Katadyn Befree adapter for Smart water bottle

[Winston W]

Guy on Reddit made a 3d printing file for Katadyn Befree adapter for smart water bottles:

Katadyn BeFree adapter

https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:3566270

[Ken Larson]

Sooner or later someone I felt would design an adapter to the Smart Water bottle as NEITHER Katadyn Products nor HydraPak sell the original replacement .6L or 1L bottles for the BeFree filter. Individuals that use Smart Water bottles, this will be another option for their filtration needs on the go.

[Brad W]

Is the Befree better than the Sawyer filters?

[J-L]

Still no way to effectively backflush the BeFree when it clogs.

[BlackHatGuy]

“Is the Befree better than the Sawyer filters?”

Depends on what you mean by better. It’s faster. Much faster. Works great for many people. I’m one of the unfortunate few who’ve had a catastrophic failure in the field, and since, as John says, there’s no effective way to backflush it, it rendered it almost useless (not completely, but I could barely get any water through it, pretty much a trickle).

[J R]

Doug, the unfortunate group you belong to is more than just a few, I believe. I haven’t tried the BeFree yet because base only on my reading of user experiences, it seems about 50/50 those who have had no clogging problems vs. those who have had it badly clogged and stuck that way, sometimes on just the first few uses. I’m looking for something better than a coin toss.

Having said that….I can’t keep my eye off the BeFree thinking of that out-of-the-box flow rate. I wonder what the weight is of this adapter doohickey.

[Ken Larson]

JR…25.7g/0.9oz

 

[Todd T]

I’m a BeFree user.  Yes, it’s a LOT faster than the Sawyer(s), but I’ve concluded it’s a disposable filter–expect two seasons out of it if all your water sources are clean.  I’ve started taking two on every trip.  It’s a minor weight penalty in trade for peace of mind, better bottles (the Hydrapaks), and FAST filtering. :)

[Rex Sanders]

Is there any way to buy one of these adapters if you don’t own a 3-D printer and you are pretty clueless about the whole process?

Any reviews of how well this adapter actually works?

— Rex

[J R]

Thanks Ken.

[Ben H.]

Is there any way to buy one of these adapters if you don’t own a 3-D printer and you are pretty clueless about the whole process?

Any reviews of how well this adapter actually works?

— Rex

In general, you can download the file from thingiview.  It will be a compressed “.stl” file.  Extract the file: Katadyn_BeFree_Adapter_Final.stl

You can then go to http://www.shapeways.com.  Upload the file and print it. It looks like they will charge $32 to have it printed up.  I am surprised at the cost.  I’ve used shapeways in the past and they were pretty cheap.  I guess the volume of this component is quite large (to fit the BeFree filter).

A word of caution: nothing 3-d printed is food safe.  The 3-d printing process creates small cracks and fissures that are a breeding ground for bacteria.  If you do this I would recommend coating the inside with a food grad silicone sealant.

https://www.amazon.com/Silicone-Grade-Strength-Sealant-Clear/dp/B00NU6VN6G?ref_=fsclp_pl_dp_2

[Tallgrass]

This is neat. I tend to use Aqua Mira, rather than a filter. But on the trips where I need a filter (like in Isle Royale NP), I’d love to be able to screw a sawyer filter on to the twist top Gatorade bottles. These are, by far, my favorite bottles. If I knew how to 3D design things, I’d design some kind of adapter to accomplish this.

[Ben H.]

That was my thought too Tallgrass.  This thing is quite large because you have to enclose the entire filter.  It could be quite a bit smaller if the filter fit through the opening into the bottle.  I drew some threaded designs in tinkerCAD recently.  It is free a pretty easy to use (plus there are a lot of YouTube tutorials).  If someone knows the thread specifications I might try to take a stab at it.

[Brett A]

A buddy at work just printed one off for me.  He’s still trying to get his printer dialed in and the threads didn’t come out perfectly clean.  Some “artifacts” or residual material left here and there but I’ll give it a go and see hows it works.

A 1L Smartwater bottle is what, about 12″ tall.  The adapter came out to 3-11/16″.  I’ll have to measure my BeFree when I get home tonight but I’m guessing about 2-1/2″ (not counting the actual filter portion…which fits inside the adapter).  How tall is the Squeeze?

Edit: Looking at some images online of the Squeeze atop a 1L Smartwater bottle, I don’t know that there would be much difference in length.  We’ll see.

[Ben H.]

Ok, I downloaded this guys model and modified it for a Gatorade bottle.  It ends up being quite a bit more compact… under $7 to print up at Shapeways.  I took this guys drawing and trimmed off everything but the BeFree threads and then found another drawing on thingiverse with Gatorade bottle threads and used that the trim out the threads on the inside.  Both drawings have similar creative commons-non commercial licenses.  If someone with a 3-d printer is interested in printing this I can send the drawing (along with the licenses used to keep everything on the up and up).

Edit:  The more I think about this… I don’t think this will work.  The external dimensions of the Gatorade bottle align very closely with the internal dimensions where the BeFree is supposed to sit.  I don’t think the BeFree will fit inside the Gatorade bottle.  I can check this out at home.. my kids might have to drink a bottle of Gatorade.

 

[Brett A]

Interested in what you find out Ben.  I can confirm that mine, made from PLA, did leak badly at the bottle connection before I removed the small ring that’s left on the bottle after twisting off the cap.  How much of that has to do with the fact that the threads on mine are not that clean, I don’t know.  Much better results after removing ring.  Screwed the filter back on snug and gave it a go.  Not too bad.  What I would call “serviceable”.  The author points out that this was an issue with PLA and recommends using PolyMax-PC instead.  All “geek-speak” to me.  I’m clueless when it comes to this stuff.  Maybe my buddy has some of that lying around.

Edit: Overall height (1L SW bottle, adapter and BeFree) is 16-1/4″.  Pretty tall.

[Winston W]

Ben, that looks great. Let us know how it goes. Also does that size Gatorade bottle have the same diameter as the standard bottle sizes or vitamin water bottle sizes? Wonder if there’s another standard bottle with a wider mouth (if it doesn’t work).

Brett, I wonder if there’s a way of modifying the file to have an o-ring, like on a water faucet, put in to seal it.

[Brett A]

“I wonder if there’s a way of modifying the file to have an o-ring, like on a water faucet, put in to seal it.”

Actually, I thought I would start by simply putting one on the bottle itself.  We do a lot of hydraulics where I work and should have something that will fit…just as a test.  Will have to wait until next week.  I think Ben may be on the right track though.  Anxious to see what he comes up with.

[Ben H.]

Yup I confirmed.  The BeFree won’t fit in a regular Gatorade bottle opening.  I think it will fit in a 32 Oz Gatorade bottle, but I haven’t been able to find a drawing for those threads yet. :(  I keep looking around.

I can probably add an o-ring to the original drawing if someone is interested.  If you have a particular size o-ring in mind that would help.

[Winston W]

Also just saw Cnoc has a compatible container:  https://cnocoutdoors.com/collections/2019-vectos/products/2019-vecto-42mm-orange?variant=20550088032345

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