Price differences in water filters

TechWriter wrote:

SHRED wrote:
We have an R/O unit at home so we are used to a more robust filtering than those. I might get the Travel Berkey for drinking water and the $25 filter for the tank.

Get an RO system for your RV for drinking water.

I'm not sure I want to give up space and deal with things like winterizing

SHRED - seems you have a few threads going on the same topic.

First question - what do you want to filter? Chlorine, Chloramine, dissolved solids, fluoride, Gen X (Teflon), Bacteria etc.

An RO cares for all that, but as I mentioned in my other post they are not really practical for RV use. That was my plan, but water usage, waste water, PSI requirements, space and winterization lead me the conclusion that residential RO systems are not practical for RV's.

Usually 2 stage filters are the best approach. First stage is a particulate filter for water entering the RV. This can be in line in the hose. This really protects your plumbing more than anything. It's a sacrificial filter and easy and cheap to replace the cartridges. You can use an in line or whole house particulate and carbon block dual set up, better but not perfect.

Single in-line filters at the sink are usually carbon/charcoal and remove the smell and taste of chlorine. I haven't seen any claim that they actually remove the molecules completely, but enough to mitigate smell and taste. They won't remove Chloramine which is widely used as an alternative to Chlorine in many municipal systems. To remove chloramine you need catalytic carbon - very expensive unless you are using RO.

Finally, if you want pure drinking water that removes every contaminant and left with plain H20, you need RO. But again, under sink RO systems are not practical for RV use. To me, the Berkey was the perfect compromise. RO water without all the plumbing. The downside is filling it, moving it etc. But for an RV, it's a decent solution to good water.

The obvious difference in what you want to filter in your house vs an RV, is that the water supply for an RV changes every time you go somewhere different. Not all public systems are treated the same and contaminants and water quality will be different at every location. That's the primary reason for an RO alternative. It will remove everything, every time. Single, in line filters don't. But again, some people don't care. That's why I asked - what do you want to filter? How clean do you want your drinking and cooking water to be? There's an option for every level of filtration, from basic particulates to all contaminants, and everything in between.

I am most likely going with this:

UNDER SINK


WHOLE RV

SHRED wrote:
I am most likely going with this:

UNDER SINK


WHOLE RV

Anytime something has "RV" in the name folks here seem to be willing to pay more than it is worth.

Instead, buy a off the shelf whole house filter look this..



Which can be bought at Home Depot or Lowes for about $50

They take a standard disposable cartridges that you can buy anywhere also. For sediment/dirt/sand removal you can use the spun yarn version which filters down to 5 Micron levels..



Those filters run about $3.00 each.

You can also buy pleated paper filter with charcoal for taste/odor removal..

You also do not need multiple filters in line, one should be sufficient.

For hose connection you can buy a hose bib to pipe thread adapter..

Like these..



All parts should be available at any Home Depot or Lowes..

I personally do not use any filters on my RV, I don't drink the water from the RV water system, just use that water for shower and toilet. I buy bottled water for drinking, ice and cooking purposes.. $1.00 per gallon jug available everywhere. That way I am not messing around with filters.

Too much vitriol for such a benign topic.

I deleted the flame war and closed it.