Water filter

[pappi49]

Just wondering if anyone uses the water filter that attaches to the faucet in addition to any external filter. We seem to spend an awful lot on bottled water when we travel, both for drinking and coffee, cooking etc. I figure that this may be a way to reduce our water costs just a little.

These are a couple of the filters that I am looking at. Comments please;

https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B01GABX...olid=27KXGFIPVTX3D&psc=1&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it

https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B00006I...olid=27KXGFIPVTX3D&psc=1&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it

https://smile.amazon.com/PUR-Advanc...t+filter&qid=1642434090&s=kitchen-bath&sr=1-7

As you can see the prices are all over the place so I dont think I would be using that as a purchase point.

As always, thanks for all of your help, it is greatly appreciated.

 

[SpencerPJ]

I filter my water going into my holding tanks. I do not trust campgrounds for drinking, but we do for cooking, dish cleaning, coffee at times (it does boil after all). We have a couple jugs we reuse and carry water, and I will refill a plastic bottle a couple time prior to pitching.

 

[NY_Dutch]

We use a "whole house" cartridge filter on the fresh water input, and also have a PUR filter on the kitchen sink faucet that we use if the big filter isn't quite enough to remove the chlorine taste that we don't like.

 

[strugglebus]

In one of our trailers we bought one of the 5 gallon water dispensers with the bottom loading bottle. Never had an issue with it tipping. I agree that campground water is sketchy at best. We drink from bottles but use their water for just about everything else. Those Camco filters are always on the hose but those are minimal at best.

 

[pappi49]

We use a "whole house" cartridge filter on the fresh water input, and also have a PUR filter on the kitchen sink faucet that we use if the big filter isn't quite enough to remove the chlorine taste that we don't like.

Dutch, how well does the PUR filter work? If I were to install one of these it would also be a secondary filter.

 

[pappi49]

In one of our trailers we bought one of the 5 gallon water dispensers with the bottom loading bottle. Never had an issue with it tipping. I agree that campground water is sketchy at best. We drink from bottles but use their water for just about everything else. Those Camco filters are always on the hose but those are minimal at best.

We also use the Camco filter all of the time but I dont use campground water for anything other than showers,washing dishes and flushing the toilet.

As stated in my original post, I would like to reduce my water costs a little and figured this may be the way to do that.

 

[JudyJB]

My motorhome has a whole-house filter built into it near the water pump. I change it about once every 4-5 months. I occasionally use a secondary filter that attaches to the water hose, however, I trust state and federal campground water MUCH more than i do commercial campground water because it is tested more often and that is done by a governmental agency where the individual employees are not making a profit on the place.

Also, I bought new and have used my tank water for everything, even drinking, for the past almost-ten years. I refill water bottles and put them in the refrigerator or even freeze the ones that can be frozen. Have not had any problems in all that time and even got my son to stop buying bottled water for his rig.

I do, however, shock my water tank by adding a couple of cups of bleach about every 6 months, running it briefly through all pipes, and leaving it in there for about 24 hours. (While it is in my pipes, I use water I have put aside for drinking and cooking. The bit of bleach in the water tank does not affect my dish washing or shower.) After 24 hours, I dump my waste tanks and add more water to my fresh water tank to dilute the bleach, and actually by that point, it has mostly dissipated anyway.

By the way, Grand Canyon National Park gets its water from Roaring Springs, and so has the best water anywhere. I always fill my tanks there before I leave.

 

[Kirk]

As stated in my original post, I would like to reduce my water costs a little and figured this may be the way to do that.

We have always drank water from our RV's water tank and system but we also use at a minimum an inline water filter as can be found at Walmart, Amazon, or any RV supply store. Since the 1990's we have never put any water into an RV of ours without first passing through a filter of the whole house type. When we went on the road full-time we began to use one of the dual filter, whole house type.

With this type of filter system most of us use a sediment filter in the first canister and I used a 3 micron carbon block filter in the second. One of the advantages to this type of filter is that there is a very wide variety of filter cartridges available from places ranging from the RV water filter store, to Lowes or Home Depot. You even have the option to use different types of filters based on where you are located.

 

[NY_Dutch]

Dutch, how well does the PUR filter work? If I were to install one of these it would also be a secondary filter.

We've been quite satisfied with it. The filter change indicator is a nice feature. Our whole house filter does the "heavy lifting", and the PUR does the rest...

 

[8Muddypaws]

We have a whole house filter but trust it only to remove particulates. We use lots of bottled water. Even a top quality RO system can't get some of the chemicals out. Xylene and trichloroethane for example. Both are commonly used in semiconductor manufacturing.

 

[grashley]

I have a two cartridge filter. Water goes into the fresh tank unfiltered, but ALL water from the fresh tank or water hose go through this filter before entering the camper.
Even with this, my DW does not trust campground water, so we fill empty Coke bottles (16 oz) at home for drinking / ice / coffee / cooking and use camp water for dish washing, toilet flushing, showers, tank flushes, etc. We take 3 - 4 gal of Coke bottles and milk jugs for a 3 day weekend trip.

