View Full Version : Sawyer 3-way inline water filter
Anyone run one of these off their water blatter? One could drink through the filter and not have to pump or treat water. Just fill up the blatter and suck throught the drinking tube. As for food you boil water most of the time anyway. Comments on this system....:-?
I don't know about that system, but you might want to check out the SP131.
wwbriggs
10-14-2011, 05:04
I recently purchased the SP131 squeeze filter. i will be using it the first time this weekend. I will let you know how it works out. 3oz. is hard to beat with the flexibility of this thing if it works as described.
ironman y2k
10-14-2011, 19:33
I've used a Sawyer filter for a couple of years and love it. I primarily use it with a water bag that I hang from a branch at camp and with an inline shut-off I can use it like fawcett. When I need water I open the shut-off and use only what I need. I've also used it when I'm walking along the trail with a gatorade bottle. I collect water in the bottle then walk along with the Sawyer hose inserted into the bottle and drink just as I would with a can of Coke and a straw.
Usually everyday I use left over water in my water bag to "back flush" the filter to keep it as clean as possible. I got mine at Wally World ...it comes with a Nalgene sized bottle that may be a liitle to heavy for the average long distance hiker.
Odd Man Out
10-14-2011, 19:47
I've used a Sawyer filter for a couple of years and love it. I primarily use it with a water bag that I hang from a branch at camp and with an inline shut-off I can use it like fawcett.
What kind of water bag do you use?
theoilman
10-14-2011, 20:15
The SP131 (Sawyer Squeeze) comes with .5L, 1L and 2L bags.
ironman y2k
10-14-2011, 22:54
@ Odd Man Out .....I use a Platypus Water Tank. http://www.backcountry.com/platypus-platy-water-tank
I'm going to run this filter off a MSR Hydromedry Hydration 3L. bag. Wanted to hear how the draw would be through the tube. This could replace my hand pump system if it works correctly. If clean water is put into the blatter, no floaties, I would think this would last quiet a long time. Let ya'll know how it works out! Hey Ironman Y2K how easy is it to suck water through this filter while drinking out of the bottle?
I just finished the AT and used the sawyer 3 way for most of it ever since my steripen crapped out. I used it as a gravity filter and switched over to using it inline when my girlfriend got off in NH with foot issues.
I'm a fan of using it both ways. When using it inline I'd hang my platypus from a nail at night so I could use it as a gravity filter to make dinner.
wwbriggs
10-15-2011, 03:58
I switched out the Sawyer bags for my Platypus Bags which are more durable and I like the way I can attach them better. I also saw a link on sectionhiker where a pre-filter for the Aqua-Mira Frontier Pro was used to help reduce wear and tear on the filter and keep the intake free from debris when carrying it during longer hikes.
I switched out the Sawyer bags for my Platypus Bags which are more durable and I like the way I can attach them better.
Yeah, I definitely just bought the filter and hooked it up to a platypus bag.
I also saw a link on sectionhiker where a pre-filter for the Aqua-Mira Frontier Pro was used to help reduce wear and tear on the filter and keep the intake free from debris when carrying it during longer hikes.
I'll have to look into that. As a gravity filter it didn't seem like the lack of a prefilter was that big of a deal because the big stuff would settle to the bottom and the water hose was placed slightly above there. However with the inline setup my hiking would keep the water stirred up and a prefilter would likely have a significant impact on how often I need to backflush.
What kind of pre filter could be used?
Yeah....wwbriggs, do you mean that somebody shoved that cotton ball looking thing down into the sawyer 3 way?
ironman y2k
10-15-2011, 20:11
@ Bloomer... No effort to suck water thru hose attached to filter. When I use as gravity feed from my water bag I use the foam acorn shaped prefilter from my old Katahdin Hiker filter so I don't have to worry about "floaters"
hunter121
10-15-2011, 22:47
Thanks for this post guys I was going through the same thing
http://www.primeaffiliate.com/track/images/10.niceface.jpg
Trying to think of something that could be put between the blatter and the filter to prevent "floaters" from getting into the filter. The oz. of prevention to make the filter last longer. Maybe a peace of spunge in the hose. Any ideas...?
@ Ironman Y2K great idea with the acorn for the gravity filter.
Odd Man Out
10-16-2011, 10:21
I've considered a small nylon mesh bag inside the reservoir covering the opening to the outlet tube. If there was some kind of tube connector that protruded into the interior of the bag (wasn't flush), you could attach to that.
I followed my own recommendation for the Sawyer SP131 lastnight and placed an order for one of my own. It'll go on a long hike later this week. I'll report back about it sometime next month.
