Water Purification System

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Good point, landlubber. I was thinking of it a bit differently but you are correct that the original question wasn’t about trailer systems.

However I think the filters I’m talking/asking about (ie a fixed filtration unit) can be adapted for the OPs use case pretty easily. They can used to filter water from the boonies if the OP decides to either mount or even just bring along a 12v pump. A pump has a lot of uses around camp and we had one installed in out JK even though we did not have a tank. A decent pump is easily under $100 and can be used for filling containers, hosing down muddy dogs, pulling water from a rocky shore that is unsafe to carry a water jug over, etc. Plus, both pumps and filters can be mounted in a portable box like a pelican case. That’s what we use for our shower system currently and it’s handy as we can loan it out, use it at home in the event of an emergency, etc. The downside to all this is size — the fixed pumps are big. For cost, efficacy, and size/weight — it’s hard to beat a sawyer mini at $20. The gravity system we use can work but the fixed pump would work too if it’s not too high pressure.

There’s so many options out there but here is everything I’ve learned so far; it’s more ‘principles to look for’ than it is specific product suggestions:

For backcountry use a person needs a water system that will capture bacteria first and foremost — this is a major health issue. However viruses are still a risk in some parts of the world, and most water filters don’t work for viruses. And to clarify further, it seems there is some consistency in the outdoors industry that “water filter” = bacteria and dirt; “water purifier” = bacteria, dirt, and harmful viruses. A persons application may mean they don’t need to worry about viruses if there are none in waters of the area they travel but for me, the peace of mind of having truly clean water is worth it. To put numbers on it, what I read suggests that a filter that goes down to 0.02 microns will catch most stuff in the waters of North America, but not viruses, which are less of a risk in NA. Some folks use larger filters and combine them with UV or chemical treatment even in small backpacking systems so adapting that to overlanding should be straightforward. Internationally viruses are much more of a concern and so chemical or UV treatment is necessary.

After diseases are tackled, the next priority for me is a pre-filter that will take the sediment and silt out. The main reason is longevity if my life-safety filter; less junk going into that filter means it will flow better and last longer.

Finally there’s flavour filters to remove funky tastes. A taste filter may not deal with bacteria or anything else, but can improve the taste of a persons water. Most good filters will do this no matter what, but if folks are using a chemical or light system to clean their water they may need to look more closely at a filter for water flavour. Bad tasting water is going to be unpleasant, and that increase the risk of dehydration — human nature, after all — and while when you are thirsty enough you will likely drink it anyway, being dehydrated can impair decision making and cause ancillary safety risks. It makes sense to me that if your going to filter your water, pay some mind to the taste of what you are drinking. Your spending the money anyway, after all.

More good info here from MSR, a well regarded manufacturer of filters: Water Treatment 101: Viruses - The Summit Register

Some of the filter systems in fixed applications (sailboats, some trailers) do all 3 of the above in one unit it seems, and include the ability to deal with viruses via light or chemical in one robust package. That might be handy for some applications.
 

MidOH

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MSR Waterworks hand pump, Nalgene bottle, and optional MSR MIOX treatment, or a few pure drops.

Add some Gatoraide and it's fine. I used to carry only 1000ml for a week in Florida. Needs vary with location.
 

Lanlubber In Remembrance

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Good point, landlubber. I was thinking of it a bit differently but you are correct that the original question wasn’t about trailer systems.

However I think the filters I’m talking/asking about (ie a fixed filtration unit) can be adapted for the OPs use case pretty easily. They can used to filter water from the boonies if the OP decides to either mount or even just bring along a 12v pump. A pump has a lot of uses around camp and we had one installed in out JK even though we did not have a tank. A decent pump is easily under $100 and can be used for filling containers, hosing down muddy dogs, pulling water from a rocky shore that is unsafe to carry a water jug over, etc. Plus, both pumps and filters can be mounted in a portable box like a pelican case. That’s what we use for our shower system currently and it’s handy as we can loan it out, use it at home in the event of an emergency, etc. The downside to all this is size — the fixed pumps are big. For cost, efficacy, and size/weight — it’s hard to beat a sawyer mini at $20. The gravity system we use can work but the fixed pump would work too if it’s not too high pressure.

