Water Purifier -- thoughts?

[chris_kelly]

Originally Posted by JDG

Clearsourcerv.com. Double filter down to .5 microns. I think you can go down to .2 microns now.

Awesome. You’re the second person to recommend them. I’m sensing a trend.

[rodsterinfl]

It is 580 Watts AC. You would need shore power or an inverter. Distilled is an option for drinking. Regular chlorinated water (city, etc) I use for washing.

[LivingInBeauty]

Originally Posted by chris_kelly

Holy awesome blog! Thank you so much for sharing.

The seagull IV seems like it’s pretty dang worth it and requires zero electricity. The counter argument to the seagull is it requires a new filter every year.

The Acuva doesn’t. But the trade off is it requires electricity albeit 12v. So that mitigates the inefficiency of ac-dc round trip conversation.

Chris, we agree the Seagull is worth it, but expensive. We have been using the same one now for almost 25 years. We do change the filter every year at a cost af about $120, or about .32¢ a day.

[lsbrodsky]

I agree, I had a Seagull on my boat for almost 20 years. No real way to drain a boat tank so it was cleaned infrequently. The Seagull was my method of insuring good drinking water. This thread has convinced me to buy and install the lower cost version sold by General Ecology. Same cleaning specs and the stainless housing is overkill based on the general quality of Airstream stuff.

Larry

[chris_kelly]

Originally Posted by JBBeaubeaux

Chris, we agree the Seagull is worth it, but expensive. We have been using the same one now for almost 25 years. We do change the filter every year at a cost af about $120, or about .32¢ a day.

That’s not a bad yearly cost.

I found it on the big Amazon’s.

http://SeagullIV X-1F Drinking Water...b2M6X2NA<br />

The interesting trade off now is the acuva costs $699 (and if you use the coupon code WYNNS, $599). Filters cost either $20 or $50 per year. UV light longevity is ~ 450,000 liters or 5000 hours.


That’s not installed time but rather usage time. So assuming 10 minutes per day to fill up drinking or cooking water is about a 300000 minute lifespan. So that would be ~82 years.

My math, albeit New York public school math, puts the uv purifier at 2¢ per day. Without the filter.

With the $20 filter about 7¢ per day.

With the $50 filter about 13¢ per day.

Now my trade space is electric or non electric.

Dang. Decisions.

[Wabbiteer]

If* the water source is known soft water then having a post-filter UV unit deactivate germs and wee-beasties is a very good thing.

With UV disinfecting - the mercury arc bulb that produces 340~nm sterilizing light is nested in a quartz tube with water flowing around the quartz glass tube... What they are shooting for is damaging the outer membranes enough they can't reproduce so sterilizing isn't the best word choice, it's not like boiling water.

Okay, now... UV light kicks 'hard water' dissolved carbonates out of solution effortlessly which means the quartz tube outer surface becomes opaque by being encrusted with minerals. May not completely happen the first week when camping with a 'hard water' source but it will have started.

On Sterilizer tech, the cave man method is leave light on 24/7 so is not water flow activated. Better models have the safety of 'if water moves light comes on'.

The 24/7 on lights are much worse at putting a film on the quartz and the cost and complexity goes up for the switched units.

And... If there are 'rafts' of druff scooting through the treatment chambers the interiors raft biomass likely will not get a high dose.

Okay, how do I know? The entire Midwest is blessed with limestone and hard water - St Paul City water was 440ppm for years, they've improved some now, but with that level of minerals the plumbers etc. simply do not install UV treatment units here.

Fine, verbose mode off, Ozone is how they protect the drinking water in all those little bottles but they think highly of their products and price accordingly. If you would like the reassurance of a pail-mary last chance treatment the UV at the tap is likely low enough power it won't fog its envelope rapidly, just will need an inspection schedule...

[DJT13]

I am a licensed water treatment specialist. Uv has a place but it should never be used as a stand alone water purification system. It requires clean (no sediment or color and soft water) If you travel any where in the west the water the water is generally hard to off the scale. Hard water destroys the ability of the light to work as it should because it scales the quartz sleeve. We personally even though I don’t like the idea of plastic buy reverse osmosis water any brand for cooking and drinking and keep my fresh water tank filled with water from a treated source or if in doubt 8 drops of 6% bleach per gallon. I also carry a water softener to protect the plumbing and fixtures in the trailer.

