[Brickboy240]

Ok, I have tons of guns and ammo and a decent supply of MREs and some bulk meds but there is one huge hole in my "preppers" supply batch: a decent water filtration system.

Looking around the web, you can pay darned near anything for a filtration system. Amazon has systems ranging from 35 dollars to 400 dollars. Good reviews on all systems, too...adding to the confusion.

Since my "bugout" location is very close (within 50yds) from a fairly large lake...I am mainly interested in a system that I can filter lake water for drinking/cooking etc. I can "bucket" larger quantities from this source, to water crops or for larger uses....this would mainly be for drinking.

So what has everyone bought for filtration?

I am NOT of the belief that I need a 200-400 dollar system, but don't know what to buy.

...any suggestions?

Thanks!

-brickboy240

 

[riverrat88]

I have a katadyn hiker, it was about $70 and filters all I need for multiple people on a hiking trip. If weight is not a big issue you can get higher volume filters for around the same price. I believe the cartridge is rated to filter something like 1000gal and replacements are cheap. I got mine at rei but campmor.com is a good discount site for outdoor equipment.

 

[Brickboy240]

I was thinking of one in the 75-100 dollar range and getting several replacement filters in the next month or so.

- brickboy240

 

[hobie16]

I almost got the katadyn hiker bt read reviews and the uprgraded"hiker pro" seemed a lil better for the extra 20 bucks I think... haven't used it yet but played with it a bit and checked out the ffeature. Seems like a good buy

 

[Mudinyeri]

I'd much prefer a moving body of water to a lake for a source of water to be purified. With that said, a spring-fed lake is an OK second-place source. You'll probably want to boil it if you can. If, for whatever reason, you don't have the ability to boil water, producing enough water for cooking and hydration will be a lot of work with a Katadyn Hiker-style filter.For a BOL, I'd suggest having a few gallons of unscented bleach on hand and a Berkey Crown filter. Sure, they're around $300 but name three things more important than water in a SHTF scenario. Spend more than $300 on those things.

 

[Brickboy240]

I think that if I am going to spend 300 plus on any water equipment, I might as well buy a generator and convert my current well pump to run off of that. Granted, I will have to have gasoline for the generator, but that can be stored as well.

Might end up with both in the end...who knows?

Yes, I'd prefer a moving stream to a lake, but this is a pretty good sized lake and it is owned by a utility company and used as a cooling station for a coal fired power plant. No houses on the lake and cattails all around its edges. Pretty clean and not overly used by boats.

A stream would be better...but this is maybe 50yds from the house's back door and its huge.

- brickboy240

 

[AdamGea]

https://www.sawyersafetravel2.com/checkout.asp

Ordering 1 this week.

 

[Mudinyeri]

I think that if I am going to spend 300 plus on any water equipment, I might as well buy a generator and convert my current well pump to run off of that. Granted, I will have to have gasoline for the generator, but that can be stored as well.

Might end up with both in the end...who knows?

Yes, I'd prefer a moving stream to a lake, but this is a pretty good sized lake and it is owned by a utility company and used as a cooling station for a coal fired power plant. No houses on the lake and cattails all around its edges. Pretty clean and not overly used by boats.

A stream would be better...but this is maybe 50yds from the house's back door and its huge.

- brickboy240

Depending on the circumstances, your well water may still need to be purified.

 

[ackks]

I'd skip the smaller hiking filters and go with a Berkey. You can either store it at your bug out location or bury it close by so you won't have to bug out with it.

If you buy a Berkey Bucket like the one here Bucket Berkey Water Filter by DisasterSuff.com
You can spend the money you save on extra black filters. This will give you total piece of mind that the water you drink is safe and allow you to do much larger quantities than a hiker model.

 

[AKC]

emacs has some decent looking filters for a good price. Very packable and filter a good amount of water.

http://www.emacstacticalshop.com/product/WAPU1

 

[impulse]

I went cheap on the filters. Seeing as their only job will be to filter out the chlorine. Even the best water filters can't kill all the viruses. So I might as well just use chlorine regardless.

A jug of powered chlorine at Wal-Mart cost me $15. And it will treat 50,000 gallons. I have some test strips when I use to have a pool, so if I want to double check, I can.

 

[cz75luver]

I have the following:

Base Camp Water Filter: Amazon.com: Katadyn Base Camp Water Filter: Sports & Outdoors

It's easy to pack, lightweight, filters a lot of water, filters water quickly, etc..

I also have the potable water iodine tablets for use as a germicide just to be safe. These can be picked up at Wal-Mart pretty cheap.

So I should be able to use most any water source, filter out the gunk, and "sanitize" it using items that would be easy to move and reuse.

 

[tugger50]

You can also make a great filter for less than half the price of a Berkey. It is made with 5 gallon buckets & Berkey filters. Here's the link: Homemade Berkey Water Filter | Survival Blog | Survival Spot
I also made a smaller version for hiking that I found on this site. Cost me less than 15 bucks. It uses the stansard PUR pitcher filter and a creamer jug. really cool.

 

[Zombie Hunter]

I've regularly used this on camping trips:
MSR MiniWorks EX Water Filter - Free Shipping at REI.com
Works great to drink out of streams, you need a Nalgene bottle to screw it on to though. Now if you want serious filtration then you need this (which I also have one of):
Amazon.com: Lifesaver Bottle 4000 Ultra Filtration Water Bottle: Sports & Outdoors
This filters out viruses also which almost no filter takes out!

Both very portable.