There’s so many options out there but here is everything I’ve learned so far; it’s more ‘principles to look for’ than it is specific product suggestions:

For backcountry use a person needs a water system that will capture bacteria first and foremost — this is a major health issue. However viruses are still a risk in some parts of the world, and most water filters don’t work for viruses. And to clarify further, it seems there is some consistency in the outdoors industry that “water filter” = bacteria and dirt; “water purifier” = bacteria, dirt, and harmful viruses. A persons application may mean they don’t need to worry about viruses if there are none in waters of the area they travel but for me, the peace of mind of having truly clean water is worth it. To put numbers on it, what I read suggests that a filter that goes down to 0.02 microns will catch most stuff in the waters of North America, but not viruses, which are less of a risk in NA. Some folks use larger filters and combine them with UV or chemical treatment even in small backpacking systems so adapting that to overlanding should be straightforward. Internationally viruses are much more of a concern and so chemical or UV treatment is necessary.

After diseases are tackled, the next priority for me is a pre-filter that will take the sediment and silt out. The main reason is longevity if my life-safety filter; less junk going into that filter means it will flow better and last longer.

Finally there’s flavour filters to remove funky tastes. A taste filter may not deal with bacteria or anything else, but can improve the taste of a persons water. Most good filters will do this no matter what, but if folks are using a chemical or light system to clean their water they may need to look more closely at a filter for water flavour. Bad tasting water is going to be unpleasant, and that increase the risk of dehydration — human nature, after all — and while when you are thirsty enough you will likely drink it anyway, being dehydrated can impair decision making and cause ancillary safety risks. It makes sense to me that if your going to filter your water, pay some mind to the taste of what you are drinking. Your spending the money anyway, after all.

More good info here from MSR, a well regarded manufacturer of filters: Water Treatment 101: Viruses - The Summit Register

Some of the filter systems in fixed applications (sailboats, some trailers) do all 3 of the above in one unit it seems, and include the ability to deal with viruses via light or chemical in one robust package. That might be handy for some applications.
I am convinced you are totally correct on every issue. Your info is very relevant to the conversation. You are a very learned person on this subject (probably a lot more as well) , I appreciate the degree of coverage you have added to this subject, since it is vital to all our health. This day and time with all the chemicals we have in our air, no one can trust the quality of ground water an longer. I remember the acid rains that affected the forest areas of S.E Canada in days past.

I'm with you, every rig should carry some kind of a pump for transferring water from one place to another along with a good inline filter system. I carry a 3.5 gal pressurized sprayer that is used for a multitude of purposes including emergency drinking water supply. Even a pond pump can be adequate at times. I thank you for your expert opinion and you have helped me understand your point of view about water filtration devises.

As for the cost issue, I don't think we can beat boiling all water from streams and lakes. A sizable amount can be boiled up on a camp fire or stove if one carries a large pot like the ones used for canning. Mine holds about 3 gallons and I don't leave home without it. It also helps to store other items when not in use. Excellent post !!
Lanlubber
 

Lanlubber In Remembrance

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MSR Waterworks hand pump, Nalgene bottle, and optional MSR MIOX treatment, or a few pure drops.

Add some Gatoraide and it's fine. I used to carry only 1000ml for a week in Florida. Needs vary with location.
Can I use my sugar free Kool-Aid instead ? Your adding info is very useful, thank you.
 

Pathfinder I

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I am convinced you are totally correct on every issue. Your info is very relevant to the conversation. You are a very learned person on this subject (probably a lot more as well) , I appreciate the degree of coverage you have added to this subject, since it is vital to all our health. This day and time with all the chemicals we have in our air, no one can trust the quality of ground water an longer. I remember the acid rains that affected the forest areas of S.E Canada in days past.

I'm with you, every rig should carry some kind of a pump for transferring water from one place to another along with a good inline filter system. I carry a 3.5 gal pressurized sprayer that is used for a multitude of purposes including emergency drinking water supply. Even a pond pump can be adequate at times. I thank you for your expert opinion and you have helped me understand your point of view about water filtration devises.

