| Author |
Message |
ws46060
Member
Post Number: 6
Registered: 06-2005
| | Posted on Tuesday, January 18, 2011 - 12:17 pm: | 
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Dear All,
I need to replace the water filter at our Lake Temagami island cabin. We pump lake water to the cabin, then filter it for use in the washing machine, shower, toilet, etc.
What filtration systems have you used? Do you hjave any recommendations? |
shutter_speed
Member
Post Number: 4
Registered: 10-2010
| | Posted on Tuesday, January 18, 2011 - 3:15 pm: |
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We use a ceramic filter for drinking water (requires a pressure tank) and don't worry about the rest. If you have hydro, you could run the water through a charcoal filter then a UV filter, properly sized. Make sure your intake is off the bottom a couple of feet.
I'm curious what other systems people use too! |
bush_pilot
Member
Post Number: 185
Registered: 03-2004
| | Posted on Tuesday, January 18, 2011 - 5:16 pm: |
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WS
I'm curious why you would filter lake water for use in a shower, toilet etc. I drank straight from the lake for years and never got sick. Now we get our drinking water from a spring. We use lake water for the dishes, no filter of any kind and have never had a problem. |
irishfield
Member
Post Number: 281
Registered: 11-2004
| | Posted on Tuesday, January 18, 2011 - 7:02 pm: |
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We originally only had the UV light and ceramic filter on our drinking water tap. Constantly found we had diarreha at the lake (and we hadn't changed brands of beer!). I moved the UV to do the entire water system and the last two years have been without issue. You are showering those "bugs" onto your body and washing your dishes with same. The dishes are what I suspect was the real issue.
I have a course filter after the pressure tank to remove sediment/algae/fish sh**.... then thru the 3' long UV light and then off to the cabin water system/heater etc. The drinking tap goes thru an extra charcoal filter, then a ceramic filter (Rainfresh I believe is the brand). We use that one for making juice and water for cooking. |
ed
Moderator
Post Number: 926
Registered: 03-2004
| | Posted on Wednesday, January 19, 2011 - 7:20 am: |
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Bush Pilot:
Some people are more sensitive to drinking water changes than others. Some of us can drink out of the(a)lake and have no problems, while others experience an intestinal upset. |
ws46060
Member
Post Number: 7
Registered: 06-2005
| | Posted on Wednesday, January 19, 2011 - 6:57 pm: |
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To Bush_Pilot:
We use a filter to keep particulate matter out of the plumbing--for the health of our pipes and appliances.
Also, I'm wondering if the time is coming soon when we'll need to filter our drinking water to protect our health. More people, more boats, etc.
For what it's worth, I've never gotten sick from drinking lake water; I just wonder how others are faring.
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bush_pilot
Member
Post Number: 186
Registered: 03-2004
| | Posted on Thursday, January 20, 2011 - 10:09 pm: |
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I'm don't mean to sound argumentative, and perhaps someone knows for sure, but I suspect the lake is cleaner now than in the past. It appears to me that there is less boat traffic and new engine technology is certainly helping with emissions.Cottagers are more aware of water quality and are careful of what they put into the lake (phosphates, nitrogen, gasoline etc.)Grey water pits are now common as well as septic systems. As far as I know no one on our island, 11 cottages, has a filter. To be honest it has never occured to me to use one, maybe I should. |
ed
Moderator
Post Number: 927
Registered: 03-2004
| | Posted on Friday, January 21, 2011 - 8:54 am: |
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Does the TLA do any water sampling and send it for biological testing at one of the Provincial labs? This might be a way to determine if the water quality is adequate for drinking or needs some treatment. Also if it is done annually, it might provide some insight into problem areas on the lake and over time historical data to see see if the lake water quality is improving. |
shutter_speed
Member
Post Number: 5
Registered: 10-2010
| | Posted on Friday, January 21, 2011 - 12:07 pm: |
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I've been told that, subject to budgetary considerations, the TLA is planning lake-wide water quality tests this year, along with subsequent follow-ups. |
joepa
Member
Post Number: 5
Registered: 08-2010
| | Posted on Monday, February 7, 2011 - 7:45 pm: |
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Just my thoughts on drinking water - by drinking right out of the lake you could be taking in harmful chemicals and not know it or feel it - you could also get some parasite - or some bacteria - I don't think its a good idea - |
gudwulf
Member
Post Number: 52
Registered: 03-2004
| | Posted on Tuesday, February 8, 2011 - 7:39 pm: |
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joepa... Question??? Have you ever Canoed in this part of the country???
