FYI got my sawyer mini today.

[Kerosene]

Anyone else remember hooking their Sierra Cup handle onto one of the lash patches on their Kelty pack? Kept it handy so you could just reach back, unhook the cup, dip in any stream or spring you were passing, and drink your fill. When you drank your fill, you hooked the cup again and hiked on. Didn't even have to remove your pack.

Yep, I did the same, on a Kelty Tioga.

The waiting to drink the water has never been an issue for me. Having to wait 5 minutes for the chemicals to mix -- for each container -- is a bigger hassle, especially on a big-mileage day. The lack of a pre-filter (bandana and coffee pre-filters are agonizingly slow) can be a challenge for leaf-laden springs.

[rickb]

One answer was to use an Evernew water bladder. Basically, it's the same thing as a platypus but the cap uses the "standard" bottle threads like the Sawyer uses (platypus had to go off and do their own thing). Only problem was the flooding in Japan a while back hit the Evernew factory pretty hard. So the Evernew bladders have been nearly impossible to get. The last time I was able to find someone online selling 2L Evernew Bladders, I had to pay something like $28 for the bladder.

Of course you can get a platypus hoser and connect the hose to the mini's barb rather than screwing it.

But the setup I'm loving (except the hose is pretty darn stiff) is to use a 2L Evernew Bladder for the dirty water, and a 2L platypus hoser for the clean water. The 3' hose is more than enough to turn the system into a gravity feed (you just have to squeeze to get things started). I even used a hole punch to put a hole along the margin of the Evernew bladder. That way, I can tie a string to it and hang it... let the water filter with gravity while I'm busy with other things.

Thanks-- and to Odd Man Out for the online retailers. I placed an order for two Evernew bags this AM.

But not sure if I am missing something with your gravity set up. Why would the length of hose matter?

I was thinking of connecting the out going nipple to my second Evernew as some have discussed by using a Smart Water cap (or getting clever and gluing on a threaded one) but am now concerned that as the clean water goes in, air would be displaced and forced back through the filter (in the wrong direction). That would happen in your setup too, I would think.

Or a I over thinking?

[HooKooDooKu]

But not sure if I am missing something with your gravity set up. Why would the length of hose matter?

I might be wrong, but it seems like my 'mini' doesn't work unless there is some pressure added. Simply turning the dirty water bag up-side down only gets a dribble of water through the filter.

But squeezing the dirty water bag isn't the only way to get "pressure" added to the system.

A water column 10' creates 4psi of water pressure. So if you can fill a hose with water, and can vertically separate the ends of the hose by at least 2.5', you will generate 1psi of water pressure to get thru the filter. If your hose is on the dirty side, the water pressure is pushing the water thru the filter. If the hose is on the clean side, the water pressure is sucking the water thru the filter.

The longer your hose, the more vertical separation you can create between the clean and dirty water, the more pressure you will create and the faster the water will filter.

As for "air"... in my system, I'm using two collapsible water bags. The clean bag starts empty (not even air in it) and expands as it fills with water. The dirty water bag simply collapses as it empties. Of course the empty bag isn't completely empty of all air (there's always a little because of how the bag has to already be pre-expanded right at the mouth). So if you start with too much air in the clean bag, the air will have no where to go as you reach the bag's full point.


I know some people try to save weight with the mini by using smaller bags. But I personally like being able to take 1 trip down to the water source, get my water, and return to camp to filter... specifically letting gravity do the filtering for me while I do other tasks.

[chall]

I used my Sawyer Mini for the first time this past weekend, and after I was finished filtering the water into my bottle, the o-ring came out when I unscrewed the filter from the bag. It looks like it was glued in place and I was able to jam it back in the housing without it coming loose, but the filter was dripping slightly. Luckily, I was able to hold it at an angle which didn't let the water drip into my bottle. Has anyone else had this issue?

[Ricky&Jack]

ive never used purifying tablets/filters etc. But Im looking into the sawyer for ease and size.

But If I used the sawyer mini, would using purifying tables make it "safer"? or is there absolutely no reason to do anything else if im using the sawwyer?

any reason to still boil it?

[chall]

ive never used purifying tablets/filters etc. But Im looking into the sawyer for ease and size.

