[pct-l] Sawyer Gravity Filtration

[tsparks56 at aol.com]

I'm the fire fighter that Trail Hacker mentions in his post about using the Gravity Works filter and, I agree with him that the filter system is very fast (will filter 2 liters in under 60 seconds) but,  it is also heavier than it needs to be for most situations with the 4 liter bags. The day I hiked with Trail Hacker was also the first time I had used the system and realized that with a little tinkering, I could make the system lighter and more versatile for my needs.  Being that my job includes working with fire hose and moving water thru it every day, the mods I did to the system were easy to figure out.  What I have now is a smaller lighter "dirty" bag at the top of the system, the original inline filter with a  shorter  length of tubing on the bottom of the filter and now have a "plug in and go" system for my 2 liter, 3 liter and the (original) 4 liter bladder. 

The first thing I did was to cut the tubing about 14"  above the "clean" reservoir (below the filter) and installed the bottom end of an inline "Y" into it.   
Second, at the top of the "Y",  I installed a 6"  section of tubing that has the bite valve on it so I can use this bladder as an in the pack hydration system.
Third, for the final side of the "Y" I installed a short length (2") of tubing that has a shutoff valve on it to enable me to plug in the filter system and  fill the bladder with clean water without having to take it out of the pack. 

I also did this mod  to my 3 liter and 2 liter bladders and now can change out any 3  of them to use with the Gravity Works filter system as needed for the hike I'm doing. 

I know a 4 liter bladder of water isn't something anyone would want to carry for long but, I am planning to hike the PCT starting at Tehachapi to Tuolumne Meadows in September and,  I have a feeling the first part of that trip will be very dry.  

-----Original Message-----
From: Byron Nevins <byron.nevins at gmail.com>
To: PCT-L <pct-l at backcountry.net>
Sent: Sun, Apr 7, 2013 2:34 pm
Subject: [pct-l] Sawyer Gravity Filtration


The system I used on my JMT thru-hike last year was fast, effortless and
light.

Take any *collapsible* bottle, fill it with "dirty" water and attach
directly to the "dirty" end of the filter.  I recommend Platypus, but the
Sawyer bag is ok.  I like to put this input water bag on top of a boulder
or anything handy that's 4' off the ground or so.

Now you can just start collecting the water at the outlet.  But to speed
things along I took the long drinking tube from the platypus and attached
it to the outlet of the sawyer (with attached Sawyer adapter piece).  This
gave me a 3 or 4 foot pressure head.
I collected it into my 2.3oz. 1 gallon water jug.

I  used a 2-l Platypus so I had to refill once.  Very little effort needed.
 By the time I had my camp setup, I had a gallon of water ready to go!

I'm thinking of going to the hardware store and getting much lighter tubing
and working everything out for this summer.  I came up with the above
on-the-trail. The platypus hose is far too thick for what's needed here.
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