Anyone here usiing 12 volt UV Water filter

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

For drinking water - get a Berkey Water Filter. Lasts for years, uses no electricity, and doesn't burnout when you really depend on it. It cleans just about everything from the water not just UV sensitive bacteria.

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

I don't think UV light is radiation.

When I had a fish pond at my previous house, I had one on the water pumped out, through a filter, and back. It really helped. I won't be putting one on my RV. If the water needs to be irradiated, I will camp somewhere else.

2oldman,

Mine was the last stage of a 7 part reverse osmosis system. The water supply to the drinking tap came from an accumulator tank, so the rate of flow through the UV treatment unit was fairly slow, taking perhaps ten minutes for one cup of water.

No, they really do work. The same technology is used in hospitals.
It can kill things common filters miss like cysts and bacteria.