So yes, you may have a water filter in your motor coach or RV, but is it just a filter such as a sediment water filter and a carbon filter? (Or worse, one that is a combo of both in the same filter?) More than likely that is all you have and never really give it much thought. The fact is, while any filter is a good thing, some of them just do simple things like stop particles of X size from passing though, like a 5 micron sediment filter, or a carbon filter that can remove bad taste and smells. But they DO NOT do anything to purify the water for safer drinking. To do that requires a special filter system like Reverse Osmosis or a Water Purification filter.
Reverse Osmosis (AKA…”RO”) is great, however it is SLOW at producing the purified water and thus usually requires a storage tank to hold the water that has been processed. Some people have gone to the extreme to make their entire fresh water tank store RO water and that is really cool! But it does require a number of things to make it work other than just the special filters needed, like pumps and shut off sensors etc. However, doing this this does give your entire coach processed and safe water throughout all fixtures! And that is really good! In fact, here is a post on how our friends, and my tech buddy Michael, did theirs… Whole RV Reverse Osmosis Water
However we went with the more simple approach and use a water purifier filter that will remove all the “bad stuff” without also removing the minerals your body needs. You see, RO removes the bad stuff as well as all the minerals. In using our approach, we filter, and now sanitize, all the water that enters the coach that is used. However we only purify the water we drink or cook with. (Or give our pets.)
The reason for this is that we do not need to use the water pump all the time and can count on the pressure from the water park for most of our needs. Again, all the water used in the coach has been cleaned and sanitized…just not purified at that point. The water we actually consume is sent through a special filter before we drink it, however that filter can only flow water at X amount of volume if it is to work right. So, you can’t use it for a shower as the flow would not be enough, but it is more than enough to poor a glass of water of fill a pot or bowl. Note…This The filter is replaced about every 18 months at the cost of about $100. (we also plumbed the water that comes out of that filter housing to our fridge for cold water and ice making.)
And unlike RO water, you can’t run out as it just keeps filtering at that speed all the time where RO can only be produced at very low pressure and thus needs to build up enough to be used. RO also wastes water as it uses water to clean the filters it needs to do its job. As such, this waist water is usually discarded as it is considered “dirty water”. (Brine is the actual word.) By using a water purifying filter there is no water waste.
So onto the UV Light! Adding a UV Light Sanitizer to your coach or RV for water safety is one of the more simple things, kind of, that you can do! This kills more or less anything in the water at the DNA level as the water passes through a special chamber. (WARNING: DO NOT EVER look directly at a UV light tube in operation! UV Light cannot be seen, the spectrum is beyond X-Ray! As such, looking at the light can and will hurt your eyes unless you are wearing special UV rated safety glasses.)
More or less, if used correctly, UV Light can be as effective at as much as 99.99% destruction of harmful bacteria, such as E Coli, Viruses, Fungi, Bacteria ,Protozoan, Cysts Algae & Microorganisms. Again, to make it work best, this gets Installed AFTER your water filter so the water is as “clear” visually as it can be for the UV to be most effective.
So our setup is like this… Water Source (Park tap) —> 5 Micron Sediment Filter —> 5 Micron Carbon Block Filter —> Water Softener —> UV Sanitizer —> Into main feed of coach or RV. Then for water we consume, it goes though one last purifying filter.
The result is that water we consume is the same as you would find in top rated purified bottled water you buy!
Here are the links to the Amazon products used in the project to add in the UV Sanitizer:
Qty 1 – UV Sanitizer System (6 GPM version for RV or Coach): https://amzn.to/2X0CSX9
Parts you may need if you do not have them for the install:
Qty 2 – Sharkbite 90 Degree Crimp Swivel Elbow 1/2″: https://amzn.to/2JuptyO
Qty 1 – SharkBite 1/2″ 90 Degree Elbow PEX Barb Fitting (10-Pack): https://amzn.to/2xCX2Mw
Qty 1 – SharkBite PEX 1/2 Inch, Blue, Flexible Tubing 25 Feet: https://amzn.to/2wS15o6
Qty 1 – SharkBite Barb Ball Valve 1/2 inch, Water Valve Shut Off: https://amzn.to/39yLDdZ
Qty 1 – SharkBite PEX Tubing Cutter: https://amzn.to/3bHjuCN
Qty 1 – SharkBite PEX Clamp Ring 1/2 Inch, Stainless Steel, Pack of 10: https://amzn.to/2JtTTkL
Qty 1 – Ratchet Clamp Cinch Tool Crimper Tool for Stainless Steel Clamp PEX Clamps: https://amzn.to/2R0yns1
The water purifier we use…sadly, it is not on Amazon. They are actually the inventors of this filter type of “Structured Matrix”. BTW: It is the same filter system that is used by all major airlines and the US Military as they can never be too sure about where their water supply will be coming from. As such, it is all run though this filter system. This is the same filter they use, but on a smaller scale of course. General Ecology Nature Pure® RS2QC Faucet Drinking Water System
And of course, here is video I did talking about the project and how you may care to install it if you have the standard water filter setup that comes with most coaches.