As for the cost issue, I don't think we can beat boiling all water from streams and lakes. A sizable amount can be boiled up on a camp fire or stove if one carries a large pot like the ones used for canning. Mine holds about 3 gallons and I don't leave home without it. It also helps to store other items when not in use. Excellent post !!
Lanlubber

Thank you for the kind words Lanlubber! Having just come off a pretty rough year health-wise, I'm very conscious of what I eat and drink now too (A change I had to make not by choice, but made without regret!).

One of the things I love about OB in particular is I'm always learning. There's always millions of people who know more than I do -- folks like Road here on this forum, Scott Brady over at Expo, Andrew St. Pierre-White of 4XOverland, Paul Marsh out of South Africa, or Ronny Dahl or Roothie out of Australia -- and I'm constantly learning and rethinking things from these guys via the various online platforms. I'm also constantly learning from folks who are just dipping their toes in, having never camped before, or folks who have been doing this kind of travel for years and only recently found the community. Everyone has something they can teach me, I'm sure of it, and I love learning it. I know people give politicians crap for it all the time, but one of my favourite phrases is "My thinking has evolved on that" -- in other words, I've been given new information, and I've changed my mind (With the politician example it's usually not about new information but instead about what's popular today versus popular yesterday, but the overall point of this still stands!)

Your post is a great example of that learning -- I was going down a rabbit hole about trailer systems, but when reading about them online I forgot to consider a critical point: Volume/Space of the system! When you mentioned the OP's original question, it was like a light switch for me. I was looking at systems installed in Earthroamer-type rigs, or Unimogs -- and while those are great, it's hard to get a sense of how 'big' they are from the photos online. Plus, where a 50 lbs water treatment system is no big deal for a Unimog, it represents 3% of my total payload. That's what got me started going back to "Needs and Basic Principles" and prompted my post in response, and for that I'm grateful!

Another curve ball this thread has brought up for me: With a lot of bigger rigs and systems designed for home use, they are in a climate controlled environment. However, stuck in the back of our "Ute" to borrow the Aussie word for it, combined with -40 Celcius temps in the wintertime, make for a unique challenge for a Canadian Overlander - making the system work in all temperatures will be important for us for our next trip this winter, and freezing water will easily crack filter elements, housings, etc. if we are not careful.

This is a very friendly community we have here, and I'm sorry to say the same isn't true everywhere online with regards to social media. Anonymity seems to breed toxicity, and I'm grateful for the positivity and friendliness of the OB community.

Thanks again for the compliment you paid me in your post. It really made my day!

Your friend online & around the campfire,
CoT
 
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Lanlubber In Remembrance

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Thank you for the kind words Lanlubber! Having just come off a pretty rough year health-wise, I'm very conscious of what I eat and drink now too (A change I had to make not by choice, but made without regret!).

One of the things I love about OB in particular is I'm always learning. There's always millions of people who know more than I do -- folks like Road here on this forum, Scott Brady over at Expo, Andrew St. Pierre-White of 4XOverland, Paul Marsh out of South Africa, or Ronny Dahl or Roothie out of Australia -- and I'm constantly learning and rethinking things from these guys. I'm also constantly learning from folks who are just dipping their toes in, having never camped before, or folks who have been doing this kind of travel for years and only recently found the community. Everyone has something they can teach me, I'm sure of it, and I love learning it. I know people give politicians crap for it all the time, but one of my favourite phrases is "My thinking has evolved on that" -- in other words, I've been given new information, and I've changed my mind (With the politician example it's usually not about new information but instead about what's popular today versus popular yesterday, but the overall point of this still stands!)

Your post is a great example of that learning -- I was going down a rabbit hole about trailer systems, but when reading about them online I forgot to consider a critical point: Volume/Space of the system! When you mentioned the OP's original question, it was like a light switch for me. I was looking at systems installed in Earthroamer-type rigs, or Unimogs -- and while those are great, it's hard to get a sense of how 'big' they are from the photos online. Plus, where a 50 lbs water treatment system is no big deal for a Unimog, it represents 3% of my total payload. That's what got me started going back to "Needs and Basic Principles" and prompted my post in response, and for that I'm grateful!

