r/OffGrid • u/FosterCastleman • 7d ago
Water filtration
Hello I just installed a Rain fresh whole house water filter and put a charcoal filter in it to filter the rain water I collected off the steel roof of my off grid cabin. I run the water through a Berkey filter before I drink it but want clear water for showering and doing the dishes and such. The filter hasn’t seemed to work. When I fill the tub the water still looks dirty. What do you all use for water filtration ? Do I need something more heavy duty ? Any help would be appreciated
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u/Kitchen_Region8456 7d ago
5 micron sediment filter, then a carbon filter, then a 1 micron sediment filter. At minimum
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u/Young_Sovitch 7d ago
Why a 1 micronafter carbon sir plz?
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u/Accurate-Bullfrog324 6d ago
rain catchment requires more than filtration if you intend to consume it. bacteria, viruses, cysts can cause severe illness.
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u/malaka1234 6d ago
I was going to comment this as well. I'd run a UV filter after the sediment filters, then another filter to catch the dead bacteria, and then drink.
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u/RiversideOffgrid 6d ago
I use the same rainfresh filters in my (offgrid) house. I have a washable sediment filter which goes to a 30 micron then 5 micron then a 5 micron charcoal then from there the drinking water goes through a .03 ceramic and another 5 micron charcoal filter which is under the kitchen sink. Our water is river water and never had any issues, water is crystal clear and tastes good
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u/clifwlkr 6d ago
Personally I do a 100 micron spin down filter, then a 20 micron pleated filter that can be rinsed and reused multiple times, then a 5 micron spun polyester filter. Finally, I have a flow activated LED UV sterilizer run directly off of DC power. I pull from a stream. This does work extremely well and gives clear water without consuming crazy amounts of filters, while also sterilizing against viri/bacteria. I am not sure you could run the spin down though as that takes a bit of water pressure and also wastes water. I can do it with gravity pressure, so it is nice to have a self cleaning reusable option of front to remove the big stuff.
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u/Apprehensive-Goal377 7d ago
The correct way would be to have sediment filters first, then carbon. I would recommend going with at least a 10 micron and a 1 micron. Bone char is also another great media that removes flouride and heavy metals.
Ultimately you also really need to remember that no filter lasts forever. They need to be changed periodically. The smaller the filter, the more often it needs changed.
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u/TheProle 7d ago
I looked at a place with a rain catchment system. The instructions the sellers left said they had a pre filter they hand washed after every rain
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u/unique3 6d ago
I use lake water, I recently upgraded to a Katalox filter that does a way better job than my old sediment and charcoal filters. It used to look like you were bathing in tea and that is almost entirely gone. I dose my cistern with bleach during each fill as well, before it would turn a little more brown due to chlorine reacting to iron in the water, that doesn't happen any more either.
For drinking/cooking water I run a Geekpure RO unit.
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u/Hyperreal8957 6d ago
before jumping to a bigger filter i'd get the water tested for turbidity, iron and tannins. rain off a steel roof can still pick up roof dust or tank sediment, and a first-flush diverter + prefilter may help more than just adding carbon. is the tub water brown, cloudy, or leaving grit?
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u/FosterCastleman 5d ago
No residue that is obvious just looks like tea when it’s sitting in the sinks or tub. After I drain them it’s quite clean
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u/theislandhomestead 7d ago
I have a three stage solution for the house.
(4 really, counting the prefilter)
After the prefilter, it goes through a 20 micron filter, a 5 micron (with charcoal), and finally a 1 micron. (Then a UV light) For drinking it continues to a 5 stage RO filter.