Ultra violet water purification system for over landing - any ideas on UV equipment?

[Bmonck]

Afternoon all
I am just about to start building from scratch a new water system for an overland trip. I think I have the basics sorted but please let me know if you have better ideas.
But what I do need is some help on sourcing robust UV lamp systems.

Maybe some background is helpful. We are two on the trip and will be a mix of full off grid , camp sites and whatever else we find. Given the off grid parts we need to be fully self sufficient for water, including taking on new water from what may be sources of unknown quality.
We are looking at installing a 65 liter tank that will run to a sink and also a separate tap of some sort at the rear of the truck. The system will be a double circuit allowing for(i) new water to be cleaned before getting to the tank and (ii) water from the tank to go through the same filter system again before reaching the tap for consumption. The choice of circuit is all controlled by simple manual ball valves.

So the basics of the circuit will be in this order - the water inflow to a ceramic /sediment filter, then to the activated charcoal, then to the pump, then the UV and from there into the tank. So the water stored in the tank is already clean and pure. Then with a switch of the ball valves the flow would now be from tank back through all the filters, pump and UV to the tap.
So far pretty basic and common i believe. I have been able to find good quality components for all the steps except the UV.

The UV options i have found so far are Purion (a full end to end system from Germany, excellent but pricey) and PuraUV (a US company, good price but i dont know their quality).

So has anyone used a different system and does anyone know of good UV solutions that can stand up to the rough and tumble of over landing?
All ideas welcome
Cheers

 

[Lorin]

I know you’re a long way into your design, so not suggesting you change. Having previously installed a system in the truck, I opted for a different route this time.

For the sake of redundancy in case anything were to happen to the truck, I opted for a lifesaver jerrycan. I have a separate water tank (in the trailer) which can be filled from any water source. This water is only filtered for sediment and used for showers and general use. All water for consumption that is not boiled such as when cooking, is put though the lifesaver. If anything happened to the truck, I can walk away with my water filtration system.

LifeSaver Portable Water Filters | Shop | LifeSaver Jerrycan 20000UF - [Leaving Land Cruiser Club]

 

[nick_the_fish]

Hey Bosworth,

Are you already committed to UV? Have you started installing yet? I've just finished installing this ready for our trip:

700008 X-1B Seagull (R) IV Basic :: Seagull IV :: Pure Water Online

They are very small, very robust, easy to plumb in, easy to replace filters (which are pretty cheap) and have a very long life. Would def recommend. Cant help with UV options tho, I looked into it but opted for a filtration system.

What are your travel plans now that Covid has come along and messed up all our plans???

N

 

[Chris]

I have a simple filter on mine purely to remove taste from stored water. But in truth rarely ever drink it other than when boiled for rice, pasta etc. Bottled ester is so cheap and prevalent anywhere I've ever been that I just don't bother with all of this purification stuff to be honest. I have a 50 tank and top it up with bottles as I go.
Here's a post about water filtration in overlanding trucks.

https://overlandingtrucks.com/forum/threads/water-filtration-sterilisation.360/

 

[Andy]

On my first ever trip overland (Mali) I had (at the time) an all singing all dancing filter system with screw in filter cartridges, seemed like a good idea at the time but with the vibrations, bouncing, corrugations etc the filter cartridges just snapped off all the time rendering it useless.

i ripped it all out & on all of my subsequent trips, many in Africa (Morocco, Mauritania, Tunisia, Libya, Egypt, Sudan ) & latterly Russia I have used bottled water which is always plentiful for drinking, & filled my on board tank with local water from all sorts of sources for washing & cooking etc.

never had any problems (yet)!
Andy

 

[Bmonck]

I know you’re a long way into your design, so not suggesting you change. Having previously installed a system in the truck, I opted for a different route this time.

For the sake of redundancy in case anything were to happen to the truck, I opted for a lifesaver jerrycan. I have a separate water tank (in the trailer) which can be filled from any water source. This water is only filtered for sediment and used for showers and general use. All water for consumption that is not boiled such as when cooking, is put though the lifesaver. If anything happened to the truck, I can walk away with my water filtration system.

