#filterwater #sawyersqueeze #watertreatment
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For the past 3 years I have been using the Sawyer Squeeze (bit.ly/35IjVvx). I absolutely love it, especially when I rig it up like the Platypus Gravity works. In my opinion it is so much faster, better and cheaper than the gravity works. Be sure to always carry an extra squeeze pouch. It works really well on my solo hikes. When I'm treating water for others I tend to use the Sawyer filter with my gravity works bag as it is great at treating large volumes of water.
I have also used to use the Platypus Gravity Works 4L (amzn.to/3ceT11l) unit but it is more expensive. I have also repurposed a mouth piece off an old hydration bladder and converted the clean water tank into a hydration bladder saving further weight. It can be slow at times but that probably just indicates it is time for a backwash clean. No batteries are required so I can just keep treating water for multiple weeks on end.
Background on water treatment and storage from my website www.australianhiking.com/
What’s in the water?
Things floating in the water or stained water from tannins (colouring from eucalyptus leaves like tea) are not normally an issue. I will sometimes use a clean t-shirt or my scarf to prevent 'chunks' from entering my water containers. The real stuff you need to worry about is the stuff you can’t see and these fall into the following 3 categories:
1. Protozoan - these are things like Giardia and Cryptosporidium and can cause terrible diarrhoea. These nasties are quite large microorganisms (1-20 microns) and are removed by most filters on the market and tablets.
2. Bacterial - these are things like E. coli (Escherichia coli) and salmonella that you have probably heard of and can come from human or animal poo or dead animals. Even the most pristine of streams can have a dead possum upstream. These nasties are smaller than the protozoa at 0.1-10 microns - many filters work to 0.2 microns, which should keep you safe. But some of the better ones now filters down to 0.1 micron.
3. Viral - these are tiny little things and can be much harder to treat. Viral infection of water is more of an issue in developing countries rather than hiking in Australia unless you are down stream of a sewerage treatment plant. These little nasties are in the order of 0.005-0.1 microns and need to be treated with chemicals or UV treatment (ultraviolet).
Water treatment methods
1. boil the water - this is a great way to get rid of all the nasties but it takes a long time and requires a lot of fuel. But if all else fails this is your fall back plan (boil for at least 1 minute)
2. Chemical treatment tablets - these are simple, relatively cheap and very light weight. However, for full treatment you need to wait 4 hours and the taste can be a bit off-putting.
3. Filtration - there are a great range of filters on the market now that work in different ways. I like to avoid battery operated things as they can run out of battery. I think filters where you have to sit there and pump the water are a bit annoying and I prefer the gravity type filters but they can be a little slower. The newer method is a filter you just put over your bottle and squeeze the water through. All filters can get blocked so be sure you regularly back wash them to keep your flow rate up.
4. UV treatment - these are great as they treat down to the virus level, but they require batteries (that are heavy and can run out) and the water needs to be relatively clear as the UV will be less affective in dirty water
All equipment was purchased with my own money. I am not sponsored by any brands. Some links are affiliate links so if you make a purchase it helps the channel out. Thanks
11 июн 2021
