No, it's not a coffeepot (though it's often mistaken for one at shows....). It's the AquaRaintm Gravity Water Filter, and we're excited about it!
It dropships in 1-2 days.
First, some things you should know about filters. Many of the " flagship, industry-standard" ones use a pump
to force the water through their ceramic filters. It's a good idea for
keeping filters small in size for campers, but forcing water through the
filtering element presents problems that those manufacturers may not
tell you about.
Most modern water filtering is done through
micro-sized pores in ceramic or plastic. The bad guys (suspended metals,
bacteria, viruses, etc.) either can't make it through the pores or are
filtered out by the activated carbon. They don't fit. What's not
commonly known is that many filters have a nominal pore size, not an absolute
pore size. "Nominal" means that
the
majority of the pores are the size claimed. BUT, the rest of them can
be as large as 20 microns . . . and remember, water follows the path of
least resistance, happily flowing through the larger pores and carrying
pollutants/contaminants right along.
Forcing
(pumping) water through a nominal pore-sized filter just hurries the
little buggers through the larger pores. In your filter purchase, you
want to be sure the filter has an absolute micron size.
That means that all pores are the same size. There are no "tunnels"
through which disease-causing organisms or chemicals can flow. 
The other problem with a pump-type filter is parts wearing out. Waddya gonna do for pure water then?? How long will it take to get replacement seals, plungers, o-rings, handles, etc.? Will you be able to get them? These were concerns we had, even as we bought our Katadyne a couple of years ago (yes, we have one).
And which is why we're thrilled with our shiny, new AquaRaintm Gravity Filter! It has
0.2 micron absolute pore size.
Zero moving parts.
Cleanable ceramic filter element (replaceable and cleanable 200x by hand).
Silver-impregnated ceramic to prevent bacterial growth.
Granular
activated carbon filtration to remove chemical and organic compounds
and improve taste. (Carbon is contained within the ceramic core.)
A filtering capacity of up to 32 gallons a day.
Stamped stainless steel construction.
Handles on filtering section for easy lifting.
Exclusive " drip lip" to prevent contamination of filtered water.
Yup. Double filtration, both ceramic and carbon in each element . . . and it filters enough water for 6 people
a day (4 element model). It's been manufactured to meet ANSI/NSF
standards, the toughest there are. IBR (Inter Basic Resources) 4/4/97
test report states that the AquaRain filter, at absolute 0.2 microns has
99.99 log 5.92 efficiency. I failed trig in high school, but I'm told
that means it has 99.99992 filtering efficiency at 0.2 microns! (Our
nearest competitor, the British Berkefeld, certifies at only 0.9 microns with only 99.99 filtering efficiency.)
|
The AquaRain removes
Over 99.99% of E. Coli
Over 99.99% of Klebsiella
Over 99.99% of Cholera
Over 99.99% of Shigella
Over 99.99% of Salmonella
100% of Guinea Worms
100% of Giardia Lamblia
100% of Cryptosporidium
The AquaRain
filters well over 30,000 - 60,000 gallons of water (depending on the
turbidity of source water) and the ceramic elements can be cleaned (by
hand) 200 times before they need replacement. (The manufacturer
recommends replacing the filter elements every 6 months when in regular
use so the carbon remains "activated". So, get the filter and one extra
set of 4 elements, and you're
good for a year. Get 2 extra sets of 4 if you have 6 people in the
family or group.) If you order 2 or 4 extra elements, they come packaged
inside the AquaRaintm box with the filter.
They're available in two stainless steel models, the AquaRaintm 200 (which has 2 filter elements) and the AquaRaintm 400 (which has 4). The 400 holds 3 gallons of water, the 200 holds 1 1/2 gallons of water. The AquaRaintm 200 filters up to 16 gallons/day, the AquaRaintm 400 filters up to 32 gallons/day.
Model 200
STAINLESS STEEL HOUSING....1 1/2 GALLON CAPACITY.
TWO (2) high performance filter cartridges.
8 inches in diameter and 18 inches tall, including the stainless steel lid and rubber base.
Model 400
STAINLESS STEEL HOUSING....THREE GALLON CAPACITY.
FOUR (4) high performance filter cartridges.
10 inches in diameter and 21 inches tall including the stainless steel lid and rubber base.
Empty weight is 10 lbs. (These filters are better than the British Berkefeld, less expensive, and more readily available in quantity. Plus, it's made in the USA! No more sending your dollars to England . . . .)
We highly recommend them!* |
