I've just been cleaning and sorting out a LOT of gear the past few days here... Dang meds aren't much good anymore,...... some dated back to 1989 expiration dates! Been doing a lot online searching for new equipment, and techniques. Recently got an older Dodge van, 250, with a 360 engine,... custom,... that had been stripped out.... but just the extra seats! Rebuilding it into a BOV...and just got a 6' by 8' trailer made from an old Chevy pickup bed, with a military H.D. axle, for a BOT. Had to buy a welder to work on that mess, but what can you get for only $200.00? When finished, it will have 3/4 ton of water and equipment / supplies in it. Going to make 2 fold down bed boards alongside, and a fold down cooking table in front. Lot's of fun for me. I do a little here and there as I had a back problem that kind of keeps me in check at times! I have a 32 yr. old neighbor that helps as he can, and my nearly 18 year old son and his buddy do what they can also. With the equipment we have right now, we'd have no problems, (except medical types), for 4 people for 6 months! Water WAS the biggest problem, especially the weight and all, but that was finally solved after 2 weeks of research into the actual "purification" of water! All those fancy smancy systems, do little to actually purify water. The so-called filters they have, filter out 99.9% of Girardia Lambi, and Cryptosporidium, by way of a .2 micron filter. ( does NOT remove any of the virus' like E-Coli, or Salmonella!)The added silver and whatnot are like fishing lures, not made to catch fish, just fishermen! LOL! Research by major Universities, and health organizations, have finally came up with an actual solution that works! Just bring "clear" water to a boil. All types of known virus' and bacteria will be killed at the 158-160F levels. By boiling, you reach 212F. Now some say, ( including some Red Cross sites), to boil the water for 1, 3, all the way up to 20 minutes! "If" we did that, all we would have is the garbage and alkali from the Phoenix water, concentrated enough to be poisonous! The only hard part was to find a way to filter the water, ( clear), prior to boiling. That was solved by using a fine mesh screen for "gross particles" and matter, and several layers of coffee filters to get 98% of the rest. Activated charcoal could be used to clean up any taste problems. Those darn tablets, that now come in 2 bottles, and the old usage of bleach, is no longer a reasonable or even SAFE alternative. The U.S. Government released a statement that 90% of this countries water supplies, lakes, rivers, streams, and tributaries, are polluted sufficiently ot cause a health concern/danger to humans. Simple, and 100% effective! I almost bought a $600.00 system too! (Berkley) Buyer beware! Then the NEWEST "kid" on the block, the "STERIPENS" ! Use re-chargeable batteries or power supply to run a UV light that is supposed to kill all things in the water! Depending on the clarity and the amount to be "purified", depends on how long you run the lamp. ($139.00 and up!) The same thing can done with 2 or 3 liter clear plastic soda bottles and the sun!~ Weird huh? A little aluminum foil and you have a SOLAR WATER PURIFIER that the people in Africa have used for years now! NOTE: the people in Africa have literally devoided some areas of all trees, in an effort to use wood to make fires to boil their water. NOW, they have to use the sun, and plastic throw away pop bottles! I was interested for a short time in "distillation", but that will rob your body of needed minerals and natural nutrients in water. Simply stated: It will kill you. So, I hope this information can be of some use/help to you! Just thought I'd get started, by passing on a tad of information/knowledge I recently acquired! Bill
One problem with the methods mentioned is as you stated, most waters are poluted and therefore the viruses and bacteria and such are only 1 aspect of it, you also have to figure out how to clean the chemicals out of most water. Not sure of the best way to do that other than maybe reverse osmosis or catching water with solar stills or rain or some such.
Removing metals and chemicals probably would be a problem for certain! Trouble with the reverse osmosis is you need some way to pressurize the water to force it thru filters..( ? ) I suppose. Maybe with an air pressure pump fitted to a tank...with a pressure gauge of course! Any ideas? This has been a concern to me for some time as we have a coal burning plant here and a lot of the water has a ton of mercury now, and it's become a hazard to even eat some fish in some areas! Chemicals? Ouch! Some neighborhoods in Phoenix, (Maryvale for instance), have extremely high levels of PCB"s in the ground from prior "MOTOROLA" plants. Then way up north where I'm located, is the plant that makes ejection seat rocket motors and the ground there is saturated with Potassium Perchlorate! I'd hate to see what the water tables have in them! Then there are the old and even continuing copper mines, the leeching ponds and such with "tailings" being left to sift into the ground as well with acids and the like. And of course there are those GOLD mines around, doing the same thing! Water is vital, and there must be some sure fire way to remove all the garbage, without total distillation and having to treat that distilled water with minerals? Getting really concerned these days! Bill
I assume you mean the British Berkfield or "Berky". Why beware? These have been around for years and are used all over the world. They quickly purify water from any source without any power source of any kind. I have read reports where they filtered sewer water through it and then had it tested and it was safe to drink. I have had one for years and wouldn't be without it. I ran all my city water through it when I lived in town and it made the best tasting coffee and tea you ever drank. http://www.berkeyfilters.com/waterfeatures.htm I would get the stainless steel model but the lexecan "light" one may be good too.
I'm still working on the water "PROBLEM".... I'm just NOT convinced that 1 system can do it all, yet anyway! It's not going to be an easy problem to solve, so, I guess as it now stands, the very best way is to filter, boil, and treat all water. ??? I'm still not sure of which way to go for the solution! Bill
Since it was mentioned in your original posting, the topic of PET containers purifying water is a last ditch resort. This is used in third world countries because it provides a product that is less contaminated than what their bodies are used to. You have to remember that these people are used to bathing, washing, and drinking from water sources that their cattle and goats take a dump in, so something purified by UV light in a PET container is much better for them, but would severely make you and I sick who have no tolerance to such things. I can tell you that a PET container sitting in the sun for several days doesn't kill all viruses and bacteria because it was a routine problem with our water that was stored outside on pallets and when you needed it, you had to go get it after it has been baking for several days. The procedure was to open the bottle and smell the cap to see if it was bad. As for metals and non organic contaminates, the normal water filter will remove the heavy metals and such. Boiling water has always been the best way of purifying water of the organic contaminates and is what is taught in survival school, "all water must be boiled" We would boil it, then run it through a water purifier, then spend about five minutes pouring it from one can to another to get it aeriated again to get some taste back to it. Boil, filter, aeriate, that is what one person did almost all day long.
