 I want to buy a good water filter for backpacking with. What is a better buy, the MSR Miniworks at £80 or the MSR Waterworks at £140?
I was thinking of treating my water by sticking it in a bottle with some iodine for 30 minutes first and then filtering it. Would that work and would it get rid of the iodine?
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 I use chlorine tabs and use a Vit C tab to kill the taste. I hate the tate of Cl but it does work.
Iodine isn't reconmmended long-term and in Britain Cl is adequate.
HTH
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 Geoffrey, yep, the iodine would work either before or after filtering - the length of time you need to leave it and the quantity of iodine you need to use depends on the temperature of the water btw, I like the re-useable iodine crystals you can buy in a small glass bottle.
The iodine will kill viruses that the purifier might not be able to cope with. I don't know whether the filter will totally eliminate the iodine taste, MSR says it removes iodine, so presumably most would go, but using a small pinch of vitamin C powder after treatment converts the iodine to iodide which is tasteless, so it shouldn't be an issue. Those 'neutralising tablets' you can buy, btw, are simply asorbic acid, aka vitamin C...
If you're just using iodine for a few weeks at a time, I wouldn't worry. Months on end yes, but not just for occasional use. As for which one to go for, depends I think on how much you intend to use them. I think the Waterworks filters slightly faster and has an additional membrane filter that may technically remove finer particles, but I don't know if there are any differences in filter life.
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 With the Iodine, it's important to check with your doctor if you plan to use long term, especially if there is any history of Thyroid problems in the family. For that reason I can't use it.
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That was one of my questions. If I use iodine FIRST then filter the water, will the filter remove the iodine? Does anyone know?
I think it does but I'd like the reassurance! :-)
The Miniworks and the Waterworks are very similar. They both filter at the same rate (1 litre per minute for the new EX ones identifiable by their red plastic case instead of the older one's blue plastic) and use cermaic filters rated to 0.3 micron. These filters cost about £30 for new ones. The big difference with the Waterworks is the addition of a membrane filter which filters down to 0.2 microns. This membrane filter costs a bank busting £60 to replace.
Since the Waterworks cost 75% more to buy and £90 to replace the filters, I've gone and bought a Miniworks. I bought one from a guy in America for just £35 + £11 insured delivery. I just hope it gets through customs ok!
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 Just out of interest, do these water filters work on salt water? Will it make salt water drinkable?
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 Geoffrey N
I can't answer your specific question about how well iodine will be removed by the filter but depending on what country you are using the filter in, and what the threat is of illness, I understand that the iodine will be less effective in unfiltered water. In essence the ions spend lots of time attacking the silt / bits of wood or whatever has yet to be filtered out (and of course these things can have 'bugs' within them) and not purifying the water. A simplistic explanation for what is probably a very complex chemical process I guess - the advice is usually to filter then purify.
Gregory
No - salt is in solution. You have to distill it out and condense the water.
Ben
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Might you consider looking at something small, light and disposable? The premac pocket filter gives 60 litres of clean water. I have no idea about filtering out the iodine but I think I recall that it filters as well as the Katadyn mini.
Sorry you will have to cut and paste:
http://www.bearclawbushcraft.co.uk/trading/cookware.htm
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| Edited: 06/06/07 20:50 |
 I use an Aquapure Traveller bottle
http://www.homehealth-uk.com/medical/aquatraveller.htm
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Forget the UK - high street prices on filters are crazy (Cotswold breaking £200 at the top end). As well as US, EU countries can be cheap, staff also speak English (Holland, Germany, Scanadanavia..) and there's no VAT/customs. www.Strikeforceforcesupplies.com (?) in Bath does Millbanks bags (good prefilter) and sterilser/neutraliser for +/- £18: cheapest I've seen. Lots of aspirational and confusion marketing in this sector so be precise about your needs. Unless you are on the margins of weight, filtering a large amount of water twice a day is better than relying on lots of little stops and forced deviations for a small drink. You might also need water in hotels en route to your favourite wilderness, when weight is less of a problem, so all in all gravity/syphon systems are well worth consideration.
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 Don't get a filter, or iodine, or any other form of mechanical/chemical purification. Get a Steripen instead. It will kill everything in a litre of water in a minute and a half, without altering the flavour (well, it actually neutralises DNA so that bugs can't multiply, but the effect is the same). The only filtering you will need to do is to remove any visible 'bits' from the water (if there are any), which you can do by simply pouring it through a piece of microfibre cloth - such as a buff or a piece of microfibre towel - before zapping it with the Steripen. Seriously, getting one of these instead of a filter etc was one of the best kit decisions we made; it is so quick and easy to use, once I'd found it I couldn't - and still can't - see why on earth you'd want to use anything else.
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I picked up an unused Katadyn Hiker cheap from Ebay and I've found that works well. I can't comment about it's filtering effectiveness except to say that I've never gotten ill on a trip and the water produced tastes fine. Functionaly it's very easy to use and the delivery rate for filtered water is pretty good - better than I'd expected.
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 Some ideas: Steripen - sounds fantastic, especially if combined with a Millbank bag or similar. I intend to get one eventually. MiOX - popular in the US, especially with their Mountain Rescue medics such as Keith Conver (see his very helpful pdf ). Tablets : Micropur (by Katadyn but available at Boots ) uses silver ions to sterilise water, no bad taste, lasts for 10+ years and is very very light. I carry these in my washbag whenever I travel. As for treating salt water, the above filters cannot remove sea salt. However, there are ways of doing so without distillation that Ben mentioned. You can get reverse osmosis pump filters. They are very expensive even for a basic model and require a lot of manual (or motor driven) effort for a small amount of water. They are part of a decent ocean survival kit to be found in a well-equipped lift raft, but not a great idea for your average hiker!
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.jpg) I dont use a filter use Aquamira ,two little bottles to mix no aftertaste kills all the bugs.Cotswold Outdoors stock this
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reverse osmosis filters are available at "screwfix" in the uk at a very reasonable price. About £300. 00 Then you just need 240 volts at 10 amps to power it !!
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 I pre filter with an MSR coffee filter and then use a steripen adventurer. Just make sure you use a wide mouth container for the steripen as the uv tube needs to be immersed in the water for it to operate.
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| Edited: 07/04/08 03:17 |
 If you can hold your horses for a few days I've got a new system which has just passed all the tests with flying colours and is about to launch! It does purification AND filtration and I can vouch for it's simplicity, lightness, simple use and effectiveness as I've been drinking out of rivers, which I wouldn't normally touch with a barge pole. It comes looking like a simple water bottle, and if you are warried about the water in a disaster area, you can add an iodine or chlorine tablet. Thankfully the system reduces all the tastes and makes pure and clean instantly. Good for 400 gallons plus (depending on how you use it) price £30! I may have a couple available for review if anyone wants to try it. Please email me directly.
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 Horses held Bob!
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