But If I used the sawyer mini, would using purifying tables make it "safer"? or is there absolutely no reason to do anything else if im using the sawwyer?

any reason to still boil it?

Just to clarify, the Sawyer Mini (and similar filter) filters the water rather than purifies the water. If you're typically hiking in North America, filtering from a running source of water will be just fine; no need to boil or take any other measures of purification. This filter filters out bacteria, not viruses which are very uncommon in North America's water (unless maybe you're filtering from a very questionable source).

[Odd Man Out]

Thanks-- and to Odd Man Out for the online retailers. I placed an order for two Evernew bags this AM.

But not sure if I am missing something with your gravity set up. Why would the length of hose matter?

I was thinking of connecting the out going nipple to my second Evernew as some have discussed by using a Smart Water cap (or getting clever and gluing on a threaded one) but am now concerned that as the clean water goes in, air would be displaced and forced back through the filter (in the wrong direction). That would happen in your setup too, I would think.

Or a I over thinking?

The length of the tube matters because the filter rate for a gravity system is determined by the hydrostatic pressure which is proportional to the vertical distance between the top of the water column and the bottom of the water column (see pic). It doesn't matter which tube is longer. However, if your outlet tube is wide enough, the clean water may drain out of it in which case the bottom of the water column will be at the bottom of the filter, not the end of the tube. For this reason, you may find it better to have the inlet tube longer. It isn't necessary to have a long tube, it is just that your hydrostatic pressure will be lower and filtering will be slower. When used as a squeeze system, you are just using manual squeezing to increase the pressure instead of gravity.

In a closed system, it is a little more complicated. If you tried this with rigid bottles (or stiff ones like pop bottles), then as water drained from the top reservoir, the air pressure above the liquid will drop. Likewise as the lower container filled, the air pressure in the lower container will increase. Soon, you get to a point where the air pressure differential (net force pushing up) will be the same as the hydrostatic pressure pushing down and water flow stops. You would not get to the point where the air would flow up backwards through the filter. Note that in the open system, the pressure pushing down on the top of the water column is the same as the pressure pushing up on the bottom of the water column (1 atmosphere), so they offset and only the hydrostatic pressure matters.

But if you use flexible water bladders for a closed system, then it will work. This is because as the upper bladder drains, the volume of the air in the bladder stays constant as the bladder collapses, thus keeping the air pressure in the bladder the same as atmospheric pressure, at least until you get to the point when the bladder has fully collapsed. Likewise the pressure in the bottom bladder will stay the same as long as it is able to inflate. So the key is to squeeze all the air out of your receiving bladder before you hook it up. It will continue to filter until full. Then it will stop (air will not flow backwards). A nice feature of this system is that you can use a 2 L bladder on the top and hook up a 1 L receiver and let it go unattended. It will filter until the bottom is full and then stop. You could come back later, attach a second 1 L receiver and filter the rest of the water. With the open system, the water will continue to flow and spill over if you aren't watching.

filter.gif filter2.gif

[Ricky&Jack]

ive been wanting to ask a question for the past 2 weeks.

I did the approach trail for the first time 2 weeks ago. And I had enough water. But there was a point halfway through where I thought "im really thirsty but I need to save my water in case i cant find any more before camp"...... and then I came across this.

Muddy_Water_Puddle_by_FantasyStock.jpg
Muddy_Water_Puddle_by_FantasyStock.jpgIMG_4433IcePuddle.jpg

is this a "drinkable source" with a sawyer mini?

it was a tire mark filled with water. But it rained 2 days before my trip. So the water wasnt that old.

have/would you guys ever drink this with a filter? Or is a puddle like this a great big "NO! NO!"?

I had enough water so I just let my dog drink from this. But is this acceptable to drink with a filter? Or is standing water not good, and we are supposed to ONLY stick to flowing water?

Just super curious.

[chall]

ive been wanting to ask a question for the past 2 weeks.

I did the approach trail for the first time 2 weeks ago. And I had enough water. But there was a point halfway through where I thought "im really thirsty but I need to save my water in case i cant find any more before camp"...... and then I came across this.

