water filters

[cyclops2]

I am considering installing a water filter in the cold water supply which could help "tasting" and possibly reduce the chance of getting tummy bugs. The water pump is self priming

Would it decrease the water flow too much? I was thinking of installing it just after the water pump obviously on the cold water side. Anyone with any recommendations?

Pete

 

[Guest Tracker]

Many people do fit water filters - many never have and never will!

 

I never have because I've never had a problem that couldn't be cured by cleaning out the tank and flushing the system with good old fashioned chlorinated tapolene!

 

If I had a problem with taste and/or dodgy belly syndrome I would clean the tank and flush the whole system several times before doing anything else if for no other reason than starting with inner cleanliness would be asking less of any filter and would help with peace of mind.

 

Do you empty your tank after each outing and refill on the day you leave for the next trip.

 

There are several different sorts of filter and as far as I know none of them normally restrict the flow by any noticeable volume. The Shurflo pump is surprisingly powerful!

[cyclops2]

I do empty on return and refill with tapolene on departure but sometimes I do detect a slight taste. As at home I would like my drinking water cooled and clean but I cannot cool it due to lack of power and space. However I would like to ensure it is always clean wherever the supply comes from. Sometimes the supply is not as good as my local soft delicious scottish water. Thanks for the info that filters do not restrict

Pete

 

[Guest Tracker]

Is the tap you use to fill the van regularly used and thus clear of stale water before you start to fill?

 

Some garden hoses allegedly can taint the water that passes through them although it has never happened to us?

 

Do you get the problem only with home water - or with water everywhere - or just some places, as this might help you to perhaps isolate the culprit?

[MandyAndy]

We have had a nature pure water filter from day 1 so would be the "never be without" category.

 

I wouldn't fit it to your cold outlet tap but get the separate version, why filter washing up water it means your filter will last alot longer. Ours lasts between 12 & 18 months.

 

Even I can drink the water from it, don't risk it at home.

 

Mandy

[Ocsid]

I am far from a fan of water filters in motorhomes, caravans and boats used recreationally.

To remove the "taste" element the usual technique is to employ activated charcoal and it does indeed work for a while. However its big drawback in recreational use is that the system is frequently not used and here the water is stagnant and the amorphous structure of the carbon and its fabric containing bag becomes an excellent breeding ground for bacteria.

Better products contain silver as silver ions are a natural biocide. The silver does not counter "taste" but its presence "helps" reduce the bacteria and the tastes element associated with that.

Technically in a passive filter such as is normally used in this application its very difficult to expose all the water to silver so the coverage performance biologically is questionable.

 

If using a simple carbon filter it is preferable to ensure it is emptied of water when not in use and ideally be changed very regularly.

 

Whilst many of us regularly drink unboiled water drawn from our systems, and suffer no obvious ill effect it is not really the brightest of thing to be doing. Probably the more so in this clinically clean age where most of our lives are spent in a low risk environment and immunity to infection is low.

 

Since being involved professionally in designing similar water systems in small ships and understanding the complexity needed to do it properly I have accepted the best situation for us is to carry a separate drinking water bottle and refresh it daily. Keep that water bottle in the dark of a fridge etc.

[DESCO]

Mandy&Andy - 2011-09-16 6:28 AM

 

We have had a nature pure water filter from day 1 so would be the "never be without" category.

 

I wouldn't fit it to your cold outlet tap but get the separate version, why filter washing up water it means your filter will last alot longer. Ours lasts between 12 & 18 months.

 

Even I can drink the water from it, don't risk it at home.

 

Mandy

 

Totally agree with above, my wife likes herbal teas and is very fussy regarding taste and she will drink the water that has been filtered by a nature pure filter both as water and in tea. There are even some bottled spring waters that she will not drink due to taste.

[alf]

Hi For the last 15 years we have always had Nature Pure filter and taps fitted however they have gone quite dear so this time we have opted for a Pozzani filter and tap. They are on offer just now and you get a free tap we got the quarter turn Claw tap the kit including the tap is £55 the replacement filters are £ 11.94 each

see

http://www.pozzani.co.uk/water-treatment-74/index.html

 

 

Alf

[Derek Uzzell]

cyclops2 - 2011-09-15 8:27 PM

 

I do empty on return and refill with tapolene on departure but sometimes I do detect a slight taste. As at home I would like my drinking water cooled and clean but I cannot cool it due to lack of power and space. However I would like to ensure it is always clean wherever the supply comes from. Sometimes the supply is not as good as my local soft delicious scottish water. Thanks for the info that filters do not restrict

Pete

 

It should be anticipated that any filter capable of removing 'taste' will restrict water-flow in a motorhome to some degree and a filter fine enough to remove harmful bacteria is even more likely to reduce the flow. That's why, if you do fit a filter, it would be sensible (as has already been suggested) to install it in the cold-water feed to a separate dedicated tap rather than immediately downstream of the water-pump where all the water going to all the taps (hot or cold) would have to pass through the filter.

