View Full Version : Microns question
Megapixel
11-05-2010, 10:47
is 0.2 micron filtration solid for the AT?
Megapixel
11-05-2010, 11:00
http://www.rei.com/product/768117
http://www.rei.com/product/767563
I'm also looking at one of these for camp filtering / chores for two people for our thru hike. Love the idea of a possible shower with a decent flow rate. Any thoughts on these two setups, or better yet anyone have one and give a bit of a review?
Rain Man
11-05-2010, 11:49
is 0.2 micron filtration solid for the AT?
That's better than the Katadyn, which many hikers use.
REI Katadyn page (http://www.rei.com/CompareProduct/User?storeId=8000)
Rain:sunMan
.
is 0.2 micron filtration solid for the AT?
That's better than the Katadyn, which many hikers use.
REI Katadyn page (http://www.rei.com/CompareProduct/User?storeId=8000)
Rain:sunMan
.However the Katadyn Ceramic Filters have a .2 micron rating:http://www.katadyn.com/usen/technical-support/filter-support/filter-technologies/ To become safer, you may have to resort to chemical treatment, such as Aquamira:http://giardiaclub.com/aqua-mira.html
You could carry this beast which filters out just about everything but the water: http://generalecology.com/category/portable/product/first_need_xl_portable_water_purifier-new
It's the only old school heavy item still in my pack, but it works (no, you can't shower with it, but you can rig it as a gravity filter).
RedneckRye
11-06-2010, 08:53
Whatever water treatment you decide to use, be sure to carry and use hand sanitizer as well.
Bad hygiene probably causes more "I must have drank some bad water" issues than actually drinking bad water does.
is 0.2 micron filtration solid for the AT?
Yes, 0.2 is probably ok for most of the US. The smaller the micron+the quicker to clog.
+1 on the hand sanitizer. Remember to keep dirty water from dripping into your clean water via the hose or attachments.
I have both of the systems you are looking at at rei. I like the platy because you can see when leaves and dirt are getting near the outlet. But with the msr you use your own bottle which can be good. They are both overpriced and heavy IMO so wait for a 20% off deal and consider chemical treatment. Both are easy to backflush by raising the collector. Use the cleanest source you can find or pre filter through mosquito net, un treated head net or dedicated piece of net, when you fill the bag and it will work better longer.
Megapixel
11-06-2010, 21:45
Yes, 0.2 is probably ok for most of the US. The smaller the micron+the quicker to clog.
+1 on the hand sanitizer. Remember to keep dirty water from dripping into your clean water via the hose or attachments.
I have both of the systems you are looking at at rei. I like the platy because you can see when leaves and dirt are getting near the outlet. But with the msr you use your own bottle which can be good. They are both overpriced and heavy IMO so wait for a 20% off deal and consider chemical treatment. Both are easy to backflush by raising the collector. Use the cleanest source you can find or pre filter through mosquito net, un treated head net or dedicated piece of net, when you fill the bag and it will work better longer.
thanks grayfox. if not for the see thru, platy, are there other differences you have found between the two???
less, the bags are quite different-the platys are ziplock and can be a pain on a cold day. They look a lot alike and can be easy to use the wrong bag. I like that I can get into it to clean it though and the clean bag fits well in my pack. The red bag is stiff material and does not work as well to carry filled as I worry that it would leak in or on my pack.
The platys empty and fill sealed to each other--the msr needs an open container that could get contaminated easier.
I like gravity for fix it and forget it convience but sometimes finding a perfect place to hang the bag is not so easy, it weighs a lot when its full.
There is never a perfect answer and there are some very simple homemade designs that would work well for the price of a filter and a bit of work. What all gravity systems lack is the prefilter that all pumps have at the pickup. I have made an inline prefilter using several sizes of plastic tubing from the hardware store and the materials from my fish tank filter. There is a large diameter tube about half an inch id and two inches long. I put a piece of poly filter on each end and charcoal in the middle. Then a smaller size tube fits in each end to hold the material in and the water line from the bag to the filter fits snugly inside the smaller tubing. The idea is that you just keep stepping down until you get to the size of your water line. You just go bug the guys at True Value to get the right sizes. It is pretty simple and saves a lot of grief for the filter. I tried just stuffing some filter material in the line but had a problem getting it out. You know, in a pinch, a cotton ball might clean some water enough so that chemicals could do a better job and have fewer floaties in your drinks. I have heard of people splicing gasoline inline filters into their systems but it doesn't sound like a good idea to me because I don't know what that filter is made of.
Now, see, you got me started--Hope this was helpful. grayfox