[ROBERT CROSS]

So...to summarize.
Boiling my filtered water is the best method for our AS Coffee Time?

Bob
🇺🇸

[TVarney007]

I have been reading the posts regarding water purification options for an AS and have been researching options myself. I currently use the traditional Camco TastePURE filter, as well as chlorine bleach in the holding tank (yes, I am an obsessive compulsive) with the Berkey Travel Water Purifier with add on Fluoride filters.

And, to clarify...the original post reflects the Berkey is a filter not a purifier. That is incorrect according to Berkey. Their literature reads “In order to be classified as a water purifier, a water treatment device must remove at least 99.9999% of pathogenic bacteria (known as a log 6 reduction in the water treatment industry) and reduce viruses by 99.99% (log 4 reduction). Our Berkey water filter systems can be classified as a water purifier because the elements actually remove 99.9999999% of pathogenic bacteria (log 9 reductions) and 99.999% of viruses which greatly exceeds the standards.”

If size is the limitation, consider Sawyer filtration products www.sawyer.com/water-filtration. The Sawyer products are used by outdoor enthusiasts and hikers as a water purifier, which is where I became familiar with Sawyer products.

Sawyer describes their products as “0.1 AND*0.02 MICRONS. Each Sawyer filter is certified for ABSOLUTE microns; that means there is no pore size larger than 0.1 or 0.02 micron in size. This makes it*impossible*for harmful bacteria, protozoa, or cysts like E. coli, Giardia, Vibrio cholerae and Salmonella typhi (which cause Cholera and Typhoid) to pass through the Sawyer PointONE™ biological filter. At 7 log (99.99999%) the filter attains the highest level of filtration available today. If viruses are an issue, we offer the Point ZeroTWO Purifier (0.02 micron absolute pores). This is the first portable purification device to physically remove viruses. And it does it at a >5.5 log (99.9997%) rate, exceeding EPA and NSF recommendations.“

I trust this helps clarify and provides an option to the Berkey water purifier.

[hackware]

first things first...

house, RV, camping, regardless, drinking water should be conditioned to meet your health needs, whatever the source...

for a house, get water source tested, and condition as needed...

for camping, best you can do is portable filtration + chemical bug killers...

now for RV, you need to cover almost ALL possible water source conditions...

1) hard water
2) heavy metals
3) pesticides
4) bugs

to me, a RO + DI + UV
system is the only practical way to have purified water...

unless you cart around a rather advanced chemical test set, to test your water source, EVERY time you move, YOU JUST DO NOT KNOW WHAT YOU ARE DRINKING...

RO (Reverse Osmosis), with required pre-filters, FILTER out sediments, ordors, and 95%+ of the nasties...

DI (Deionization), purifies water to 99%+

UV (Ultraviolet), kills almost all bacteria and viruses...

I worked 8 years at IBM research as a controls engineer, responable for a wet lab water treatment plant...

[hackware]

ummm...

UV will NOT work as a filter...

even though it WILL cause VERY DIRTY water to ENCRUST minerals on surfaces, like the quartz tube...

but the UV Sterilizer should be the LAST, or next to last (just before an alkaline mineral filter (adds minerals back and adjusts PH, needed if DI is used))

UV Sterilizer should ONLY be used on CLEANEST water possible...

[hackware]

filters are filters, ONLY...

claims of purity with ANY pour through filter, is marketing, NOT SCIENCE...

$20 on eBay will get you a TDS (Total Desolved Solids) meter with which you can MEASURE reality...

[turk123]

I agree with Hackware. You will lose your filtering if you just use a UV system by itself.

We have been using our travel Berkey at home and when we are on the road. It is very convenient and sits on the corner of our sink. When traveling we empty it and sit it propped up on the floor (we use a large "dirty" clothes container that we keep outside when camped). It seldom moves around.

It has provided as much water as we need to drink and cook with. It will remove questionable chemicals and bacteria from campground water supplies.

Some have problems dealing with refilling the container and having ready amounts of water when you need it (it take 2.5 hours to filter a batch of water). One way to alleviate this is to have only one person responsible for filling the top jug. That way you do not overfill (been there) or run out.

