DIY water filtration system

[Thebear_78]

Clean water on these longer hunting trips is always a concern. A lot of the commercial water treatment pellets don’t taste great. I found some DIY plans to make a Berkey style water filter out of 5 gallon buckets. Filters I got on Amazon for 53 dollars for 4 filters. The buckets and lids were another 15 dollars at Home Depot.

It’s a very simple system. Drill a few holes in the bottom for the filters to stick thru, a couple holes in the lid between the “clean” bucket and filter bucket. You use the “dirty” bucket to collect water. Treat with Clorox bleach to kill parasites. After 1/2-1 hour pour the dirty water into the filter bucket sitting on top of the clean empty bucket. Allow to gravity feed thru the filter.




It worked better than expected. The water was crystal clear and no bleach flavor. The filters are supposed to be good for 3000 gallons of water. I’m guessing much less with the amount of sediment to be cleaned out of this water. We made 15 gallons of clean water for the 8 days we were out hunting.

 

[JD338]

Pretty slick setup bear.

JD338

 

[DrMike]

Looks almost too good. Most attractive concept.

 

[hunter24605]

Pretty ingenious

 

[truck driver]

That's a cool system.
Might something to keep hand in case the crap hits the fan and you need to treat your drinking water.
I carried a filter straw with me when I hunted in Montana just in case I got somewhere I didn't know how to get back to the truck. I also carried bottle water everywhere I went.

 

[Thebear_78]

I think if I did it again I would probably go with 3 or even 4 filters per bucket. It takes several hours to filter all 5 gallons. I had done 2 so I would have two spare filters.

it definitely wouldn’t be a bad idea for an emergency situation to have one at the house.

We didn’t have the room to carry 2 weeks worth of water out to where we had been hunting. It was a couple hours by SXS from the truck to where camp was set up. Space was at a premium.

 

[Dr. Vette]

I think if I did it again I would probably go with 3 or even 4 filters per bucket. It takes several hours to filter all 5 gallons. I had done 2 so I would have two spare filters.

I use a Platypus to filter water when we go out.
Mine is the 4L size, and they now make a 6L.
It works amazingly fast for the 4L, though the water in the lakes in Canada appears to have less sediment than what I see in your picture.
So, if you want one that is likely faster, it's a thought.

 

[clearwater]

Old river guide trick to pre treat muddy water (think lower Grand Canyon) is to put some alum in the settling bucket to speed settling. Alum can be found in the spice isle for pickling. It is a flocking agent. Google can find articles on amounts and peoples methods.