water purification systems

Under sink R.O. works great. About $100 on ebay for a 6 stage filter. Easy to install.

I just put in a UV filter and two sediment filters.Both from E-Bay sellers.The cost to install about $500.00 by local plumber. The price on island was about the same, but not the selection of products I wanted. The UV kills any biological contaminants and the sediments filters remove grit etc.

any brand names you liked?

when you purchase you system get spare lamps.

I bought a whole house Sediment Filter from Gallow's bay for $25 that is OK. It had a clear casing which is a bit of a problem as my plumbing is outside and Algae will form, have covered it to reduce this. If you are mounting outside get one with an opaque casing rather than clear. This removes all the dirt particles from the water before which you need to do before you let the water get to your "purification" system as they will clog it up. I have a Pure Source water filter in my new fridge. It filters the ice and in door water dispenser which is what I use for drinking water. It came with the fridge which was nice, and will get rid of cysts (gihrardia) which I think is one of the most common problems with Cistern water here.

The UV rigs seem really cool but they are expensive. If I get sick I guess I'll wish that I bought one 🙂

Sean

East End Doug, how long did it take the plumber to install the system and was that just installation with you providing the equipment?

We put in a series of 3 sediment filters of decreasing (or increasing, depending on how you look at it) gauge, before a UV light. They are in our pump room. We clean all the water except for the outside/garden faucets, which work off a different pump and cistern. Even with this, the brita filter we have on the kitchen faucet gets clogged alot faster than the one we use in the states for the equivalent quantity of water...so there is still sediment in the water even after the 3 filters. Not a big deal to install...shut offs before and after, a bypass line w/shutoff, , electric to the UV, that's about it. All the purchasing was done off island, but our UV is the same brand carried by Tropical Plumbing, just in case.

It went in in about 3 hours. We have a pump room with space to fit the filters. I have been told to use coconut charcoal filters when I replace the final filter in the system. This is supposed to improve the taste.The UV filter requires a 110 outlet to power the light. Remember to allow space to change the filters.

Wow, I think I have found a new second job installing the water purification systems. That is some serious good money. I figure I could install at least 1 maybe 2 a day.

Caribbean Hydro-tech installed a UV filtration system at our house and it was about $1,000.

You can simply chlorinate the cistern a bit then use something like this under the sink.
http://cgi.ebay.com/5-stage-50GPD-Reverse-Osmosis-RO-Water-Filter-Luxury_W0QQitemZ120403904400QQcmdZViewItemQQptZSmall_Kitchen_Appliances_US?hash=item120403904400&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=72%3A1205%7C66%3A2%7C65%3A12%7C39%3A1%7C240%3A1318%7C301%3A0%7C293%3A1%7C294%3A50
My Mom sold Culligan systems for years and we always had super clean water to drink from the mini RO plant. You can also hook it to the ice maker and I can tell you the cubes are crystal clear. Without the filter, cubes are very cloudy. UV is a good idea, just a bit expensive, requires electricity, and bulb replacement.
I was able to install my RO in less than an hour. Very simple.
We also have 2 stages of sediment filters at the pump so that the faucets and showers don't get plugged up.

How much space is required? I assume they don't make any noise?

007, do you mean the UV or the RO system?
I have the 6 stage filtration RO, so i could help with that.
I`m not familiar with the UV system.
Yup, my ice cubes are crystal clear w/o taste or odor.
Dun

I am referring to both. Trying to decide what to do. Currently boil water and charcoal filter before and PUR filter after, but it is a pain. want to install a good systemt to kill bacteria and ensure good taste.

We love the safety of the UV filter and the taste of filtered rain water. Why would you want to go to the trouble of collecting pure rain water then add nasty bleach. Be sure to keep the inlets and over flow screened to keep out frogs and mosquito's.

I love my Seagull: http://www.generalecology.com/category/in-home

Doug,
Nasty Bleach? Pure rain water?
I understand using a UV is optimal (and expensive) but bleach will lightly chlorinate and keep your cistern safe. Then by filtering with an RO the bleach is removed.
As for screens to keep out critters? Even then you'll have roaches, skeeters etc.... having a party in your cistern. I believe chlorinating makes this environment less desirable for these critters. Not to mention it should kill the eggs and larvae. And don't forget that in your cistern you could have rotting leaves, Monserrat ash, Sahara sand, and just plain old dust from the air. Not to mention bird, bat, and lizard droppings from the roof. A filter without a RO membrane will not reduce your TDS (total disolved solids) to zero. One micron will still let tiny junk through. It may have passed through a UV but it could still get past a filter.

Chlorine is a wonderful thing! Perfectly safe when properly diluted!

Did I mention a 50 gallon a day RO costs about $100?? For a bit more you can get one with a built in TDS meter that indicates when it's time to change the filters. I had one in the states that used a 9v battery and the RO faucet had a little green light that would change to amber as a warning. That was a Culligan brand. Pays for itself in no time and no lugging jugs.

Update:
Had a small drip from our undersink 2 gallon water heater, so while I was repairing the leak I decided to change the filters in the RO.
The filters were very nasty! They really pick up a ton of crap. The 3 filters before the RO membrane were completely brown and the canisters were full on nasty water. The final filters after the RO membrane were spotless.

If anyone could see the condition of these filters they would NOT drink straight from the cistern. They had been in place a little over a year.