Water filter

maids · Senior Member

Water filter

rgren2 · Guru

Looks like a BEST filter.

bes****erfilters.com.au/

just google them, stupid net nanny.

-- Edited by rgren2 on Monday 16th of January 2023 02:38:18 PM

maids · Senior Member

thanks done that think i found some on ebay as long as the ends fit

Cuppa · Guru

Maids your water filter is a standard size filter often supplied for use with fridges or water coolers. I have used them in our current vehicle for years because space is at a premium & these inline filters are significantly smaller than the common 10" filter element holders.

I may be wrong but I don't think your one is a B.E.S.T one. It would probably have a label on it if it were, & I think they have screw on ends to enable refilling.

Nothing wrong with B.E.S.T filters , which would swap with yours without problem, but you can get just as good (& better) by not buying filters aimed specifically at the RV market. Better are solid carbon filter media rather than granulated. Also if you want to protect against water borne nasties like e.coli, giardia & cryptospiridium you need filters able to filter down to 1 micron or less.

When it comes to the micron sizing there is a significant difference between 1 micron & 1 micron absolute. https://www.survivorfilter.com/blogs/home/nominal-vs-absolute-micron-rating-survivor-filter

We still have a supply of 1 micron absolute filters I bought in bulk several years ago, but cannot find the ones I have any more. If I were buying today I'd get these ones.

https://www.biopure.com.au/product/k2520-inline-water-filter/

Silver impregnated is also worth having if the vehicle is likely to stand unused for long periods, but being on the road full time, the filters get used regularly so it's not necessary. If we stop somewhere for a few months or more without using our water system, & just replace the filter before re-use. The smaller filters like these can be found with silver impregnation, but they are not common.

If the 2 of us are travelling full time (without house sitting or caretaking) we change the filter about every 12 months.

-- Edited by Cuppa on Monday 16th of January 2023 05:41:28 PM

maids · Senior Member

I was going to try these www.ebay.com.au/itm/125073274383%3AAQAHAAAAwGJyx%2B%2FnwRgl%2B4KrcoB%2FntGRPR8grTs3S6GJ7RWMUevCJKAgqwERXC8if8f%2B695xt7L9k%2BNUVRevWhlXVqWy9tT8XNLZ%2F4MDb3taSsQlzr7TJUUAN5LccIiD2o7TymPpqUcL9ESkvb18RgpGkI1%2FMfIob6PpqTy7iswibHESwwtXNiMLTI%2Bzu4wAutobKRt3cF8hzjjsJuJ9QJ2Gym1RSWKPP5yADbmtdbJcsq9GxU7tNqKSgzMrMxM7JsuRTlCCtw%3D%3D%7Ctkp%3ABk9SR-CL4Iq3YQ

Cuppa · Guru

maids wrote:
I was going to try these www.ebay.com.au/itm/125073274383%3AAQAHAAAAwGJyx%2B%2FnwRgl%2B4KrcoB%2FntGRPR8grTs3S6GJ7RWMUevCJKAgqwERXC8if8f%2B695xt7L9k%2BNUVRevWhlXVqWy9tT8XNLZ%2F4MDb3taSsQlzr7TJUUAN5LccIiD2o7TymPpqUcL9ESkvb18RgpGkI1%2FMfIob6PpqTy7iswibHESwwtXNiMLTI%2Bzu4wAutobKRt3cF8hzjjsJuJ9QJ2Gym1RSWKPP5yADbmtdbJcsq9GxU7tNqKSgzMrMxM7JsuRTlCCtw%3D%3D%7Ctkp%3ABk9SR-CL4Iq3YQ

Mmmm I guess it depends upon why you want to filter your water. If it's only to remove unpleasant taste they will probably be fine.

However if it's to prevent you getting sick from waterborne 'nasties' then they are almost certainly not going to do that. All decent filters will clearly state how many microns they filter to. If like these they don't provide that I wouldn't rely on them for a minute.

It's not unusual to see 'Caravan Filters' advertised - these too wont protect against nasties as they commonly are only 5 microns or worse.

1 micron absolute or 0.5 micron are required to keep you safe from any nasties which may be lurking out there'. They do cost more, but they last a while. $60 or $70 a year would seem very cheap compared to getting sick.

"I've never got sick" is no argument for anything other than luck IMHO. Having been sick from bad water once (from a public drinking fountain in Spain) it's not a risk I'm prepared to take.

-- Edited by Cuppa on Monday 16th of January 2023 06:40:31 PM

Whenarewethere · Guru

At home we have a Stiebel Eltron 4 stage filter. Down to 0.01 micron. I have cut open one of the 0.01 filters & it is made the same as kidney dialysis filters with very fine membrane tubes.

Life of the filters is 2000L, less if water is compromised.

