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Topic ClosedWater from rivers and lakes

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furpod View Drop Down
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Direct Link To This Post Topic: Water from rivers and lakes
    Posted: 31 Jul 2014 at 12:21pm
Actually, if you need to do it, I would use a Big Berkey to filter it, and then transfer to the holding tank on the pod. Ours will do about 3 gallons an hour. It's a gravity filter so all you do is fill and walk away.

I have lived in parts of the world where the water wouldn't make you sick, it would kill you. The Berkey systems WORK.
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Inge View Drop Down
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: 31 Jul 2014 at 1:34pm
Very valuable input, guys, thank you!

I'm not worried about getting sick when the water ran through a good filter for drinking water. The pump
from the link has an output of 0.5 gpm which would fit to the filter that I looked at. If I can find something faster, that would be preferred for sure. I'm not going to fill the whole tank every day and I would be ok with having the pump running for an hour.

Just so you understand, why I'm interested in this: I'm planning to go on a very long trip, down to Argentina and I'll try to be not much on campgrounds if anyhow possible. So I'm looking for Solar panels for electricity, water supply and once that is figured out, I want to learn how to survive without supermarkets around Clap

I think the idea to use the river/lake water for shower/toilet/washing only and just filter the drinking water is a very good one. I'd still think some kind of filter would be good, as I don't want to have fish in the tank. But I'm not as worried about reselling the trailer. 

Hogone: I'll checkout the filters, they look promising. 

40k... not really in my budget Wink

By the way, I'm a girl :-)
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: 31 Jul 2014 at 1:47pm
a very excellent option furpod.  sorry inge, shouldn't have referred to you as 'he' in a prior post.  sounds like quite the excursion.  hogone
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: 31 Jul 2014 at 2:28pm
Well you just need a basic whole house sediment filter adapted with garden hose fittings and plenty of spare cartridges. Should budget $50 from any big box store. Stainless steel mesh filter would be cleanable instead of paper filters. I would go with a shurflo 3gpm pump 12 volt for transfer (it's the same pump you already have in the camper). Those are only $70. You will want to read up on maximum suction hose length and head pressure height and stay under those limits when filling. A pump is rated by gpm at certain height and suction length. In other words the pump might not work at all if you are 100 feet from the source uphill 20 feet. You could consider a 120 volt pump and an inverter ran from the tow vehicle.
That won't help with bacteria though so I would add bleach to your holding tank so you can safely shower and wash cookware. Then I would have something completely separate for drinking and cooking with. The backpacking filter bottles should work.
Argentina - invest in lots of locks and chains for your equipment.
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: 31 Jul 2014 at 2:29pm
Just saw your message, furpod. Didn't expect there to be a second page already :-)

Would you pour in the water and then just wait till it's filtered, no electricity needed?

hogone: don't worry, no problem at all!


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Direct Link To This Post Posted: 31 Jul 2014 at 2:37pm
sorry I may have seemed a little rude earlier I just had to warm up to the idea of what you're doing.I almost forgot that there is a small strainer on the pump already installed in the camper you'll want some spares for that too.
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: 31 Jul 2014 at 2:53pm
Girls?! Oh My!

OK, got that out of the way. We always carry drinking water separate from tanked water.

If I couldn't buy bottled water, I would probably look at a distiller. I hear good things about the Nutriteam Distiller. @ 580 watts, you would need to be plugged in or a pretty good sized power system (solar/batteries/inverter) to make a gallon of very safe water in 5-6 hours. I could see running it on the road via an inverter - sorta like the Tow Vehicle crock pot chicken!

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Direct Link To This Post Posted: 31 Jul 2014 at 6:18pm
inge:  not sure when the excursion starts but long thread going on about loose/losing wheels............have a torque wrench (100 lbs) to tightened wheels(lugs).  hogone
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: 31 Jul 2014 at 6:30pm
Another suggestion. When we went camping many years ago with our sons I did some research on water filters. Many types but I wanted one that would keep us safe from bacteria, heavy metals, giardia, etc. I settled on the Everpure system which is installed inside the trailer under the kitchen sink. Since you usually only drink from the cold side, this is where the filter is installed. A little slow to fill a glass but we have never had "funny tummy" in all the years of travel. Camping World carries it as well as the replaceable cartridges. Look up the specs on each and every filter before you make a purchase. We installed one on our Pod and never looked back. Better to be an informed buyer. Safe Travels.
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: 31 Jul 2014 at 6:35pm
Originally posted by Inge

Just saw your message, furpod. Didn't expect there to be a second page already :-)

Would you pour in the water and then just wait till it's filtered, no electricity needed?

hogone: don't worry, no problem at all!


Yes, no electricity needed. Berkey's are pure gravity filters. I would take a
"Big Berkey" and a spare set of filters. The black filters are what you need for your use. I won't say what I have seen them filter in the middle east, I will just say, they will work for everything you need. They will make potable water from whatever source you have. No fuel, no electricity needed. The filters are also cleanable.

How long are you planning to stay down there? I would take some bleach tablets to sanitize the tank evry now and then, just in case. It's not really a giant issue to get a few nasties in the system, but it's bad if they have time to multiply and gang up on you.
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