Prudent Prepping: Water Filtration

The dust has settled and the First 72 Hours have passed. Now we concentrate on what to do in, and how to plan for, the long term via Prudent Prepping.

Water Filtering for a Group

While filters will not help to sanitize the water in Toledo, they will work under normal situations to keep you and your group alive. I ordered a new, larger version of my personal Sawyer filter before the algae bloom and it arrived late this afternoon.

The newest addition to my supplies, the Sawyer Model SP 181 is rated to filter up to 1 million gallons, with proper care! It should filter 5 gallons of water in about 2 hours.






This particular kit includes the normal Sawyer filter design- filter body, bag and water bottle adapter, plus parts to attach the filter to a pail so larger amounts of water can be filtered much easier. Here are the additional parts:




Sawyer makes attaching the filter to a pail as easy I've ever seen - even the correct drill bit is included! The included instructions are not printed dark enough for a photo to clearly capture, so I will write out the steps.

1. Start with a clean, food-grade bucket. 
2. Drill a hole in the side of the bucket with the supplied spade bit. (Power tools are not required  for this task - disappointing to a Power Tool salesman) Make the hole 1.5"-2" from the bottom of the pail, to prevent sediment from entering the filter. Clean the edges of the hole well, to prevent leaks around the spout.

   

   Image courtesy of Amazon.com

3. Remove the nut and outer seal from the spout assembly (large end of the long gray tube), leaving the inner seal.
4. Install the adapter in the pail, centering the threads in the hole. Install the nut and washer and tighten firmly.
5.  Fill your pail and check for leaks NOW, before you need it!

I recommend this product and would buy another. I am storing my Sawyer filter, bags and accessories in one of the new pails I'm buying, as mentioned two weeks ago.


To recap: One Sawyer filter set, model SP181, $52 through Amazon.

As always, if you have comments, suggestions or corrections, please post them so we all can learn. And remember, Some Is Always Better Than None!

NOTE: All items tested were purchased be me. No products have been loaned in exchange for a favorable review. Any items sent to me for T&E will be listed as such. Suck it Feds.