LifeSaver Portable Water Filters | Shop | LifeSaver Jerrycan 20000UF - [Leaving Land Cruiser Club]

Thanks Lorin . Yes i looked at those but couldnt face the expense at the same time as doing the truck water system. but i like them

 

[Bmonck]

Hey Bosworth,

Are you already committed to UV? Have you started installing yet? I've just finished installing this ready for our trip:

700008 X-1B Seagull (R) IV Basic :: Seagull IV :: Pure Water Online

They are very small, very robust, easy to plumb in, easy to replace filters (which are pretty cheap) and have a very long life. Would def recommend. Cant help with UV options tho, I looked into it but opted for a filtration system.

What are your travel plans now that Covid has come along and messed up all our plans???

N

Hi Nick
oh yes - i had come across Seagull a while back but had forgotten about it. I am doing a reassessment based on all these posts.
the trip.......shame but no choice but to wait and see. We are trying to use the time to complete the build out and I suspect no departure now before spring 2121.
What about you?
cheers

 

[Bmonck]

Chris thanks that is a useful link with lots of good info. i am now thinking about whether the UV is really required for the 'tropical' bits of the trip or if i can just rely on other options. I have some concerns now as to whether the UV crystal glass is up to all the pounding!

 

[Bmonck]

Thanks Andy. I deffo want to have clean water in the tank but maybe we will end up buying bottled water when possible. But some of our routes and planned longer stays will be without shops so want to be able to be completely self sufficient. cheers

 

[nick_the_fish]

What about you?

We are planning on shipping to Mexico in December, then doing 4 months in Central America, then heading north into the US/ Canada for 3 months in late spring/ early summer, then we'll head to South America around Mid-June when it starts getting busy in the US. The whole thing really sucks, we were supposed to be leaving the counrty next Tuesday so we're feeling pretty gutted at the moment.

UV water systems aren't used by overlanders so much due to the more fragile and complex nature of them. I have heard a lot of good things about the Seagull, althought it is expensive.

** straddles high horse with gusto**
I'd also note that bottled water creates a LOT of plastic which is terrible for the environment, especially given most of the countries you're going to don't have such modern or large scale recycling facilities and plastic tends to go into landfill at best, or discarded around the enviroment at worst. While local people have more to worry about than the environment, I believe (just my opinion) that as guests in their countries we should not be adding to their waste management problems
**gets off high horse**

Lets stay in touch

N

 

[Paddler Ed]

I was going to suggest something from Katadyn, but the only thing that jumps out is this:

https://www.katadyn.com/en/ch/257-8016389-katadyn-expedition

but that's not the UV side for the bacteria - they do the Steripen for that:

https://www.katadyn.com/en/ch/products/water-filters#/1/filter?categories=763&pp=24

Katadyn have been around the traps for a few years, and have bought up a few competitors along the way.

 

[Michael Clark]

I heard the UV systems use glass and fragile so not really up to overlanding

Plenty of filtration systems out there which are perfect. I use a Lifesaver and also have an inline Nature Pure

Nature Pure QC :: Pure Water Online

 

[Howmanygoes]

Just to add my 2 pennies worth.

I have a twin filter system currently (5um and 0.5um, will be swapping 0.5 for 0.2) and i am about to add a UV in preparation, hopefully, for borders reopening next year to allow travel. I have a tank and 12v pump which allows for abstraction and dispensing.

I spoke to a few guys at the overland show and quite a few were running UV without issue.

 

[Howmanygoes]

You could try some of these

Ultra Violet Filters - 8 Ltr per minute UV Water Filter System

If you have untreated water such as a spring, borehole, well or you harvest rainwater, or in some circumstances there are problems with your mains supply, you are very likely to have bacteria and/or virus in your water supply. We use a lot of water each day, Some of which we ingest, so to have...

www.eastmidlandswater.com

12V UV Water Filters from Industrial Water Equipment UK

IWE's new Range of 12v UV Water Filters with flow ranges from 1.8 l /min to 7.5 l/min. Featuring Stainless Steel construction & Philips Bulbs.

www.industrialwaterequipment.co.uk

Off Grid 12V Ultra Violet System / 15L Min Flow Rate with Pre-Filter

ClearLight™ 12 Volt Ultra Violet System - 15L per min The 'perfect solution' for people with private water supplies who are "off grid" This is one of the smallest Ultra Violet systems we stock. It's designed for a very small property with a flow rate below 15 litres per minute that does not have...

www.uk-water-filters.co.uk

 

[thelal]

..shipping to Mexico..

Mexico is great and fantastic food (even if I'm a meat-n-potatoes guy). Found most of C.America too hot and sticky and ending up on the coast which is great. S America is just wonderful with lots of open spaces and scenery.