Looking for a QUALITY water filter...have to failed Sawyers

[ARCHIVED THREAD] - Looking for a QUALITY water filter...have to failed Sawyers

Posted: 10/24/2018 9:07:22 AM EDT

What do y'all use for water filtration?

I've now had a both a Sawyer Squeze (flowrate reduced to less than 20%, even after serious backflushing) and a Sawyer Mini (leaking about 50% of the water out the side of the filter at a fitting) with less than 30 liters through either filter.

I'm seriously pissed at Sawyer, and currently under a "boil water" notice that's expected to "a handful of days" to "weeks" depending on who you ask...kinda grumpy right now.

Posted: 10/24/2018 11:26:14 AM EDT

[#1]

I love my platypus gravity filter. Simple to use, no squeezing involved. Damn good flowrate (if instructions are followed)

Posted: 10/24/2018 2:02:50 PM EDT

[#2]

Platypus gravity feed would be a good option.

You might just run to Sam's Club and pick up a couple of cases of the cheapest bottled water they have, too.

Posted: 10/24/2018 4:29:04 PM EDT

[#3]

Quoted:
What do y'all use for water filtration?

I've now had a both a Sawyer Squeze (flowrate reduced to less than 20%, even after serious backflushing) and a Sawyer Mini (leaking about 50% of the water out the side of the filter at a fitting) with less than 30 liters through either filter.

I'm seriously pissed at Sawyer, and currently under a "boil water" notice that's expected to "a handful of days" to "weeks" depending on who you ask...kinda grumpy right now.

View Quote

I have had Sawyer minis fail like you describe.

What kind of water were you filtering? I always use a prefilter or let it sit to settled to hard particles before filtering.

Posted: 10/24/2018 7:23:15 PM EDT

[#4]

Katadyn pump type. Doing well so far, priced a bit under 100 bucks.

For home use I suggest one of those ceramic filters you attach to the bottom of a 5 gallon bucket. A second bucket underneath collects filtered water. Good for many many gallons and runs with out you having to do a thing.

Posted: 10/24/2018 7:43:23 PM EDT

[#5]

Berkey.

Accept no substitutes

Posted: 10/24/2018 9:19:36 PM EDT

[#6]

Wondering about your Sawyer issues. While I've never had to run whole house duty, I've used both on many multi day pack trips. Curious as to why yours failed. Cracked case from the factory or shipping on the mini. The squeeze, maybe it's just the silt or... maybe. In for others experience and results.

Posted: 10/25/2018 3:31:10 PM EDT

[#7]

I run a katadyn ceradyn daily ay home for over 8 years now.
Not one issue, 10L at a time.
For my packs its katadyn hiker,mini/micro and guide.

Posted: 10/25/2018 3:34:25 PM EDT

[#8]

Katadyn

Posted: 10/25/2018 4:03:08 PM EDT

[#9]

I wonder if your flowrate issue has to do with mineralization in the membrane? Could always try running white vinegar thru it to dissolve hard water deposits. Just spitballing.

Posted: 10/28/2018 11:37:01 AM EDT

[#10]

The more crap in the water the more they will clog up. All filters need replacing. I killed my mini sawyer during one hunting season but I ran really crappy water through it. The mini only costs $20? I consider them disposable.

If your on municipal water, and they have a boil in effect then there is a good chance they are running a high dose of treatment to clear it up, which is probably what's helping to clog up your filters. Just a guess on my part but ya never know...

https://international.sawyer.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/sawyer_bucket-cleaning_2016-01-15e.pdf

I would also think about trying to run a bigger charcoal bucket based filter for whole home water filtration and usage.

ETA/ pump type filters work much better when your trying to do higher volume. I like MSR.

Posted: 10/28/2018 12:36:59 PM EDT

[#11]

hardly an expert but boiling water kills virus right? filters generally dont remove virus. you need chemical sanitation not physical filtering.

Posted: 10/28/2018 1:38:53 PM EDT

[#12]

Quote History

Quoted:
hardly an expert but boiling water kills virus right? filters generally dont remove virus. you need chemical sanitation not physical filtering.

View Quote

There are filters that get viruses (MSR Guardian), it all depends on the pore size. UV/Chemical/Boiling will also get rid of viruses.

However, for the continental US, there is rarely a threat of virus in the drinking water or streams because we've got decent sewage treatment centers. The main concerns are bacteria/parasites which most filters will get, and chemicals- which is harder for most filters to get rid of.

Posted: 10/29/2018 2:16:59 PM EDT

[#13]

Quote History

Quoted:
Katadyn pump type. Doing well so far, priced a bit under 100 bucks.

For home use I suggest one of those ceramic filters you attach to the bottom of a 5 gallon bucket. A second bucket underneath collects filtered water. Good for many many gallons and runs with out you having to do a thing.

View Quote

Can you provide a link to the 5 gal bucket one?

