Water Filters

Ger08 · Senior Member

Water Filters

Dougwe · Chief one feather

I use a B.E.S.T. Filter whenever hooked up to mains water and when filling drinking/tank water into containers. They are a in-line filter and can be reverse flushed so they can be kept clean. I actually have two and use together if water doesn't look great. I am very happy with them and they are so easy to use. They are around the $100ish mark and can be found in good camping/van accessary shops or on-line.

Keep Safe on the roads and out there.

Peter_n_Margaret · Guru

I suggest you install a 10" filter housing and filter AFTER the pump and before the taps. That is where you need the good water. Putting clean water into your tanks is no guarantee of getting clean water out.
Then buy filter cartridges according to specification, not by brand. I suggest a 1um carbon/silver filter. There are plenty available in most hardware and RV shops that are better and cheaper than 'Best' (about $35 instead of $100) which require the complete housing and element to be thrown away each time it is replaced.

Cheers,
Peter

mezza56 · Senior Member

I dont really like the throw away filters along with everything plastic we "throw away" , how many of you on the road recycle and what ideas can you offer others likewise , I am all ears as we all have to do our part .

Yuglamron · Guru

I'm in the Peter-N-Margaret camp. A good ten inch filter just before the taps.

I buy half micron ten inch filters .The silver coated Charcoal version around the thirty mark for two off EBay. Company is based in Melbourne so quick and easy.

As for throwing away, 90% of the filter is charcoal and silver. I rip off the mesh which is plastic and throw in the recycle bin. Most of the rest is woven paper.

I normally change every six months at Xmas and June.

When I change filters I normally clean the water tank with Milton and flush out the tank before replacing the filter.

Never had any gastric problems with the system so works for me.

Ger08 · Senior Member

Thanks for all the responses - this is great forum for info

banjo · Senior Member

Pretty pointless and wasteful to filter all water into van, as suggested best wat is a the twin undersink 10" filters to a separate tap. Simple efficient and only water required for drinking is filtered.

Think about it why filter the loo flush water ? We traveled for 6 1/2 years full time with the above setup, changed filters yearly and always had good palatable water.

fwdoz · Guru

banjo wrote:
Pretty pointless and wasteful to filter all water into van, as suggested best wat is a the twin undersink 10" filters to a separate tap. Simple efficient and only water required for drinking is filtered.

Think about it why filter the loo flush water ? We traveled for 6 1/2 years full time with the above setup, changed filters yearly and always had good palatable water.

Which brand do you use banjo?

Ozzie_Traveller · Senior Member

G'day all

Well fellas - I'm going to go the other way and ask "why do you want to filter clean water"?

For the past 15 yrs in the motorhome, and the decade before that with the campervan, we have never had any tummy-bug water issues ever ~ and we've certainly "been everywhere man".

We fill from any suitable town-based water supply ... at the servo or the info centre or the sports ground [making sure these days it's not coming from the purple taps that appear from time to time] ... and our tanked water is then used for all of cooking, showers, cold & hot drinks

=IF= my camping required me to use river or dam waters, then it's a different matter entirely, but in my travels [above] I see heaps of vanners filtering what I regard as perfectly okay town water into the van before driving away ... it beats me as to why they bother

Hope this helps
Phil

-- Edited by Ozzie_Traveller on Tuesday 10th of April 2018 07:58:19 PM

SouthernComfort · Guru

I'm with Ozzie Traveller. Seems there's a lot of needless concern about the need to filter. I bought one early on but have never used it. We also only use town water but if we were ever forced to source from a river or other dubious supply that'd be the time I'd hook it up. Recently in a CP in the Ovens Valley (Vic) we saw some QLD'ers using a fancy twin filter arrangement connected direct to the tap. It was tempting to remind them they're in one of the purest water regions in Aus, but I bit my tongue!

Ge · Senior Member

I'm with Ozzie_Traveller and SouthernComfort, all seems over the top. what about at home base or in the city do you filter then.
Oh for the wonders of modern marketing telling us we must have. smile

Aus-Kiwi · Guru

Have to ask ? If water was contaminated ? Would a filter take out enough impurities to make it safe ? We could be relying too much faith on filters . I treat tank with chlorine every now and then . Usually after a spell of little use ., We have a seperate tap near sink which is double filtered . Most our water is boiled or we buy bottled water for drinking ., Add a little lemon juice kept cold in fridge . Even the grand kids love it .

Tony Bev · Guru

Ger08 wrote:
Im trying to decide if we need a water filter and Im keen to hear about different brands and whether they are useful and if they are really needed

Hello Ger08

It depends where you are going to obtain your water from

If you are going to use reputable caravan parks, all the time, then you would probably not require a filter

If you are going to stay on the bitumen roads, and get your water from town supplies, then as Doug has already suggested, a B.E.S.T. Filter
BEST stands for Bacteria Eliminating Silver Treatment
Would probably be good enough

If you are going off road, and getting water from dams/streams/rivers etc, then as Peter has already suggested, a good reputable filter before the taps, would probably be the way to go

For my own needs, (I do not have a vehicle suitable for off road travel), I use the B.E.S.T filter to fill my fresh water tanks, from town water supply

I also buy bottled water to drink, as an insurance against any gastro problems, while travelling

Tony Bev · Guru

Ozzie_Traveller wrote:
G'day all

Well fellas - I'm going to go the other way and ask "why do you want to filter clean water"?

For the past 15 yrs in the motorhome, and the decade before that with the campervan, we have never had any tummy-bug water issues ever ~ and we've certainly "been everywhere man".

We fill from any suitable town-based water supply ... at the servo or the info centre or the sports ground [making sure these days it's not coming from the purple taps that appear from time to time] ... and our tanked water is then used for all of cooking, showers, cold & hot drinks

=IF= my camping required me to use river or dam waters, then it's a different matter entirely, but in my travels [above] I see heaps of vanners filtering what I regard as perfectly okay town water into the van before driving away ... it beats me as to why they bother

Hope this helps
Phil

-- Edited by Ozzie_Traveller on Tuesday 10th of April 2018 07:58:19 PM

Hello Phil

I do remember not so long ago, when some parts of the Sydney area had contaminated water

I will assume that before the authorities realised the water was contaminated, some people had already used it

A few years ago I was in the (then) free camp at Delvene Queensland
I was speaking to a man taking a water sample, from the water tap, he mentioned that he checked it about once a month, or when anyone complained about smell or taste

Tony Bev · Guru

Aus-Kiwi wrote:
Have to ask ? If water was contaminated ? Would a filter take out enough impurities to make it safe ? We could be relying too much faith on filters . I treat tank with chlorine every now and then . Usually after a spell of little use ., We have a seperate tap near sink which is double filtered . Most our water is boiled or we buy bottled water for drinking ., Add a little lemon juice kept cold in fridge . Even the grand kids love it .

Hello Aus Kiwi

I suppose it would depend on what type of contamination was present

The B.E.S.T filter is supposed to have silver inside it, I am let to believe (so I could be wrong), that the silver will kill some types of bacteria