water purification
 

My friend has just bought an Ozone Generator to purify his aquarium, and when I read the manual which came with it, it got me to thinking, has anyone considered using one to purify drinking water?, the specification of this small 12volt unit, which bubbles an air and ozone mixture through water, say that it kills all bacteria including protozoa, hepatitus, salmonella, coliform etc. etc. only takes a few minutes to work, and the water is ready to drink after 15 mins (after the ozone has broken down into oxygen).
The only downside I can see is that you would still need to filter the solids out.

Any thoughts?

Ozone Generators May Be Dangerous To Your Health
 

My friend beware! This kind of air cleaner puts a harmful gas called ozone into the air you breathe. Ozone can cause headaches, sore throats and coughs. Ozone can hurt your lungs.

Cheap option?
 

Try one of these:

Survival Straw - Complete Water Purification System

J

Hi devil 121
The quantities of ozone produced by a 'domestic' aquarium ozone generator are not harmful to humans - most aquariums are in people's living rooms and don't harm fish either, indead they are used as air purifiers, and to remove domestic smells, you can even buy one to fit in your cigarette-lighter socket in the car -(an enclosed space if ever there was one).
I appreciate that in very high quantities, they can have health implications, but that's way,way beyond the output of an aquarium ozone generator, and all the ozone produced degraded into oxygen within 20 minutes.
The leaflet I'm reading says that this ozone generator can be used kill the bacteria on raw friut and vegatables (wash them in the ozone infused water)
quote:- "ozone is particulally suited to the food industry because of it's ability to disinfect without adding chemical by-products to the food being treated or to the food-processing water......"

it even goes on to say it can be used for oral hygiene, nursing bottles etc.

This unit is the size of a cigarette packet

Bill

Thank you! that is very useful information and lends a whole new option for cleaning vegies and fruits on the road through Africa. I had no idea that ozone infused water could disinfect food. Could prevent a case of the runs. One of those cigarette gadgets with a hose leading to a bucket of water could do the trick when evening rolls around and you are camped.

To speak the truth I never make any arrangements for water purification and take them as it comes. So far I have no problems with my health. The reason I do this is because it has been evident in many cases the means that are used for purification are themselves faulty so why should I go for that?

Water purification ideas!
 

Hi

We used a mini MSR water filter when travelling and never got ill !!!
An emergency method i used with MSF is to get a clear plastic drink bottle, paint half of it black and expose to sunlight for 6 hours - this has been shown to purify the water.

But it is only an emergency method!!!

water purifying
 

A low tech approach to making safe drinking water from well -pumped or mains - water of questionable quality is to carry a small plastic dropper bottle of ordinary laundry bleach ( unscented , sodium hypochlorite 5 percent) and a 2 liter plastic sodapop bottle .Fill bottle with the water, add two drops of bleach for each liter, let stand 30 ninutes and it is ready for use. At this concentration there is no bleach taste and it is a lot cheaper and less litter than constantly buying bottled water . It can be restocked from any town pump, faucet or in desperation a rain barrel. Avoid fish tanks. I carry this kit all the time , water bottle rolled in my sleeping mat on the luggage rack and can wash any fruit at roadside simply by uncapping the bottle in situ.

Water purifacation
 

My wife is a registered nurse here in montana USA. She has treated ranch workers who come into the emergency room severly dehydrated and medicaly in trouble. The bug here is girardia or beaver disease. You drink the water and get enough of the cysts ingested and you get very sick. These tiny cysts do not die with a bit of bleach or mild boiling. Beware....some of these ranch workers are tough old cowboys that have drank stream water all their life. A filter with .3 micron filtering capability is supposed to capture all these little cysts.

So right Bill, I picked up beaver fever in Oregon outside of Hood River. We were cutting a right-of-way and the stream was in a pristine forest, pure, clean, sparkling, and loaded with the nasty cysts. I was burning a path to the outhouse for two days before I got enough strength to drive to town and get medical help. All open water must be regarded as dangerous until your partner drinks it for two days and doesn't get sick. Filters, boiling, or evaporation are the only ways to get rid of some critters.