MSR Miniworks water filter.
Posted: Sat Mar 23, 2013 8:44 pm
After a request to give my opinion of the MSR Miniworks water filter by one of BNA ACF's most illustrious posters ... I've pulled-out some old shots and taken some new stuff of the water filter, to answer his questions.
My own question that sums up the filter's performance. Would I buy this filter again? ... yes most definitely. This filter has given me good service and I don't ever question if it is up to the job no matter how bad the water quality. The filter is not suitable for filtering salt water.
Is the filter labour intensive to use? ... yes it most definitely is, if I don't maintain it adequately. Without timely maintenance it's performance is as slow as a wet week. If I keep it clean and sterilize it once a week, when travelling, it is first class, quick and efficient. I've had the filter for a few years now and I'm still using the same ceramic cartridge, that the manufacturer expected to have a life of 5,000 filtered litres.
What isn't efficient, is then processing the water after it has been filtered. I boil every drop for 8 minutes. Why for 8 minutes? ... ask a prion.
Now for some shots.
As you can see the filter isn't very big, like a Trangia pot gripper big.
What makes it look big is screwing a 1lt Nalgene bottle onto it.
Filtering farm dam water yesterday on the BNT below mount Tennant. All the creeks, like the Naas (had unlinked stagnant pools or no water at all) and the Gudgenby had two dead sheep in it and it stank. I filtered water at the farm dam at the corner of Boboyan and Sunshine Roads. The long length of the hose works well when I can't get up-close to the water.
After reading here on BNA about covering the inlet with a paper coffee filter, to double the time between maintenance ... this has been spot-on advice. Chapeaux.
Maintenance is easy. Easy to screw apart and to clean each bit adequately. Over the past three years I've only ever rinsed the parts and the hose and scrubbed-down the ceramic cartridge, when needed. It is only the ceramic cartridge that is sterilized by a rolling boil, for 8 minutes. I've been getting between 7-11 litres of filtered water at 1lt per minute, depending on the water's turbidity. Then the filter cartridge needs lightly rubbing down with a Scotchbrite scourer to clean the cartridge, if the flow falters. To keep the piston's O ring well sealed, I give it a light coating of Vaseline.
All the bits exploded (less the hose and hose intake) ... although I haven't removed the needle valve from the red piston housing for the photo. The red crescent that comes off the base if it slides over the filter cartridge then the filter has been worn down by cleaning and then need replacing.
I purchased the MSR Miniworks about 3 years ago, for $135 AU after ordering it from a camping store here in Canberra.
I'll post some shots of where I've used the filter over the last few years.
Warren.
My own question that sums up the filter's performance. Would I buy this filter again? ... yes most definitely. This filter has given me good service and I don't ever question if it is up to the job no matter how bad the water quality. The filter is not suitable for filtering salt water.
Is the filter labour intensive to use? ... yes it most definitely is, if I don't maintain it adequately. Without timely maintenance it's performance is as slow as a wet week. If I keep it clean and sterilize it once a week, when travelling, it is first class, quick and efficient. I've had the filter for a few years now and I'm still using the same ceramic cartridge, that the manufacturer expected to have a life of 5,000 filtered litres.
What isn't efficient, is then processing the water after it has been filtered. I boil every drop for 8 minutes. Why for 8 minutes? ... ask a prion.
Now for some shots.
As you can see the filter isn't very big, like a Trangia pot gripper big.
What makes it look big is screwing a 1lt Nalgene bottle onto it.
Filtering farm dam water yesterday on the BNT below mount Tennant. All the creeks, like the Naas (had unlinked stagnant pools or no water at all) and the Gudgenby had two dead sheep in it and it stank. I filtered water at the farm dam at the corner of Boboyan and Sunshine Roads. The long length of the hose works well when I can't get up-close to the water.
After reading here on BNA about covering the inlet with a paper coffee filter, to double the time between maintenance ... this has been spot-on advice. Chapeaux.
Maintenance is easy. Easy to screw apart and to clean each bit adequately. Over the past three years I've only ever rinsed the parts and the hose and scrubbed-down the ceramic cartridge, when needed. It is only the ceramic cartridge that is sterilized by a rolling boil, for 8 minutes. I've been getting between 7-11 litres of filtered water at 1lt per minute, depending on the water's turbidity. Then the filter cartridge needs lightly rubbing down with a Scotchbrite scourer to clean the cartridge, if the flow falters. To keep the piston's O ring well sealed, I give it a light coating of Vaseline.
All the bits exploded (less the hose and hose intake) ... although I haven't removed the needle valve from the red piston housing for the photo. The red crescent that comes off the base if it slides over the filter cartridge then the filter has been worn down by cleaning and then need replacing.
I purchased the MSR Miniworks about 3 years ago, for $135 AU after ordering it from a camping store here in Canberra.
I'll post some shots of where I've used the filter over the last few years.
Warren.