There is nothing BETTER than canoeing down a BIG or small lake, looking around for beaver dams... & not seeing any in sight ``` looking down for shallow water or debris and dipping your thermos a foot under water (when getting close to empty), turning the thermos upright so it gurgles as it fills and then bringing it up to your thirsty, dry lips and taking in a Big SWIG of God's Good Nectar ~ some of the purest fresh water on earth. (WHERE Else can you get this good a taste of Fresh Water???) Shoving the thermos back under again, bringing it up and putting a secure lid on it for the next 24 hours of camping or canoeing. HEAVAN on Earth!
(The only better water I have found in North America is on Starrett Lake in Sayner, Wisconsin, where it comes out of the ground from a lake-side well and tastes like it has has sugar added to it!)
I can't speak for cabin systems... I was lucky enough to camp @ Bob Gilmore's Island Camp on LE through the late 60's and early 70's with all the Camps water taken off the bottom through a pipe down 15' into the lake. You could see the end of it in the clear water! ~~~ Never a problem.
Through the 90's and early 2000's sipped a couple hundred gallons off the top of Temagami, Diamond, Wakakima and Obabika and Lady Evelyn always using common sense. If in sight of a beaver dam ~ filter. Otherwise ********* ENJOY! I think it is a GREAT Idea!
I have PMA... a Positive Mental Attitude! Lake water is Better than EVER! |
irishfield
Member
Post Number: 285
Registered: 11-2004
| | Posted on Tuesday, February 8, 2011 - 8:50 pm: |
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Back to the original question.. water supply for a camp on an island of Lake Temagami. You don't have to look far to see signs, or the real beaver, anywhere on Lake Temagami. That and all the folks still running old 2 stroke motors.... people bathing in the lake etc. |
joepa
Member
Post Number: 6
Registered: 08-2010
| | Posted on Thursday, February 10, 2011 - 3:52 pm: |
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Gudulf - I never canoed in that part of the country - but I fish Temagami a lot - go there every year in the late fall - down here on the tv there is a program called The Monsters Inside Us - it documents true stories about people picking up parasites - scares the heck out of you when you see what can happen to a person when they pick up one - if you are drinking harmful chemicals you may not feel any effects now but over time things might be different - yes I'm sure that a lot of the water up there is good to drink but there is always that one chance - I guess I'm on the overly careful side - if I had a cabin on the lake I would have a pressured tank and a reverse omosis system for the water I used out of the lake - take care |
grncnu
Member
Post Number: 38
Registered: 08-2010
| | Posted on Friday, February 11, 2011 - 8:34 pm: |
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i got giardia (beaver fever) about 15-odd years ago on a tributary of the north magnetawan. this was from swimming at a small falls where i had swum many times before, just downstream from a beaver dam. i noticed that the water felt wierd, sort of thick and "ropy" but i went in anyway and regretted it.
on the other hand the sickness though severe was brief.
since then i have tended to still drink the unfiltered water except on rivers, in swamps or shallow water close to shore.
maybe its just me but i think filtered water tastes bland. |
dougg
Member
Post Number: 2
Registered: 01-2011
| | Posted on Saturday, February 12, 2011 - 5:57 pm: |
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We use a doulton ceramic filter for drinking water, it is a counter top gravity filter. we had one giardia incident about 10 years ago, and are not necessarily religious about filtration, but this is easy and works. http://doultonusa.com/HTML%20pages/portable_system s.htm |
selwa
Member
Post Number: 1
Registered: 05-2011
| | Posted on Tuesday, May 17, 2011 - 12:33 pm: |
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Doulton and Katadyn both make a great countertop gravity filter for this sort of thing. This will filter your cooking and drinking water. For showering/bathing, I wouldn't worry too much. You could get a shower filter, but those are meant for water that has already been municipally treated. Or you could boil water and use it to bathe. Just don't open your mouth when you shower and you should be okay. |
espwater
Member
Post Number: 1
Registered: 08-2011
| | Posted on Thursday, August 25, 2011 - 2:48 pm: |
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Exactly! It's always wise to use a water filtration system to ensure your water is clean. It's better to be safe than sorry. |
Temagami general