Keep in mind, that while the Katadyn Pocket is a good filter, it does NOT filter viruses.

I mentioned before that viral contamination may be an issue if SHTF (eg. If municipal water is interrupted, people will start crapping in streams and rivers. Likewise in flood prone areas, flooding is going to result in all kinds of potential contamination from sewage, carcasses etc.).

If viral filtering is a potential necessity, the Lifestraw Family, Mission and Community (NOT the straws) are one of the few available water purifiers (that's the term for a viral filter. Filters to 0.1 micron eg. bacteria, protozoa etc. = water filter. If it filters viruses, i.e. down to 0.02 micron, they call these water purifiers).

My bug-in potable water setup is 2 Sawyer Point Zero Two bucket systems (1 as a backup. Standard coffee filters for turbid sources), with the ZW after, for removing chemical/soluble contaminants.

Greatly appreciate that!  I guess I need to rethink my plans and filter choice.

I have a couple of these for backup water supply:

Survivor Filter Pro X Electric Water Filtration System Survival Kit - USB and Battery-Powered Portable Water Filter for Backpacking Hiking Camping - Removes 99.999% of Tested Virus Bacteria Parasites

They filter down 0.01 micron... and are on sale right now for $95 on Prime.

Will fill a pint water bottle in a minute and with a USB pack can run off a small solar panel.

The ZW website says the filters are only good for 20 gallons. Is that correct? That seems way more expensive than the Berkey/Alexa pure which are rated around 3000 gallons. Am I missing something?

I've gone to using filters from here:
https://stpaulmercantile.com/stainless-water-filter-bodies (their storefront appears to be closed looks like?, but will give you an idea to research elsewhere if you like)
I have no financial interest but was pointed to them by a survival forum member on here as a replacement for Berkey Filters.  They have different filter options, the AquaCeras are made in the USA.  I have both Black Berkey Filters and the AquaCeras.  We probably run close to 700 gallons a year or more through them, fairly easy to clean also.  If I was doing creek water, I'd definitely want a pre-filter before running water through any type of finer filter (even a Tshirt would be helpful)

Sawyers are small and a great backup, especially if you can rig them up to a 5 gallon bucket so you can process larger amounts of water at a time.  The Berkey like stainless bodies with filters have done best for us as far as cost efficiency.  

We actually used a Katadyn Combi filter for years (they have a tap setup that you can buy), but it becomes quite a pain to clean repeatedly especially when our water was pretty dirty coming in.  Katadyns have gone up a good bit in price over the years.

The Katadyn Pocket filter has been pretty much a standard for longevity - they are warrantied for 20 years and under ideal conditions are rated for 50,000 liters (13,000 gallons approx).  They are well made but can run more than $350.  They are .2 micron filters and I don't think will do viruses, but otherwise are great.   If you have a contaminated water source, boiling water would be best prior to drinking, then filtering if you can - rolling boil for 1 minute in most places (unless high altitudes)

Good point. My calculations put the Zero Water filter cost at $.32 a gallon (assuming theoretical max output), and the Berkey at $.027 a gallon. Did not include shipping, taxes, etc. just the filter.

Yeah, the ZW is 1/8th the cost, but it's also 1/75th of the filtering ability of the Berkey. Interesting.

1) in a nutshell; sort of. The ZW estimate is approximately accurate, but depends on the purity of the source water. I actually only get 13 - 16 gallons per filter. My tap water generally tests in the 2XX ppm (parts per million) range (240 ppm just now). If your source is half that, you'll see double the filter life. If your source water is double that, you'll see half the life in real world use (ZW recommends testing the filtered water and replacing the filter when the TDS (Total Dissolved Solids) meter reads 006 ppm).

I've been tracking my usage with TDS meters (had one of my own. The included TDS meter that comes with the ZW matches) for years now, to see actual real world results. Read the Amazon reviews for the Alexapure filters. You'll see more than a few people reporting that they're getting nowhere near the claimed filter life, which makes sense. There simply isn't enough active media to see anywhere near that in real world usage (maaaaybe if they were filtering filtered water. Lol)

The greater the concentration of contaminants, the shorter the filter life. This is true of ANY adsorption type filters (eg. ZW, Berkey and Alexapure). The active material (i.e. activated carbon has micropores that adsorb contaminants. The quantity of contaminants that can be absorbed is directly related to the quantity of the active material.