 

One thing not so far mentioned is that the filter should be easily removable to allow it to be protected from frost damage.

 

You might want to look at this earlier thread:

 

http://www.outandaboutlive.co.uk/forums/forums/thread-view.asp?tid=24742&posts=17

 

A possibly more versatile option might be a portable filtration system. See:

 

http://www.outandaboutlive.co.uk/forums/forums/thread-view.asp?tid=24864&posts=4

[Robinhood]

As I commented in the thread referenced by Derek, I have experience of both the Nature Pure filter with a separate, dedicated tap (which I fitted to my previous 'van, and was very pleased with), and a 3M whole-system filter which was supplied factory-fitted to my current van.

 

Though I have a little concern about the take-up of the 3M system, and thus the availability of replacement filters, I would now take the 3M system every time. There are advantages in it being whole-system; all the water is filtered, and you don't need to fit dedicated taps; all the fitting can be done out-of-sight; changing filters is easy; the system is supplied with a "blanking cap" which allows straight-through use without a filter in case of emergency or for short-term winter use.

 

The flow-rate throughout my system with it fitted is not noticeably constrained (that from the dedicated tap for the Nature-Pure was fairly low), and, from directing someone on here to cheap replacement filters, I understand that the system is fitted in some current Auto-Sleeper models.

 

I will emphasise, however, that I would (and do) use the system with the uprated E2 filter cartridge (which brings it up to a similar spec as the Nature-Pure filter) and not with the E1 filter (which is a taste filter only) normally supplied in the UK. The E2 filter was factory-fitted, and I have had problems sourcing a replacement in the UK (though the post referenced by Derek gives a supplier in Germany who has shipped to me).

 

In looking for a supplier of the basic kit in response to this post, however, I have now found a source in the UK for the uprated filter (which has eluded every previous search)

 

http://www.campervanstuff.com/shop_stuff/index.php?mod=product&id_prd=990

 

....which shows the kit, and also links to the uprated cartridge at the bottom of the page.

 

(The installation photos and instructions indicate connection in-line below the sink tap, which is patently an option - I can confirm that the installation in my 'van is whole-system i.e. it is connected between the pump outlet and the manifold that feeds all the water connections. 7500 litres working life is certainly enough to see me through to the point where I would want to replace the filter on age alone, i.e. around a year).

 

[Robinhood]

As I commented in the thread referenced by Derek, I have experience of both the Nature Pure filter with a separate, dedicated tap (which I fitted to my previous 'van, and was very pleased with), and a 3M whole-system filter which was supplied factory-fitted to my current van.

 

Though I have a little concern about the take-up of the 3M system, and thus the availability of replacement filters, I would now take the 3M system every time. There are advantages in it being whole-system; all the water is filtered, and you don't need to fit dedicated taps; all the fitting can be done out-of-sight; changing filters is easy; the system is supplied with a "blanking cap" which allows straight-through use without a filter in case of emergency or for short-term winter use.

 

The flow-rate throughout my system with it fitted is not noticeably constrained (that from the dedicated tap for the Nature-Pure was fairly low), and, from directing someone on here to cheap replacement filters, I understand that the system is fitted in some current Auto-Sleeper models.

 

I will emphasise, however, that I would (and do) use the system with the uprated E2 filter cartridge (which brings it up to a similar spec as the Nature-Pure filter) and not with the E1 filter (which is a taste filter only) normally supplied in the UK. The E2 filter was factory-fitted, and I have had problems sourcing a replacement in the UK (though the post referenced by Derek gives a supplier in Germany who has shipped to me).

 

In looking for a supplier of the basic kit in response to this post, however, I have now found a source in the UK for the uprated filter (which has eluded every previous search)

 

http://www.campervanstuff.com/shop_stuff/index.php?mod=product&id_prd=990

 

....which shows the kit, and also links to the uprated cartridge at the bottom of the page.

 

(The installation photos and instructions indicate connection in-line below the sink tap, which is patently an option - I can confirm that the installation in my 'van is whole-system i.e. it is connected between the pump outlet and the manifold that feeds all the water connections. 7500 litres working life is certainly enough to see me through to the point where I would want to replace the filter on age alone, i.e. around a year).

 

[cyclops2]

Thanks everybody for your advice. You have all given me plenty to think about. I will probably go the way of filter underneath sink and using normal tap. Mine is the older Duetto where the whole sink and drainer is covered by a fold down top. There is no place for another tap

Pete