Sick after drinking filtered river water

[Falstaff]

I have a Grayl Geopress and like it, but in mucky water I think some form of pre-filter like a Millbank is worthwhile. It's performance is related to how quickly the filter gets blocked. Optimum conditions max if 350ltrs, for the Geopress, 140lrs for the smaller version.
As they are not cheap, and there is no way of removing the sediment etc. a simple pre-filter seems sensible.

 

[Urvin]

purifier

 

[Watch-keeper]

I used a Grayl quite a bit in Southeast Asia, The Middle East and Europe and never got sick after using it.
So far I have been through 2 filter elements without becoming ill.
My strategy was to only use the cleanest looking water available but occasionally I did filter some pretty dodgy looking water. I test ran a filter when I first bought it and it clogged up pretty quickly if filtering dirty water and as Falstaff mentioned there is no prefilter, once clogged it slows down the filtration process a lot so its worth sticking to the cleanest water you can find.

 

[JosefStalin]

Where can you get chloine dioxide cheap. Amazon is over 50 quid for 24 tablets that only do a litre. An average persond drinks at least 2 litres a day & 3 litres is normal wuth medical issues. That makes it very expensive

 

[nigelp]

https://www.ellis-brigham.com/lifesystems-chlorine-dioxide-tablets-30-pack-274402900

 

[nigelp]

Drops are cheaper https://www.ellis-brigham.com/lifesystems-chlorine-dioxide-droplets-2-x-30ml-274401900

 

[nigelp]

I tend to use a Sawyer filter and take the tablets as a back up or something I can put in my personal first aid kit in case I need to treat water because I’ve been caught out.

 

[nigelp]

Where can you get chloine dioxide cheap. Amazon is over 50 quid for 24 tablets that only do a litre. An average persond drinks at least 2 litres a day & 3 litres is normal wuth medical issues. That makes it very expensive

That what Amazon does. Under cuts and reduces competition and becomes the default shopping location before putting up prices!

 

[C_Claycomb]

Where can you get chloine dioxide cheap. Amazon is over 50 quid for 24 tablets that only do a litre. An average persond drinks at least 2 litres a day & 3 litres is normal wuth medical issues. That makes it very expensive.

First mistake...shopping on Amazon.
LifeSystems own website, 30 tablets, 30 litres worth, under £11

I have used both drops from AquaMira and Lifesystems and like the AquaMira much better. Harder to get in the UK though.

 

[Woody girl]

I used a Grayl quite a bit in Southeast Asia, The Middle East and Europe and never got sick after using it.
So far I have been through 2 filter elements without becoming ill.
My strategy was to only use the cleanest looking water available but occasionally I did filter some pretty dodgy looking water. I test ran a filter when I first bought it and it clogged up pretty quickly if filtering dirty water and as Falstaff mentioned there is no prefilter, once clogged it slows down the filtration process a lot so its worth sticking to the cleanest water you can find.

Thats where a milbank comes in handy and saves money too,, as it preserves the function of the filter . I always carry a milbank, prefilter even clean water and then put it through my sawyer minni. A bit more work, but it prolongs the life of the filter. I also have a uv wand to sterilise any bugs left over. No sickness so far.

 

[JosefStalin]

I tend to use a Sawyer filter and take the tablets as a back up or something I can put in my personal first aid kit in case I need to treat water because I’ve been caught out.

I have a few of them

 

[Falstaff]

purifier

Correct, as a whole it is a purifier not a filter. This is as a result of some activated carbon-type tech (I'm generalising), but in front of that, literally, is a filter medium. This not a lot different to other filter-only devices.
It is this that keeps out the fine solids and enables the rest to do it's virus killing bit. Consequently it is the filter that gets blocked up, and slows the flow to a point where you have to change the unit. I suspect it has a lot less filter area than others, like say a Sawyer,

 

[nigelp]

I have a few of them

That usually does the trick and will also remove any ‘bits’ that might make the tablet treatment less effective. Easy to back flush the sawyer so works well as a belt and braces approach to getting water clean. That’s what I used to do with groups when I did wild camping.

 

[slowworm]

That what Amazon does. Under cuts and reduces competition and becomes the default shopping location before putting up prices!

They are about £13 delivered in the UK from various shops that sell on Amazon currently, and it warns you the price is currently higher than normal so hardly dodgy pricing.

If Josef is real and in the USSR that might have more to do with the £50 price tag but then I doubt many UK shops would ship there.

 

[Falstaff]

Anybody used one of those 5ltr/gallon hanging Sawyer set ups?
Presumably for a backpack bladder system you could toss the tablets into the bladder to sterilise the water first, and let the inline Sawyer on the outlet take care of the solids?
That would save a lot of time if you are on the move, or if it's a longer walk back from source to camp.

 

[nigelp]

Anybody used one of those 5ltr/gallon hanging Sawyer set ups?
Presumably for a backpack bladder system you could toss the tablets into the bladder to sterilise the water first, and let the inline Sawyer on the outlet take care of the solids?
That would save a lot of time if you are on the move, or if it's a longer walk back from source to camp.

I’ve used a 3 litre bladder and hung the sawyer to filter water. Fills up a pan or bottle in no time. No need for tablets as a pre treatment.