without technology. FAIL.


----------



## hiwall (Jun 15, 2012)

water filters (both plumbed in and stand alone) have been know to be breeding grounds for bacteria. Just keep that in mind and maybe give a chlorine wash on occasion.


----------



## forluvofsmoke (Jan 27, 2012)

hiwall said:


> water filters (both plumbed in and stand alone) have been know to be breeding grounds for bacteria. Just keep that in mind and maybe give a chlorine wash on occasion.


Good point. I have a fridge-pack Brita for daily drinking/cooking water (can't use chems with it for cleaning...would destroy it) that's kept in my small fridge (municipal tap water here SUX). I also store extra filtered water in the fridge in plastic bottles (approx 3 gals for _what if_ + SHTF resources), and any I take to work stays in direct contact with my ice-bottles in my cooler to avoid micro-organisms from getting happy in the now de-chlorinated water. It seems that if you don't use a filter for quite some time, critters begin to take over in the cavities of the filter media of these simple activated charcoal units. A Sawyer should not have that problem, but I would still use it frequently (every 2-3 days) once you put water through it for the first time. Just don't let any of your activated filter(s) freeze in cold weather (camping, post-SHTF, or otherwise)...sleep with it in a pocket or inside your clothing, touching you if needed...whatever it takes...water is life, and not having a viable way to purify water post-SHTF may mean death.


----------



## Dakine (Sep 4, 2012)

readytogo said:


> Water filter like any other tool must be well taken care and maintain in order to function properly,pre-filtering the water comes to mind , boiling or chemically treatment to kill bacteria ,in my many camping trips(younger days) I have always carry a filter also chemical to treat the water,now trips include bottle water or a state certified camp ground with city water,I`m to old to get sick
> now I have a main house charcoal water filter and chemicals for that emergency situation plus bottle water, I don`t have a bob or backpack or ghp(gethomepack) filter.And if the event is a Nuke,well I don`t know.
> http://www.foodandwaterwatch.org/food/foodsafety/the-nuclear-accident-in-japan/
> http://www.petwowzetc.com/falloutinwater/
> ...


you might want to think about a lifestraw for your bob and your ghb, they are affordable and easily packed!, there's a site supporter vendor here and their prices are same=same as amazon and ebay, so if you do choose to invest in one or two, throw them a bone and help support the folks that help support our forum!


----------



## zimmy (Aug 17, 2012)

I built my own version of a biological sand filter using a plastic container and metal stand I found at a surplus store. The ozone generator was from an old hot tub, and the PVC pipe on the side holds the carbon granules. I used pool sand and gravel, also aquarium activated carbon. Any resourceful individual can build one of these with very little money.


----------



## tsrwivey (Dec 31, 2010)

We have an in line reverse osmosis filter. We bought it to do water changes in our saltwater fish tank, carrying home 10+ gallons of distilled water for it every couple of weeks got old fast. Worked out nice for us when we started prepping! 

Unfortunately I'm not close enough to the ocean for a desalinator to be of much use.  I really like our RO filter & we'll install another one when we build the new house. We're going to get a Katadyn® Ceradyn Drip Water Microfilter for the river house.


----------



## rugster (Mar 2, 2014)

You can get a KATADYN Survivor 35 Watermaker desalination unit on ebay for + and- 1,000.00 
most are used/ reconditioned units 


Couple points to ponder with water filtration units particularly backpacker types.

Water filtration isn't the same as water purifying most of the backpack style filters are geared to filter particulate, bacteria and parasites but NOT chemical contaminates. This is where Reverse-osmosis , charcoal filtration or steam distillation is important. 

For example the Katadyne pocket filter is very effective at removing bacteria, protozoa, cysts, algae, spores, sediments and viruses in combination with particles greater than 0.2 microns. It does not remove things like Lead, PCBs, chlorine, pesticides and herbicides, solvents


----------



## sillybilly (Sep 18, 2014)

I have had and used the MSR EX filter from REI for years and just bought a couple spare ceramic filters. But have redundancy in your Bob. Throw in a few water purifier tabs and dome come with taste tabs and then learn to make a primitive purifier or boil it.


Sent from my iPhone using Survival Forum


----------



## musketjim (Dec 7, 2011)

I discovered a little hiccup in my water storage plans. Many years ago we started using the PUR pitcher system at the house, recently they changed the packaging so I read the label and found it's only for biologically safe water, so I don't know if I misread the labels originally or if they've changed. We've always had Sawyers also so it would have worked out. BOL has Katydin system. I'm looking into Steam Distillation also.:congrat:


----------



## cnsper (Sep 20, 2012)

musketjim said:


> I'm looking into Steam Distillation also.:congrat:


And you can use the still, oops I mean distillation unit for other money making purposes as long as you have a good recipe, oops idea.


----------



## Cotton (Oct 12, 2013)

Years ago I started making charcoal to sell at the farmers market. Instructions are in the "articles section", published nov13, http://www.preparedsociety.com/index20.html

That section is full of great information for folks just starting out, including water filtration.

A simple sand/charcoal filter system is easy to make. That said, over filtered water is a concern. Water only has to be safe to drink, that's it, no more. Most high tech systems remove everything from water, even minerals.

Water is a great source for minerals necessary to our health. I live in an area with abundant springs and small streams. I've drunk from them my entire life, raw unfiltered water. I know this is a foreign concept to folks who have only had water from a tap or bottle.

When it comes to the latest, greatest filter system on a store shelf, over kill! Imho. In an emergency charcoal from your campfire, a little sand and a container is all you need for safe water.


----------



## LincTex (Apr 1, 2011)

musketjim said:


> ...we started using the PUR pitcher system ...I read the label and found it's only for biologically safe water,


Run your water through a BioSand filter first. 
Then add just a couple drops of bleach and let it sit for an hour (do not over do it!!).

Pour the water back and forth between a couple clean buckets to aerate it and get the last bit of bleach out, then run it through your PUR or Brita filter (charcoal) to finish it. That's the best water you'll ever get.


----------



## LincTex (Apr 1, 2011)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Activated_carbon

http://www.buyactivatedcharcoal.com/how_to_make_activated_charcoal

http://www.survivalnewsonline.com/index.php/2014/01/activated-carbon-from-homemade-charcoal/

http://survivalcache.com/diy-making-an-activated-charcoal-filter/

http://www.survivalistboards.com/showthread.php?t=97664

http://generalcarbon.com/facts-about-activated-carbon/activated-carbon-faq/


----------

