Roleigh, how much water could be filtered through the above filter bag before it needed changing? of course it depends on water quality, but any approximate numbers? thanks!

I have used a #1 coffee paper filter & soft plastic funnel for years.

going through this thread had me wonder (nobody posted anything about this) about the aquamira pro filter which only has a 3 micron granularity... it looks like for some of us (i am going to use the tablet method coupled with the frontier pro filter) this would be enough... but some here are going as low as .01 microns and that's after using a 1 micron pre filter and tablets... may i ask why?

can i replace my 3 micron frontier pro with the 1 micron diesel pre filter after using tablets? i mean, this route might be cheaper and better...

"can i replace my 3 micron frontier pro with the 1 micron diesel pre filter after using tablets?"

Haven't tried it myself, but if the diesel pre filter truly blocks all baddies bigger than 1 micron, then I don't see why it couldn't replace the 3-micron Frontier Pro.

Not a show stopper or anything, but in lieu of waiting 30 minutes and then drinking through the FP, it seems like you will have to carry extra bladder(s) -- to treat dirty water and then to transfer treated water into clean bladder(s). Another thing, which may or may not be an issue for you, is the lack of a carbon / charcoal element to improve water taste.

Benjamin,

you are right! the fp would improve taste as well... forgot about that...

and i was thinking of treating my water first and then transfer it to clean containers (gravity filter setup with the fp filter)...

Benjamin,

another thing i could do would be to cut just a piece of the diesel 1 micron filter and attach it to the end of my tube that goes to the clean water, or just replace the prefilter on the fp with a piece of the 1 micron filter...

what do you think? or what would you do?

"Haven't tried it myself, but if the diesel pre filter truly blocks all baddies bigger than 1 micron, then I don't see why it couldn't replace the 3-micron Frontier Pro."

Benjamin, would it make any sense to try to insert a piece of the diesel pre filter into the front end of the Frontier Pro? Or, for that matter, to replace the entire Frontier Pro filter material inside the plastic case with this thing.

--B.G.--

I don't think it's necessary, because I treat with chemicals first -- to kill / neutralize teeny tiny viruses, bacteria small and large, plus the very smallest of protozoa species. The 3.0 micron FP can then block the bigger (and harder to kill) protozoa species, block sediments, and improve water taste.

from most of your posts (benjamin) and other's i think i'll just use the fp and tablets and that should work... a lot of people here don't even filter their water or even treat it with chemicals...

very interesting thread though...

http://www.filterbag.com/PENG1P3P-p568.html

Looking for more feedback on these filter bags. I found the ones above with plastic instead of the metal rings.

Does anyone have more/better sources? Would I be better of buying ones with the metal ring and cutting them out, or is anyone using filter bags with the plastic rings?

Any feedback and user experience appreciated!

Edited by Sirclimbsalot on 08/23/2011 10:20:15 MDT.

Wow, Brian, what a great resource. I saw your link page but this other filter, slightly more expensive is superior as it is an absolute rated 1 micron filter:

http://www.filterbag.com/NMO1P3P-p184.html

"1 Micron"

"Size 3 (4x7)"

Only down side is that if the price shown is per one filter, one has to buy 25 filters at $10.21. (I confirmed such is the case)

"Precisely woven to ensure accurate filtration (absolute rated bags), this monofilament mesh withstands temperatures up to 325 F."

Edited by marti124 on 04/19/2012 09:35:55 MDT.

Please don't rely on these as your sole means of water filtration. The 'absolute micron' rating is at only 99% capture.

From Filterbag's website:
"Filter bags made out of monofilament mesh or micro-fiber are given absolute ratings. A filter bag with an absolute rating will capture 99% of its rated particles in a single pass."

The EPA standard is 99.9999% for bacteria and 99.9% for cysts.



The EPA testing protocol dopes test water with 100,000,000 bacteria per liter (10^7/100mL):
Fewer than 100 bacteria are allowed to pass through a filter meeting the EPA standards. The Filterbag 'filter' could potentially let 1,000,000 bacterial through!

If you chose your water source carefully, you're not likely to encounter those concentrations of bacteria (something like one gallon of raw sewage in 10,000 gallons of water), but I don't thinks it's worth the risk.

However, the Filterbag filter would make a great pre-filter.

Hope this helps.

Edited by Lancem on 04/19/2012 12:57:23 MDT.

Great informative post. Thanks! As I mentioned in my earlier posts, I use the pre-filter before using either the Steripen or Chlorine Dioxide Tablets. If using the Chlorine Dioxide tablets, it is to take care of Giardia and Crypto only as they're >= 1 micron and to kill those suckers off with the tablets requires waiting about 2-4 hours, otherwise just to handle bacteria and viruses (what you were talking about was bacteria), the tablets only require 20 minutes. The Steripen doesn't need the pre-filter except to take care of visual sediment or wolf parasite eggs (which are larger/harder than Crypto/Giardia).

I heard from Filterbag.com and he made many good points -- the thread of my correspondence is here:

https://docs.google.com/open?id=0B7L_TrVYTWZRRlZVZjJZUk8wQU0
Link.

He provides links which are in that PDF linked to covering our correspondence.

did anyone ever end up finding a good source of absolute 1 micron filter bags? the minimum order of 25 is pretty steep, did anyone ever end up placing one?

if we can drum up enough support i'd be willing to place the order...

http://www.dudadiesel.com/choose_item.php?id=PTFEP3S

Polyester PTFE Coated Filter Bag, 0.5 Micron
• Size#3, with hanging strap
• 8" Length, 4" Diameter
• PTFE Coated to 0.5 Micron Rating

$Ea. Qty
$ 5.25 1+
$ 4.60 2+
$ 3.75 5+
$ 3.60 10+
$ 3.40 25+

If you use a vice-grip, you can clip off and remove the metal ring and the resulting filter is <= 1 oz. I used this on my JMT hike as my pre-filter. One lasted the whole hike.

was it Yama Mountain that offered no-see-um mesh scraps cut into filter sized bags a little smaller than a coffee filter? IIRC, you could get ten for as little as $3.50. I think they were offered for straining your dinner grey water so you could trash the food bits and poor the water out on the ground. I think they'd work well as a prefilter too, and probably last many uses. I couldn't find the link, but if anyone else can I'd like to bookmark it.

Yama has re-worked their site and I don't think he put the grey water filters on the new site. May want to email him about it. He's a very nice guy, would probably make you some if you asked.