Awesome leaftye, the only thing I'd warn you about having come across this article is don't do what this guy did: http://sectionhiker.com/sawyer-inline-water-filter/
A quirk of these hollow fiber filters is that air doesn't pass through them very well. Actually the test to see if your filter is damaged is seeing if you can blow air through the filter: http://media.cascadedesigns.com/pdf/cleanstream_filter_test.pdf
As such if you try and suck water through while the filter and dirty side of the hose are full of water, you're going to get a whole lot of nothing.
*facepalm*
That last sentence should have read:
As such if you try and suck water through while the filter and dirty side of the hose are full of AIR, you're going to get a whole lot of nothing.
Sorry, apparently it's time to stop the late night posting by headlamp and get to bed.
I'm quite happy with this filter so far. It's fast enough that I was able to completely drink the 32 oz bag while standing in the middle of a creek. I didn't feel like the filter was slowing me down.
A quirk of these hollow fiber filters is that air doesn't pass through them very well. Actually the test to see if your filter is damaged is seeing if you can blow air through the filter: http://media.cascadedesigns.com/pdf/cleanstream_filter_test.pdf
Hello all,
After doing some online research I have decided to get the SP191 Point Zero Two Purifier and SP131 Squeeze water Filtration System a try.
@ Bucho
I was wondering if the air tester test can be done without connecting to the water bag?
That is just blowing air into a dry filter.
What I have notice is that, there is no or very small amount of air come out on my SP191 and as for my sp131 there is a small amount of air.
Have anyone here tried this test out and what was the results?
I was wondering if the air tester test can be done without connecting to the water bag?
That is just blowing air into a dry filter.
According to the manual you need to be sure to pass half a liter of water through the filter before testing.
What I have notice is that, there is no or very small amount of air come out on my SP191 and as for my sp131 there is a small amount of air.
Have anyone here tried this test out and what was the results?
I've tested the sawyer 3 way and platypus filters according to the manual, I couldn't get air through either. I just tried blowing air through my sawyer 3 way while it was dry and I couldn't feel any air coming out the other side. However, I should add the disclaimer that I've done a thru hike with my sawyer and the flow rate on it isn't quite as fast as it used to be. If you're having any concerns I'd advise you to test your filter according to the platypus manual I posted and see if air will bubble through. Another thing to keep in mind even though I don't see it anywhere in the sawyer manual is that being dropped can damage these filters internally.
I just got the Sawyer 3-way and am wondering what the 2 male adapters connected to the 2" black hosing is for? I really can't think of what it could be used for. It doesn't even mention it in the contents listing.
Nitrojoe
01-05-2012, 00:29
I used the Sawyer inline filter on my PCT thru hike in 08. It lasted from Mexico to Canada. I backed flushed it twice at my town stops. There are two sizes the smaller one can filter out most of the critters except viruses. The larger one does it all and can filter out many thousands of gallons before it needs backflushing. On my thru hike I used the smaller one. On my AT thru hike this year I will be using the new Sawyer sp131 squeeze unit. At 60 dollars you get the filter and three different size squeeze containers, .5L,1.0L,2.0L. If you dont want to use the squeeze containers then you can screw the filter on to a one liter plastic coke bottle or an eqivalent size bottle that has the same screw top opening. You also get a backflush unit with your purchase.
I just got the Sawyer 3-way and am wondering what the 2 male adapters connected to the 2" black hosing is for? I really can't think of what it could be used for. It doesn't even mention it in the contents listing.
14800
The short length of tube with 2 male adapters is only used for the third way of filtering in your 3-way filter. It allows you to connect the back-flushing hose to the female end of the filter so that you can filter tap water.
14800
The short length of tube with 2 male adapters is only used for the third way of filtering in your 3-way filter. It allows you to connect the back-flushing hose to the female end of the filter so that you can filter tap water.
duh! Thank you so much. I would still be scratching my head.
I just got the Sawyer 3-way and am wondering what the 2 male adapters connected to the 2" black hosing is for? I really can't think of what it could be used for. It doesn't even mention it in the contents listing.
I actually found one end will go into a camelbak quick release ( tested on the 3L antidote ) with a positive click like it was made for it and the other male into the grey side of the filter then you can run a hose and mouthpiece from the clean side .
HooKooDooKu
01-19-2014, 23:23
What kind of pre filter could be used?
I'm using the MSR SweetWater Silt Stopper (http://www.rei.com/product/611748/msr-sweetwater-siltstopper-prefilter). Conceptually, it's simple, you just have two inline filters. In practice, it's a little awkward when using the squeeze mode to filter (not as much a problem with the 'sink' or drip mode mentioned earlier.
25648
Here is the two male end connector tube as I explained.
squeezebox
01-20-2014, 23:28
I bought 1 today, Looks good, I bought the silt stopper, but will have to order the adapter to get the squeeze bag output from female to hose.