curious to know others experiences/opinions: I just picked one up for $60 at EMS. Seems like a good alternative to the “daily pump” routine.
Thanks-
~Glenn
MIOX
I used one on a trip to the Slate Islands in Lake Superior. It worked great. Very simple. Only thing I would comment on is that if the water you start with is cloudy or has sediment, then you are drinking that too.
Conventional Wisdom seems
to tend toward coffee filters for that. I guess I’ll see.
~Glenn
Have used MIOX and still alive
Glenn, you got a good deal. I just got back from Alaska last week. Used a MSR MIOX water filter every day and I have had no problems with it. For those that do not know. This is a filter that uses a small amount of rock salt and water that is ‘charged’ with a electrical current via a battery. This produces chlorine which you then treat your drinking water with. This technology has been used in swim pools for years as a chlorine generator only on a large scale. For those of you that drink ‘city’ water, it is very similar. Jim
Did you Prefilter?..
when the unit went up for sale for that price, I just could not pass it up. Been intrigued by the clever application of this technology for a couple of years, now. Happy to hear that you had a trouble-free experience with yours.
Best-
~Glenn
I thought about getting one but it
seemed that you have to wait too long for the water. What did you do when you ran out of water during a meal or during the day?
the Wait Time is 15 minutes…
– Last Updated: Jul-13-06 6:35 PM EST –
to kill most of the bad stuff. Here's a quote from a MIOX rep:
"I also wanted to clarify the statement on viruses -- the purifier will actually inactivate all bacteria and viruses within 15 minutes and will inactivate the protozoan cyst Giardia within 30 minutes. The EPA's Guide Standard & Protocol for Microbiological Purifiers requires a 99.9% (3 log) removal of protozoan cysts.
Inactivation of the more resistant Cryptosporidium parvum oocyst is NOT required in the EPA Purifier Protocol. However, MIOX Corporation and MSR went beyond the requirements of the protocol in order to address any organism that might be of concern to the public. In order to measure high levels of inactivation, a very high initial level of oocysts must be used. In independent testing on the MSR MIOX Purifier, BioVir Laboratories, a government-qualified laboratory employing “Good Laboratory Practices,” started with 100,000 Cryptosporidium oocysts. This excessive concentration of Cryptosporidium would be highly unlikely to occur in natural waters. A 3 log (99.9%) removal of 100,000 oocysts would reduce the viable organisms to 100 oocysts. The MSR MIOX Purifier actually achieved more than 10 times the standard for protozoan cysts, accomplishing a 4 log (99.99%) removal in 4 hours, which equated to less than 10 viable oocysts, even in the more challenging test water.
In earlier, non-related studies conducted by the University of North Carolina (which is not a government-qualified lab for purifier protocol testing), the MIOX solution achieved a 95% removal of Cryptosporidium in 30 minutes. Individual consumers can use their own judgment to determine how long to wait -- if their immune system is compromised, or they are camping at a site that is likely to be highly contaminated, they should wait the full 4 hours to ensure 99.9% removal of Cryptosporidium. Giardia, viruses, and bacteria will be removed after 30 minutes."
~Glenn
MIOX followup…
Carried the canoe up the mountain to Pisgah Reservoir in Ashuelot, NH this morning and was happy to carry only 1 liter of water since this was the initial test of my new MIOX. I have not rigged a prefilter yet so I used a permanent screen coffee filter to remove the bigger floaters. Had to double dose the water to get a safe reading on the test strips that come with the unit. I allowed a 30+ minute treatment time since there was plenty of beaver sign around(not that anywhere in the northeast is likely to be free of giardia). The treated water had a faint chlorine odor(as expected)and tasted faintly like “pool or city” water. In contrast with the legion of off tastes that normally manifest themselves in my pump filtered water, I have to say that I did not find the taste objectionable at all. I also found that either the taste diminished with time or perhaps my taste buds became quickly accoustomed to it: I could barely taste it after 3 or 4 sips. I think that MIOX will probably become my hydration method of choice.
Best-
~Glenn
Alum
A pinch of Alum will get rid of a lot of the cloudiness.
Water purifier link
Here is a link to the actual army evaluation.
http://usachppm.apgea.army.mil/WPD/Disinfectants.aspx
Please note they do not consider it effective for Cryptosporidium. I would also get a prefilter setup. Turbidity and/or high levels of organics will require increased contact times since they tend to chemically bind up the generated oxidants before they react with the Giardia, which is much more resistant to chlorine than bacteria.