Posted: 10/29/2018 6:41:40 PM EDT

[#14]

For larger volume ( household ) filtering I keep a couple
of these around :

Ceramic water filter

Posted: 10/29/2018 11:30:16 PM EDT

[#15]

Quote History

Quoted:
For larger volume ( household ) filtering I keep a couple
of these around :

Ceramic water filter

View Quote

Thank you. Very interesting concept.

Posted: 10/30/2018 9:25:23 PM EDT

[#16]

Problem might be the water. I've heard of people using a vinegar/water dilution (backflushed and then soaked) to get flow rate back up.

Posted: 1/2/2019 8:56:10 AM EDT

[#17]

Grayl. The easiest, fastest filter there is. Your welcome.

Posted: 1/3/2019 5:22:50 PM EDT

[#18]

Quote History

Quoted:

Can you provide a link to the 5 gal bucket one?

View Quote

Ok, a couple of months late but... One example...
Or just search Amazon, or where ever you want, for monolithic water filter.

Posted: 1/5/2019 2:18:11 AM EDT

[#19]

Quote History

Quoted:
I wonder if your flowrate issue has to do with mineralization in the membrane? Could always try running white vinegar thru it to dissolve hard water deposits. Just spitballing.

View Quote

This is what I'm thinking too. Sawyer generally makes quality filters.

Posted: 1/6/2019 9:49:30 PM EDT

[#20]

I’ve been using the same pur (katadyne) pro hiker for many years. I have been pleased with it. If glacier water is cloudy I can’t use it because it would plug up.

I want to move to the squeeze model you dislike- smaller, lighter and can reverse it to clean.

Good luck!

Posted: 1/10/2019 4:36:42 AM EDT

[#21]

Quote History

Quoted:
This is what I'm thinking too. Sawyer generally makes quality filters.

View Quote View All Quotes

View All Quotes

Quote History

Quoted:

Quoted:
I wonder if your flowrate issue has to do with mineralization in the membrane? Could always try running white vinegar thru it to dissolve hard water deposits. Just spitballing.

This is what I'm thinking too. Sawyer generally makes quality filters.

I've owned/used three Sawyers our in the field. The only one I had issue with was the Mini, but only because of it's lower flow rate. It worked fine, but slow, when i gave it away.

OP is using his to filter household water under a "must boil" warning, apparently.

The only filter I own that I'd attempt that duty with would be that old Katadyn Combi. It is made for field use or can be adapted for spigot (city water pressurized) use. It was the first of three pump filters I purchased.

Posted: 1/29/2019 1:01:41 PM EDT

[#22]

Quoted:
What do y'all use for water filtration?

I've now had a both a Sawyer Squeze (flowrate reduced to less than 20%, even after serious backflushing) and a Sawyer Mini (leaking about 50% of the water out the side of the filter at a fitting) with less than 30 liters through either filter.

I'm seriously pissed at Sawyer, and currently under a "boil water" notice that's expected to "a handful of days" to "weeks" depending on who you ask...kinda grumpy right now.

View Quote

You're aware of this, right?

https://sawyer.com/counterfeit/

Posted: 1/29/2019 4:24:39 PM EDT

[#23]

I used a Sawyer Squeeze on a 1100 mile hiking trip (Harpers Ferry to Katahdin) and never had a problem... Also, we would screw the Sawyer Mini onto the top of a bottle, filled with dirty water, and drink directly from the filter.

Accountant

Posted: 2/1/2019 12:46:39 AM EDT

[#24]

Quote History

Quoted:
Katadyn pump type. Doing well so far, priced a bit under 100 bucks.
...

View Quote

Posted: 2/4/2019 4:34:10 PM EDT

[#25]

If your Sawyer isn't working after backflushing you need to send it in for warranty replacement and be more careful about water sources in the future. Also give the Katadyn Be Free a try. The flow rate is much better than the Sawyer and it can be cleaned without a syringe.

When I used pump filter in the past I found myself needlessly hauling several liters while crossing multiple streams full of perfectly good water because filtering was so damn aggravating and took so much time. Now with filter bottles I can just fill up at a stream, drink my fill and put the collapsible bottle back in my cargo pocket having never removed my pack. Cameling up or carrying water in my gut is also a lot more comfortable than on my back.

Even if I backpacked much in the desert west I would still use the Katadyn Be Free or Sawyer Squeeze for the lightweight and simplicity. I would just add a larger reservoir or a few Smartwater bottles for hauling water over long distances.

Its also a good idea to carry a little extra stove fuel than necessary or maybe a chemical option in case of filter failure in the future.

Posted: 4/11/2019 10:21:49 AM EDT

[#26]

If your water is that screwed up, you might want to consider distilling and adding some sodium, potassium, and/or magnesium salts back in the water for electrolytes.

[ARCHIVED THREAD] - Looking for a QUALITY water filter...have to failed Sawyers

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