SHTF Water Filter

[streaker69]

One thing about these gamma seal lids. They are airtight, so for the filter to work properly if you wanted the lid on the top bucket, you'd have to drill at least one hole in it so air can get back into the bucket.

[streaker69]

One more thing, if you're not familiar with the gamma seal lids, they can get kind of tight. My wife had a tough time opening them, so I made the Gamma Seal Wrench.

[Svickstc]

^^Now that is good tool for sure, they do get to be a pain in the ass sometimes..

[streaker69]

I just checked on the filter test. I started it running around 3:30 this afternoon. It's now about 8:30 and it's about halfway through the 5 gallons.

[Kodiak]

my plan is bleach...charcoal then a good hot fire

FYI its better to use pool shock (calcium hypochlorite) and make your own.

Plenty of vids on Youtube (I own the book he talks about in the beginning of the video).

[streaker69]

Checked the filter when I got up this morning. I did the entire bucket, don't know how long it took as I went to bed around 11ish, and then had to deal with a puking kid in the middle of the night. Granted I did use tap water, because I was just testing to make sure the water actually flowed through it and it didn't leak, and I wanted to see how long it would actually take to run. Probably somewhere around 8 hour or so I'd guess judging from then I checked it earlier in the evening.

Only real issue I can see is the filter does wobble a little bit in the bucket, so you'd want to be careful pouring water too quickly over the top of it so you don't snap it off. I might try to think of a way to give it some support. I had considered this an issue before the build and have a couple of designs in mind. But need to work with off the shelf parts and that can be difficult.

[streaker69]

Here's part 2 of this project. Which is the reception bucket. The other examples on the inturwebs of making these filters show the guys just drilling holes in the top and letting the water drain in once you fit the nipple of the filter bucket into the holes. Of course, this is bad since you can snap the nipple off. Plus it provides no way to close the holes up for storage or keeping crap out.

I picked up these parts this morning from my local big box store.


Cut a hole in the top for piece that's pictured in the middle above.


Fits in the hole nicely. Sealed it with clear silicon.


Lines up with the output nicely.


Freehand drilled some holes in the cap for the bottom of the input. This is to keep larger crap from falling into your clean water.


Glued it into place with PVC glue.


The lip of the input sits at the same height as the lid crosses. Almost like it was meant do to this.


Filter bucket sits perfectly on the top. Could probably use bungee cord to keep them together while they're filtering.


The third piece I have in the picture is a screw in plug for the inlet. That way you can close the bucket and not worry about crap getting inside while you have fresh water in it or keeping the bucket clean during storage. The plug fits up inside the outlet of the filter bucket so you can store them stacked together.

[PA Rifleman]

Somebody hit him for me, my button's busted.

[39flathead]

That's some fine Amish craftmanship on that wrench, but don't you just have a cast iron handpump out back for water?





Seriously, looks like a good idea for drinking water, a bit too slow for cooking/washing I suppose, best just leave that to clorine and boiling.

[Connal]

I like it. Inexpensive, looks to work quite well. Doesn't take up alot of space.

Is it ideal? Of course not, there are companies that make better tools . . . for a whole lot more money.

I have to say, I might have to throw something like this together. For something to have in case of emergencies, and perhaps a bit longer, it would do a fantastic job.