Water filtration - what do you have?

[justmax]

I have D, all of the above.
Big Berkey at home for anything I drink or cook with.
Berkey Sports bottle usually within reach, refilled with any tap water.
Portable pump system with my backpack/BOB/GHB.
Several Life Straws around various places.

 

[skfullgun]

@justmax talked me into getting the Big Berkey a little more than a year ago. It is amazing. I use water from it for cooking, drinking, making coffee, making ice, etc. I keep an extra set of candles/filters on hand.
I bought a couple of the carbon-filled dome filters off of Amazon and converted two 5 gallon buckets into a spare system in case I need more water in the event of a...well, an "event".

I also keep a few lifestraws on hand and carry one with me when I travel.

 

[skfullgun]

Prior through the Berkey, I was using a Brita-style filtering pitcher - what a joke. It's not even in the same league as the Berkey.

 

[no2gates]

Prior through the Berkey, I was using a Brita-style filtering pitcher - what a joke. It's not even in the same league as the Berkey.

Like comparing a HiPoint to a Wilson Combat.

 

[scattergun6]

Yup, Big Berkey here at home...

 

[TheDan]

We recently bought a ProOne filter and I don't like it. We've been buying reverse osmosis water for over 10 years and I guess I got used to that. Tap water filtered with the ProOne doesn't come close, despite all the influencers raving about it (both Berky and ProOne).

Berky and ProOne are basically the same, but I went with the ProOne because their filters remove fluoride without having to buy additional filters.

The ProOne improves the taste of the tap water over something like a Britta, but I can still taste a bit of that funk. It also doesn't filter out any of the dissolved solids. Mouth feel is softer, but the filtered water will still leave crusty stains like the tap water does.

My dog has weak kidneys, and when I gave her the filtered water she started pissing all over the place. Went and got some RO water for her and the incontinence immediately stopped.

So still need to buy RO for the dog, while I'm drinking overpriced hipster filtered water

 

[deemus]

Installed a GE reverse osmosis under my sink. Its supposed to be 99.9% effective on filtration. Water tastes great. I have had one for many years. About a year ago my holding tank crapped out. So I installed the same but newer system. Really happy with it. It has three filters, and has a battery in the dispenser. When the light goes red, its time to replace the filters. Not quite a year for me and my daughter between filter changes.

 

[TheDan]

I'm curious why everyone goes to filters? There's counter-top distillers available now. This thing should make water that's just as clean as RO, but there's no filters to change. As long as you don't let the tank run completely dry, it should be easy to keep clean, too.

https://amzn.to/3wEUwAQ

 

[Vaquero]

I'll be lucky to have water soon.
Wouldn't want to waste any on purification.

 

[BuzzinSATX]

My water hits a three stage filter system and then goes into the softener. Drinking water at kitchen sink and refrigerator then goes through the RO system. Everything is in the garage.

I also keep a high volume katahdan filter in the storage closet in case we have to filter pond water…good for 25K gallons.

 

[Lost Spurs]

My water hits a three stage filter system and then goes into the softener. Drinking water at kitchen sink and refrigerator then goes through the RO system. Everything is in the garage.

I also keep a high volume katahdan filter in the storage closet in case we have to filter pond water…good for 25K gallons.

Curiosity has me asking, do you remineralize the RO water prior to drinking?

We buy RO water from a local shop here in Bryan. Killer water as to purity and taste but my wife and I were reading about adding back in some trace minerals. Not sure yet. I did find that the WHO recommends not drinking it and says tap water is a better health option. They allege that drinking RO is actually bad for you.

Sent from my SM-G998U1 using Tapatalk

 

[TexasRedneck]

I'm curious why everyone goes to filters? There's counter-top distillers available now. This thing should make water that's just as clean as RO, but there's no filters to change. As long as you don't let the tank run completely dry, it should be easy to keep clean, too.

https://amzn.to/3wEUwAQ

Distillers suck electricity like there's no tomorrow.

