In-line water filters

There seems to be a wide variation in price for the replacement in-line cartridges you put under your sink for clean drinking water. Some places like Screwfix even have £9 and £20 ones on the same page, both WFAS approved and both say to replace every six months.

Does anybody know any differences between the types or are unbranded cheapos just as good ?

Reply to
G&M
Loading thread data ...

When it comes to plain filters (as opposed to ones which are more specialised, such as activated charcoal, RO membranes etc.) there really only two variables: The overall size of the filtration area and the pore size.

The filtration area is governed by the cartridge size, and cartridges which are the same size will pretty much always have the same area.

Pore size is very important - too big and you let a lot of crud through, too small and you clog up in a few days.

Our water, which comes straight out of the ground, is very dirty. Lots of sediment, mud, dead things etc. We pass it through a 20um filter, then a 5um filter then another 5um filter, then an activated charcoal filter, then an RO membrane, then another activated charcoal filter, then a UV lamp, then we drink it. It tastes great. I replace the 20um filter every month, and the 5um every 3 months. I replace all the other stuff every 2 years.

I should add that all this treatment is totally unnecessary; the stuff that comes out of the ground is clean enough to drink, if a little high in iron and sodium. We do it mainly for taste.

The 20um and 5um filters are basically the same thing you get from Screwfix (11608). I buy these in boxes of 20, and they work out at just under £2 each.

Reply to
Grunff

Sounds similar to what we're heading for, except I have used a 5 micron followed by the 1 micron filter from Machine Mart. This feeds a 600 gallon tank and then it is UV'ed on the way out, with local filters for drinking taps.

Which RO do you use ? The one I was intending to buy was backwashable but then we realised we didn't have enough pressure from the spring to backwash it :-(

We're very high on manganese, plus some iron, lead and nitrates.

Where do you get these in bulk ? Do they do the 1 micron or carbon ones ?

Reply to
G&M

That's a lot of treated water! We have a 1000 gallon tank as our primary reservoir, but that's untreated. Once it's treated, we have a 20l pressurised tank.

It's an un-branded, non-backwash one. Does a pretty good job going by the analysis.

I get all of my water stuff from:

They do carbon cartridges, and filters down to 1um.

Reply to
Grunff

The water from the spring is also highly acidic, and at about a gallon a minute, so treating it then storing it was the best approach. A Dabjet 82M pump with electronic pressure control keeps the taps flowing without any delay.

Can't find them actually on the site. I assume one has to phone or go there ?

Many Thanks

Reply to
G&M

How much was it roughly. Most seem to be pretty expensive so have put off getting one so far.

Reply to
G&M

Yes, I do it all by phone (been there once). The site is the biggest pile of pants.

Anytime.

Reply to
Grunff

The replacement membrane or the whole system? The whole system, which included cartridges for all the filters I mentioned previously, as well as the RO membrane, pressure tank, pump, UV lamp, all the plumbing, brackets etc. was a little under £500. A replacement RO membrane is about £35.

Reply to
Grunff

That's a good price as the pump is say £150 and UV system about the same. Was this from the same place as the filters ?

Reply to
G&M

The pump was indeed around £170, but the UV was only around £50.

It was all from the same place (Sparrow & Newman). It's not an off the shelf system - I told them what components I wanted, they sold them to me. They've so far been very pleasant to deal with.

Reply to
Grunff

I'll be phoning them Monday. Thanks for the help.

Reply to
G&M

Where and how does one go about getting water tested? I have a natural spring on some of my land that I'd like to get tested to see whether there is any possibility of using it for drinking water. I tried a web search but only came up with reports on water testing, or a couple of labs that would test your borehole and then install a complete water treatment works.

Maybe its just not practical, but I'd like to know.

TIA Graham

Reply to
Graham Anstey

I've used these guys several times for both chem and bio tests, and can highly recommend their services.

Reply to
Grunff

Thanks for that. I'll have a proper look at the site later and maybe contact them.

Cheers Graham

Reply to
Graham Anstey

Unless you are in Central London or suchlike, your council will have some form of lab facility or arrangement as all people on springs must be tested by them.

You could phone them up and tell them you are already using it. They are then obliged to test it, supposedly annually but nearer two in our case. Or just offer to pay them.

Reply to
G&M

"G&M" wrote | Unless you are in Central London or suchlike, your council will have | some form of lab facility or arrangement as all people on springs | must be tested by them.

Why did I suddenly think "Zebedee!"

Owain

Reply to
Owain

The land where the spring is, is in Cornwall. I don't live there (or indeed anywhere near) as its protected woodland. It would be nice to have a water supply when I'm camping down there, but as I won't been there for extended periods of time I don't want to spend a fortune on testing and treatment. I can always take a large container full, and the neighbours have said I can refill from their mains supply if I need to.

I just wasn't sure who to contact. I'll give the council a ring and see what they say. Would that be County, or District? And which department would deal with it?

Sorry for what must seem like silly questions, but I'm having trouble working out where to start.

Thanks for the help Graham

Reply to
Graham Anstey

Ours is the district council (Macclesfield) so I'd start with your district council as well. Phone environmental health and ask for whoever deals with domestic private water testing.

Reply to
G&M

Thanks for all the info. I'll follow it up with the DC when I have more time - I'm sorting out a host of unrelated problems at the moment, but thought I'd hijack the thread whilst it was fresh :o)

Thanks again Graham

Reply to
Graham Anstey

HomeOwnersHub website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.