There is a bit of information on their page.

https://www.stiebel-eltron.com.au/stream-4-water-filter

Red Sediment Cartridge Filters:

Rust

Sediment

Mud

Particles >1 micron

Yellow Activated Carbon Cartridge Filters:

Bad taste

Odours

Chlorine

Triholomethanes (THM's)

Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC's)

Pesticides

Herbicides

Heavy Metals

Particles >0.5 micron

Purple Ultra Filtration Cartridge Filters:

Bacteria

Cysts

Algae

Particles >0.01 micron

Blue Activated Granular Carbon Cartridges Filters:

Additional odours that occur in the filtration process

Heavy metals

Caution: Do not use with water that is microbiologically unsafe or of unknown quality without adequate disinfection before or after the system. This system may be used on disinfected water that may contain filterable cysts.

maids · Senior Member

yes we have very good filters in our home. I will look for the others. I thought in a caravan park in Oz the water would be safe

Whenarewethere · Guru

Even in Sydney we have at times been told to boil water.

Cuppa · Guru

maids wrote:
I thought in a caravan park in Oz the water would be safe

Mostly it is, but there are places where it would be wise not to use it either because of very high mineral loads or contamination. With all the flooding which has been occurring I think it's probably raised the risk.So being choosy where you get your water from is a sensible first level defence. Good filters are the second level defence.

maids · Senior Member

it doesn't rain in Perth lol

rgren2 · Guru

maids wrote:
it doesn't rain in Perth lol

I didnt have a filter on my hose to caravan until I was in Busselton, thats when I purchased my BEST filter, the water still wasnt great, but was a hell of a lot better. A big hint, try drinking the water before filling your tanks.

Whenarewethere · Guru

The reason we installed a filter a decade ago & I also installed one in our investment property for our tenants. Is the water tastes like shit if you want to have a nice cup of tea or coffee with hand ground beans.

I have even contemplated installing 2 sets of filters in series.

Mike Harding · Guru

Do not rely upon filters to make water safe to drink - boil or chlorinate is best:

A Guide to Drinking Water

Gary and Barb · Senior Member

True. But...
Filters can be very effective, if they are of high quality. However, all methods have their downfall, so it is best to use a filter, then boil and/or chlorinate.
Boiling and chlorination will kill pathogens, but some other nasty contaminants generally remain.
Filtration can remove a lot of pathogens as well as minerals and other taste contaminations which other treatments can't.
Commercial "Spring water" is often of doubtful origin, but can be useful. Still, to be safe, carefully select your water source then use a combination of treatments on your water.

Possum3 · Guru

Never have I filtered water when camping - I always carry some potable water in the truck.

I was raised on a "Bore" property western NSW, we had no running water at homestead - unless you count the bore drain that ran beside our house - our bathroom was a sheet of zinc coated steel bent to "U" shape sitting in bore drain next to bore head pool.

Out in the paddocks we would sweep the floating sheep pills off the top of a dam with an arm and plunge the head in for a drink and cool down.

I very rarely drink water - mainly tea. When cooking with river water, I boil the water before putting in the food to be cooked.

I utilise green lime cordial to take chlorine taste out of my caravan tanks (after sanitising with chlorine bleach).

I have been to Countries where sewage is treated to get water.

I don't pretend to be a "Bear Grylls" by any means but I'm certainly not so precious as to need "Evian" in the fridge. I often drink chilled apple or orange juice when socialising maybe a lemon, lime and bitters if camping at a pub stay.

I often wonder when/why/how Aussies became too spoiled to enjoy being out there.

Cuppa · Guru

Having lived on bore & tank water for 30 odd years, the taste of chlorine is something we both find very unpleasant. However we do carry a small quantity of liquid chlorine with us to add to any water we obtain that we have doubts about. Our filters remove all chlorine taste. Very rarely used though, because being choosy about water makes this generally unnecessary.

As to potability I suggest that anyone who has previously suffered from 'water poisoning' are likely to take preventative measures to avoid a repeat.

We never buy packaged water to travel with.

As for drinking tea - we reckon the best test for drinking water's taste quality is to make a cup of tea with it. If the taste is off or we get a 'scum' around the top we pass on it until we can get better. This made possible by having a reasonable size water storage capacity & topping up whenever we can.

We also carry a lifestraw Flex (can screw to any soda bottle) in our 'Grab Bag' to use as a last resort.

bristte · Veteran Member

Cuppa wrote:
However we do carry a small quantity of liquid chlorine with us to add to any water we obtain that we have doubts about.

Cuppa - you mean chlorine and not silver chloride? I've had AgCl recommended to me as a means to purify water from bacteria by a number of well-credentialled people. Comes in tablet, powder and liquid form. I carry Katadyn Micropur Classic Powder.

One of these people was a filtration professional, and cautioned me that the water being purified needed to sit with the AgCl in it for a while, i.e. the purification wasn't instantaneous. He also cautioned me that a B.E.S.T. (bacteria eliminating sliver treatment) filter should not be relied upon on its own for this reason, although the sliver meant that water sitting in the filter when not used should not be a problem.

While on the topic of water filtration, does anyone have an experience with the Thirsty Nomad system, which some manufacturers are offering as an option? It claims to be a complete filtration solution.

vince56 · Senior Member

Mike Harding wrote:
Do not rely upon filters to make water safe to drink - boil or chlorinate is best:
A Guide to Drinking Water

Very good info Mike thx. Worth a read for sure.

