Recycling water filters

This may be more of a problem in the PNW, but all watermakers require a 5 micron filter in front of the membranes, and these clog up really quickly. Even bought online, if you make a lot of water the cost gets annoying. The problem is that these filters trap algae and krill on the inside of the filter where you really can't easily get to it for cleaning.

To fix this, I bought a telescoping irrigation riser and a 90 degree irrigation nozzle from Ace. Extended, the riser will just fit inside the filter and the 90 degree nozzle directs the water to one section of the pleats at a time. You can really flush the filter out using this, let it dry and it seems to be clean enough to work as well as a brand new filter. I inspect the filter each time I clean it to make sure there are no holes, but this season instead of going through 15 filters, I have used the same 2.

Have you considered a Y strainer prior to the filter to deal with the Krill and algae?



Item 5 in that diagram is an IPS plug. It can easily be removed and fitted with an appropriate sized ball valve to facilitate rapid cleaning of the strainer without disassembly.

CPseudonym said:

Have you considered a Y strainer prior to the filter to deal with the Krill and algae?

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Item 5 in that diagram is an IPS plug. It can easily be removed and fitted with an appropriate sized ball valve to facilitate rapid cleaning of the strainer without disassembly.

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Craig, I have a 50 micron krill filter, then a 20 micron filter, then the 5 micron. The first two are fine for a season, but the 5 micron clog up in around 8 hours due to the tiny critter load we have up here. I gather it is different in parts south, but here, there is a whole lot of life in the water smaller than 20 microns.

We had a 20 micron in front of a 5 micron for our watermaker on Apophyge and just hosed off the filters with the washdown pump. In the sea of cortez that worked fine, Sounds like a lot more krill and small stuff in your water.

Delfin said:

Craig, I have a 50 micron krill filter, then a 20 micron filter, then the 5 micron. The first two are fine for a season, but the 5 micron clog up in around 8 hours due to the tiny critter load we have up here. I gather it is different in parts south, but here, there is a whole lot of life in the water smaller than 20 microns.

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Ahh, I see. Sorry I read micron in your first post and between my few fleeting brain cells thought mesh

My bad

Apophyge said:

We had a 20 micron in front of a 5 micron for our watermaker on Apophyge and just hosed off the filters with the washdown pump. In the sea of cortez that worked fine, Sounds like a lot more krill and small stuff in your water.

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I think so. I tried washing down from the outside, and did get a fair amount of stuff out, but then the filter only seemed to last a couple of hours before clogging again. To get it all, I found I needed something to spray from inside out, hence my hillbilly invention.

You got a picture of that thing? Before cruising we'll install a watermaker. So we'll be cleaning filters.

Apophyge said:

You got a picture of that thing? Before cruising we'll install a watermaker. So we'll be cleaning filters.

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Well, sort of. I think this may qualify as the worst picture ever taken, but here it is.

The brass fitting on the bottom is a 3/4" male hose to 1/2" female adapter. The riser is, as I said, adjustable. The part that extends is small enough to fit inside a standard filter, and the unidentifiable black thingy at the end is the 90 degree cheap-o irrigation nozzle.

If the phone doesn't ring, it will be Ansel Adams not wanting me as his apprentice.

I like it! Simple and effective. I can proably McGyver something like that. Thanks for the idea.

Why not a polyproplene disc filter?
http://www.arkal-filters.com/tech_disc.html

refugio said:

Why not a polyproplene disc filter?
Arkal filtration systems - water filtration ,disc filter, AGF media filter

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Not fine enough filtration, and I'm not sure you clean these. If not the problem remains.

Delfin said:

Not fine enough filtration, and I'm not sure you clean these. If not the problem remains.

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I have a similar one - the plates just spread out and you hose it off.

But it looks like you're right - the smallest filtration size I can find in this style of filter is 20 microns.