That may have come from me. I believe the MIOX system can be useful as a readily available source of disinfectant for surfaces such as plates, cups, water bottles, etc. I have not tested it to date, but plan on trying it out sometime this fall, when vacations are down and I will have more time in the lab. I believe that making up the MIOX solution at the higher (4X) rate will produce a concentrated additive which when added to small amounts of water, can then be sprayed or wiped onto surfaces for disinfection.

I further postulate that since the MIOX solution is obviously compatible with the human digestive tract, that a less concentrated solution say at the normal 1X strength, it might be a usable substitute as a wound cleaning solution. I have successfully used water from my EXSTREAM WATER BOTTLE PURIFIER for wound cleansing in the field after I have disinfected the mouthpiece.

Pete

Thanks for that, Pete. Interesting postulations which, if they bear fruit, would be useful to know about.

I'd be cautious regarding the MIOX solution & wounds - it's basically bleach, and bleach (as well as betadine, iodine, peroxide, etc..) are not good for wounds (tissue necrosis, impaired epithelialization, etc...)- a well diluted solution (to the point of being potable) would work ok as an irrigant. I definitely wouldn't put anything stronger in the wound (although medically used for a long time, sodium hypochlorite - Dakin's Solution - has fallen out of favor for the reasons listed above, among others)

BTW - keep an eye on EMS's website - they have some super deals occasionally - I picked up a MIOX set for $60 a couple of months ago.

I agree completely with your wise caution and as I stated, I would recommend the 1X concentration, which is potable. The MIOX solution in the presence of organic material, should breakdown rapidly into a weak NaCl solution, which should not introduce any significant tissue damage. As with any off label use of a product, great care should be used and the off use is a matter of personal decision. For me personally, I would have no problem using the 1X MIOX solution for wound cleansing, in the field.

Pete

I've been looking at other larger capacity MIOX generators, like they use for pools instead of the powdered bleaching process many of us are familiar with. Apparently, the electrolytic process produces both sodium hypochlorite and sodium hydroxide. This has a double whammy on the wee beastees, which is where the MIOX abbreviation apparently comes from. The form the hypochlorite is in they claim is more efficient due to it being generated and applied on-site, instead of sitting around. Used this way, it also seems less likely to react with various suspended organics, thus reducing the amount of Chloramination, which seems to be where the chlorine smell in pool water comes from, even though it appears that the hypochlorite isn't working. If the Chloride is bound up in Chloramines, it can't do it's disinfection job so well, and requires a strong shocking process to get it to release again. The Miox process recycles the solution back into a salt brine. This is so much better than buying those big buckets of chemicals at Costco every month.

So the MSR Miox and the Katadyn MP-1 Tabs must be a combination hydroxide and hypochlorite that is synergistic in disnfecting raw water. Now if they could add a suitable flocculant to the mix, then they would be almost identical to many municipal water treatement systems, scale being the biggest difference.

I would like to see if those two lithiums could be replaced or augmented with a hand crank generator. Wouldn't that be cool! I guess even sea water can be used as the electrolyitc solution in lieu of adding salt and raw fresh water.

Home-built MIOX. Scroll down to "Lab Hints"

Two pencils and a 9-volt battery. Getting the proper concentrations of oxidants is left to the builder. Still, might be useful in a pinch...

-Blast

Hi Benjammin.
The most extensive review/info on the MiOx can be found here:
http://www.prolitegear.com/cgi-bin/prolitegear/pl_msr_miox.html
The reason the MiOx does take crypto out as opposed to regular chlorine is that the MiOx creates hypochlorous acid and ozone in addition to the chlorine produced which kills off this particular nasty in max. 4 hours (worst case water. Nevertheless, stick to the 4 hours to be sure)
Also, someone mentioned using sea water for the brine....
BTDT, won't work ! Not salty enough <img src="/images/graemlins/mad.gif" alt="" />.
The url above also explains why.
Blast, thanks for the info on the DIY MiOx <img src="/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" />.

Hope this helps.

Pharaoh.

Can anyone with a MIOX unit please tell me how much salt and how much water you add to the device, how long it runs per "button click" and how much of the resulting solution you add to your water?

Thanks!
-Blast

It might be best to check the specifics on the MSR web site.
With that said, I would estimate it takes about 2-3 ml of water. The salt is used several times until it is all used up. A small packet of salt should last at least 5-10 runs. It runs for approximately 10-15 seconds. Regardless of the number of times you press the button, it makes the same amount of MIOX solution (2-3 ml), just more concentrated.

Pete

How many test strips are included?

Alex