Water catchment and UV filters

[aramis720]

What's the best place for buying catchment liners and UV filters? Is there a lower cost UV filter option than the $400 or so that I'm seeing online and being quoted by local companies? I've been talking to Reliance Water Tanks and Jim seems great but it seems like he's got a bit of a monopoly so I'm thinking there might be lower cost solutions elsewhere.

[Haaheo okole puka]

There's another place right up the street from Reliance. The price is typical around here.

[deltaS]

I got a small system online a year ago for less than $200. It's not for high volume, though, but it works for my needs. http://www.freshwatersystems.com/c-420-s...stems.aspx

[OpenD]

OP, you may already know this, but for the benefit of any who possibly don't...

A UV sterilization unit is NOT a filter, and it should be used WITH a filter, which is positioned upstream of the UV unit. Better yet, with two filters, the first coarse and the second fine. The first will catch the larger crud that inevitably gets into the water, like bugs, leaf particles, sand. The second will catch the fine volcanic ash that comes free of charge with our rainwater. Then the UV unit will kill micro-organisms, making the water safe to drink.

Also put a bit of nylon stocking over the inlet pipe to keep out larger stuff. That will help the coarse filter last longer.

It's also highly recommended that you install a "first flush diverter" that allows the first few minutes of a rain to simply wash down the collecting surfaces before any water goes into the tank. See the free CTAHR booklet for details.

[terracore]

I used/recommend Island Catchment for the purchase of the UV unit and Drainpipe for the installation.

For a UV unit to work the water MUST be filtered to the 5 micron level (UV energy may not penetrate/sterilize in/through/past larger particles). 5 micron filters will not last long unless they have a pre-filter. Setup should be 20 micron filter ---> 5 micron filter ---> UV unit. Personally I use a 0.5 micron filter after that (in the kitchen) for drinking water.