Life Force

Water filtration and purification units improve water quality and protect your health

photos by Bob Livingston

How much do you know about the drinking water where you live? Odds are, you know enough to purchase bottled water, a filter pitcher, or some other solution to protect yourself and family from the nasties that can sometimes be present in a municipal water system. But what about when you travel by RV? Once you arrive at your destination, you may have no knowledge of the water quality in your area, where it comes from or how it has been treated. That’s probably fine for showers and washing dishes, but there’snary an RVer who will drink water right out of the tap — unless they treat it themselves before it enters through the city water inlet or before filling the storage tank.

Water filtration systems are definitely a step in the right direction, as many can filter out particles one micron (about 70 times smaller than a human hair) or smaller, reduce harmful contaminants like chlorine and lead, and improve the overall taste and smell. What they don’t do is remove or kill harmful pathogens like bacteria, viruses and parasites that can cause illness.

While all water suppliers in the U.S. are required to uphold certain levels of water quality — which theoretically make tap water safe to drink — violations are still alarmingly common. According to a 2017 report by the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), nearly 77 million Americans got water from systems that violated federal protections in 2015. More than a third of this number relied on systems that did not comply with standards put in place to protect public health. For RVers, these concerns may be compounded by a poorly maintained local water supply at an RV park or campground, and/or a spigot that may not be sanitary. With all this in mind, a system that both filters and purifies the water entering your RV would be a smart investment.

John Sztykiel (“stee kee ill”), former CEO of Spartan Motors (manufacturers of RV and commercial chassis) is obsessed with clean water — and with good reason. When he arrived in Ethiopia about 13 years ago to adopt his daughter, Ana Grace, he was appalled to learn that residents of the country had very limited access to clean, safe drinking water. Retiring from Spartan after 30 years of service, he and his wife, Joni, made it a mission to develop a water purification system that could solve the world’s water problems. That’s a pretty lofty goal by anyone’s measure, but Sztykiel and his company, No Dirty Earth, has been working on developing high-quality water filtration systems under the No Dirty Water (NDW) brand. NDW’s philosophy is to keep water filtration inexpensive and accessible for everyone, while giving its customers the best possible product. “Anything in a mobile environment, it has to be built to last,” said Sztykiel. “But in addition to that, we want people to be able to repair the system themselves, using as many standard parts as possible. Our systems use standard plumbing pieces — you can find replacement parts at the local hardware store.”

NDW Duo system includes a carbon sediment prefilter, Premium 0.2 filter and housings.

There’s nothing “standard” about the company’s filtration capabilities, however. Though its Solo and Duo filtration systems use readily available housings, the company’s Premium 0.2 filter can, said Sztykiel, remove particles as small as 0.2 microns (hence the name). The Premium 0.2 incorporates proprietary, patented, electroabsorptive media technology, which the company claims is even capable of removing submicron pathogens and inorganic contaminants through electro adhesion and ion exchange. The result is not only a filter that removes particulates, but also biologicals, heavy metals and organic/inorganic chemicals. To remove larger particles first, thereby improving the life and flow capacity of the Premium 0.2 filter, the NDW Duo system incorporates a carbon sediment pre-filter in the same housing type. The Solo filter and housing retails for $74.99, while the Duo is $99.99 — and both prices include filters. A single filter replacement is $29.99, while a two-pack retails for $44.99.

Of particular interest to those who frequently enjoy off-grid camping, No Dirty Earth is planning on releasing its Rugged Water system in May that will incorporate a 12-volt DC-powered pump as well as two filters in a tough, portable housing.

“Rugged Water allows off-grid campers to have access to clean drinking water anytime, anywhere,” said Pierce Fitzpatrick, co-owner of No Dirty Earth. “The 12-volt pump will allow the user to draw from any public or outdoor water source, filter it, then collect it in a container and use it as is.” Because the Rugged Water system will likely be used somewhat infrequently and stored the rest of the time, it will come with the same carbon pre-filter as used in the Duo system, plus the company’s brand new Premium Plus 0.2 filter, which incorporates an antimicrobial element to prevent bacteria growth. The new filter will also be available for use in the Solo and Duo systems.