Another curve ball this thread has brought up for me: With a lot of bigger rigs and systems designed for home use, they are in a climate controlled environment. However, stuck in the back of our "Ute" to borrow the Aussie word for it, combined with -40 Celcius temps in the wintertime, make for a unique challenge for a Canadian Overlander - making the system work in all temperatures will be important for us for our next trip this winter, and freezing water will easily crack filter elements, housings, etc. if we are not careful.

This is a very friendly community we have here, and I'm sorry to say the same isn't true everywhere online with regards to social media. Anonymity seems to breed toxicity, and I'm grateful for the positivity and friendliness of the OB community.

Thanks again for the compliment you paid me in your post. It really made my day!

Your friend online & around the campfire,
CoT
Ha ha, you just cant stop adding additional good info. I'm very sory to hear you have been having health issues. The older we get the more we get. I recently lost my oldest son (age 64), He was never sick a day in his life but somehow turned up with a rare brain cancer. Bravely he had brain surgery twice, only 6 months apart. The second surgery was the type where you are awake for 6 hours on the operating table. He lasted one year after the second surgery. I only tell this story because you can never tell where a major illness may come from, take caution with everything you do, health is a very precious thing to have.
Thank you too, my OB friend
 

Pathfinder I

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I'm very sorry for your loss Lanlubber, but I say that with admiration for your son's courage. I am hopeful that his 64 years was full of adventure, however he defined it.

You are quite right about the preciousness of health and life in general. All the more reason to "outfit & explore" for as long as we're able!
 

MidOH

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I'll also add, in our experience, any reuseable water container larger than a Nalgene bottle should be assumed as NOT drinking water.

I don't drink tap water from a camper for example. I'll brush my teeth with it though. Too often, weird sickness when camping, was from someone drinking from the shower tank or something. Even though those were known to be clean containers. And I can survive PDC mexican water so.....

We leave the chicken and eggs at home as well.
 

Kcrkolby

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All this is good info for trailers or camp trailers. If I'm not wrong the issue the thread owner had was camping out over a period of time with his rig and maybe a tent. (no trailers) He wanted to know a way he could get drinking water from a lake or River and safely filter it for daily use so that he doesn't have to carry multiple tanks of water into the boonies. His issue is with the weight of the water and the space it takes to carry it along. Second issue is cost. Neither of us want to spent $200+ on one of those 3 gallon filter bottles that was previously viewed in this forum. Thanks for the info you people are providing, I am sure it will be useful to those having trailers with water tanks...

Well Put. Yes I am specifically looking for something for my rig while camping/hunting/offroading. For instance I do a two week hunting trip every year. I pack 4 (7gal) water jugs and a cooler with additional water. It takes 3 hours to go ten miles so leaving to refill is not really an option. I could really use the extra space and less weight. Where I camp is only 300 yards from water.
 

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I'll also add, in our experience, any reuseable water container larger than a Nalgene bottle should be assumed as NOT drinking water.

I don't drink tap water from a camper for example. I'll brush my teeth with it though. Too often, weird sickness when camping, was from someone drinking from the shower tank or something. Even though those were known to be clean containers. And I can survive PDC mexican water so.....
In my area we have to worry about chemicals that have been dumped working their way into the ground water. This was common practice until around mid 60's. I know 2 people in the local water industry, one of which is my brother in law. He's a biologist who's job is testing the water out here in the desert. If you ever saw the movie Erin Brockavitch (spelling?) that happened about an hour east of me.
This is the main reason I filter even tap water. I have been to places where you could actually smell the water coming out of the tap. That cant be good.

This discussion on how and what to drink has some great feedback.
 

Lanlubber In Remembrance

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I'm very sorry for your loss Lanlubber, but I say that with admiration for your son's courage. I am hopeful that his 64 years was full of adventure, however he defined it.

You are quite right about the preciousness of health and life in general. All the more reason to "outfit & explore" for as long as we're able!
I agree, thank you. I was building my LRD2 in hopes he would pull through his cancer so I could give it to him. He was ripe for retirement after 40 years of truck driving and being away from home way to often. No, he didn't have much of a fun life. That was the sad part, worked all his life and died before he got a chance to enjoy life. Married 6-7 times, always to the wrong women or else he was the wrong man. He was a good Christian though and had lots of faith, hope and dreams. He always spread cheer where ever he was. His heart was what you might say, too big.

