Home Made Water Filter

[UnknownWarrior]

I made up a short video that describes the simple home made water filter I've been using for the past eight years in Brazil with very good results.

The filter costs about $3 to make. It must be used with a chemical method or boiling to make the water safe. This filter will remove a great deal of suspended material, small organisms, and make the water clearer but it DOES NOT IN ITSELF MAKE THE WATER SAFE TO DRINK. It does greatly increase the effectiveness of either iodine or chlorine and it makes water of questionable quality much better tasting.

Mac

Being a non-native English speaker, I was not able to clearly understand your speech. So, if possible, can you please post here or on your blog, step by step instructions on how to make this filter?

[Rick]

Did you pick the fiber material up at the pet store as well? I'm with UnknownWarrior. He has trouble with the language. I have trouble with my ears. (shrug).

[2dumb2kwit]

Did you pick the fiber material up at the pet store as well? I'm with UnknownWarrior. He has trouble with the language. I have trouble with my ears. (shrug).

Yes. (That's what he said in the video.)

[Pict]

The activated charcoal pellets and synthetic fiber wad can be found in pet stores. Don't use cotton for the wad as it will compress and slow the filter down.

MATERIALS NEEDED

2 sections of 20 mm pipe about 10 cm long
1 20 mm pipe joint
1 20 mm pipe reducer
Activated Charcoal Pellets
Synthetic filter floss (wadding)
2 perforated plastic discs that fit inside the pipe joint.

There's really no secret to assembly other than sanding the pipes to fit snug in the joint and reducer but not so tight you can't take it apart for repacking.
Mac

[UnknownWarrior]

Thank a lot Pict!

Can this filter be used in place of a Berkeyfeld filters like here?:

http://www.alpharubicon.com/kids/hom...erkeydaire.htm

That will reduce the high cost of Berkeyfeld filters (which aren't available in India it seems) for us poor people.

[Pict]

The small filter I use is intended to filter raw water for personal use in the bush. It will easily keep you in filtered water as long as you only need a few liters a day. The problem is that it is an active system that requires you to actually filter the water personally.

The filter in the link is a passive system intended to filter large volumes of water for a family sized group. All of South America has similar filters in their homes. The cost of those filter elements is truly astronomical. In Brazil we use ceramic and carbon filter elements that cost a few dollars each.

I have tried to adapt the ceramic filter elements for use in the bush by installing one in a hanging bag with a hose for collection but found it very slow and kind of awkward to use. It did keep us in filtered water but water from the bush contains too much suspended matter and clogs the ceramic very quickly. Mac

[Rick]

Mac,

I think you said somewhere you capture rain water as well? I would think the need to filter rain water would be directly dependent upon what was used to collect it and how it was stored (mosquitoes and other buggies).

I also remember you saying the water was off for a period of time so I assume there is a water network in Brazil, where you live. Is the quality suspect and/or the availability unreliable? Do you get water from river/pond/well, too?

I'm just curious how water is acquired in Brazil.

[UnknownWarrior]

Sorry but I'm trying to make the filter as super low cost as possible for the poor people to use. Can sawdust replace the charcoal pellets?

I read here about sawdust as well as neem activated neem leaves:

http://discovery.bits-pilani.ac.in/~...CWRDM_2008.pdf

[Pict]

Sorry but I'm trying to make the filter as super low cost as possible for the poor people to use. Can sawdust replace the charcoal pellets?

I read here about sawdust as well as neem activated neem leaves:

http://discovery.bits-pilani.ac.in/~...CWRDM_2008.pdf

Do google searches for...

"UNICEF Upflow Filter"

"SODIS"

"Sand charcoal filtration"

Ordinary natural charcoal can be substituted for activated charcoal pellets but sawdust cannot, depending on the wood it could actually be lethal. Sawdust has the potential to create a giant in-line teabag. TOXIC WOODS

I do have some experience with sand/charcoal filtration. We had very bad water at our camp taken from two shallow wells, pumped up to a series of water boxes at the top of the property. From there they would drain down through the system. The water was filled with fine, orange clay/silt and smelled bad.

Here's a photo of the filter we installed.

Guests can not see images in the messages. Please register in the forum.

This filter worked but it was installed incorrectly. We started this project on a Friday and resolved to build it on a Saturday. That Sunday morning I had to drive downtown to speak at my church and on the way home I did some research online to make sure we had everything we needed. Knowing what we had proposed we overlooked a serious detail. The water intake has to be at the bottom and the outlet at the top or the system traps air. I rushed out to camp (1.5 hours) and as soon as I stepped out of the car I heard the story. "Pastor Mac! You should have SEEN that filter blow it's top!"

Here's the result of our simple filter.

Guests can not see images in the messages. Please register in the forum.

It made a huge difference.

Mac

[Rick]

If I read your document correctly, it appears that sawdust is nearly half as efficient at adsorbing the chemical chromium, which is all the study looks at. Activated charcoal adsorbs carbon based or organic chemicals as well as a few other chemicals such a chromium, arsenic and mercury. It is also effective against PCBs, THMs and TAHs all industrial pollutants or byproducts. I have read some evidence to suggest radon gas is adsorbed as well.

You would have to perform a cost/benefit analysis in order to determine if any other adsorbent is as good as activated carbon. For example, if sawdust removes only chromium then, while it is both plentiful and cheap, the benefit is negligible in comparison to activated charcoal.

