SHTF water filtration

[Cesiumsponge]

Bringing this back from the dead. Boiling water is a common misconception and a fairly recent, modern thing in an energy-cheap world. Every "expert" has his own magic number...1, 2, 5, 10, 15, 30 minutes! Why not 100 minutes or 1000 minutes? Notice there isn't a consensus? Certain bugs cannot be killed by boiling water, and most harmful things are dead before water reaches a boiling point.

The process of pasteurization is good enough to kill the microbes that can commonly cause human illness in our FDA-regulated liquids. There is a lot of interesting material on "solar water pasteurization" in Africa and it seems fairly simple that boiling is simply a waste of fuel considering the bugs that make us ill die above 149F.

It's also a misconception that our ancestors have been boiling water for thousands of years. Waterborne diseases and it's side effects like dysentery have probably killed more folks than plagues. People didn't boil water for the sake of making water safe to drink...safe from what? They didn't know about viruses, bacteria, or protozoa. Sure, folks knew that water could often make you sick, but not the reasoning behind it. People shat in the rivers they pulled water from. Wood in many parts was not a cheap resource. Yet peasants and kings alike died from drinking unclean water. Royalty have no excuse not to boil water, but it was simply not done. Instead, they found that teas and coffees and alcoholic drinks like beers, meads, and wines made the liquids safe to consume. They never figured out why or how, but rarely did you just gulp down a glass of water. Why do you think every culture has such a rich heritage and tradition behind alcohols, coffees, and teas? It was what most people consumed.






Back on topic, I have the Lifesaver Bottle which removes particles down to 0.015 microns, so it's GTG on viruses. Only downside is the filters have a finite life shelf, brand new or in use of roughly 2 years. It's listed as 99.999% on viral removal and 99.999995% bacterial. It's a self contained filter/bottle unit which you prime with an onboard pump to force water through the membrane and out the drinking nipple. It does 4000-6000L of water depending on the filter you select. It is around $300 depending on options. Incredibly convenient with an all-in-one system but there is a risk of cross contamination with careless use. The plus side is it squirts out with some force so you could use it for wound irrigation.

I also run the Katadyn Pocket, their most expensive portable filter in their product line. It has an aluminum housing with a ceramic filter which can be cleaned. It lasts 50000L and will filter down to 0.2 microns, so no viral protection, but gets rid of everything else. The fact it's field-servicable makes it much more useful to me than the Lifesaver Bottle. It's also a product line they've carried for decades unchanged, so it's very well-proven around the world. You won't find it in most brick & mortar sporting goods stores, even the REI's. It is around $300 depending on what deal you can find, usually a special order item.

I also have a Saywer 0.02 micron inline gravity filter somewhere but I've moved away from those because they're clunky to use. That filter will remove viral threats as well. I think if you buy the kit with the dirty and clean bladders, all tubing, and inline filter, its around $180. I have plenty of bladders and found the filter itself somewhere. I think it was $60ish on clearance but usually $120 or so. This system is more useful if you're bugging in and could rig the filter into some bigger 5-gallon buckets because drip filters take forever. For something on-the-go, it's just too unwieldy to set up.