Lifesaver Jerry Can

http://www.lifesaverusaonline.com/jerrycan10000.aspx

This could be a neat way of processing grey water from water guttering run off and water stored in garden water butts for domestic use in a long term emergency and also be useful for family scale water purification vehicle bug outs.

http://www.lifesaversystems.com/jerrytech.html for more details on how it works

I will add it to my list of items to think about.
I already have some smaller filters and am in the habit of boiling water before using it anyhow.
The fact that I have to protect this Jerry can filter system from freezing worries me. I live in a cold country.

Freezing...

Suddenly that has been on my mind I notice. Funny how priorities change.....

BTW, Sounds like tour neck of the woods may follow Ontario.

I don't see the full details? Just a lil brief paragraph...

Keep digging, it's in there.

Expensive but very tacticool looking.
If I had married for money rather than love I'd get it.

The filtration specs on it sound pretty good. I'm assuming all filter/pump systems need to be kept from freezing.

-Blast

I cannot think of any mechanical filter that will withstand freezing temperatures if the water is allowed to freeze inside the filter itself whether the filter is a ceramic or fibre glass. The Lifesaver filter element will be the same so the same precautions against freezing need to be adhered to.

The Lifesaver filter appears to be the only mechanical filter on the market that is also capable of filtering viruses due to the very small 0.015 micron filter size as compared to other well known and reliable systems such as the Katadyn Pocket water filter which has a 0.2 micron Silver Ceramic filter cartridge. The Katadyn Pocket filter fact sheet also mentions that the mechanical 0.2 micron filter can also filter radioactive particles which are larger than 0.2 microns. The Lifesaver will probably have even better performance filtering radioactive particles greater than 0.015 microns. A radioactive particle at 0.015 microns diameter will have 2700 times less radioactive potential than a 0.2 micron particle.
The Lifesaver system is probably the best CBRN water filter commercially available. Even the bacterial reduction performance shows a very impressive Log 7.5 reduction. In reality that is getting to the point when no individual bacterial can be measured passing through the filter. Other conventional filters including UV systems such as the Steripen are being measured in Log 3-4 reduction i.e. Hundreds to thousands of times less effective.

Filter lifetime seems to be impressive as well available in 10,000 and 20,000 litre capacity. For a family of 4 that would mean over 660 or 1320 days continuous use. (assuming 1 gallon of drinking water per person per day).

When comparing the cost of the Lifesaver Jerry Can against other filtration systems such as the Katadyn expedition or endurance grade filters with the additional expense of a UV system that would needed for the deactivation of viruses and even the water carrier itself i.e. the actual Jerry can itself then the Lifesaver Jerry Can is probably very cost effective considering the claimed performance.

It also looks to be an excellent car or vehicle camping water filter and storage solution as well as a device which can be tucked away unused in the garage or basement ready for a domestic water emergency (domestic water supply availability is subject to electrical power outages in many areas).

This appears to be a new and very small company. That doesn't rule it out but I'd make sure to buy all the spares I needed up front and not assume any charcoal filters will still be available for it next year.

I would think that any .015 micron filter that has water freeze in it silently becomes a 15 millimeter filter...

Even dry I'd wonder about the thermal expansion coefficients on the materials used with such small features. The max rated temperature is only 140F - too low for storage in a car - probably because of thermal expansion issues.

That's probably true for *any* high-grade filtration system - they need to handled as though they are high-precision machines, which they are.

Sawyer has a gravity filter in the $200-300 range that is effective on bacteria and viruses. They have both bladder style and bucket (5 gal.) systems. I bought the bladder style, but haven't had a chance to check it out. Guaranteed to treat 1 million gallons of H2O! Field servicable and extremely portable. Supposed to filter 2 liters in about 15 minutes via gravity. This seemed like a good thing to have on hand to filter collected rainwater, riverwater, etc. in the event that public water systems are out of commission for any reason.

I do like the Sawyer filters a lot. Their SP 135 filter, which provides virus filtration to 99.9997% and biological filtration to 99.9999%, is a great piece of gear. It should be noted that this filter can be used inline with quite a few different water carry systems. It can also be used on the fly with no need of pumping action only by drawing the water through the filter with your mouth.

You can buy the Sawyer Purifier kit at Wally World Online for $59.00. It is the same filter you get with the gravity feed set-up. So, if you already have the other gear, or you want to put together a DIY gravity feed filter with a couple of food grade 5 gallon buckets, you can do it more cheaply.

Standard Disclaimer: I don't work for Sawyer or any retailer that sells Sawyer products.

On an additional note, you can provide chemical filtration to the set-up by adding a cheap activated charcoal filter such as the Katadyn Carbon Cartridge after the Sawyer filter.