I don't know any specifics for sawdust, neem leaves or fly ash other than what is outlined in your link. So I can't compare or contrast the other items with charcoal.

[Pict]

Mac,

I think you said somewhere you capture rain water as well? I would think the need to filter rain water would be directly dependent upon what was used to collect it and how it was stored (mosquitoes and other buggies).

I also remember you saying the water was off for a period of time so I assume there is a water network in Brazil, where you live. Is the quality suspect and/or the availability unreliable? Do you get water from river/pond/well, too?

I'm just curious how water is acquired in Brazil.

Rick,

I live in a city of 5.3 million people. Belo Horizonte has a larger population than the nations of Ireland or Uruguay. Finland has a population of 5.3 million. So, yes, we have a modern water distribution system.

It is a little different in that the city water is pumped up to a reservoir on the roof and from there it is gravity fed down through the house. We spent five years in an apartment on a hill and then moved to our house, also on a hill, the highest one around. Sometimes if there is a problem in the city system there isn't enough water pressure to get the water all the way up to our box and we run out. Sometimes the entire neighborhood drains and somethings we only have pressure at street level. For that I have an electric pump that I use to fill the box, but that depends on having water at the street.

The water that comes off the city system is chlorinated and safe to drink. Once it sits in the water box it could go bad so we filter it with an in-line filter and ozone machine. We also have two ceramic drip filters we use for drinking water upstairs.

We have had to collect rain water at both the apartment and the house. If the water goes off during rainy season it is no big deal. A hassle but there is no shortage of rain water. When it happens in the dry season I have to drive to the bottom of the neighborhood and get water in 20 liter jugs from the city system. That is a daily hassle. Mac

[Rick]

Oh, gosh. I had no idea you were in a city that large. Thanks. I appreciate the explanation.

[Pict]

Oh, gosh. I had no idea you were in a city that large. Thanks. I appreciate the explanation.

The cool thing is that Belo is surrounded with world class wilderness and our state is a mecca for ecotourism. Belo is Brazil's third largest city, we live in the suburbs about 12 km from downtown. Mac

[Jonesy]

Thanks for the water filter ideas and examples. The videos are great though I haven't watched all of them yet.

The side by side comparison of clear vs orange water was pretty convincing.

Honestly I could sit and read/listen to you tell about life in Brazil all day.

Thanks!!

[Rick]

By the way, the Toxic Woods link is excellent. A lot to learn on that one page!! If ya'll notice, Sassafras is listed three time as toxic while Hemlock is listed once. Might pay to head that kind of advice.

[Ken]

Honestly I could sit and read/listen to you tell about life in Brazil all day.

And I could do it too, even if you were speaking Portuguese.

[Jonesy]

Rick, Mac, all

Does the carbon filter nuetralize the pollutents or hold them in concentration in the carbon? Also is this in such small amounts that disposal and cleaning of the filter system is not a big issue?

Water is not hard to find here in Kansas but it is mostly run off from farmland and a few cattle ranches. Would you guys feel comfortable using this filter system with the potential for high concentration levels of pesticides and such in the water?

Thanks

[UnknownWarrior]

I do have some experience with sand/charcoal filtration. We had very bad water at our camp taken from two shallow wells, pumped up to a series of water boxes at the top of the property. From there they would drain down through the system. The water was filled with fine, orange clay/silt and smelled bad.

...

It made a huge difference.

Mac

Really lovely system. I'd like more details please, while I google for the others.

[UnknownWarrior]

The activated charcoal pellets and synthetic fiber wad can be found in pet stores. Don't use cotton for the wad as it will compress and slow the filter down.

MATERIALS NEEDED
...
Activated Charcoal Pellets
Synthetic filter floss (wadding)
2 perforated plastic discs that fit inside the pipe joint.

Mac

Talking about activated charcoal, how long does it work once put into the pipe and start filtering on a daily bases? Do you keep changing the pellets often? or how often?

Activated charcoal isn't hazardous but does cause some side effects in case of tablet / powder consumption etc. Since you say that you're using the filter since 7 - 8 years, I guess this doesn't do any such side effect?

[Pict]

Really lovely system. I'd like more details please, while I google for the others.

That's what I'm trying to get out of writing! There is alot of information out there on charcoal/sand filtration. In a nutshell it works like this

Sand/charcoal

Sand layer - Water passes through this first. The sand becomes colonized by micro-organisms that feed on all living material that passes through the sand killing them.

Charcoal layer - The biological waste of the killer organisms exits the other side of the sand layer to become trapped in the carbon matrix of the charcoal and only clean water flows out the other end of the filter.

SODIS - Short for Solar Disinfection. Water in clear bottles is exposed to UV radiation from sunlight killing everything inside. The water supply is kept in a series of bottles that are left out and exposed during the day.

The Small PVC filter I made is for cleaning up raw water in the bush prior to chemical treatment with iodine or chlorine. The pellets will last longer if you put cleaner water through it. Of course if you pack it full of mud it won't last at all. I use this filter often and I've only repacked it a few times. Not because I noticed a change but because I figured it was time. I have used it with charcoal from normal camp fires and I have repacked it in the bush just to test how well it works. It worked fine. Mac