KEEP SAFE ALL. Please be so kind to share this as it is just another thing, that is not that hard to do, that can help protect you as you travel.
Hot Water Warning!
The water in the chamber of this equipment can be very hot (Approx 140F) during an extended 4 hours of no water flowing. It’s recommended to open the faucet until the hot water has been purged from the chamber. Keep human body away from the faucet during this time. Or install a 5 gallons water tank after the UV unit to reduce the temporary hot water.
David,
Nice setup. But all water going into the coach is going thru the UV filter, so toilet is using UV water?
Thanks, Don
Not sure I see your point. Yes, but it surely does not matter at all. It is not like you are wasting a filter or something.
So in the middle of the night when I get up to use the toilet, the flush will be hot water? I can smell the nasty hot water now… Ugh…. How do you handle that ?
Hummm…Not really as there is a lot of water in the line leading to the toilet what would no be warm at all. So a bob issue. Not to mention even if it was warm, unless your toilet does not seal, you would already have an issue with smells.
Thanks for the reply! I’m worried about the heat as you mentioned in the bottom of the post. Have you had any problems with the automatic ice maker with the bulb? Since your last reply with water in the toilet line, would not the same be true if you wanted to take a shower? I’m really interested in this product and obviously you use this everyday, so when, if any; have you had issues with high temperatures?
It’s not really not a lot of water in that tube with the light. It is only an issue after it has been in the tube for some time and gets warm. (Live overnight) Once you start to run water, it it not take much to flush through the hotter water. Kind of like waiting for hot water when trying to use hot water…you need to wait for the cold water sitting in the line pass through before you get hot water.
Hey Don,
My toilet water is 3 stage filtered, then goes through an RO membrane, then through a low flow UV lamp into my Fresh water tank. From there, it’s pumped out through a high flow UV lamp and into the coach. I have super clean shitter water.. :D
David,
6 GPM kit comes with 2 electronic ballast. I only see 1 in your setup?
The second one is sent as a back up, just like the added lamps as they can give out over time like us such fixture.
Why not use a 1 micron sediment filter and 0.5 micron Carbon block filter first, instead of the 5 micron ones you are using?
FLow rate. A 1 micro requires a lot more water pressure to move water through it at a rate that it is useable for things like shows. A .5 would even require even more. Most RV parts have a PSI of about 40 PSI which would mean a 1 micron would had a very hard time moving water through to enjoy a shower. Heck, 40 PSI I personally find low for a shower. :) Also, while it would block smaller particles, it still would do nothing to stop bacteria or virus that are much smaller. So, to use a 1 micron, you would would need to increase the water pressure before it gets to the filter to be useable after the filter.
Low flow filters like 1 micron and 0.5 micron are great as pre-filters for RO systems ( like the mine — linked in David’s post ). However, they still don’t kill the nasties.. they only filter sediment or remove some chemicals ( in the case of the charcoal block ). UV kills the virus / bacteria
Hi Dave, I was curious if I would need to eliminate the whole house water filter or could I connect on the out lead of the filter as well as what is used to support the light?. Also, where do you have the General Ecology Nature Pure water system installed? Did you do of video of that as well?
Hi…Wondering if you happened to watch the video? I ask for I talk about just that exact thing. :) AFTER the filter you then go into the UV Sanitizer. You want to use a filter for using any UV Sanitizer as you want the water to be as clear as possible as we are talking about killing off micro organisms and thus the UV light needs to be able to hit them. Thus the more clear the water, the better. So from the OUT side of the filter is where you would cut into the PEX and use a 90 and then another 90 to connect it back up to the other side of the cut. The General Ecology Nature Pure I installed under our main sink and took out the soap dispenser and used that hole for the water tap. Hope this helps. Sorry, I did no do a video on the General Ecology Nature Pure as I did that install while the coach was being built.
Hey David, what is the white box that has Black water flush label?
Seeing I have our coach automated to a point…When we dump the black tank it detects the dump process and then automatically activates the Black Tank Flush Valve. That white box is a motorized valve mover.
Ahhh I was wondering :-)
Just wondering have you had your water tested to see results? UV lights are most effective with slower flow of water. Faster it passes the light the less effective. Great idea and they should figure a way to install this into the holding tank. Would be a great selling feature right now I think.
Hi…
Actually, this unit does 6 GPM which is more than most RV’s can even let pass through in the first place so it is not an issue in regards to being able to do what it needs to do. I was running water purification in the coach (Same as you would get in bottled water) but recently changed over to whole coach RO with UV so our fresh tank is used all the time as the holding for RO water that also passed through a UV filter before going into the tank. (Yes, we now run off our tank 100% of the time and can produce 150+ gallons per day of RO water to replace the water used.)