Once the active material has adsorbed the limit of material it not only allows further contaminants to pass, contaminants that were trapped can also leach off the filter (i.e. if you test the output of a filter that is contaminated past its usability, you can actually find higher levels of contamination than in the exact same sample of source water). Folks who've bothered sending their own water samples in from Berkey filters have borne this out. They don't meet their filtration claims for anywhere near the duration they claim.

TDS meters aren't a perfect solution either, but it's a simple one. If the filter media can no longer reduce the TDS below 6ppm,  it isn't going to be very effective at removing other contaminants either.

One last consideration. Users have sent their Alexapure and Berkey filters in for testing, and found bio (bacterial/fungal cultures) because the filters themselves don't have inherent sterilizing properties. Another reason why I prefer swapping ZW filters more often, than using the same filter for months to a year+.

P.S.

When I did all the searching years ago, the long term  test results were what made the choice for me, but it would seem like those have been scrubbed, because I used to be able to pull up the lab tests, but I can't seem to find them now.

Any arfcommers who've had their Berkey or Alexapure setups for 6 - 12+ months care to send in samples to an independent lab to confirm what they're actually drinking? Send in a source water and filtered water sample and the lab test will show what the filters are actually doing (i.e. if the source water has hardly any contamination, the filter doesn't need to do much). The results I saw years ago showed a big decrease in filtration effectiveness, after only a fraction of their claimed xxxx gallons.

MRE seams to be reasonable prices for various types. humanitarian $49, Sopaco $119, MRE Star $99.

The military was Both A and B (two cases for $169 plus shipping) but sold out now.

https://atlanticfirearms.com/mre-meals-ready-to-eat

Thanks grabbed 4 cans

Augason Farms Breakfast $57.05 down from $110.

My 4 arrived already.  My wife likes black bean burgers. I can't say I'm a fan, but $10 for 38 servings is hard to pass on. It'll be a decent filler for a lot of stuff.

20,120 calories. Better deal than anything by (Un)Wise.

"Down from $110"? You must be one of Undefined's buddies.  That $110 spike was like for a few hrs and that price means nothing.  Median price for this is ~$50

It bounces between the $57 sale price and the $76 "regular" price.  It hasn't been below $50 in the past year.

Regular price at Walmart.com $57.05

Coleman 1lb Propane Cylinder  $2.99 @ Target

thats a good deal if you dont already have a few dozen. none in stock anywhere near me

if you do already have a dozen or two of them, invest in the ability to refill the small ones from the 20 gallon or larger ones.

I'm trying for the first time,  but office depot regularly runs a promotion where you buy Duracell optium batteries and the complete cost is given back as "rewards ". You obviously have to spend the rewards at OD, and I think they might expire. But they actually carry some food and drinks, so I'm looking at getting bottled water or something I'd be getting anyways

Link discussing the deal

https://www.spoofee.com/free-36-duracell-optimum-aa-or-aaa-batteries/deals/963465

This looks like a good price on fertilizer in today's market if you need any:

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Expert-Gardener-All-Purpose-Plant-Fertilizer-10-10-10-Formula-40-lbs/166185332?athbdg=L1200

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Expert-Gardener-All-Purpose-Plant-Food-Fertilizer-13-13-13-Formula-40-lb/110074590?athcpid=110074590&athpgid=AthenaItempage&athcgid=null&athznid=si&athieid=v0&athstid=CS004&athguid=2bR6x_dSMy4Zs0XGIHQWs7S4Pv3nr7NyUql7&athancid=null&athena=true

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Expert-Gardener-All-Purpose-Plant-Food-16-16-16-Fertilizer-20-lb/104783034?athbdg=L1200

Coleman Dual Fuel Lantern 285 with case and funnel $66.29. This is the smaller of the two Dual Fuel lanterns. The 295 Powerhouse is $99 (price is meh)

Walmart clearanced that same fertilizer as low as $2/bag even after it was known there was a fertilizer shortage. Not that that helps now but just saying they were dumb enough to do it once, if you watch this fall they'll probably do it again. They love moving the pallets of this stuff out at a loss so they can move pallets of plastic Xmas trees in.

