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After last campout worked over our Troop's Pur Hiker filters...

One was much stiffer than the other, usually a sign that the cartridge is getting plugged. Pulled it apart and cleaned and lubed the pump O-ring (silicon grease per the manual) and all is better - wasn't all that dirty either(?) Gives you a chance to inspect the check valves as well even if you can't access them

 

In my innocence I flush most pieces out with a bleach solution but not the filter elements. Seems kinda obvious but gotta be pretty careful to keep the cootie-exposed parts separate from the clean internals. Lots of tap water rinsing and air drying completes the process - be nice to get 'em out in the sun if you could I guess...

 

This is only about a 15 minute process and you're good to go!

We've retrofitted Sweetwater's external SiltStopper prefilters (advertised as effective > 2 micron particles) and had good success with them in extending the life of the internal filter elements ($10 instead of $25 as well)

Got 'em at Campmor even if they're not listed in the catalog.

 

O yeah keeping the hose assemblies isolated is a pretty good idea as well - again apologizing for the obviousity!

 

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Cleaning one's water filter after returning from an outing is a good habit to get into.

 

A few more tips...

 

The best ratio of bleach to water is 1:10 with a contact time around 30 to 45 minutes for all parts.

 

Also, after the final rinse, and a bit of drying, the cartridge element can be stored in the freezer.

 

For those who use a Camelback or a similar hydration system just remove the mouthpiece, and plug it directly into the Pur Hiker when pumping water.

 

On a safety note since the Pur Hiker can be easily upgraded to a purifier that those with seafood/iodine allergies can't use them....

 

 

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Really, the freezer? Why?

 

A quick note on purifiers

 

PUR no longer sells purifiers. They were required to discontinue sales due to people pumping too quickly and the iodine didn't have enough time to work before the carbon filter removed the iodine.

 

So if you are like me and own a PUR Voyager purifier you now need to use the hiker filter elements.

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Thinks for the update Mike, didn't know that Pur cease making the purifiers. Strange that that information was not passed along by Pur, as I was researching the medical contraindications. Can understand their reason, since contact time is very important, especially when pumping snow melt runoff.

 

As for freezing the cartridge, it prevents mold and algi build up is all. It was a problem that I was having due to the high humidity here in the southeast...

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I found out by trying to get a replacment element for my Voyager at my local outfitter and they informed me about it.

 

PUR was also recently bought by Katadyne so there should be some interesting things happening soon.

 

Good to know about the mold thing. I haven't had that particular problem yet. (The AC stays on most of the year in Florida.)

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I found out by trying to get a replacment element for my Voyager at my local outfitter and they informed me about it.

 

PUR was also recently bought by Katadyne so there should be some interesting things happening soon.

 

Good to know about the mold thing. I haven't had that particular problem yet. (The AC stays on most of the year in Florida.)

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Le Voy: Thanks for details on the bleach soak, hadn't realized that the dwell time was so long. We might make a note as well that those with ceramic filter elements should make sure that its pretty dry before freezing lest there be cracking...

 

Haven't tried to refill the hydration reservoirs in place yet, but 'twould be pretty handy! Probably find a neat little connector/adatpter/widget at an industrial hardware store or auto supply house - I'd start with 1/4" ID.

I'm concerned about venting the bladder as it refills?

 

One last thought for you more medical types: hows about flushing a wound (thinking road rash) with the pressurized flow from the filter output instead of using an irrigation syringe?

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Sorry about the double post above.

 

I have some Platypus quick disconnects between my cell and filter. REI has them. Works great. You just have to be sure that there is water in the line to minimise pumping air into the cell. You will still need to vent the cell if you start getting a lot on air in it but it's not as bad as you would think.

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buffalo2

 

Contact time would be a lot shorter if we had to deal only with bacteria. Cyst like organisms such as Giardia require time for their cell walls to break down before they can be rendered harmless.

The other tuff guys out there are the viruses which can be far harder to kill.

A good referance source is Microbiology, 2ed, 1973 ISBN 06-140683-x

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