Is My Sawyer Micro Knackered?

The Cumbrian

Section Hiker
I used my Sawywer Micro for the first time in months yesterday. The water was from a very peaty source, and the filtered water was brown. Not as brown as the original, but as I've only used relatively clear water in the past, I'm wondering if anyone else has experienced water that retains some colour after it's been filtered? It also tasted a little peaty.

Cheers, Michael.
 

EM-Chiseller

Thru Hiker
With a hydroblu, peaty water comes out nearly clear.(very similar construction) If it has been exposed to freezing at some point, the ceramic fibres may have expanded and is now not filtering down to the correct micron...
Was the water like this? IMG_20200829_181920.jpg IMG_20200829_181920.jpg
 

The Cumbrian

Section Hiker
That's what I'm suspecting Chiseller. The original water was like that, and the filtered water was about mid way to clear. I was still on the hill this morning and resorted to what I always used to do, drinking beck water from as clean a source as possible. Fingers crossed, I'm ok up until now, but there's still scope to spend the night praying to and defiling the porcelain goddess.
I last used the filter in the winter, and I'm thinking that I might not have been as careful with it as I should have been. I usually put it in a freezer bag and keep it in my sleeping bag, but the rum might have made me forget.
 

EM-Chiseller

Thru Hiker
That may explain it... Rum in... Rum out lol.
Don't get me wrong... I ended up ditching that bladderful as we dropped on a 'gin clear' spring. But I have and do so on a regular basis filter water that is heavy peated the same.
MY hydroblu, I've peeled the label off and you could see before back flushing and sterilising, the tannins. The fibres looked rusty :biggrin:
 

EM-Chiseller

Thru Hiker
Side note... I drink a lot of the peat water and some trips maybe 3 to 4 litres of fastpacking.
Sometimes a day or so after I get a discomfort to the side off upper groin.
I've come to associate it with pest water.
I know in some areas of Scotland, it comes. From the tap almost like that... Whisky on tap lol. But they've grown up with it.
 

The Cumbrian

Section Hiker
I drank beck water all the time from when I was in my early teens to about ten years ago when I was in my late 30s. I can't recall ever getting ill.

As a side note, I've just compared the Sawyer to an unused Hydroblu, using some of the peaty beck water from this morning. The water from both of them retained some of the peat colour, so I think the Sawyer is alright. This was after I'd backflushed the Sawyer, and there was all kinds of crap in there.
 

JRT

Ultralighter
I bought a brand new Sawyer filter for my Southern Upland Way trip a few years ago and noticed from the go that they don't filter out all the brown colour from peaty water. It tasted fine with a shot of concentrated Ribena, but did need backwashing more regularly.
 

DuneElliot

Section Hiker
The water is stained vs actually carrying particulates that aren't being filtered out. When I was younger I remember seeing tap water that still had a stained appearance in a peaty part of the country that had a well I think...nothing wrong with it though
 

EM-Chiseller

Thru Hiker
The water is stained vs actually carrying particulates that aren't being filtered out. When I was younger I remember seeing tap water that still had a stained appearance in a peaty part of the country that had a well I think...nothing wrong with it though
If that's the case.. How does the water become significantly clearer after filtering? Cheers
 

cathyjc

Thru Hiker
Most of the highland water supply has been treated now so no longer does it come out of the taps brown.
The 'natives' got a bit fed up with it staining stuff eg. the bath :unsure:.
 

cathyjc

Thru Hiker
Yes but it didn't taste like swimming pool water back then.

I agree the untreated was much nicer to drink.
We used (20yrs ago) to get our water from a wee reservoir on the north side of Tinto Hill - all treated by sand filtration. It was lovely.
The water supplier decided the upkeep was too expensive so spent vast amounts laying new water mains to everyone - and now we get 'free' chlorine with our water - Uuuurgh.
One local Village refused to swop from their spring to mains water - lucky them.
 
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