sawyer squeeze disappointment

Did you have it modified last summer?

Yes, I'm pretty sure I did–I at least had the hose on there to direct the water, with the on-off clip, and I believe I put the pre-filter in at the same time.

I haven't done any back flush after light use over 9 days on PCT (thank you trail angels). You really think u needed the full flush (understand its advised but I often keep going until I notice its getting clogged).

If you're not 100% why not try again with the mods removed?

I've have one and have seen other use them as a gravity setup without issue. I think the pre filter mod is the problem.

That's what happened to Daryl. It's on some thread. Sawyer told him so he backflushed a bunch with something and then it started working better.

I did the gravity flow thing which worked pretty good but a bit slow.

Last trip I switched to a soda bottle and that worked much better. You can apply more pressure. Clear bottle lets you see if there's any sediment in it.

Maybe try soda bottle at home just to get it flowing again, then your gravity flow would work.

Maybe you have to try it out at home a day or two ahead of your trip just to make sure it's flowing good.

The same thing happened to me the first time out this year, but I was in the middle of a dayhike when I found out! It took forever to filter a couple of liters of water. My filter is stock (no prefilter). When I got home, I "vigorously" backflushed it a bunch of times and it seems to flow better now. I don't know what the problem was… I had stored it as you did, per Sawyer's directions.

Weird.

Thread where Daryl fixed problem – page 6:

http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/forums/thread_display.html?forum_thread_id=61565&startat=100

crux of the matter:
"I discussed the problem with Sawyer Customer Service. She said the problem was common and I shouldn't give up on the filter. She had several suggestions.

(1) If the fibers have dried out it may take a while for them to get wetted. I told her I had tried for several hours so she went on to other suggestions.
(2) Calcium or other deposits from our Seattle tap water may have collected on the fibers. Hot water, vinegar and/or bleach might help remove the deposits and/or speed up the wetting process.
(3) A lot of pressure is needed when backflushing. She said the latest models have improved the syringe/filter connection to reduce leakage between filter and syringe when applying a lot of pressure.

So I ran hot water through both ends of the filter by holding it up to the kitchen faucet. I also have run vinegar through it.

The flow rate is visibly improved.

I'll do some flow measurements after I'm done fooling around with the suggestions that were given me."

Just happened to me yesterday as well. Luckily I tested it out before I hit the trail. I back flushed it a bunch and squeezed a few liters of water through it. Works fine now.

Yes, the slow flow rate you saw happens if the filter hasn't been used in awhile and dries out. Let it gravity filter some water, back flush it a bunch, or just let it sit in water and it will start working again.

It's probably best to test it at home before leaving if its been several months since it was last used.

"It's probably best to test it at home before leaving if its been several months since it was last used."

Now ya tell me! ;-)

I don't own one of these filters but I'm wondering if there are some mineral deposits in the filter after it completely dried out. If that is the problem, I wonder if back flushing it with distilled water before putting it into long term storage would help mitigate this problem.

Edit was typing this as Jerry answered the question re: mineral deposits.

Diane,

Sounds like you have the same problem that I have. Here’s the solution that worked for me. It was recommended by Sawyer:

Test the filter before each trip to make sure it has a good flow rate. If it dries out or the internal fibers get coated (with elements within the water) the flow rate can slow considerably. It may to possible to restore flow rate by running vinegar and/or hot water from the tap through it in either or both directions.

I have to do this before each trip if the filter has been stored for a few months. Interesting that we are both from the Pacific Northwest. Perhaps it is the water? I haven’t heard anyone but you and me mention it. The filter starts off not working at all…just as you describe. After about 20 minutes of fooling around with it with hot water and vinegar it works great and works great throughout the backpacking trip.

The thread mentioned by Jerry is here. Scroll to the bottom of page 1 for the solution that worked for me.

here

stole your thread there Daryl, sorry : )

And I am too lazy to post a clickable link

I've had the exact same problem with Sawyer filters, but was unable to get decent flow the second season. Assuming its minerals or something drying onto the filter fibers, I've wondered if there was a good way to keep the filter from drying over the winter? Perhaps doing a last liter of distilled water with chlorine, followed by another of distilled water, then capping both ends to keep it from drying out?

Based on all the threads I have seen about this I can understand how vinegar and warm water would clear out minerals. However several people are from the PNW which has some very clean water. So I would doubt that the tap water is the cause for some of the issues.