Muddy_Water_Puddle_by_FantasyStock.jpg
Muddy_Water_Puddle_by_FantasyStock.jpgIMG_4433IcePuddle.jpg

is this a "drinkable source" with a sawyer mini?

it was a tire mark filled with water. But it rained 2 days before my trip. So the water wasnt that old.

have/would you guys ever drink this with a filter? Or is a puddle like this a great big "NO! NO!"?

I had enough water so I just let my dog drink from this. But is this acceptable to drink with a filter? Or is standing water not good, and we are supposed to ONLY stick to flowing water?

Just super curious.

This would be an emergency scenario only. You'd have to filter (probably more than once, or pre-filter the filtering) and then boil to be safe. Far better to get water from a flowing source, though.

[Ricky&Jack]

that was my suspicion. So I went ahead and made a thread a few minutes ago about this subject. I didnt need the water, but it crossed my mind and I wanted to take pics and ask on this forum to get opinions of waters.

[HooKooDooKu]

You'd have to filter (probably more than once, or pre-filter the filtering) and then boil to be safe. Far better to get water from a flowing source, though.

Filtering more than once??? That doesn't make any sense to me.

From what I understand, a Sawyer is like a screen mesh filter where the holes in the screen are smaller than bacteria but larger than a virus. So it doesn't mater how many times you pass the water thru the filter, you won't get any of the viruses out... and one pass is enough to get all the bacteria out.

The only thing pre-filtering (such as a coffee filter or bandanna) would do is to remove some of the dirt and large particulate (large relative to a bacteria) mater to help prevent the filter from becoming clogged.


Boiling would only be necessary if there was the potential for viruses. But then again, I would assume that stagnant water like this has a much greater chance of becoming contaminated with a virus from contact with wildlife. A flowing stream, in contrast, effectively dilutes the contamination from contact with wildlife.

[rocketsocks]

ive been wanting to ask a question for the past 2 weeks.

I did the approach trail for the first time 2 weeks ago. And I had enough water. But there was a point halfway through where I thought "im really thirsty but I need to save my water in case i cant find any more before camp"...... and then I came across this.

Muddy_Water_Puddle_by_FantasyStock.jpg
Muddy_Water_Puddle_by_FantasyStock.jpgIMG_4433IcePuddle.jpg

is this a "drinkable source" with a sawyer mini?

it was a tire mark filled with water. But it rained 2 days before my trip. So the water wasnt that old.

have/would you guys ever drink this with a filter? Or is a puddle like this a great big "NO! NO!"?

I had enough water so I just let my dog drink from this. But is this acceptable to drink with a filter? Or is standing water not good, and we are supposed to ONLY stick to flowing water?

Just super curious.

I personally wouldn't contaminate my filter with this source, I'd just add a few drops of Aqua Mira to that puddle and start suckin.

seriously though, It'd have to be a complete emergency before I'd drink from that.

[zelph]

Ricky, I'd collect it and boil it.

[rocketsocks]

OK lets really test it - stick cheap wine on one side and see what pours out.

Beats pourin' Aqua Velva through a loaf of bread.

[Ricky&Jack]

Beats pourin' Aqua Velva through a loaf of bread.

Im guessing that's a joke.

But I'm kinda hoping its not, so that I can hear the story.

[rocketsocks]

Im guessing that's a joke.

But I'm kinda hoping its not, so that I can hear the story.

Friend of mine said once when he was in Vietnam it's all they had to drink...after shave, so they poured it through a loaf of bread to filter it. Crazy Bastard George was.

[zelph]

Friend of mine said once when he was in Vietnam it's all they had to drink...after shave, so they poured it through a loaf of bread to filter it. Crazy Bastard George was.

Why filter it... makes for a good breath mint.

In Vietnam we had lots of goodies

[rocketsocks]

Why filter it... makes for a good breath mint.

In Vietnam we had lots of goodies

Pogybait he called candy though I don't know why.

[Damn Yankee]

At one point there was a post to modify these, any idea where it might be. Anyone?

[Ricky&Jack]

At one point there was a post to modify these, any idea where it might be. Anyone?

this is the only one that showed up with all the words int he title.
http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/show...ht=sawyer+mini