RE: Watering Options
John Phillips (phillips@library.ucsf.edu)
Tue, 12 Mar 96 10:05:23 CST
In Message Tue, 12 Mar 1996 09:42:18 -0800,
"Carlstrom_Rick"
<Carlstrom_Rick%P-AME-HQ.CCBRIDGE.SEAA.mrouter@seaa.navsea.navy.mil>
writes:
I also saw an instant water "purifier filter" in a mountain climbing
> store. The clerk told me it was actually a hand held RO unit.
> This might be a way of cheaply getting 1-2 gallons a day? It is
> probably worth checking in camping stores/catalogues
It sounds to me like the clerk was slightly in the dark about the water
filters his store was selling. Water filters sold for wilderness travel
filter out sediment and most importantly bacteria and other small
organisms which could impair one's wilderness experience with a case of
intestinal distress. They are not RO units. They simply remove what
could possibly be a hazard to your health with the exception of viruses
such as hepatitus. They are also more trouble than they're worth since
they require constant cleaning of their ceramic filters. Lower end
filters use other filter media. Some have charcoal. I have found the
ignorance of clerks in backpacking and mountaineering stores to be on
par with clerks in department stores who are unable to tell me how much
a garment is expected to shrink the first time I wash it. My two cents
worth, John Phillips Email: phillips@library.ucsf.edu Information
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