 

[TexasRedneck]

My water hits a three stage filter system and then goes into the softener. Drinking water at kitchen sink and refrigerator then goes through the RO system. Everything is in the garage.

I also keep a high volume katahdan filter in the storage closet in case we have to filter pond water…good for 25K gallons.

+
You really don't need that 3-stage filter....and I've used the water here in NB for 18+ years with just a softener - which is all I recommend to 95% of my customers.

 

[TexasRedneck]

Curiosity has me asking, do you remineralize the RO water prior to drinking?

We buy RO water from a local shop here in Bryan. Killer water as to purity and taste but my wife and I were reading about adding back in some trace minerals. Not sure yet. I did find that the WHO recommends not drinking it and says tap water is a better health option. They allege that drinking RO is actually bad for you.

Sent from my SM-G998U1 using Tapatalk

I've never seen any peer reviewed studies that would support that assertion....having said that, I don't like RO systems because of the amount of water they waste, and their proclivity to leaking under sinks. Some water really DOES benefit from an RO system, but not the water in our area, IMO.

I've only been doing this since 1976 though.......lol

 

[TheDan]

Distillers suck electricity like there's no tomorrow.

That's a fair point. Heat of vaporization for a gallon of water is about 2.37kwh, so it'd be about 33￠ a gallon at current rates. About the same price as buying RO from the water place.

I wonder what the cost per gallon on the small RO systems are. I'm assuming our water would kill those filters pretty quick.

Nice thing about the distiller is I could run duck pond water through it...

 

[Outrider]

I bought the Zero Water system after finding out it is the only one that filters out fluoride with the standard filter. Only drawback with any of these is the fact that they remove EVERYTHING. Best to add back in Trace Minerals [I make smoothies with mine cause I hate the taste in my water]. I run the Zero Water in my ice machine and keep the big ZW dispenser in the fridge for cold water. I work outside daily and drink over a gallon of water between 9am and 4pm.
Best system out there for the money.

 

[TexasRedneck]

That's a fair point. Heat of vaporization for a gallon of water is about 2.37kwh, so it'd be about 33￠ a gallon at current rates. About the same price as buying RO from the water place.

I wonder what the cost per gallon on the small RO systems are. I'm assuming our water would kill those filters pretty quick.

Nice thing about the distiller is I could run duck pond water through it...

But you forget to factor in the loss - distillation only recovers about 20% of the feed stock, otherwise the scaling goes off the charts, as does carryover. Plus the still is a huge heat source - inside an a/c home, it's going to impact your a/c costs as well.

Despite the glowing claims of the retailers, I don't trust any of the filters past 6 months - and generally 3 months on the carbon filters. The membrane CAN last 2-3 years if the rest of the system is properly maintained, perhaps even longer. I generally recommend 24 month replacement just as a good PM protocol.

I can (and have for "proof of concept") produce WFI (Water for Injection) grade water using standard membrane filtration - something that would require a triple-pass distillation process. Can you say "energy costs through the roof" for the stills? lol Honestly, I'd trust RO further than I would distillation - and that was my field for over 40 years. It all comes down to what is really NEEDED to have safe drinking water, and the marketing folks have convinced a LOT of folks to spend money they never needed to - I refuse to be part of that.

 

[TexasRedneck]

ZW systems....sorry, but it's NOT what you really think it's capable of. And how often do you calibrate your water tester?

 

[TheDan]

what is really NEEDED

At least for my dog with renal issues, I need an extremely low TDS.

I know a low TDS doesn't really mean anything for drinking water, but I got to wonder since it makes such a noticeable difference with her what is it doing to us? I know that when I drink our tap water I still feel thirsty afterwards

 

[TexasRedneck]

At least for my dog with renal issues, I need an extremely low TDS.

I know a low TDS doesn't really mean anything for drinking water, but I got to wonder since it makes such a noticeable difference with her what is it doing to us? I know that when I drink our tap water I still feel thirsty afterwards

Don't overthink things....what's the TDS of your tap water? And of the distilled water?