Extending water while Boondocking??

[We_Cant_Wait]

Has anyone considered the use of a Reverse Osmosis Water Purification unit in order to recycle the Grey Water back to Fresh Water in order to be able to extend time between the need for Fresh Water fill and Grey Water dump?

[2gypsies1]

How long of a boondocking time are you talking about? We can go 11-13 days without having to dump. We conserve a lot.

[SWD]

pianotuna wrote:
Hi,

bad idea.

x2

[pianotuna]

Hi,

bad idea.

[sowego]

It would take more than reverse osmosis to purify and filter water enough for drinking or even washing dishes & bathing. It's a grand idea but the best plan is to take along drinking water and just be very frugal with your washing water or find a way to haul water in when needed.

[mockturtle]

You'd probably be changing your filters at least once a week.

[Jim_Cindy]

RO systems use water flow in the process. The yield is much less than the total input. Kind of defeats the purpose. Looked it up and it appears that as much as 13 out of 15 gallons goes back down drain.

[SteveAE]

Not Reverse Osmosis, but I have considered (and rejected) traditional filtration and chemical treatment (like we do when backpacking). If you do though, please let us know how it works out for you.

Instead, we implement the following conservation techniques....when needed:
- Wash and rinse dishes in two shallow buckets. When the wash water gets too grungy, toss it (or use for toilet flush), use the rinse for wash, and draw new rinse water. Some folks use paper plates, but that has it's own set of problems (i.e.; trash).
- Save shower water (can catch most of it by standing over a bucket) and use the captured water to flush toilet (install shut-off valve on toilet inlet).
- Use a cup of water to brush rather than running the tap.
- Pee outside (except when in low desert environments that are heavily used).
If river or lake water is available:
- Warm in solar shower for showers.
- Add bleach to rinse and use for dish wash and rinse
- Use a bucket of water (with bleach) available for hand washing
Lastly, we bring along a couple full 5 gallon containers to use, and refill when the the opportunity arises.

Steve

[GENECOP]

Easier and safer to capture rain water off roof, filter and use.....I set up a collection system off my roof.....

[Jim-Linda]

Roy, what problem do you see with drinking RO? We had a whole house RO system for years and even flushed the pot with it. The ice maker had cubes the were crystal clear and the water tasted the same no matter where we were parked.

Jim

[RoyB]

We don't consume our fresh water tank water at all - just for showers and washing dishes. Don't think I would like Reverse Osmosis Water for consumption.

My Starcraft 14RT off-road has a 35 gal fresh water tank and I always carry two 5-gal freshwater containers when camping off the power grid. We always watch out for available water before going paste the point of no return.

If we are camping long term we usually have to bring out gray/black water anyway to pour down a pot somewhere so can usually bring back fresh water.

Our fabric awning will collect a couple drinks of water each morning haha...

One must learn to conserve for sure camping off the power grid.

Roy Ken

[carl2591]

Seems to me if you are in area that get some rain to rig up a system to collect water from the awning and run that through the filer to use..

It seem simple enough to do, some kind of gutter system to divert water to waiting tank for collection. In hawaii most homes have metal roofs with gutters to catch water and large tanks to store. not sure if the water is used for drinking or non drinking.

[dave17352]

You could always just drink your pee, they say it is sterile! He He

[BrutusTheDog]

I would be afraid of the soaps, oils, and fats coating and clogging the membrane.

[tandkj]

Friend of ours had a ROWPU but only used available clean water not gay water. He did try a mud puddle one time to test the system. The water had a gray color but tasted OK.