The kitchen island counter/sink structure is made of single sheets of paneling, and not stout enough for mounting the Arrow-Max 2.0 box. It was obvious that some sort of support structure was needed. We used a piece of bender board and cut it to fit across the end of the island structure. The support board may not be necessary if the island structure is made of thicker material. Once the board was cut to size, holes were drilled in the ends to accommodate the fasteners.

Filtration vs. Purification

As mentioned earlier, water filters catch small particles — but a purification system kills bacteria, viruses and other pathogens. The two most common purification methods include ozone and LED UV light treatments, both of which are generally claimed to be up to 99.99% effective at removing bacteria, viruses and cysts like cryptosporidium and giardia. Ozone treatments work by oxidizing the organic material in bacterial membranes, which weakens the cell wall and leads to cell rupture, causing immediate death of the cell. As an oxidizing agent, ozone is stronger than chlorine and has a kill rate that is more than three times faster — but as of this writing, ozone purification systems aren’t terribly practical for an RV application. They are installed asa point of entry treatment system — in other words, where the water would enter your RV at city water hookup.

The trouble is (for now, at least), the flow rate required to properly ozonate the water isn’t compatible with the plumbing system of an RV. The benefit of an ozone water-treatment system is an RV application (and there are some that are under development as you read this) will be that, once the ozonated water is introduced to the RV’s plumbing, it will disinfect everything it comes in contact with — the plumbing, the freshwater holding tank, every tap in the RV.

A simpler, more practical way to purify your drinking water in an RV is with an LED UV light system. As water passes through a UV water treatment system, living organisms are exposed to UV light of a specific wavelength that disrupts their DNA, making it impossible for the little critters to function and/or reproduce. UV light purification systems install inside the RV and treat the water before it exits the faucet and goes into your glass. The only caveat with an LED UV light system (and it’s a small one) is that the water must be filtered beforehand, or the UV light may not be able to penetrate the water sufficiently for adequate contact time.

The water is sourced from the cold line leading to the existing sink faucet. A ½-inch Pex to ¼-inch O.D. tee/shut-off valve is attached after the water line is cut. Make sure city water is shut and/or the demand pump is off before cutting the water line. Forget this step, and you’ll be sopping up water for a while. Use a rag to catch excess water after cutting the line. We were not overly excited with the quality of the tee fitting provided in the kit but installed it anyway for now. While it didn’t leak, we would prefer to use a SeaTech reducing union tee, which has a sterling reputation for reliability. The water lines simply pushed into each side of the supplied tee fitting, but the ¼-inch tubing requires the use of a compression ferrule and wrench for tightening. The SeaTech requires no tools and would be easier if working space was an issue.

An inline prefilter was also mounted on the support board using the provided plastic clip. The clip is very rigid, making it difficult to seat the filter. It takes quite a bit of pushing, but once in place, the filter is very secure.

Once the location for mounting the faucet is determined, a ¾-inch hole must be drilled into the counter top. It goes without saying that you only get one shot at this. The counter top for this project is 1-inch thick, which presented an issue when mounting the Smart Faucet.

The Smart Faucet rod and wire that plugs into the ArrowMax 2.0 is routed through the hole in the counter top. It takes two people to complete this step: one to hold the faucet in place while the other person tightens the plastic threaded fastener. An O-ring in the faucet base prevents water on the counter from leaking into the cabinet.

A flow restrictor was placed in the ¼-inch water line from the unit outlet to the Smart Faucet. The restrictor can be placed in a convenient location in the line and requires no tools for connecting the water line at each end. Here, it’s placed near the unit; flow direction is marked on the body of the restrictor. Connecting the power was the last step and a hole was cut in the side of the island structure to route the cable for plugging into the 120-volt AC outlet on the other side. The power adapter is used to provide 12-volt DC service to the unit. We selected the 120-volt AC model because there was no 12-volt DC service in the island structure and the fifth-wheel is equipped with an inverter as part of a solar system, so power will be available when unhooked.

The Smart Faucet has a ring light built into the base, which informs the user when the unit is active and water is being treated. This works in concert with the logo light in the unit itself. There’s no light when the system is idle and a green light signifies the system is undergoing self-cleaning. The valve on the Smart Faucet works smoothly and water flow is pretty decent, considering pressure is restricted on purpose. With clean, great-tasting water out of tap, we can finally say “goodbye” to bottled water.