Water's heavy

One of these

I've been assured and doubly re-assured that after using one of these on your water source, it is, in many cases cleaner than your normal tapwater. I even mailed MSR and asked if it removed Leptospirosis (weils disease). The very knowledgable young man in my local branch of Nevisport told me that "they have to be field serviced by the grunts in the US army so were made with ease of use in mind" his words not mine. I think it'll be good for those 2 to 3 day sessions out in the sticks with no water source within miles, the fens for example. I was also told that a 3 min rolling boil would do for tea or coffee or cooking and that buying a filter was overkill on my part.

Yup they work well Bob. They were used extensively in the States when I was climbing in the Sierra Nevada. I of course didn't have one and had to either carry my water (HEAVY!) and/or use iodine tablets. After using iodine for 5 days non stop it screwed my stomach up :?(

DO NOT rely on boiling water! It kills most of the bugs, but it doesn't get rid of any organic nasties.

Oh and I'd check that it removes heavy metals too (or don't use it on out more 'industrial' rivers).

It is a pity our water scources are not as reliable as they are in Denmark. My son who lives there reliably informs me that in some (but not all) of the lakes the water is so clean it can be used straight out of the lake. They dont have the pollution levels we experience due to a smaller population and very strict regulations on what can and what cant be done with their precious assets.

Doesn't Ron Clay know loads about this sort of thing..?

I think it does remove heavy metals just because of their size, it removes all solids and bacteria down to something like 2 microns, a bit late for me to start browsing but I'm confident enough to pack it with an empty bottle for my brews where ever I go, I tend not to fish sewers ;-)

Sean, I was told by the very knowledgable young man in Nevisport that if you're using a purifier as oppsosed to/or with a filter for more than a couple of days then you should use chlorine because iodine can upset your tummy with prolonged use.

Funny how Ron's always missing when he's most needed.


However, I've heard they are an excellent investment if you camp out or bivvy up a lot. A camden tablet will sort out any bacteria and you could then drink it cold. Tastes horrid though. -

"Sodium metabisulphate (camden tablets) forms sulphur dioxide gas when dissolved in water. This gas kills bacteria. After about 24 hours the sulphur dioxide has dissipated and the solution will no longer sanitise. Follow the directions on the packaging or dissolve two teaspoons in a litre of cold water."

The whole point of the filter Jeff is to take the water back to a "drinkable" state without the use of chemicals, if it's brown or sedimented before filtering it comes out crystal clear and ready to drink. I was assured that a filter was more than adequate for drinking water in and around europe, it's even ok if there's a dead cow decomposing upstream from your source. If I was to travel to Brazil or Africa or such like then a purifier should also be used.

I asked the very knowledgable young man if he'd guarantee I won't die from cholera or ebola, he told me to sue him if I did )

only joking!! ;-)

Splash a few drop of plain, domestic bleach in. (Sodium Hypochlorite)

Leave it for a few hours - that'll sort it.

It certainly will, but then there's the taste thing again. you may aswell swallow a cup full from your local swimming pool

Sorry, Bob, didn't take you for some southern Nancy who drank a lot of water. Not a water drinker myself, well - not since I learnt that fish f*ck in it!

Another reason they should bring back National Service. But I bet you would want a refund if you found a fly in your NAAFI tea. ;-)

Now, when me, Ron, and the Monk were in the trenches ...

they call him Ron Filtering Clay

Oh and I'd check that it removes heavy metals
can't see it doing, a micron is massive compared with the size of an atom.

e.g. 1 micron is approximately 1million atoms across, so it won't removed dissolved metals,
But dissolved metals tend to sink to the bottom and it looks like this thing is designed to draw water from the surface, so they shouldn't be drawn into it in the first place.

Sorry but I've only just picked up on this thread.

Professionally I am European Technical Consultant to KX Industries LP of Orange CT USA. I work in conjunction with Flowtech Fluid Handling Limited of Reading who are the appointed European Master Stocking Distributor for the MATRIKX range of extruded activated carbon block filters.

We only supply OEMs and sub-distributors. We do not sell our products to end users.

