The sweetwater is ceramic not AC. The filtering element looks much heavier than the myog one ,seeing as its a much larger higher density plastic piece. Its also non-refillable, once the element is gone its gone. One of my goals was to have a serviceable cheaply refillable system. It will work fine though for a long time since you can scrub the inside. If you do it, post for us.

The powdered activated carbon was too fine for the filter. It clogged the 1-micron material and slowed the water flow significantly. While it better AC, it wont work for DIY unless someone can find a material that it wont clog but will allow flow. Stick with the granules.

Edited by isaac.mouser on 11/08/2010 04:59:14 MST.

Ike,
Steve was suggesting the SiltStopper part of the Sweetwater as an AC unit.

I have done this. It holds about 5 grams of AC with the fiber filter in place, not worth much filtering, IMHO.

Edited by greg23 on 11/08/2010 07:08:56 MST.

But is 5 grams of AC enough to have an effect? AC requires a certain amount of contact time to work properly. Im pretty sure that 5g wont do it. The katadyns have around 25, if they could get away with 5 they would. Most small elements have more than 25. At such low exposure times you would almost certainly want a powder since it will have the strongest filtering power. I can think of no way to make a powder work without it getting into everything else.

"All activated carbon forms including granulated activated carbon (GAC) have a tremendous surface area resulting from its porous structure. GAC filters degree of effectiveness depends on the flow rate of the water and contact time with the water. "

BTW the ductape works great for holding the ends together. Its already carried anyway so no penalty there. I am considering silicone to be used around the connectors . Effectively sealing them in place and preventing leaks.

Edited by isaac.mouser on 11/08/2010 07:57:55 MST.

I tried using the Silt Stopper, with the filter element in place. I filled it up with large granules of AC. It didn't do anything for the taste. I think more AC, and finer grains, is required.

The GAC-1230C sample that you see on the previous page has grains about the size of medium sized particles from a pepper shaker that you twist to break up the pepper. Seems to be ideal size.

Edited by isaac.mouser on 11/08/2010 08:02:17 MST.

I hope thats the problem Ken, but when ever i try to increase the flow rate from the faucet past a trickle, all hell breaks loose.
>>>>It should flow at a steady rate.

I am still looking for a faucet that will accept the adapter. In regards to that, that little round black piece that is removeable inside the adapter, i have to remove that in most instances to get the faucet to go onto it. The faucet head is too wide in almost every case.



>>>>picture is "black piece" seated. I need to really SEAT the rubber end on the faucet end! If you look you will see where the faucet was designed to seat.

I will try again, but it seems that no amounr of seating will keep that thing from EXPLODING off the faucet head. Maybe if i let it run for 15 minutes on slow i will be able to increase the pressure. Would you mind saying how long you let it run slow before you increase the tap pressure past the point of initial flow? And how long you leave it on the high setting as well.

Edited by isaac.mouser on 11/08/2010 09:58:09 MST.

I will try again, but it seems that no amount of seating will keep that thing from EXPLODING off the faucet head.

>>>>You need to hold it and feel the amout of water that you let flow to the amout of "gusto" you need to hold the rubber pic with.

Maybe if i let it run for 15 minutes on slow i will be able to increase the pressure.

>>>>I do NOT think that is necessary. While as described above you should have a fairly steady tream.....cannot quantify.

Would you mind saying how long you let it run slow before you increase the tap pressure past the point of initial flow?

>>>>>As I have describe above. Once I get a steady stream flowing from the purifier while holdin I keep in that attitude for a minimum of 3 min.

And how long you leave it on the high setting as well.

>>>I do not rush the flow.

If this does NOT work for you may I suggest contacting Sawyer at johntsmith@sawyer.com

Give me some feedback after you tried the above method and measure the weight ofthe purifier after a minimum of 3 min.

I dissembled the Katadyn "Bottle Adapter with Activated Carbon", Part #8013450, and found the empty body weighed about Edit: 92 grams. (the post filter is still damp.)

Edit: Bad Math or Synaptic Disfunction-
The Weight is about 3 ounces - 3.25 with damp carbon inside.

Edited by greg23 on 11/25/2010 08:07:35 MST.

One thing that helped was squeezing the ballooning portion, not allowing it to ballon as the pressure increased. Making it a two hand job, one on the top, holding the adapter, the other the pressure point. In my previous attempts i noticed that there was an air gap in the top of the clear plastic tube that never really got filled with water. When i squeezed the ballooning portion, it went away. Will test in a bit to see how it filters now. I've preprimed this thing like 10 times. Hope it still works.