I'll also add, in our experience, any reuseable water container larger than a Nalgene bottle should be assumed as NOT drinking water.

I don't drink tap water from a camper for example. I'll brush my teeth with it though. Too often, weird sickness when camping, was from someone drinking from the shower tank or something. Even though those were known to be clean containers. And I can survive PDC mexican water so.....

We leave the chicken and eggs at home as well.
I have my own chickens and fresh eggs. Unwashed, and kept cool, not refrigerated, a fresh egg can last months. I haven't eaten a refrigerated egg in over 10 years. A store bought egg is washed (when washed you remove a protective membrane from the egg) and refrigerated , and can be good for weeks. The thing is you don't know how old they are by the time you get them.
I would drink from my trailer water storage tanks but only because I know they are sanitary from the way I clean them (filled and chlorinated for 24 hours before they are flushed clean and refilled with clean water) I and don't refill until I am ready for the road. I am a certified water man from the state of NM and apply the same rules for the small subdivision where I pump the water and make the repairs when the lines are broken. When I finish my camp out I chlorinate the tanks (all) and leave filled for 24 hours min. then drain them, allow to dry out, seal them until I'm ready to go again. It's work but well worth the effort to have good clean drinking water on board when traveling and camping. I only do disbursed camping except on occasions and then I don't use anyone else's water. I also carry an extra 10 gallons of water in separate water containers (2-5 gallon containers). I have rarely used the extra unless I wash clothes in camp.
 

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Well Put. Yes I am specifically looking for something for my rig while camping/hunting/offroading. For instance I do a two week hunting trip every year. I pack 4 (7gal) water jugs and a cooler with additional water. It takes 3 hours to go ten miles so leaving to refill is not really an option. I could really use the extra space and less weight. Where I camp is only 300 yards from water.
I've been there and I know too well because we went by horseback most of the time. Even with a pack horse (Mule) you cant weigh them down with water when there is water where you are going. Horses drink the water that is available for them but we always boiled ours in fairly small quantities when it was needed. Of course cooking water is getting boiled anyway. The water purification tables sound pretty good to me except for taste. Boiling gets rid of bad taste I think.
 

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He always spread cheer where ever he was. His heart was what you might say, too big
Thats the part that jumped out most to me. No matter what we do, we can try to be kind when we do it and bring a bit of joy to others. If we do that more days than we don't, that's a good life in my books.

I'll also add, in our experience, any reuseable water container larger than a Nalgene bottle should be assumed as NOT drinking water.
This is great advice, and the first I've seen it written down -- it's a practice we have used, but more for convenience than for intention. It really checks a lot of boxes pertaining to this whole chat though:

1) Limits the number of places you need to worry about contaminants
2) Lets you use containers in a flexible fashion to meet the needs in the moment
3) Makes it easy to communicate with those you don't normally camp with what is and is not drinkable
4) in a real pinch you can use one of these for clean water in any bottle.

That link leads to the Lifestraw Universal, which is a Lifestraw filter designed to attach to any Nalgene or similar water bottle.
 

Lanlubber In Remembrance

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In my area we have to worry about chemicals that have been dumped working their way into the ground water. This was common practice until around mid 60's. I know 2 people in the local water industry, one of which is my brother in law. He's a biologist who's job is testing the water out here in the desert. If you ever saw the movie Erin Brockavitch (spelling?) that happened about an hour east of me.
This is the main reason I filter even tap water. I have been to places where you could actually smell the water coming out of the tap. That cant be good.

This discussion on how and what to drink has some great feedback.
Before I moved to NM, the water in our community well (outside of El Paso TX.) was like yours. They call it briney water, and It stunk just coming out of the tap. I bought a good filtration system that eliminated the problems with the water. As bad as it was, it was certified drinkable. Like you, anything I put up to the lips and over the gums had better not smell or taste like s - - -. Our water well here is the best in the state and has won awards, but even then the state makes us chlorinate it since we now have 100 users on the system. We wouldn't have to chlorinate if we had anti syphon outlets on our exterior faucets. That would cost the homeowners some bucks so we just go ahead and chlorinate. The reason for the anti syphon faucets is because we have people who fill there horse trough's with water hoses, and when you turn on the water and shut it off, the water in the hose backs up into the system and causes E.coli bacteria in the whole water system.
Yes this is a great thread and most are in OB community.
 