Yup.

After some research, this stuff is only going on my lawn except in dire circumstances; Country of Origin is China.

I did get 200 lbs for $80 delivered tho. That's 2017 prices.

Was $14 per bag at at Walmart in March.
So 5 bags, $70.

Bought a bunch at co op last fall for $10/ bag.

Anyone ever test it for Heavy Metals?

Just want to throw it out there that the ZeroWater removes Chlorine....


You know, like when you take 2 55 gallon drums of treated water to your BOL when Covid hits and you try to make apple croissants with your freeze dried apples and they taste like bleach?

Yeah. Does a good job removing that shit.

Chlorine evaporates, too.  Just leave the water open to the air, and chlorine will dissipate.

However, many (most?) municipal water sources actually use chloramine (chlorine bound with ammonia), not plain chlorine, and chloramine will not evaporate like chlorine.

black bean burger #10 cans are down to $10.06 at the time of this posting.  Cheap for them.  We've sampled a can of this from our storage, and its tasty enough that we've made these a couple of times for a regular/non-SHTF meal.  Got a nice spiciness to it, but not overly so

Augason Farms Buttermilk Pancake Mix 3 lbs 4 oz #10 Can 49% off at $10.66 a can.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00FTETNIC/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Morning Moo milk 11% off at $33.97.

Augason Farms Morning Moo's Low Fat Milk Alternative 56 oz #10 Can

Much  cheaper at China Mart:  Morning Moos Lowfat Milk Alternative

Shows 43.75 for me at the WM link

  Thanks!

 Shows $14.98 for me.

Here ya go meat eaters. Been waiting 6 months.
Keystone Beef

Thanks for that, picks up a case for ~$160 delivered. No tax.

Attached File

Either my math is wrong which is quite possible or the post that had it at Walmart a few weeks ago was cheaper https://www.walmart.com/ip/seort/22309254

The price per pound is pretty close on those big cans, but that's alot of canned beef for one meal!

My wife probably won't touch this stuff unless we're in End of Days. I have to lose all my freezer meat myself.

Tampax Tampons for Vending Dispenser in Vending Tubes, Hospeco T500,(Case of 500),White - $72.01 Prime

Sam's Club membership for $8 plus tax.  
Offer ends June 26
Walk-in only, no way to do it online as far as I can tell.  Autorenewal required at the time of signup, but you should be able to turn that off by signing in to their online system and updating your preferences.
Sam's Club

I'm going to try to head over there tomorrow or Friday to sign up.

Well my Girlfriend has talked me into getting back into the world of canning. Can anyone recommend a good quality high-pressure canner? We decided to can meat instead of getting a freezer.

All American is the Cadillac of canners
But have gotten pricey since I bought ours!!
We have the 14 quart jar capacity model, was under $300. $500ish, now

My recommendation is to scour FBmarketplace/craigslist for a used one. I got a US made Mirro for $40 a year and a half ago and more recently another US Mirro curbside freebie.

My Mirros have worked just fine.

I'm sure the All American's are great, but I just can't drop $300+ on one.

I have 2 presto 21 quart canners. Look at yard sales, auctions, etc.  The gaskets aren't a big deal. I use vegetable oil in the seals after I'm done canning for the day. I usually replace the gaskets every other years in both of them. The gasket and plug together cost about $12.  I would like to have an All American but I cannot justify the cost when the Presto's do fine. I can about 200 jars a year.

Thanks for the input.gonna get a presto until i can find a used  American

Thanks for the heads up on this deal.

Got mine today, Didnt even had to pay tax.

Got mine today, Didnt even had to pay tax.

Sun-Maid Organic California Raisins Snack | 32 Ounce Bags | Pack of 2 | Whole Natural Dried Fruit | No Sugar Added | Naturally Gluten Free | Non-GMO | Vegan And Vegetarian Friendly - $11.49/4 lbs ($0.17/oz)

This is cheaper than bulk raisins elsewhere on Amazon and comes in smaller packages.

I don't know if you guys have seen this site.  It's mostly random stuff popping up on Amazon and Walmart but occasionally there are "deals" from other places.   They also have a tab for Augason Farms products.  

Prepping Deals