HollisBlanchard: Created page with "{{:BlogAuthors/SusanRonning}} Category:Kit Preparation & Planning First published: Sep 18, 2016 Updated: May 31, 2017 link= My husband and I planned a camping trip to Waldo Lake. It was a place he’d heard so much about but hadn’t yet visited. About a three weeks before our reservation, we received a notice from the campground that there would be no fresh drinking water available due to a broke..."

2025-05-29T22:14:46Z

Created page with "{{:BlogAuthors/SusanRonning}} Category:Kit Preparation & Planning First published: Sep 18, 2016 Updated: May 31, 2017 frameless|link= My husband and I planned a camping trip to Waldo Lake. It was a place he’d heard so much about but hadn’t yet visited. About a three weeks before our reservation, we received a notice from the campground that there would be no fresh drinking water available due to a broke..."

New page

{{:BlogAuthors/SusanRonning}}
[[Category:Kit Preparation & Planning]]

First published: Sep 18, 2016

Updated: May 31, 2017

[[File:Clyde-and-Buckets-1-e1474299853154-1080x675.jpg|frameless|link=]]

My husband and I planned a camping trip to Waldo Lake. It was a place he’d heard so much about but hadn’t yet visited. About a three weeks before our reservation, we received a notice from the campground that there would be no fresh drinking water available due to a broken line which wouldn’t be fixed in time. We could cancel our reservation with a full refund or continue on and make due by bringing our own water or filtering the lake water. Heck, we’ve been backpacking and have had to filter water before. Not to worry, we would figure something out and press on.


=== KING OF THE BACKPACKING TRIP ===

John and I had only ever used hand-pump water filters for backpacking. They are a lot of work for not much gain. On a previous backpacking trip, a friend of ours had brought along a [http://astore.amazon.com/portlandprepa-20/detail/B00J4022FS Platypus brand gravity fed filter system] designed to hang from a tree. He was KING of that backpacking trip. We took turns filling his water bag and letting his filter do the leg-work while we cooked, chatted, and slept. Gravity-fed filters... now that’s the way to go!


=== HOMEMADE GRAVITY SYSTEM ===

[[File:BucketWaterFilterDiagram.jpg|frameless|right]]

Before embarking on our camping trip, I scoured the internet looking for more gravity-fed filtration options. Lo and behold, I found a [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E1O9TgD7VK4 video of how to assemble a home-built system]. This [http://astore.amazon.com/portlandprepa-20/detail/B00XTJJIF2 two-bucket ceramic gravity-fed filter system] would be a perfect solution for car camping. We built it and used it successfully on that trip.

I realized this system would work perfectly in our home preparedness kit. We have rain barrels around our house and intend for that to be our water source. But drinking THAT water — uggh! It would need to be filtered.


=== FILTRATION IS NOT ENOUGH ===

After talking to more people, there were concerns about the level of sanitation. How many microns? What about viruses? It turns out that ceramic filters only filter, which is to say they remove particles and bacteria – not viruses and chemicals, so purification is still required. I’ve since found that [http://astore.amazon.com/portlandprepa-20/detail/B00BWIWW3C Berkey filters] can purify to the virus level as well as [http://astore.amazon.com/portlandprepa-20/detail/B000ESB8WW iodine tablets]. We haven’t tried it out yet, but that’s our next step. Or we’ll just boil whatever water we don’t trust to drink.


=== WHERE TO BUY GRAVITY-FED KITS ===

* [http://astore.amazon.com/portlandprepa-20/detail/B00XTJJIF2 SHTFandGO: gravity water filter kit]
* [http://astore.amazon.com/portlandprepa-20/detail/B007HV7C2O Ceramic Water Filter Kit with TWO Filters]

'''ADDITIONAL RESOURCES:'''

* [https://www.rei.com/learn/expert-advice/water-treatment-backcountry.html REI: explanation of various levels of water treatment]
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sFfLbeXDav8%20 LDSprepper: video analysis of various filter and purification systems]
* [http://www.naturalnews.com/047620_water_filter_lab_tests_arsenic_removal.html Natural News: scientific analysis of water filters]

Blog/2016/09/Homemade Two-Bucket Water Filtration System - Revision history