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Lanlubber In Remembrance

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Thats the part that jumped out most to me. No matter what we do, we can try to be kind when we do it and bring a bit of joy to others. If we do that more days than we don't, that's a good life in my books.



This is great advice, and the first I've seen it written down -- it's a practice we have used, but more for convenience than for intention. It really checks a lot of boxes pertaining to this whole chat though:

1) Limits the number of places you need to worry about contaminants
2) Lets you use containers in a flexible fashion to meet the needs in the moment
3) Makes it easy to communicate with those you don't normally camp with what is and is not drinkable
4) in a real pinch you can use one of these for clean water in any bottle.

That link leads to the Lifestraw Universal, which is a Lifestraw filter designed to attach to any Nalgene or similar water bottle.
This is all you need to know about water and containers for it.
Lanlubber Jim
 
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Captstout

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This is awesome info.

I have life straws and other "emergency" type water purification and filtration for backpacking and hiking.

I am taking all this info and putting together an overland purification system that can, in an emergency, be used while I am off grid. Something more than my water bottle stuff I currently carry.

Further, I am into prepping (sort of). I am going to build a purification process/system for my house. I currently store 500 gallons of freshwater at home. I will be setting up a system to replenish what we use.

I don't wear a tinfoil hat and believe Elvis is alive (he could be). We like minimalist self sufficient.
 

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Excellent thread, really learned a lot reading through what is here so far. For me it's not that big of a deal since most of my camping trips will be fairly short, I have no problem taking safe drinking water on short trips. Once I retire in about 12-15 years then I'll be using a lot of the information here as my camping trips will get longer!
 

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Hey everyone, my name is Tyler from Guzzle H2O. Do you ever google yourself?? Actually I was googling the name of our company to see how our SEO was doing, and I found this thread, where the original post was a question about our products.

I’m not chirping in to give a hard sell on our gear, which I’m sure would not be tolerated, especially from a first time poster, but I did want to help tie this thread together because I think I have something to add.

Reading through the whole thread, there is a lot of great information and experience about how to treat water in the backcountry. Our gear was dismissed as too expensive by the third post (really by the second post!) Also no one had heard of us. Both are reasonable, because we are new, and our gear is at a high price point. But reading through the whole thread, I couldn’t help but notice that our products tackle many of the things some of you are looking for in a water purification kit.

All our products use a two stage process to treat water. Activated carbon block filters (0.5 micron) and absorbs chemical contaminants, followed by an LED based UV purification chamber that inactivates 99.99% of bacteria, protozoa, and viruses. The Stream includes a pump, a LiFePO4 battery, and packs it all in a hardcase. It also includes a field cleanable prefilter, and will also connect to water on tap in a campground. The whole thing weighs 10 lbs and is under 1 cubic foot in size.

The fact that there are lot of the DIY solutions mentioned here, and horror stories about hand pump filter systems failing shows that there is work to do on the water problem for overlanders. The DIY route seems cost effective as filters, pumps, plumbing are all readily available online and in big box stores for relatively lower costs. But it adds up and the time it takes to do a nice job on plumbing and mounting details should not

If you read ChasingOurTrunks long post, he drops some serious knowledge, and if you take everything he says, and distill it down, the system he describes is a lot like our Stream. He notes a couple things that I would reiterate, and you can see in the design of our products: Inactivating microbiological hazards is different that filtering out sediment and chemicals, in other words, a two stage process is critical. Improving taste is also sometimes overlooked yet very important and because it staves off dehydration, that is why activated carbon is a great filtering medium.

What you get with a Stream is a device that has an effective prefilter, addresses the full range of contaminants including sediment, chemicals, taste and odor, bacteria, protozoa, and viruses with carbon block plus UV. With the built in pump and battery it can move water from a lake or river into tanks in your truck and treat it all in one step. It can be used at the campground to filter bad tasting water that might be on tap. So a lot of options, and a lot of capability, packed into 10 lbs, and less than 1 cubic foot.

