MYOG water filter – questions

[Sam Farrington]

Decided on the Pennzoil fluid transfer pump because it is ruggeder than the Heinz, the handle can be screwed down to shorten the pump to minimal size for storage, and weighs only 0.6 oz. more than the Heinz.

Obtained a Sawyer "PointOne" filter unit, and it works OK with the Pennzoil fluid transfer pump. The set up was juryrigged, and so was leaky, but with some care could be easily tightened up, reducing the weight of tubing to a minimum, and increasing the flow rate. The flow is not quite so fast with the filter attached, but still faster and easier to pump than a Sweetwater, and at least as fast as a Katadyn (Pur) Hiker.

But the weight – there's the rub. Unfortunately, the many who tout the weight of the PointOne filter at around 2 1/2 ounces, neglect to state whether that is wet or dry. When in use while trekking, the weight will be wet. I found that the wet unit with all excess water blown out of it came in at over 3 1/2 ounces, making it substantially heavier than the pump. Without blowing out the excess water, the weight was up around 4 ounces.

My best estimate is 3 1/2 to 4 ounces, plus the pump, prefilter, and hoses will bring the weight up to at least 8 ounces or more, and that's not counting a WP carry bag with compartment to keep the parts separate, a syringe or squeeze bag said to be needed to backflush the PointOne once a week or so, and misc. repair parts.

The Sweetwater Walk-A-Bout is around 12 ounces and 14 ounces in a sturdy bag with cleaning brush and float. But I've found it to be totally reliable and clogging has never been a problem. Just brush it out, rinse, and it's ready to go. Eventually, the cartridge has to be replaced, but I've never had to. After a number of years, I did so just to be on the safe side. The Katadyn (Pur)Hiker pumps easier and faster, and weighs a couple more ounces. I've not used one for any length of time, so don't know about clogging issues with it.

With all the failure-related issues I've read about on this and other sites about the PointOne, this project doesn't seem worth pursuing at this point. Will stick with the Sweetwater until the industry comes out with something at least as reliable, and significantly lighter. Sorry this thread has not ended well. But that's all folks.

[Jerry Adams]

I used a Katadyn (Pur) filter for years. The plastic finally cracked and started leaking at the body of the pump, where it's at highest pressure, but the failure was gradual.

I got a new one and used it a couple years before switching over to Sawyer Squeeze.

[steven franchuk]

I wanted to see how a syring pump would work. So I got a 50ml syrings, two check valves, a tee fitting, and a luer lock to hose barb adaptor to connect it to the syring. The syring by itself is 1oz. Connecdting it all together with a little bit of hose pushed it ot about 1.75oz. However that weight does not include the filter and hose to the filter or any way to attach the filter to your water storage container. It also doesn't include a hose to the water source or a prefilter (which some might consider optional). Adding those items will probably push it to about 4oz.

Now I could save some weight by going to 30ml syring and using 1/32" side wall tubing instead of the 1/16" side wall tubing I used. It might also be possible to find lighter check valves and fittings. Even with those changes i cannot see this getting below 7oz for a complete setup with a we sawye filter. That is close to the weight of the MSR hyperflow.

In testing the syring worked well and without a filter I can pump 1 quart in about 1.5 minutes. The main item slowing me down is the small opening at the end of the syring. I tried drilling it out but ended up drilling off the male part ot the syring luer lock fitting. The threads were still there but that caused air and water leaks. I tried silicone rubber to seal the leak and that worked for a little bit but then failed. Flow rate did inprove though. The 50ml syring looks to be much more durable than any other smaller syring that I have used in the past.

[Sam Farrington]

Was going to use Scotch "Stretchy" Tape wrapped around the tube. Tape is hard to find in stores, but available on line.

[Christopher *]

A coin and a film tube … made me think of this thread.

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