Water filters

Ive been thinking about getting a large filter to keep at a campsite or justto have if I stumble across a reason to ditch the city Im in.

Im looking at the berkey light because it seems light enough to carry on the top of a pack.

Any experiences with filters? Can I have one filter forever and just clean it occasionally? It wouldnt be a very good investment if Id have to find filters all the time like with a household britta or something.

How good are these things? Could I urinate in one and drink it out the other side?

I have the Katadyn Pocket filter. It uses a silver-impregnated ceramic filter. It will pull even the tiniest microorgansims and material out of the water. The filter is cleaned with a brush and will last a very long time depdnig upon how often you need to clean it (i.e., how crappy the water is you're filtering). If you pre-filter the water to remove the bigger contaminents (like through a cloth) the filter will last even longer.

As for filtering urine: no, it won't do that. Nor will any 'filter-based' unit. What you'd need for that is a reverse osmosis unit. But if you're reduced to drinking your urine you have bigger problems since that cycle is unsustainable.

Well, it's been reported that third world countries are using the sun to sterilize water held in bottles. All they do is lay the bottles ontop of a roof that is colored black and the sun eventually sterilizes the water. This could be a problem with a catastrophic event that blocks out natural light. As long as you have decent sunlight, while remembering to check your water supply, this would be a reliable way to have a sterile water supply.
news.bbc.co.uk...

Not sure but I think this one will do what you want
Water filter

If not then there might be something here
Water filters and related stuff

Hope it helps. People never seem to give water a second thought intil they cant get any.

[edit on 21-2-2007 by angryamerican]