 

[SpencerPJ]

Water goes into the fresh tank unfiltered, but ALL water from the fresh tank or water hose go through this filter before entering the camper.

I use to not filter going into fresh tank. Last summer a campground processed sand through there water, yuked up my pump, and I couldn't even drain the fresh water without unscrewing the whole drain assembly. It also clogged a couple screens. I know you filter before that, but I was shocked how much sand came out of my tank, at Brown County State park, a rather large tourist area. I bought a hose filter off amazon.

 

[billwild]

I used to use those blue bottle Camco filters from Walmart here in Arizona, and whenever I would drain the water heater in our fifth wheeler, I would get a bunch of big chunks of calcium flushing out. I switched to the Culligan RV 700 bottle filter and the amount of calcium chunks were way down to almost nil. Shows me the Culligan filters are working better. But we still only use water for drinking from the water dispensing machine.

 

[Daytriper19]

I have lots of calcium when I've flushed heater as well. I'll try this Culligan one. Same price anyway, thanks.

 

[Alontheway]

Nope.
I use a counter top gravity drip filter (not a Brita taste pitcher filter either). These usually are rated for higher filtration than the ones in-line with the plumbing. Prices are $200-300.
My favorite right now the the Life Saver jerry can filter.

With all filters you must keep them from freezing or they will be ruined, yet you will not know this. The counter-top ones you can take inside when freezing at least. Keep them submerged in water will delay the freeze, but not for long.

I am a proud American so would never us amazon to purchase anything and fund their commie ways, not to get political, and this is not political to say be pro-American, but be careful who you give money to.

 

[John From Detroit]

I used a simple activated carbon filter in-line and a Brita. later a PUR (The brita did not bounce and a PUR was what I could quickly get) Now use PUR faucet filter and pitcher filter Coffee/tea get water from the faucet filter.. Drinking water from the drip filter. Which is stored in fridge (WHY I use it)

 

[Foto-n-T]

Over the years spending at least four months a year on the road from Texas to Arizona I've come to the conclusion that neither state has water suitable for consumption. We do filter incoming water both for the tank and for the faucet with a single element 5 micron carbon filter but we also have an On-The-Go water softener. Since we are in Arizona now even the softener and filter won't make the water drinkable.

Several years ago after getting tired of lugging water jugs I found this Whirlpool Reverse Osmosis system at Lowes in Brownsville TX. At the time I spent $140 on it and installed it under the kitchen sink and the rest is history. We DO NOT lug bottles anymore and have great water everywhere we go. The only downside is that you don't want to use your tank water to make RO water as it takes about 4 gallons of water to make 1 gallon of RO.

Is it cost effective? Probably not when you factor in replacing carbon filters once a year or so and replacing the membrane every few years. On the other hand it is EXTREMELY convenient.

If you want to find out exactly how bad your water is pick up a Total Dissolved Solids meter (TDS meter) on Amazon. TDS Meter


Whirlpool RO System

 

[whiteva]

BUGS / GERMS:
Our camper was modified using pex to install 2 filters, 30 micron followed by a 3 micron, under the sink (eliminates the freeze problem & easy to change) for all water used in the unit, PLUS an on demand UV filter* for drinking/cooking at the kitchen sink.

The UV filter uses 12 volts (removed the 110v power supply) only when you need water. I would tag the model but it is no longer sold, however standard UV bulbs are available and changed every year. Our S&B home is on great well water but I still filter and UV all water used inside the home. Just "peace of mind" and I have the water tested each year.

* A UV water purifier exposes living organisms, such as bacteria, viruses, or cysts (like Cryptosporidium and Giardia) to a germicidal ultraviolet wavelength. ... The ultraviolet light prevents bacteria from spreading disease through drinking water.

 

[niget2002]

Digging up a slightly old thread.

We will begin TT camping soon and my wife and I are discussing drinking water in the trailer. She doesn't want to have to lug bottles/jugs of water when we go camping. I picked up one of the little in-line filters at Walmart that says it goes down to 1 micron (marketing?).

However. On the drive home from Walmart I got to thinking... I have a 4 stage RO/DI unit that I used to use to purify water for a sal****er reef aquarium I had. I'm considering ditching the DI (shouldn't drink it) and the RO (don't want to waste that much water) and converting it to just a 2 stage filter. 1 for sediment and 1 Carbon filter.

Would there be anything else I would need to make 'most' water spigot/campsite water drinkable?

My wife is thinking that just a Brita pitcher and the in-line filter would be enough, but I'm questioning that. The thought of Montezuma's revenge while camping doesn't thrill me at all.

 

[John From Detroit]

That is good enough for MOST, sadly not all.. I'd add a PUR or BRITTA (I used to use the latter now use the first but the reason for changing was... Well they only bounce so many times) Both are good. For drinking water as an additional "Stage". No longer have the RV. Still have the PUR filter.