Sawyer squeeze flow issues

[mPalozzola01]

years ago I bought the sawyer squeeze on the recommendation of a sales rep in bass pro. I never liked it because even brand new try as I may the flow on it was literally a trickle. So it got retired to the drawer of little used poor buying decisions and previously upgraded. Rcently due to the massive support the hiking community has for the little filter I decided to try it again and bought a mini. upon using it for the first time I notice a great difference between the 2. The mini has a steady flow, slow but steady. So is my larger squeeze faulty? Is there something I can do to try and fix it? Should I try and buy a new squeeze?

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[SteelCut]

My experience is just the opposite. I switched to the original larger Sawyer filter to get away from the slow flow of the mini (and constant back flush cleaning). I don't even have to squeeze the bag to get a good flow through the larger Sawyer filter.

Edit: I have noticed that if I tighten the dirty water bag too tightly on the larger Sawyer filter, it deforms the shape of the rubber washer in the filter and that seems to greatly restrict the flow for some reason. If I reset the washer and then barely tighten the dirty water bag then the flow is greatly improved.

[BirdBrain]

How are you using it? Some people try to do a gravity feed into a bottle. The air in the bottle will create a vapor lock and make the flow a trickle. Drilling tiny holes in the tornado tube or loosening the connection will help some. Best to use collapsible bottles on both sides. Not sure if this has anything to do with your issue. Might help someone though.

[mPalozzola01]

How are you using it? Some people try to do a gravity feed into a bottle. The air in the bottle will create a vapor lock and make the flow a trickle. Drilling tiny holes in the tornado tube or loosening the connection will help some. Best to use collapsible bottles on both sides. Not sure if this has anything to do with your issue. Might help someone though.

I've never attached It to a bottle. I always tried it with the bag they came with and then with a 1500ml evernew that I bought with the mini on recommendation from this fourms.

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[Onda Road Again]

My experience is just the opposite. I switched to the original larger Sawyer filter to get away from the slow flow of the mini (and constant back flush cleaning). I don't even have to squeeze the bag to get a good flow through the larger Sawyer filter.

Edit: I have noticed that if I tighten the dirty water bag too tightly on the larger Sawyer filter, it deforms the shape of the rubber washer in the filter and that seems to greatly restrict the flow for some reason. If I reset the washer and then barely tighten the dirty water bag then the flow is greatly improved.

Thanks for the note on tightening the bag too much. The flow I was getting from the Squeeze varied on my last trip greatly and I had the rubber washer come out when I unscrewed the bag a couple times so I imagine that's the reason for the slow flow at times. Good to know!

[mtntopper]

I use the sawyer in a gravity feed manner with a hose, works great that way. I can do other camp chores while I filter water.

[Hangfire]

I'm guessing your original Sawyer was a defect, lots of them out on the trail and very few complaints from what I saw.

[MuddyWaters]

years ago I bought the sawyer squeeze on the recommendation of a sales rep in bass pro. I never liked it because even brand new try as I may the flow on it was literally a trickle. So it got retired to the drawer of little used poor buying decisions and previously upgraded. Rcently due to the massive support the hiking community has for the little filter I decided to try it again and bought a mini. upon using it for the first time I notice a great difference between the 2. The mini has a steady flow, slow but steady. So is my larger squeeze faulty? Is there something I can do to try and fix it? Should I try and buy a new squeeze?

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I have one of the early ones, not that I think they have any substantial changes other than connections.
It doesnt work at all.

It worked fine at first. Worked great exactly once on tapwater
Put away, and months later did not work at all.
soaking days in water-vinegar did nothing either. I could suck water thru it slowly, thats it.

They CAN quit working , and not revive.
Million gallon guarantee. This one worked about 1 gallon of clean chlorinated tapwater.

[K2 Travels]

Personally I like the Platypus Gravity filter. I carry just the 2 liter dirty bag with the filter and hose. Weight is a bit more than regular sawyer squeeze but it filters a lot faster, plus no squeezing and refilling to just squeeze some more.

K2

[FlyFishNut]

So, this is probably water under the bridge (heehee) - but did you ever contact Sawyer over this?? If I spend money on something I want it to work and I reach out to the mfg.

On a side note, my Thermarest Treo camp chair pole broke the other day and Thermarest sent me a new pole lickety-split!

So, maybe reach out to Sawyer and tell them about your issue even though it has been years - you are a repeat customer and they should value that.

[Maui Rhino]

When I store my Sawyer after any trip, I always make a point of backflushing with distilled water, and not tap water. Tap water contains assorted minerals, salts, chlorine, fluoride, and whatever else your local municipality sees fit to put in. If left to sit in your filter, it will crystalize and clog your filter.

[mPalozzola01]

I understand that and it makes sense but this has been an issue since the filter was new

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[egilbe]

Send it back to Sayer. I'm had mine for a couple years now never had any issues with it.

[squeezebox]

I use my larger filter in gravity feed mode. Since the filter output and bladder threads are both male, I had to make an adapter. I took 2 bottle caps and a rustproof bolt, I bolted the caps together with some silicone in between, then a few extra holes for water. Could also use a female to hose bib adapters with a tiny piece of hose in between.
I also cut down a funnel to make a wider mouth for filling the dirty water bag.

[WILLIAM HAYES]

try back flushing it frequently also you can buy a tornado connector that fits sawyer filters which helps with the water flow

[mPalozzola01]

When I say flow issues I mean water drips out. Even squeezing the bag there is no sort of stream like I notice from the mini it's a ... drip... drip.....drip

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[Tuckahoe]

years ago I bought the sawyer squeeze on the recommendation of a sales rep in bass pro. I never liked it because even brand new try as I may the flow on it was literally a trickle. So it got retired to the drawer of little used poor buying decisions and previously upgraded. Rcently due to the massive support the hiking community has for the little filter I decided to try it again and bought a mini. upon using it for the first time I notice a great difference between the 2. The mini has a steady flow, slow but steady. So is my larger squeeze faulty? Is there something I can do to try and fix it? Should I try and buy a new squeeze?

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When I say flow issues I mean water drips out. Even squeezing the bag there is no sort of stream like I notice from the mini it's a ... drip... drip.....drip

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Your original Sawyer Filter was clearly a dud. Understandable that when hundreds of thousands -- if not millions -- of product run off the production line, that there will be some small number of defective products. The best thing would have been to immediately return it to the store. Now not so much... now just throw it away.

[mPalozzola01]

I actually spoke to customer service who recommended rotation of soaking the filter in pure vinegar for 30 min and flushing it with hot water... and repeat ... took like 4x but slowly I started getting water flow... atm the squeeze seems to flow about 2x as fast as the mini. To anyone who has both does that seem right? Or is that still reduced flow?

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[egilbe]

nope, that's about right.