 

[phmann]

I bought this one and have been using it for the past 6 years on backpacking trips. I've only changed the filter once. I had to filter water once from the middle of a cow pasture; we were desperate and the river we had planned on filling up at was dried up - Even though you could see the nasty "slick" on top of the slow moving cow water, we had no ill affects after filtering it through this one:

MiniWorks Water Purifier

 

[Mudinyeri]

You can also make a great filter for less than half the price of a Berkey. It is made with 5 gallon buckets & Berkey filters. Here's the link: Homemade Berkey Water Filter*|*Survival Blog | Survival Spot
I also made a smaller version for hiking that I found on this site. Cost me less than 15 bucks. It uses the stansard PUR pitcher filter and a creamer jug. really cool.

Nice link. I wonder if the guy has any problems with leaking around the filter tubes or spigot. He didn't mention any sort of sealant in his write-up.

 

[AZXD]

I went cheap on the filters. Seeing as their only job will be to filter out the chlorine. Even the best water filters can't kill all the viruses. So I might as well just use chlorine regardless.

A jug of powered chlorine at Wal-Mart cost me $15. And it will treat 50,000 gallons. I have some test strips when I use to have a pool, so if I want to double check, I can.

Filters and purifiers are very different

Viruses​

MS2 - Fr Coliphage​

Exceeds Purification Standards - 99.999%​

Trihalomethanes​

Bromodichloromethane,​

Bromofore, Chloroform, Dibromochloromethane​

Removed to below detectable limits - 99.99999%​

Pathogenic Bacteria Parasites and Cysts​

E. Coli, Klebsiella, Pseudomonas,​

Aeriginousis, Giardia, Cryptosporidium​

Removed to non-detectable levels - 100%​

Inorganic Minerals:​

Chlorine​

Removed to non-detectable levels - greater than 99.9999999%​

Heavy Metals​

Lead, Mercury, Aluminum, Cadmium, Chromium, Copper​

Greater than 95% reduction​

Fertilizers and Related Byproducts​

Nitrates and Nitrites​

Greater than 85% reduction​

at 19mg. per liter​

Fluoride​

With the addition of the Berkey PF-2 fluoride filter you can reduce Fluoride Greater than 95%​

Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC's)​

Removed to below detectable limits - 99.9999999%​

Alachlor
Atrazine
Benzene
Carbofuran
Carbon Tetrachloride
Chlorine
Chlorobenzene
Chloroform
2,4-D
dbcp
p-Dichlorobenzene
o-Dichlorobenzene
1, 1-Dichloroethane
1, 2-Dichlorpethane
1, 1-Dichloroethylene
Cis-1, 2-
Dichloroethyiene
Trans-1,2-
Dichloroethylene
1, 2-Dichloropropane
cis-l,3-
Dichloropropylene
Dinoseb
Endrin
Ethylbenzene
Ethylene Dibromide (EDB)
Heptachlor
Heptachlor Epoxide
Hexachlorobutodlene
Hexachloro-
Cyclopentadlene
Lindane
Methoxychlor
MTBE
Pentachlorophenol
Simazine
Styrene
1,1,2,2-
Tetrachloroethane
Tetrachloroethylene
Toluene
2,4,5-TP (Silvex)
1,2,4-trichlorobenzene
1,1,1-trichloroethane
1,1,2-trichloroethane
Trichloroethylene
o-Xylene
m-Xylene
Black Berkey water filter technical specifications

Your "cheap" filter will do nothing to the above listed items.

Berkey and Sawyer are the purifying products I recommend.

 

[ESPwaterproducts]

You're right about how expensive water filters can be, but you can still get quality filters for much cheaper than advertised. Depending on the quality and how advanced you want your filter to be, ordering a good water filtration system is important for clean water. Although they may all seem the same, look at the qualities and specifications of the product to see how durable they are. The last thing you want to do is over-pay for a product that doesn't work very well or you have to order replacement parts all the time.

 

[ChileRelleno]

I'd skip the smaller hiking filters and go with a Berkey. You can either store it at your bug out location or bury it close by so you won't have to bug out with it.

If you buy a Berkey Bucket like the one here Bucket Berkey Water Filter by DisasterSuff.com
You can spend the money you save on extra black filters. This will give you total piece of mind that the water you drink is safe and allow you to do much larger quantities than a hiker model.

THIS! :twisted:

For personal filters in our 72hr packs, we're using the Katadyn - 'MyBottle'.
Great for any outdoor activities, fill and drink!

We just made the decision to go with Berkey Black filters for the household's cooking/drinking water needs.
I'm DIY'ing the container, bought the filters, washers and spigots.

When Mr Brown delivered that package, he dropped two more at the same time, more emergency food storage and 7.62x39 ammo.

 

[JustRick]

THIS! :twisted:

We just made the decision to go with Berkey Black filters for the household's cooking/drinking water needs.
I'm DIY'ing the container, bought the filters, washers and spigots.

This is what we did using 2 5 gallon food grade buckets, 2 ceramic water filters, and a spigot. It will drain the top bucket overnight into the bottom, if you keep the top filled it will keep the rate up. Takes chlorine\bleach out so if you put treated water in the top you get odorless, tasteless water out the bottom - like just plain water is. Ceramic is nice since you can lightly scrub the filters to clean them when they clog and they are good as new. Get a couple spares just in case too. Total expense for us was about $80 with most of that being the filters. When not in use the buckets stack into each other, the filters go into the top bucket, and the tops on top. You can also put other things in there if space is an issue where you store them.

Watch out for the Berkey black filters, they have been having a problem with the filter seperating from the base. This lets unfiltered water through, not exactly what you want.