And I would note that most of the ideas presented here don’t adequately support the volume of water the OP is looking for in a convenient way. Sure, chlorine additives will kill bacteria, but it doesn’t filter sediment.

So why does the Stream cost $950? We have used the highest quality, most reliable parts we can find. The LED based UV unit is very special, we buy it from the same manufacturer that supplies the International Space Station for their water reclamation program. All the parts are NSF listed, or FDA approved materials. Also keep in mind that the Stream is meant for larger groups, and buying individual filters for everyone in your group, plus replacement filters can add up.

So, I would encourage you to re-read what ChasingOurTrunks post, and consider what he is saying relative to what you get with the Stream.

Hit us up if you want more info, or a demo. Or come find us at Overland Expo in May.
 

M Rose

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Michael
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Rose
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Hey everyone, my name is Tyler from Guzzle H2O. Do you ever google yourself?? Actually I was googling the name of our company to see how our SEO was doing, and I found this thread, where the original post was a question about our products.

I’m not chirping in to give a hard sell on our gear, which I’m sure would not be tolerated, especially from a first time poster, but I did want to help tie this thread together because I think I have something to add.

Reading through the whole thread, there is a lot of great information and experience about how to treat water in the backcountry. Our gear was dismissed as too expensive by the third post (really by the second post!) Also no one had heard of us. Both are reasonable, because we are new, and our gear is at a high price point. But reading through the whole thread, I couldn’t help but notice that our products tackle many of the things some of you are looking for in a water purification kit.

All our products use a two stage process to treat water. Activated carbon block filters (0.5 micron) and absorbs chemical contaminants, followed by an LED based UV purification chamber that inactivates 99.99% of bacteria, protozoa, and viruses. The Stream includes a pump, a LiFePO4 battery, and packs it all in a hardcase. It also includes a field cleanable prefilter, and will also connect to water on tap in a campground. The whole thing weighs 10 lbs and is under 1 cubic foot in size.

The fact that there are lot of the DIY solutions mentioned here, and horror stories about hand pump filter systems failing shows that there is work to do on the water problem for overlanders. The DIY route seems cost effective as filters, pumps, plumbing are all readily available online and in big box stores for relatively lower costs. But it adds up and the time it takes to do a nice job on plumbing and mounting details should not

If you read ChasingOurTrunks long post, he drops some serious knowledge, and if you take everything he says, and distill it down, the system he describes is a lot like our Stream. He notes a couple things that I would reiterate, and you can see in the design of our products: Inactivating microbiological hazards is different that filtering out sediment and chemicals, in other words, a two stage process is critical. Improving taste is also sometimes overlooked yet very important and because it staves off dehydration, that is why activated carbon is a great filtering medium.

What you get with a Stream is a device that has an effective prefilter, addresses the full range of contaminants including sediment, chemicals, taste and odor, bacteria, protozoa, and viruses with carbon block plus UV. With the built in pump and battery it can move water from a lake or river into tanks in your truck and treat it all in one step. It can be used at the campground to filter bad tasting water that might be on tap. So a lot of options, and a lot of capability, packed into 10 lbs, and less than 1 cubic foot.

And I would note that most of the ideas presented here don’t adequately support the volume of water the OP is looking for in a convenient way. Sure, chlorine additives will kill bacteria, but it doesn’t filter sediment.

So why does the Stream cost $950? We have used the highest quality, most reliable parts we can find. The LED based UV unit is very special, we buy it from the same manufacturer that supplies the International Space Station for their water reclamation program. All the parts are NSF listed, or FDA approved materials. Also keep in mind that the Stream is meant for larger groups, and buying individual filters for everyone in your group, plus replacement filters can add up.

So, I would encourage you to re-read what ChasingOurTrunks post, and consider what he is saying relative to what you get with the Stream.

Hit us up if you want more info, or a demo. Or come find us at Overland Expo in May.
Are you guys going to be at the Northwest Overland Rally in Plain Washington? I won’t be able to make the Expo. Do you guys do tours through the plant?