Once you solve these simple problems, it works very well as you already know. Adding a UV system to me is not necessary and will use power from your batteries while boondocking. UV light Sterilizes bacteria and viruses and prohibits them from reproducing (cell division) in your body. You still will be drinking them without filtration.

[Mikebrady62]

Originally Posted by ROBERT CROSS

So...to summarize.
Boiling my filtered water is the best method for our AS Coffee Time?

Bob
🇺🇸

Pouring boiling (212) water over your coffee beans will burn your coffee and make it more bitter than it should be. Let it cool to under 200 (unless you like Starbucks burnt coffee) and it will be as coffee is intended. Or if using a coffee maker, just pour it in the machine. That should cool it sufficiently.

[chris_kelly]

So my fellow Airstream’ers we’ve decided to go with the Acuva UV purifier with a pre-filter underneath the sink.

We intend to add the faucet as well. I’ve been on the hunt for an integrated faucet but none have indication lights whether the unit is working appropriately.

We are saying good bye to the Berkey from our boondock’ing repertoire but that’s ok. It’ll find a home in our emergency prep kit.

Thanks for the advice here.

I’ll post install pictures once we get it.

[chris_kelly]

Originally Posted by chris_kelly

X-Post from a FC forum thread.


Wanted to ask the forum members what are their thoughts on the UV purifiers for RV's. We currently use a Berkey, but realize that is only a filter, not a purifier.

We're considering installing an Acuva Tech water purifier at our sink.

The Acuva case study seems valid.

A couple of youtube'ers we follow have posted their review. But they've been sponsored by the company.

Would like the forum's overall thoughts and ease of installation under the sink in a 2019 Int'l Sig 23FB.

So as promised, we went with the Acuva water purifier -- with the prefilter.

I have to say, a couple of the other contributors on this thread did make me think twice about what system to use, but in the end I chose the Acuva because of the size, and relative ease of installation.

Box came and like most of you, I excitedly opened it, so no picture there.

Everything you need to install comes in the box. The items to tidy up the routing of the tubing, and the tube cutter do not come with the box, but readily available at any diy store.



First cut the cold water line under the sink, the included shark bite t connection went right on. Slide the larger of the tubing into the t connection, and then, since we aren't hooked up to water yet, turned the system off so we can test it next time we're out.

Drilled two holes through the backer board; one for the large tubing, the second for the power routed from the DC distribution under the fridge.

Attached the pre-filter and the din mount for the UV purifier, both leveled. Prepared photo below:



Then came the hairy part. Drilling through the countertop and installing the faucet. Used a 3/4" hole saw and went slow.



Easy day!



Connected the tubing all the way around -- 3/8" from cold water line to pre-filter then to UV purifier. The 1/2" tubing went from UV purifier to a flow restrictor then to faucet.

This is where I goofed at first -- there's a small white packet with two wicked small plastic parts, the ferrule and tube protector. Lost them in the trash, but Acuva overnighted the parts -- that's some luck there.

So with the power connected, was able to test the system was connected properly. Once we have water going through will update you all. The smart faucet lights up to indicate the UV light is emitting.

[Red Leader]

Thanks for posting this @chris_kelly! I am about to embark on installing this exact same system in our Airstream.

The only problem is I can't locate a 12v wire nearby under our sink. I see you ran a wire from your fridge but we have a 30ft International and our fridge is on the other side of the galley! I'm not sure how I'm going to power it....

[ROBERTSUNRUS]

Originally Posted by chris_kelly

I think you can totally save a ton of money and to be quite frank have cleaner drinking water while doing a little to stop pollution from one use plastics.

The first link is a long (133 page) research paper on water. I’ve gotten just past the executive summary.

https://www.nrdc.org/sites/default/f...ype-report.pdf

https://www.nrdc.org/stories/single-use-plastics-101

Hi, I see part of your point, but where do all of the old filters go? And how many cases of bottled water can you buy for the price of this UV filtration system?

[ROBERTSUNRUS]

Hi, OMG, $1100.00 to $1500.00 for an Acuva water filtration system??????? I recycle my plastic bottles. A case of water bottles at Costco, with CRV, is about $5.00.

[ROBERT CROSS]

^
😂
We also...

Bob
🇺🇸

"Worry...a brain exercise done when it really wants to sleep"
RLC