New Muv purifier

Gee…. maybe give a few more clues….

Try Google for Muv purifier.

I did, and the first hit is
http://thegoat.backcountry.com/blog/2007/08/30/muv-micro-uv-water-purifier/

They say:

The people at UV Aquastar have developed a water purifier to compete with the Hydro Photon UV Pen. I mean, it couldn’t have been too difficult—you just need to find a waterproof UV bulb to float in your water. The new 2.4oz mUV floating UV water purifier will treat 20 liters of water off one charge and you can recharge it off any 1 cell battery. The bad news is that the Hydro Photon didn’t do very well in the U.S. Army Center for Health Promotion and Preventative Medicine’s Water-Treatment shootout, and I can’t imagine the new mUV would do any better. The best options for purifying are still filters and chemicals.

Sorry, should have given more info.

The Aquastar Muv purifier has been discussed on this forum many times. But there were problems with the old model. Production was put off and the company has now released a new improved version. My question was in regards to this new model.

Army tests I believe were done only by collating data from the manufacturers. By their own admission, Steripen does not perform as well in turbid water. But from memory it did still kill a substantial amount of the nasties.
I understand that chlorine and iodine are also affected if there is too much organic matter in the water.

I have one, but I havnt used it in the field as of yet. The chemicals are just to easy so I usually forget I even have it. But, its a nice little piece a gear. Comes with a little stow bag that acts as a particle filter. It would be a little cumbersome to use with say a 2 liter platy because the bulb only sticks in the bottle so far. it would be best for using with smaller bottles of water no more than 1 liter.

there's a review on backpackgeartest.org ( http://www.backpackgeartest.org/reviews/Water%20Treatment/Ultraviolet/Meridian%20Design%20mUV%20Treatment%20Device/Test%20Report%20by%20Jamie%20DeBenedetto/#Initial )
I'm on my second unit – the first was a prototype and the built in rechargable battery died after only a few uses. Aquastar sent me a replacement (production) unit and I've been using that for several months without problems. Big plusses are comprehensive "instant" purification and no taste. I find using water containers whose openings I can plug with the muv are the most convenient. Yell if you have specific questions.

I have used a steripen adventurer for 2 seasons. I don't care for the LEDs and find it hard to use in bright light conditions.
So, I purchased a MUV and do prefer the concept and multi-use aspect of the MUV package. The pre-filter was mentioned. And the unit comes with an LED that can be used for lighting. It's kind of wierd that the LED is on a timer and can't be turned off manually. I like the fact that the MUV floats, and that it can fit in the mouth of small-mouth bottles.
The MUV is rechargeable, I haven't decided if I like that feature yet. To me it seems better to be able to instantly replace the batteries as is the case with the steripen.
These steripen and aqua-star purifiers use ultra-violet light. Any turbidity will reduce the effectiveness.
That said, I always carry tablets as a backup.

I have one of the earlier Muv units, and bring it along on most trips. The bulk of my in-camp water treatment involves the use of Micropur tablets, but I also carry the Muv to provide me with instant water treatment when on the go. I like to let the chlorine dioxide chemicals sit for several hours before drinking the water, the taste improves a lot. For a week long trip, a single charge battery provides me with more than enough capacity. I have found the unit to be reliable and work very well for me.

I picked up one of the new Muvs. The bulb is only an inch long, if it protrudes down into a 1 liter bottle, the light still has around 6 inches to travel to the bottom of the bottle. Is this distance too great for purification?

May be. I think it will work best with .5L platy or other narrow mouth bottle.

> The bulb is only an inch long, if it protrudes down into a 1 liter bottle, the light still
> has around 6 inches to travel to the bottom of the bottle. Is this distance too great for
> purification?

Stir it around in the water. The UV light cannot escape from the surface of the water, so you are quite safe. In reasonably clear water 6" is not trouble at all.

Cheers

Returned from ~1month trip using the mUV along with a DIY gravity filter. Home testing prior to the trip resulted in only ~8L of purification before needing recharge. Unit is the solid blue body colored model (early model?). No where close to the advertised number of liters. Happy that I brought along couple dozen chlorine dioxide tabs.

Last season we had a viral problem with our water sources. Got bit tired of drinking MIOX tainted water. This season decided to filter out the big critters & particulate matter and zap the little nasties with some UV-C. All was fine if I remembered to recharge the mUV nightly. Drained 2 CR123. As noted in previous posts the UV-C "light bulb" doesn't project very far into a Platypus container. Hitting the on/off button a second time does turn the led lamp light off.

Overall happy with the product. Light, compact and I stayed healthy. Not real sure if I would purchase again. Did not purify the claimed 12L. Internal battery is not user replaceable. The Steripen Journey with the new pre-filter/bottle adapter even at twice the weight and size has me more interested. The combination of my DIY gravity filter and mUV weighs in at ~9oz. Similar to the Journey with the pre-filter.

Overall happy. Stayed healthy.

I bought a 2nd generation Muv but can't bring myself to take it on a trip. It just seems junky. And the lack of any testing concerns me.

I've gone back to my heavier steripen and boiling when in camp. It's worth it for the knowledge that both these methods work.