Has anybody used a "Water Fixer" filter?

[Montenido]

Hi folks,
I was recently in a marina in Mexico (Barra De Navidad) that did not have potable water at the dock, as most do not. My home marina in La Paz has RO water that can be used in your tanks, but I was about 500 miles away. Normally I use my water maker when away from the marina, but I went into the marina in Barra on short notice and did not have an opportunity to fill my tank with the water maker.

One of my new friends loaned me his portable filter called a "Water Fixer". He said that you could fill your tanks with non-potable water using this device. I used it and he was correct, the water was totally drinkable. Returning home, I purchased a used one on ebay and refurbished it. The unit consists of two filters, a 5 micron sediment filter and a .5 micron carbon block filter. The filtered water then passes through a 25w UV light which kills bad stuff in the water.

While the need for something like this is few and far between, I am happy to have one for those random times when I need to fill my tanks from a marina in Mexico. Just thought I would pass along a pretty great piece of equipment for anybody heading to Mexico.

Cheers, Bill

 

[rslifkin]

Just as a heads up, while 0.5 micron filtration + UV will make most water biologically safe to drink, it may not necessarily stay that way in the tank. So if using a setup like that to fill the tanks with questionable water, I'd add a little bleach to the tank to maintain a chlorine residual for safety.

 

[ksanders]

Theoretically you could route non potable fresh water to your watermaker as well.

If memory serves correctly a watermaker will remove bacteria and viruses because they are larger in size than a molecule of salt

If anyone has differing information I am all ears, but that is my understanding.

 

[rslifkin]

Theoretically you could route non potable fresh water to your watermaker as well.

If memory serves correctly a watermaker will remove bacteria and viruses because they are larger in size than a molecule of salt

If anyone has differing information I am all ears, but that is my understanding.

Yes, a watermaker should do an adequate job, although if there's any imperfection in the membranes it could allow some bacteria or viruses through. So it would still be a good idea to UV tube and/or chlorinate the water after it comes out of the watermaker (definitely a little chlorine if it's going to be stored for a period of time where any tiny amount of bugs can potentially multiply).

 

[Comodave]

I put a water filter in a previous boat and our RV that filtered to .5 micron and had a UV light in it. Can’t really say how well it worked but we never got sick using the water so I guess it worked well. Don’t remember the brand but it was a small unit and didn’t draw much power.

 

[rslifkin]

I put a water filter in a previous boat and our RV that filtered to .5 micron and had a UV light in it. Can’t really say how well it worked but we never got sick using the water so I guess it worked well. Don’t remember the brand but it was a small unit and didn’t draw much power.

I'm assuming yours was a point of use system right before a faucet, right? If so, that avoids the concerns about tiny bits of stuff making it past the UV, etc. as it doesn't have time to multiply before the water is used.

 

[Comodave]

It supplied a small faucet next to the sink. I think it would flow about 1gpm.

 

[mvweebles]

It's been years since I've seen them mentioned, but seagull water filters were a relatively popular adjunct to cruising boats despite their steep cost

. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0002BRPMS/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_awdb_imm_F80XQXDDVYAYMPEECYNQ

Peter

 

[OldDan1943]

I had a 150gpd 12vt water maker. As I recall, it was a Village water maker. Just dumped into the main water tanks.