Cuppa · Guru

bristte wrote:
Cuppa wrote:
However we do carry a small quantity of liquid chlorine with us to add to any water we obtain that we have doubts about.
Cuppa - you mean chlorine and not silver chloride? I've had AgCl recommended to me as a means to purify water from bacteria by a number of well-credentialled people. Comes in tablet, powder and liquid form. I carry Katadyn Micropur Classic Powder.
One of these people was a filtration professional, and cautioned me that the water being purified needed to sit with the AgCl in it for a while, i.e. the purification wasn't instantaneous. He also cautioned me that a B.E.S.T. (bacteria eliminating sliver treatment) filter should not be relied upon on its own for this reason, although the sliver meant that water sitting in the filter when not used should not be a problem.
While on the topic of water filtration, does anyone have an experience with the Thirsty Nomad system, which some manufacturers are offering as an option? It claims to be a complete filtration solution.

Yes I do mean Chlorine, in liquid form, either swimming pool chlorine or unscented bleach. The amount used in our tanks is small & infrequent, so we gave up using the swimming pool chlorine as we had to buy 5 litres at a time, not expensive but wasteful. so now we use bleach. The amount of available chlorine in bleach is less so we need to add more, but it is more convenient to store in it's original bottle (rather than decanting pool chlorine into smaller bottle to carry with us).Chlorine loses it's 'strength' over time, so when travelling full time as we have been, we have tended to add more to the tank to compensate, but eventually disposed of the remnants of the 250ml bottle we carried. Someone gave us some Katadyn powder once, we may still have it stashed away in the vehicle somewhere, but the truth is that we have needed to treat water so rarely that on the few occasions we have it was easier to use the chlorine than to search for the Katadyn! Bleach is readily available everywhere & is cheap. Katadyn powder is more expensive, not readily available 'locally' but takes up less space & weighs less.

I looked at B.E.S.T & Thirsty Nomad filters in the past & cannot recall the details, but do recall that that whilst I thought they were reasonable products that being aimed primarily at the RV market they came at a price which included 'RV tax', & that similar or better quality could be had for less cost for folk willing to do the small amount of research for themselves rather than just buying the RV product. I think the B.E.S.T uses granular carbon, not sure about the Thirsty Camel. I prefer solid carbon block as I believe it is able to be manufactured to provide 'absolute micron' filtration & I don't think this is possible with granulated. (not 100% certain on that - but it seems logical).

As far as silver impregnation goes in filters, I have only ever thought of it as being primarily for preventing a build up of microbes in the filter itself when it sits unused for periods. ie. it provided no real benefit in filters being used daily.

-- Edited by Cuppa on Wednesday 18th of January 2023 11:47:23 AM

Mike Harding · Guru

An excellent source of chlorine (sodium hypochlorite) for water purification is the product which has been used to clean baby's feeding bottles for 100 years; Milton. It is a 1% chlorine solution and is sold in 1L bottles for about $6, the bottles also carry a use-by date. Mix Milton at 1 part Milton to 2000 parts water so a 100L tank requires 50mL of Milton - NB. do not be tempted to add more, you will taste it... and you will not like it :)

An alternative to Milton is home brand bleach which is very cheap, ensure it only contains sodium hypochlorite and sodium hydroxide if it has anything else then reject it. This will usually be 4% chlorine so I normally mix 500ml bleach with 500ml water to produce a 2% solution which I use mainly for cleaning river/dam water used for laundry/shower/dishes. Were I going to regularly use it for drinking water I'd mix it down to 1% and use as per Milton.

NB. All bleaches "wear out" over time, they generally have a "use-by" date on them but I write the date of purchase on mine and discard after one year.

NB (Another one!). Bleach (chlorine) at the above concentration will kill (deactivate) most (all?) bacteria and viruses except two nasty little bastards called cryptosporidium and giardia, these are parasites which like to find a home in your gut and will give you a very bad tummy for weeks! A visit to the quack is required. Fortunately these are uncommon and providing you're not drinking water from the gutters you should be OK. A rolling boil for one minute+ will kill these little dears.

NB (The final one). Chemicals: nothing we do outside a laboratory will remove chemicals from water so try not to use water from dams and creeks adjacent to heavy agriculture.

And wash your hands regularly... especially after going to the toilet! I suspect more people in Australia get sick from poor hygiene than from bad water.

----

Edit:

To clarify; the above applies to clear water, if your water has particulate in it then things become a little more difficult as the bugs can, kind of, hide on the particles and resist your attempts to kill them so:

Ideally, filter the water through a sand or (much better) charcoal filter or a mix of both - an old sock, an extinguished camp fire and some sand will do the trick, maybe run the water through it a few times.

Next extend the purification times; boiling, I'd extend to about three minutes and with chlorine to maybe 30 minutes.

-- Edited by Mike Harding on Wednesday 18th of January 2023 02:44:37 PM