I achieve a good flow rate when im prepriming but not in gravity mode. Its flowing but its not as fast.

Edited by isaac.mouser on 11/08/2010 13:02:16 MST.

I did a test it took about 3 minutes to do 1/4th of a liter. This was with no charcoal element, just the purifier itself for testing clarity.

Edited by isaac.mouser on 11/08/2010 13:38:54 MST.

Send the purifier back to Sawyer would be my suggestion!

"I achieve a good flow rate when im prepriming but not in gravity mode. Its flowing but its not as fast."

Ike, I've got the Saywer Filter not the purifier like yours but it does take a bit to get the flow rate going. It's usually slow for the first 1-2liters and then starts flowing like there's no resistance. Perhaps your sample test is using too little of 'dirty' water?

Edited by cobberman on 11/08/2010 13:53:30 MST.

Got free next day shipping from walmart.com, replacement by thursday.

Edited by isaac.mouser on 11/08/2010 14:53:33 MST.

Did the weight of the purifier come close to 9 oz?

"Should i poke a hole in the back of my 2 liter platy?"
>>>>NO. This will not cure the issue.

Looking at your set up pic in this thread, the line from your "dirty bag" looks long enough to have flow at of a liter in at least 5 min.

Send John Smith of Sawyer johntsmith@sawyer.com a email and relay your issue. I'm sure he will give you better advice on how to solve your problem that any of us. Make sure you explain your setup verbally and with pics. It's worth the time and effort for what you paid for the purifier.

Got he new purufier and pre primed it. The weight is 8.8oz. A big differen e! I could not get the old one over 7oz no matter what i did. Prepriming this was much easier. Proceeding with tests later tonight of the whole setup including the AC filter.

So after prepriming I tested the purifier . I put 2 liters in the dirty bag and got a poor flow rate, about the same as above. I took the purifier off the clan bag and observed the outward flow. I would describe it as a fast drip, not a stream. This is he first liter it has purufied so I will give it several more shots because others reported a slow rate that sped it after a few liters.

pp1:
held the adapter on for the first minute on very low flow. Water began to flow through the filter after about 30s equal to the input pressure. I began to slowly raise the preasure, not holding the adapter on. Increasing just enough sothat the adapter did not pop off with pressure. Let it run with the tap as open as it would go eithout balooning the adapter.

Pp2:
repeated the same procedure but held on the whole time so i could increase the pressure.

John T Smith(sawyer) responded:
"Make sure your vessels are vented, otherwise the water will not flow."

I cut a large hole in the top of my dirty platy to be sure, no change. Either this thing requires a massive amount of watwr pressure to preprime properly, im doing something wrong, or i got another dud.

Edited by isaac.mouser on 11/11/2010 09:42:36 MST.

Ike, I'm sure you've seen the photos of my setup with the filter as you were posting in that thread as well, but I thought I'd reiterate my experience.

http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/forums/thread_display.html?forum_thread_id=38558

I've cut out the entire bottom of my dirty bladder to function as a scoop. This also allows an ample amount of air to vent as John T Smith (of Sawyer) recommended to you. When I suggested that the flow rate increased after the first liter or two I meant that in each filtering episode after the first 1-2 liters of slow filtering the 3rd-nth liters were very quick in comparison. This would repeat after each filtering episode and not a one time only sort of thing. I also have to mindful of my hoses as they sometimes kink and essentially stop the flow on either end of the filter. I also have to ensure that the "dirty" bag is as high above the "clean" bag as possible for a greater amount of water pressure.

There may be some differences in filtering times due to the fact that I have the Sawyer filter and you have the Sawyer purifier. I'll try and set mine up tonight and get you an accurate time to filter 2L. I'll do it twice to show the discrepancy with first filter time.

EDIT:
I forgot to mention one more thing. Make sure that the "clean" bag is void of any air before connecting the hose to it. Any air will prevent the bag from filling fully as the combined pressure from the volume of air and water would equalize with that of the gravity of your partially full "dirty" bag.

Edited by cobberman on 11/11/2010 10:10:36 MST.

I am using a Sawyer Filter.

I primed by filling and squashing a 2 liter Platy, shaking the filter until the air was out, and the output stream was running solid.

The distance from the bottom of a 2 liter Platy to the top of the filter was 42".

I ran about 2 liters through the system getting it hung correctly and figuring out the process. It was flowing pretty fast.

Flow rate for the Filter was 55 seconds per liter, over 3 consecutive tests (6 liters total).

When I added the Katadyn Activated Carbon post-filter, the flow rate dropped to 105 seconds per liter, over 2 consecutive test (4 liters total).