Hunting camp - water purification

[jmoser]

Has anyone used a British Berkefeld water purifier for deer camp or cold weather camping? From what I have read they sound like the gold standard for drinking water - you can dump in swamp muck and get good water out.

I am a little concerned that residual water in the filter elements may freeze and crack them - these are big $$$ to replace so I would appreciate any advice here.

If interested you can check them out at:

www.911water.com

Expensive, but they seem to be the real deal.

[Banditto]

I know guys that use them, but like you said they are too expensive. They require some amount of maintainance and don't produce water in sufficient quantities to be worthwhile for a hunting camp.

[Randy Kidd]

I know guys that use them, but like you said they are too expensive. They require some amount of maintainance and don't produce water in sufficient quantities to be worthwhile for a hunting camp.

Wow do you guys have jacuzzies and fountains in your deer camp? :yikes: The web site say they have models that can make 24 to over a hundred and sixty gallons a day.

[jmoser]

Randy -

Problem is that they can only make 1 - 4 gal per hour in batches. To get 100 gal / day you have to have a servant tending the thing and topping off the resevoir every hour.

Come to think of it having a servant in deer camp could be a good idea after all . . . :lol:

For my needs getting 2 - 5 gal per day is more than adequate; fill it up before bed and have fresh water in the AM, fill it up again and have fresh water for lunch/dinner, etc.

[Banditto]

Ya like Randy said, the thing will make a lot of water per day... but you gotta attend the machine and clean it out and put the clean water somewhere, then fill it again.

[Rudi's Dad]

In the camp I visit, drinking water is hauled in. Washing water is mearly dipped from a barrel in the swamp and boiled on the stove. Its used to wash dishes and for spongebaths. Nobody got sick yet. Since 1943.

[WAUB-MUKWA]

I would buy the big or lil' berky for camp. So what's so hard about taking 2 minutes to fill it? To clean the filter all you have to do is take it out and hose it off. Nothing hard about that. It will filter thru the water in a couple minutes, then transfer it to your 5 gallon water can and fill it up again an then go hunting. City folk?
Before you leave camp drain the water out and store the berkey dry until you return.

[Banditto]

I dunno. I bought the standard off ebay a couple years ago for less than $40 but it was too small to be worth while, plus it took up a ton of counter space. Our water wasn't safe at the time (chloroform) but we had a company come out and fix that. After that I gave it to my other buddy.

I think you can find pumping systems that do far more water, take up less space and go down to .05 micron (which is what the British Berkefeld does) for around the same money as a new Berkefeld.

Another camp I went to for years had a 500 gallon tank, but again you couldn't drink water straight from the tank as microbes would grow. So we ended up using a ceramic sedament filtration system.

edit: I just read that the Berkefeld only does down to .9 microns which won't stop some heavy metals or radioactive fallout.

[Ralph Smith]

To clean the filter all you have to do is take it out and hose it off. Nothing hard about that.

One question is I'm thinking is.....If you could hose it off, couldn't you use the water from hose for drinking? :SHOCKED: :chillin:

[jmoser]

Well, I bought a not-new but unused 'Big Berkey' model off ebay for around 50% less than new including a spare filter element.

I will post results when I get the chance to filter my well water through it.

BTW - the filters are rated for 0.9 micron Absolute, but are still very effective down to 0.2 - 0.5 microns.

Absolute filtration means that nothing bigger than that gets through, the Berkeys are 99.9% effective for 0.5 micron and 98% effective for 0.2 micron particle sizes.

[WAUB-MUKWA]

One question is I'm thinking is.....If you could hose it off, couldn't you use the water from hose for drinking? :SHOCKED: :chillin:


My mistake. You would just use the water from the berkie. ;)