MetaEfficient Reviews » Water Filters

Updates From The MetaEfficient Kitchen Labs

Justin — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 07:12:00 +0000

This summer I’ve been working on food-related optimization projects, here are some updates:

I now have subscriptions with two local farmers (through a CSA or Community Support Agriculture). One farmer provides me with raw milk, raw butter and eggs, the other farmer provides vegetables and fruit. They both happen to deliver to same street in my neighborhood, so I ride my bike about one kilometer and pick up both deliveries using a bike trailer. (more…)

Use An Ozone Generator To Purify Your Air and Water Inexpensively

Justin — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 17:47:51 +0000

One of the simplest and most inexpensive ways to purify water is to bubble ozone through it. Ozone is a molecule made of three oxygen atoms ( O₃₎. It disinfects water very effectively, through a process called oxidation. Ozone ruptures the cellular structure of organisms, killing them. It also oxides toxic organic chemicals, minerals and metals by reducing them to their insoluble form, so that they can be filtered out. This means it neutralizes most of the compounds that cause odor and off-tastes. Note, however, that ozonation does not remove nitrates, sulfates or heavy metals (see my article on water filters to find how to remove these). (more…)

The Best Water Filters Of 2009

Justin — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 01:43:12 +0000

Note: To jump straight to the water filter reviews click here.

If your are looking to find the best water filter, you’ll probably encounter a lot of misleading claims. Much of the misinformation comes from manufacturers eager to sell expensive water filters. Government sources also tend to gloss over issues of water pollution — it’s not in their interest to point out problems with municipal water. We’ve found the best reviews of water filters comes from independent experts. (more…)

How To Filter Your Drinking Water Very Efficiently

Justin — Mon, 18 Feb 2008 22:13:25 +0000

I’ve spent quite a bit of time researching how to filter drinking water effectively. Originally, I was interested in filtering the rainwater that falls on my roof. But I had to put that project on the back burner for now. During my research I noticed that there is little unbiased information available on water filters and filtration techniques. (more…)

Very Efficient: Pocket Filter by Katadyn

Justin — Fri, 24 Feb 2006 04:39:01 +0000

This is a serious portable water filter from Katadyn. It’s efficient because it uses a ceramic filter, which will not let anything larger than 0.2 microns through. It also has a long life — it will filter up to 13,000 gallons before you need to replace the cartridge. The filter eliminates bacteria, viruses, cysts, protozoa, algae, spores, sediment and reduces radioactive particles.

(more…)

Most Efficient Water Cleaner: Terra Cotta Gravity Water Filter and Cooler

Justin — Wed, 25 Jan 2006 06:12:26 +0000

Here is another efficient ceramic water filter. This gravity filter has a hand-made terra cotta base, which cools the water using natural convention.

We consider metaefficient because: its has excellent filtration, and a very long filter life (years). Also, the terra cotta doesn’t leach contaminants into the water, and it keeps the water cool without needing external energy.

It’s available from Water Savers for $139.

See also these similar ones on Ebay: ceramic filter and gravity filters.

Berkey Light Gravity-Flow Water Filter

Justin — Tue, 24 Jan 2006 05:40:33 +0000

Gravity filters are more effective than other types of water filter, because the water drips slowly through the ceramic elements, and this process removes almost all the contaminants in water. The filters can be cleaned with a toothbrush and last for up to 2,000 gallons. This Berkey Light filter uses Black Berkey elements, and they are self-sterilizing. The Black Berkeys remove or reduce pathogenic cysts, parasites, harmful or unwanted chemicals such as herbicides and pesticides, VOC’s, SOC’s detergents, organic solvents, trihalomethanes, cloudiness, silt, sediment, nitrates, nitrites, heavy metals, foul tastes and odors. Yet they leave in beneficial minerals.

Available from H20 Filters for about $170.

Slow Sand Filters

Justin — Thu, 20 Jan 2005 14:30:32 +0000

Slow sand filters are perhaps the most efficient means of producing clean drinking water.

Slow sand filters rely on biological processes for their action rather than physical filtration or disinfection. They require no electricity, no chemicals and no filter changes.

How is this possible? The secret is that slow sand filters work through the formation of a gelatinous layer called the hypogeal layer or “Schmutzedecke” on top of a layer of fine sand. This layer consists of bacteria, fungi, protozoa, rotifera and a range of aquatic insect larvae. As a Schmutzedecke ages more algae tend to develop and larger aquatic organisms may be present including some Endoprocta, Snails and Annelid worms.

(more…)

Producing Drinking Water from Rain Water

Justin — Tue, 27 Jul 2004 00:45:50 +0000

It is possible to produce pure drinking water from rain water
using a combination of devices costing around $300 total.

Here’s how to do it:

Install a roof
washer and a rain
barrel ($200). A roof washes diverts the first ten gallons or
so of rain water away from your barrel — it contains such things
as dust and bird dropping from the roof.
Put the water caught in the barrel
into a counter-top ceramic
gravity drip filter ($220) or this portable,
inexpensive model ($100). The water will be filtered
free of cysts, bacteria, metals, pollutants and pollen. (The Red
Cross use this type of filter in the field to purify questionable
water for drinking.)
Come back an hour later and drink the pure, highly-filtered, rain
water from the filter’s faucet.

The water than comes out of
this system will be purer than commercial bottled water, faucet filtered
or tap water. It will retain the taste of rain water because the drip
filter does not flatten the taste of the water. You can produce up
to four gallons a day.

This is a basic outline of the process. Doulton has
the detailed information on Drip
Filters. Their site is full of information, although it takes some
digging to find. You might want to start with their FAQ.

For extra protection, you can use an ozonator to
kill viruses in water smaller than .02 microns. Ozonators use less
energy than UV Light, Reverse Osmosis or Distillation.