peev2c5

PEEv2c5

Water Filter

Well, technically, water purification. Now, before I start, I want everyone to know, if you EVER write an article or do a podcast or film a video, for the love of all that is holy and just, please, I beg you, shut the hell up about “without water you'll die in three days, water is more important than food”. Ah, NO, no it is not, not in the way you are presenting it. There are only a few spots on Earth where there is going to be absolutely no water, that you cannot easily plan for it. Water is heavy and hard to store, but it is also much easier to get than food.

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With food, you must fight all animals, to include your fellow man, to grab those calories. Water? It is rare it is fought over on a daily basis ( a generational basis, or the very rare war when a Fifty Year Famine happens, sure ). With water, even in the desert, you can easily store enough where there is no immediate danger ( never rely on a well that needs a pump, and never have only ONE storage container ). With water, it is everywhere, even if the rain isn't due for several months ( UBC totes are cheap and universal, they are your friends ).

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Food? It can be several thousand miles away. Stop acting like a pussy, take a few precautions, stop wasting water like a middle class American in Phoenix watering a golf course, and water will be a non-issue. Having said that, you need to treat it. I prefer boiling and pasteurization, followed in preference by a filter. Last on the list is bleach which, yes, I drink everyday from town water, but which will also eventually runs out ( to my mind, a bigger consideration than the health risks ). I stock the equipment for all methods.

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Back-up for your back-ups. Boiling, it is hard to screw up or to spend too much on. It is never a bad idea to have extra pots and pans from the thrift store ( as well as kitchen knives ). In the winter, the fire is probably always going during waking hours, and so this method is essentially free. My home in the high desert sees cold weather six to eight months a year, but it is also the high desert. Sage brush is the only fuel. Luckily it is also sunny a lot. If wood is scarce and it is cloudy, I have plenty of filters.

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A note on boiling. Everyone says, boil away for X minutes per thousand feet of elevation. I've read research ( thanks to minion recommendation ) that suggests this is unnecessary. Just as with pasteurization-see below-all that needs to be done is for water to be hot enough long enough. The process of bringing the water up to a boil is hot enough long enough. Bring TO a rolling boil, no need to keep it going that way. TO a boil, and you are done. If this makes you uncomfortable, well, just stick to tradition.

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Another tool for boiling is to pre-heat the water in a solar oven. No need to spend mega-bucks buying a factory one. Just look at all the advertisements to get ideas and make your own. They won't be as efficient, but they will be cheap ( and in my location, won't blow away in the wind ). Most days, the water will even be hot enough long enough to be ready to drink after it is pasteurized. This just means hot enough for a long enough period of time. Get yourself a WAPI.

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A WAPI is a WA ter P asteurization I ndicator. It is a glass tube with soy wax inside that melts once hot enough ( there is a probe attached, the tube itself doesn't go in the water ). It is caveman simple. A bit high at $10 each, but they do sell a three pack for about $23 with free shipping at Amazon. And, don't break it and it lasts forever. There are no filters to clog or moving parts to break ( except a metal wire-which is why you ALWAYS have a back up ). I know there is a technique they advise in the tropics with a plastic bottle on a dark roof. Just buy the WAPI unit, to be safe.

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Next up are actual filters, of which I recommend two. There are fancier and more expensive, but I don't focus on chemical treatment, just biological. To me, post-apocalypse, we are dealing with radioactivity from 400 nuclear power plants melting down. Other than a sand filter, I'm not sure what anyone expects to do to filter this out. It seems you would need a LOT of chemical filters. And they would be glowing in the dark due to the concentration. As such, I pretty much throw up my hands in bewilderment, shake my head at the futility, and just throw the dice.

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I know this upsets you, and you want answers to everything. I just look at it like a bullet from an ambush. If it is going to get you, what can you do? Why worry? Okay, to the filters. Sawyer, because $20 each ( I've been told your Kroger might have them for $17, if they carry a camping section ), and not just $20, but 100k gallons. At this price you can easily afford back-ups. A better filter would be a Katadyn. Alas, $70 and “only” 13k gallons, but you can make a homemade Berky counter top unit out of it.

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Nothing easier. Two five gallon buckets, one with a lid. Drill a hole in the middle of the lid, and in the middle of the bottom of one ( just enough to drop element nipple through ). Screw the filter element in place in the drilled bucket. Place on top of the other bucket which has the lid on it. Pour in water, it drips through the top to the bottom. Done. I don't see why you would actually buy a Berky, unless the wife insists on a nice looking stainless steel unit, for $300, instead of a redneck plastic version for $80. I've read that the Berky elements don't last as long, but also that they do indeed with regular cleaning. I just like Katadyn, because Swiss.

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I've stored the Katadyn element through many cold winters and the rubber gasket is still good. However, replacements just in case are never a bad idea. You can use garden hose size rubber washers, so stock up on those as a back-up gasket. They sell a sheet of them for just a few bucks. Otherwise, your $70 investment is endangered.

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I've read you can use an unglazed flower pot that does the same thing. If there is a hole in the bottom, seal with a coffee saucer from the thrift store ( silicon caulking should do it ). Yet, I've also read not all pots work. So definitely just buy one and experiment before stocking up. This now leaves the least desirable, but cheap enough it is silly to NOT have it ( worse case, just use it for topical skin disinfectant. I've had an infected dog bite I successfully treated with nightly bleach water soaking ), bleach powder. You do NOT want to count of liquid bleach from the store. It returns to salt water in as little as six to twelve months.

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Basically, you use “pool shock” to make a concentrated solution that then treats water. I must give credit to Rawles for first publishing this ( his other great one was table salt from water softener. Just make sure it is sodium chloride and NOT potassium chloride. Of course, it lacks iodine ). You just need the right brand of shock, and the correct amounts. I'll just direct you to two web pages rather than repeating:

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https://survivalblog.com/?s=pool+shock+to+purify+drinking+water

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https://www.backdoorsurvival.com/how-to-use-pool-shock-to-purify-water/

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In short, for $20 to $30, you have so many gallons of bleach ( always make fresh, as needed ) you'll think they will last several lifetimes. It is a Better Than Nothing alternative, and as I mentioned, medicinal. It can't hurt to have the stuff.

( .Y. )

( today's related Amazon link click HERE )

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