Drying out also doesn't make sense to me if the tap water is reasonably soft. After all the filter is shipped from the factory dry and my filter worked fine right out of the box.

so if drying out and soft water is used where are the minerals coming from? Could it be the Bleach? From a quick search on the web bleach isn't just chlorine and water. Some have sodium, some might have calcium, and then looking at MSDS I see at least a dozen different chemicals in use for which I know little about. It might be wise to use Chlorine Dioxide tablets or maybe just iodine tablets instead of bleach

Jerry,

Thanks for posting my info in a timely manner.

Sharing info is the key ….not who posts it.

Daryl

I shoved 3 60 cc syringefuls of white vinegar backflushed through the filter, then 3-4 syringes of hot water. Working better now, even with the modifications as described. I filled my dirty water bladder and ran a full 1.5 L through the filter and into my clean bag, through the drinking tube as I have it designed to do. Filled in 2:45 minutes, and I learned I have to make sure to burp the air from my drinking bag. Not bad at all, and I think I'll soak the filter the night before a trip if it's been a while.

The fellow at A Drop of Rain had suggested carrying a different syringe for back-flushing. I think I'll have to log on there and write in the comments that he better not throw away the Luer Lock syringe that comes with the filter! i did order a new filter from REI, since I had a dividend anyway, as the company wrote they had improved the connection to the syringe, enabling better backflushing. And, I'll carry the syringe on trips so I can boil a pot of water and backflush if need be.

Non-backflushed Filters – In case you forgot to back flush your filter after your last outing and flow seems to be little to diminished, soak the filter in hot tap water (not boiling) for about an hour and then back flush using hot tap water. REMEMBER to back flush FORCEFULLY! When using the syringe, do not be gentle, it will only form paths of least resistance instead of blowing out the particulates that may be trapped in your filter. When using the faucet adapter, hold the adapter on the faucet and 'turn the water up' to ensure particle(s) removal.

Calcium Build Up – (If after above steps your filter still seems to be clogged) Soak the filter in hot tap water for about an hour and then back wash using hot tap water. If this doesn't work, it could be dried calcium. Soak the filter in vinegar for 1/2 hour and then flush with hot water. You may have to repeat this a few times to get it all the way clean. Make sure you back flush with all the force you can – hold the faucet adapter on the faucet and turn the water on. The filters are tough and can take more force than you can give with the faucet adapter.

The Sawyer cartridge unit, as far as I can tell, is called the "PointOne," which I suppose refers to the maximum size of the openings in the filter for water to pass though. All the good reviews got me excited about this unit, and now this. Oh well.

If I have read Daryl's posts correctly, what finally really worked for him was backflushing by using hot water directly in line from the home faucet. That's quite a bit of pressure, more I would think than you'd get with a syringe. He also mentioned vinegar, though.

There also seemed to be a consensus with posters and Sawyer people that drying out the unit between hikes was a definite problem.

So, I'm wondering if just keeping the unit wet when not in use would help. AFAIK, the PointOne cartridge is also sold as an in line filter, but have no idea why it is so much more expensive than the Squeeze if the key component, the filter cartridge, is the same.

All the older pump units I've used store water in the filter when not in use (unless you open the filter and pour it out). I would think the same thing could readily be accomplished with an in line set up using a PointOne cartridge.

If that fails, then how to backflush in the field. Probably with water that's been boiled to purify it, then used with a syringe to backflush after cooling a bit. Since the water is already purified, it should not contaminate the clean end of the filter so long as no contaminated materials are used for the syringe, couplings and such.

It does sound like a pain in the neck, though. Hope keeping the filter moist avoids all this. If not, maybe the PointOne needs some product development.

On the other hand, some conditions will clog any filter.
Freezing will damage a lot of them, including the Sawyer.
And there are water holes on the Divide that look clear, but carry a very fine silt that will clog anything. The answer might be to carry, in addition to the syringe and coupling for backflushing, an extra PointOne cartridge. It is supposed to weigh less than 2 ounces, so that might be worth considering. ($$$$)

Since I'm planning on doing some tinkerig with these cartridges and some small pumps, will post anything that seems worth sharing. Thanks for all the info.

The problem with leaving a filter wet in storage is that it creates a perfect environment for molds, etc to grow. I destroyed a ceramic filter cartridge that way: put it in storage, didn't use it for months, and when I tried to pump with it, the water was full of foul black particulates. When disassembled, the filter cartridge itself had a nasty black film covering it. It *probably* wouldn't have happened over a shorter period of time (i.e. if I had been using it every weekend), but in the right conditions (warm, high humidity, whatever was living in the last batch of water) who knows?

A pre-soak before each trip sounds like a safer option to me.

To each his/her own.
After reading this and the other thread, no way I would let a PointOne dry out, ever.
It is a simple enough matter to flush the filter after a trek and leave pure water in it.