Anyone here usiing 12 volt UV Water filter

2oldman wrote:

Bobbo wrote:
If the water needs to be irradiated, I will camp somewhere else.

I don't think UV light is radiation.

all LIGHT is radiation
it is in the visible spectrum radiation, and basically non harmful to human life (even healthy) , unless it is extreme

x-rays gamma rays , nuclear radiation, are in the NON visible spectrum

Not a scam but not a complete solution. Kills somethings, filters out nothing. I'm content with a decent quality filter.

2oldman wrote:

Bobbo wrote:
If the water needs to be irradiated, I will camp somewhere else.

I don't think UV light is radiation.

UV light is a type of ionizing radiation because it carries enough energy to break atomic bonds and create ions. It's really only powerful enough to break the hydrogen oxygen bond but that's enough to damage DNA and kill microorganisms.

Breaking the hydrogen oxygen bond also leads to ozone generation. This makes the germicidal bulb effective in hospitals food service and salons. Both UV and O3 attacking baddies in the air.

I had one, the major brand (forget which), and like the others' it lasted about a year. When it went I didn't replace it. The biggest problem for me is that it would heat the water as it passed through. WArm drinking water?

I had it positioned right before my drinking water faucet, and after several stages of Doulton DST filters (ceramic, just like the Berkey).

The theory behind the UVc is that it will kill most of the pathogens and scramble the DNA of the rest, so they can't replicate. This, according to the NSF, is as good as killing them.

IMO, for people concerned about water safety like me, the best approach in an RV is to install at least one ceramic water filter. I use three in series, just in case something passes through or grows through the first, or the second (it's my money).

I also use a charcoal (GAC) filter for remarkable taste improvement, and for the "what if" scenario that was demonstrated in Flint, Michigan. GAC will filter most dissolved solid impurities (but NOT plathogens).

Working my way back to the issue of UVc, I personally would not rely on it as an independent method of purification, and as part of a chain of processes it's both irrelevant and expensive, as others have said.

And to think when I was little I used to drink directly from the creek we fished in. The only filter I use is at the S&B to filter out the chlorine the city puts in the water. Had to replace the rosin in two water softeners because the chlorine dissolves it.

The uv filters are also used in the backpacking world as they are smaller and lighter than a traditional pump type filter. However as a previous poster stated it may kill the stuff in the water that is alive but doesn't filter out anything.

greenrvgreen wrote:



Working my way back to the issue of UVc, I personally would not rely on it as an independent method of purification, and as part of a chain of processes it's both irrelevant and expensive, as others have said.

I have been working in the Texas oilfields for 7 years and drink the water delivered to me every two weeks. It starts out as potable but handling between that point and delivery to me is suspect. I use a series of filters (inc. Doulton ceramic) and the last one is a UV filter. I change the bulb every year or so and it has been a solid performer.

UV sterilization has been an accepted practice for decades and earlier posters saying it is some sort of "scam" are just woefully uninformed.

There are enough conflicting studies on the Berkeys that I would not rely on them personally speaking.

YMMV

2oldman wrote:

Bobbo wrote:
If the water needs to be irradiated, I will camp somewhere else.

I don't think UV light is radiation.

Light is a form of radiation. Not all radiation is harmful, but UV radiation is.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ultraviolet_germicidal_irradiation

Regarding the Berkey filters mentioned, I ass-umed it was the Berkey ceramic being talked about, but yes, Berkey makes a black charcoal-based filter that I too would view as "suspect".

The problem with ANY charcoal filtration for water safetyis that the water can form little pathways through the charcoal that avoid filtration.

UVc is certainly NOT a scam, but I don't trust it by itself, and the cost of the bulb is the same as adding another Doulton filter, which I did.

FWIW: I stopped using the pleated paper pre-filters because they're so effing expensive and they don't last long. Instead, I let my first Doulton filter block the "gunk" from public water systems, and periodically I remove the filter and scour it lightly with a scour pad. Good as new, and going on ten years!

Just a little side info on irradiation, a chunk of the food you/we eat has been irradiated. Though it isnt UV providing the irradiation it is gamma rays, xrays or electron beams that provide the radiation.

It started in the 60's with flour to control mold, then potatoes to help prevent early sprouting
then in the mid 80's they added pork to the approved list to kill trichinosis as well as fruits and vegetables for bugs and shelf life
and again the early 90's first chicken and then a few years later beef was added to the list.
Also somewhere in there seafood or at least some of it was added to the approved list
Doesn't mean it all is, the radura symbol (which looks like a plant inside a circle) is required if it has been unless it is just some of the ingredients in a multi-ingredient product.