Frontier Pro filter leaks

Hi Diane,

Have you tried it on more than one Platypus? I have the Frontier Pro and have not had problems with leakage on my 2L Platy.

OTOH, I have found that when I remove the bite valve and attach a Platypus hose to the outlet to gravity feed water from one bag to another–ala the system that Jason Klass shows on his blog–that the hose continually slips off and simply will not stay attached. Obviously it works for Jason, but not for me. Thus I think small variances in tolerances between different Platys, hoses, maybe even the filters themselves are the demons at work here.

My best suggestion would be to try your filter on another bag.

Good luck!
Michael

I'm using mine as a gravity filter. I had the same problem as Michael in that my platty tube didn't stay in the filter very well. Instead, I cut about 1" off the tube that the Frontier came with and use that to attach to the filter. A 1/4" to 1/4" barbed hose attachment hooks the frontier tube to my platty tube as seen below.

In gravity mode it fills my 1.8L platty in 3 minutes.

As to solving your leak issue, would run to your local hardware store and pick up an o-ring. Just try not to loose it on trail.

Dan,

Can you provide itemization (and if possible) links of the items used in your setup? I can't remember who sells the green water bucket you use. It would be nice to know just how many parts, etc. you have. You might want your nicely done "article" to be a wiki piece here.

Thanks!

I think I found your green water bucket — is it this link?

http://www.antigravitygear.com/proddetail.php?prod=AGWTBG

actually I find that my platys leak on their own. Poor seal between the push/pull drinking lid and the bottle.

The simple top seems to hold better. The platy hose adapter screws on pretty well too.

I had the same issue with my .5 and 1L platy's.

I suspect platypus changed the pitch of their screw mechanisms very slightly and this made some of the older caps not seal well, and it doesn't mate with the frontier pro as it might once have done.

I put a neoprene washer in the Frontier Pro and it solved the problem.

Dan & Michael:

Dan, your barbed connector is a good solution. If you want to eliminate a part, read on…

whole thread:
http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/forums/thread_display.html?forum_thread_id=10012&disable_pagination=1

summarized/key post (from Ben on 10-20-08):

If the end of your Platy had been attached to a Platy bottle connector or Platy on-off valve previously, then it's likely stretched out. If that's the case, then you should snip off the stretched out section. A regular platy drinking tube should fit the Frontier input "fairly" snug.

Re Diane's Q.:

First thought is get a washer/gasket/o-ring. But Dan has a good point – don't lose it!! Hopefully you can find one that fits quite snugly "under"/"behind" the threads and stay put.

Can anyone comment on this possible solution. (aside from not wanting silicon just because it's silicon) :-)
Household silicon caulk. I don't have experience with it, but it's my understanding that after curing, it stays pliable.

Line a bead in the base of the Frontier Pro; let thoroughly dry/cure. Once cured, the bead will only stick to the filter and can't be lost like a gasket but Will stay pliable to provide a reliable, long-term, waterproof seal.

Usable solution, or flawed thinking after a long day?!

> Usable solution, or flawed thinking after a long day?!

Excellent thinking IN PRINCIPLE.

But (there's always a but): you try to make a uniform bead around the cap with silicone … I can't!

The washer idea seems excellent to me. Same problem with garden hoses.

Cheers

Kent – Ben's suggestion was for the input valve on the Frontier, not the output valve. My input hose works great, but I needed that little adapter on the output to make is snug enough that it didn't easily fall out. A freshly trimmed platty hose doesn't fit the output very well.

Dan,

Yup, "input". Oops; I misread. Thanks for pointing that out – I'll be using the same setup soon.

Haven't begun looking yet (and haven't previously needed a barbed adapter like that); where did you get yours?

Got all my hose adapters at my local Ace hardware.

All the misc plastic parts I used in my Frontier Pro gravity filter ( from a year ago here ) and more recently, with the Platy CleanStream here were obtained from The United States Plastic Corp HERE . Anything you need… fittings, barbs, adapters, hose, valves, etc.

I hope these links help someone. It’s ridiculous that a forum forces you to enter html to make a link clickable.

Dan & Chris,

great info…I know this helps me (Thanks!) and I suspect many others.