To see my Bonafides look at: www.kxindustries.com under distributors and www.flowtechfh.com.

The technology of water treatment grows at a tremendous rate. I could write a book about the latest developments and it would be out of date in a month.

As far as I know, it is the act of extreme folly to take water in a highly contaminated state, say having a high count of bacteria and then put it through a filter/filters and expect it to be good enough to drink.

There is no filter on this earth that can effectively remove 100% of bacteria and virus. What there are, are filters that will remove a high percentage of contaminants and if used in conjunction with the correctly designed pre-filters will create a situation where the possiblities of a bacterium getting through them are reduced considerably. Even so, in static (no flow) conditions, bacteria, being living organisms, can "grow through" a filter.

I don't know the filter you have purchased Bob but I would ask the suppliers to give details of the International and USA standards that the filter complies with.

If it doesn't, I would reject this filter out of hand. Remember sales talk is cheap.

As regards removing heavy metals from filters. These are easy to remove in particulate form down to about 0.5 microns.

However heavy metals are often in solution with the water and require ion exchange, or RO, not partical filters to reduce them.

One of the most common and dangerous of heavy metals found in water system is lead. We do a carbon block filter that will effectively reduce lead, due to the ion exchange media in it. This same filter will also reduce chlorine, taste, odour and cysts such as cryptosporidium.

Such a cartridge in a 10 inch length is not expensive at all. End user price is about ?18 which will give about 6 months life in most situations.

The performance of all our filters meets the requirements of NSF standards 53 and 42.

All the materials of construction are FDA listed.

If anyone needs any further information on water filters, send me a PM

Just checked the spec again Jason, it removes anything down to 0.2 microns, I knew there was a 2 in there somewhere. You are right about it floating, the very know...... the young lad said as much but it slipped my mind.

What is the 0.2 micron rating based on Bob?

Absolute or nominal? What challenge test do they use to establish that rating?

Bacterial or particulate?

Sorry to sound picky but I've been in this business too long.

Bacterial I'd suppose Ron, all the specs are there if you browse the link in my first post. Check the three links below the picture of the filter.

I have read the literature on the product

You must think me an appalling sceptic Bob but I've been long enough in the filtration industry to only accept performance ratings when these are backed up with solid data and evidence produced by independant laboratories and test houses to internationally accepted standards

There is no such evidence in the literature shown here.

0.2 of a micron (one fifth of a millionth of a metre), is a very fine degree of filtration in liquids indeed. To make that claim is not a matter of say-so. You have to prove it.

Just a few more words on these filters. They are designed for using in the back country where water my be of questionable quality. I first came accross them in the States in the early 90's when climbing. They will certainly make water in the upper reaches of most rivers and lakes, lyns and lochs in most of our National Parks perfectly potable. Although in most cases in these areas boiling the water is adequate.

You must NEVER rely on boiling water from a lowland river because its not just bacteria you have to worry about, but all sorts of organic nasties.

If you have any hint at all that Giardia is present (Rockies, Sierra Nevada in the States, parts of the Alps, the Himalayas) you must use a Giardia certified filter or use iodine tablets (chlorine will not kill it) As the very knowledgable young man said, the problem with iodine is that it wrecks your digestive system for a while. It is however preferable to Giardia (a form of amoebic dysentry).

As for using filters in the Fens, I'd be careful. There is a huge amount of lead pollution, organic fertilisers, pesticides and human waste products (including female hormones). I'd take careful advice before using it in such places.

I certainly would not use ANY filter on water downstream of a dead animal and drink the water.

Giardia and Cryptosporidium are cysts which as Sean says are not killed by chlorine.

Chlorine will also cause you problems, especially if they treat the water with over 1 ppm of the stuff as they do in the USA

Chlorine is a known carcinogen, especially when it combines with organic materials to form trihalo methanes (THMs). A few minutes boiling will generally remove chlorine from water although the best way is through an activated carbon filter. You can buy an activated carbon block filter that will positively remove chlorine taste and odour, and dissolved lead and cysts as said before.