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Old 01-12-2023, 01:44 PM   #1
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Best water filter

What's the BEST water filter that ISN'T reverse osmosis? I'm not set up to out in an reverse osmosis set up and don't want to spare the extra waste water.

What's the next best thing? I want the cleanest and purest water coming out of my drinking tap. I'd prefer not to use a PUR or Berkey, pour-in style filter. I want gnarly high grade house filters with the tiniest filter sizes. My water source is mostly city water from the tap in Santa Barbara, CA. Not sure quality of water here, but that's my use case. And I want to be able to fill up almost anywhere and know my water is gonna come out clean, pure, and safe.

Ideas?

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Old 01-12-2023, 04:17 PM   #2
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Look up RV water filters.

They come in a variety of types. Some are no more then an inline filter on a garden hose, others are systems with multiple stages, activated carbon, uv light purification, etc.

You can go mild to wild really. Depending on source water and how clean you want and how much flow you need. That's if you're after something that's ready made and already available. You can likely rig up your own system if you're looking for something custom.

The only way I would use reverse osmosis would be if I was filling a tank from a hose at home. I would definitely not have the system mounted on the bus, as like you said, they'll go through a lot of water in the flush cycle.
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Old 01-12-2023, 04:18 PM   #3
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Kwest364 View Post
What's the BEST water filter that ISN'T reverse osmosis? I'm not set up to out in an reverse osmosis set up and don't want to spare the extra waste water.
The "waste" from an RO unit is huge, like 19 parts waste to 1 part filtered. HOWEVER, that waste didn't have anything added to it, just a bit of pure water removed. You could plumb that "waste" right back to your fresh tank though depending on your set up you might need an interim small tank and a pump.
We'll be doing something similar with our shower and washing machine water. Shower and washing machine go to a dedicated grey tank which is then put through a series of filters (screen, cartridges, RO, UV sterilizer) and into a "reclaimed water" tank which will supply the shower, washing machine, and roof top spigot for solar panel cleaning.
So, if you run your RO waste back to the fresh tank there is no waste.



Quote:
Originally Posted by Kwest364 View Post
I want the cleanest and purest water coming out of my drinking tap. I'd prefer not to use a PUR or Berkey, pour-in style filter. I want gnarly high grade house filters with the tiniest filter sizes.
Your criteria don't seem to be within the realm of available products. Whole house filters pale in comparison to dedicated drinking water filters such as the Berkey. When you add in wanting the tiniest filter sizes I think you completely eliminate house filters.


One option would be an on faucet filter that you can bypass for non consumption purposes. PUR makes them as well as others but it does eliminate the "pour in" requirement. I've used them in several homes and they work, just be sure you get the carbon filters that pull out toxics in addition to particulates.
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Old 01-12-2023, 04:26 PM   #4
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If you do end up deciding that a countertop pitcher-style filter is right for you, it would be worth watching the recent review video from the fantastic Project Farm channel.

https://youtu.be/ja0ioX6GSz0
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Old 01-24-2023, 10:56 AM   #5
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I'm using a system from Doulton USA Boat/RV Point of Entry (POE) Drinking Water Systems and Salt Free Water Conditioners
It can filter pond water into potable water. I have a screen pre filter on front of the RIF10 unit. It works well.
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Old 01-24-2023, 10:53 PM   #6
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Kwest364 View Post
My water source is mostly city water from the tap in Santa Barbara, CA. Not sure quality of water here, but that's my use case.
Have you checked the Santa Barbara water district's annual water purity report? https://santabarbaraca.gov/sites/def...port%20CCR.pdf
I'd be surprised if you can make your own water any safer or better than what comes out of the taps there: most urban parts of CA have water that exceeds strict federal standards.

I'm always amazed when I see people buying massive quantities of bottled drinking water at Costco or the grocery stores. Do they really think the tap water is so harmful that they shouldn't drink it at all? Buying potable water when it's almost free out of the taps is the epitome of stupidity. (And where does most of that bottled water come from anyway?!...)

Back to your original question - when I was in Nepal in 1986 I saw several villages using Katadyn pour-through gravity filters. If they can easily and cheaply make clean safe water from the contaminated local sources, maybe there's a lesson to be learnt there. I used my Katadyn Pocket Filter on that entire bicycling and trekking trip, and we didn't ever get sick from any water (including when I had to filter green scummy water from a cattle drinking trough in Rajasthan!). A Katadyn or Big Berkey will provide safe drinking water with minimum effort: what's not to like?

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Old 01-25-2023, 02:59 PM   #7
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I'm going with just a basic in-line RV filter for filling my fresh tank then a reverse-osmosis for drinking water.



The RO systems aren't that much bigger than a different filtration system and I'll just drain the "waste" water right back into the fresh tank - which will get used for showers, laundry, or run back through the RO system for drinking water again. I'll probably use the same Culligan setup that my house had in it when I bought it. The filters aren't horribly expensive and it's fairly compact.



I think they make specialty RV RO systems... I haven't looked much into them yet but I'm guessing a lot more money for just a little bit less footprint.

My recirculating shower will also have a 3-stage filter with UV. I haven't decided on specifically which one, but I see this one from the RV Water Filter Store promoted on YouTube a lot (take that for what its worth). It says its drinking quality so maybe that's an option?

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Old 07-11-2023, 08:34 PM   #8
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This is a fascinating thread. I’m curious how you all deal with tanks being outside versus inside? I’m new to this phase of the build and haven’t looked into it much so pardon the ignorance.

Can these filters be under the bus in the exterior or do they need to be interior? I’d ideally have a four seasons bus but it’s currently set up as a three season and needs some plumbing adaptations. Wondering where the filters will play in here. Thanks!
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