WATER! It is a big deal, especially when talking about drinking water! Water filtration systems in RVs can range from the very basic single step filters you attach to your hose, all the way to the super advanced systems with 3+ filters and UV lights.
Not everyone has the same mindset on water and which water filtration you decide is right for you may seem overkill to someone else.
In order to decide what is right for you, it is important to understand water filters and how they work!
Water Filters work in Microns! A Micron is a unit of length that is one millionth of a meter… it describes the size of small objects. When we talk about water filters, the microns of the filter refers to a rating in which particles are retained by the filter. The smaller the micron rating of the filter, the finer the particulate it retains. For example, a filter that is 5 microns will remove all particles as small as 5 microns but allows anything smaller to pass through it.
Now that you understand what a micron is, lets put this into practice! Lets say you are at an RV park near the beach and you notice that you have a lot of sand coming through your water hose. Sand is roughly 100-1000 microns. You would need at least a 100 micron filter to block it from passing through. Although sand has been an issue for my personal RV water system in the past, its not something most people are worried about. Most people are more worried about Bacteria!! Bacteria can be as small as 0.1 microns and viruses can be as small as 0.06 microns.
With this information, we can start to look at filtration systems and filters and understand what the benefits are of each system.
The most basic RV water filtration system is the blue Camco TastePURE water filter. This is an easy and inexpensive filter that is wildly popular amongst RVers and in my opinion, should be the minimum every RVer should use!! These filters are 20 microns and are referred to as sediment filters. They will block sand and other particles from entering into your RV water system… but if you read the info provided by Camco about this filter, it also states it also “protects against bacteria”. I mentioned before that some bacteria particles are as small as 0.1 microns… Yes, there are some bacteria that are larger than 20 microns that this filter will block, but it won’t block all bacteria!
If you move up in the filtration scale, the next filtration system to consider is the Camco TastePURE Dual Canister Filtration System. This is a 2-step filter system that has both a 5 micron debris filter and a 0.5 micron carbon filter. Although not perfect against all bacteria, it is very close and a far superior option when compared to the 20 micron filter!
My personal choice in RV Water Filtration Systems is the Clearsource Ultra RV Water Filter System or the Clearsource Onboard Pro Water Filtration System. With this 3-step filtration system, you are getting the 5 micron debris filter, a 0.5 micron coconut shell carbon block filter that helps with removing chemicals like chlorine, and then a 0.2 micron filter that blocks bacteria and some viruses. This company also provides a super convenient Filter Replacement Set that makes maintenance a breeze!
Now, if you wanted the top of the line filtration system for your RV, you could add an Ultraviolet Water Purifier Sterilizer Filter. Adding this to a 3-step filtration system would pretty much cover you for any microbiological agents (bacteria and viruses).
Alright!! Now that you have picked the best filter for you, lets talk about setting it up. If you decide that the Camco TastePURE 20 micron filter is all you need, set up is easy! Check the arrows on the filter canister for which direction the water is suppose to flow and connect it to the water source accordingly!
If you have decided on a 2 or 3-step filtration system, the easiest way to get set up is to leave it as an “attachment” to your garden hose. You will probably benefit from having a 3 inch potable water hose that can connect your water source to your filtration system and then use your longer potable water hose to connect the filtration system to your RV city water connect. Be sure to check the direction of flow to insure your filters are in the correct order! Hint: you always want water to flow from the largest micron filter to the smallest!
I chose to mount my 3-Step Clearsource water filtration system on the inside of my RV storage bay and hard plumb it in! This may seem a little extreme, but there were some major benefits to taking the time to make my filtration system a permanent feature in my RV. If you are wanting to do the same, you will want to buy the Clearsource Onboard Pro 3-step filtration system!!
There are a few reasons I went through the trouble of hard plumbing my water filtration into the RV and the first reason is to protect against freezing during those cold winter nights! These systems are not cheap and one unexpected overnight freeze can mean costly replacements! My storage bay is climate controlled and offers protection against those cold nights. Second, theft. We as RVers have a lot of trust in our neighbors and fellow humans when we live in RVs. Most RVers leave grills, chairs, bikes, and other valuables outside that can account for thousands of dollars. These filters, when left outside, can be a high ticket item for someone interested in acquiring one. I don’t have a lot of trust in others and would much prefer to just lower the temptation by making sure no one has easy access to it. And Third, no set up and break down!! No draining the filters and putting them away on moving day, no setting up and priming with water on arrival day. I had to go through the hassle of installation only once, and after that… its a no brainer! I never once have to think about my water filtration system before I connect to city water. As long as I change my filters every 5-6 months, I’m good to go.
If your interested to finding out how exactly this installation process went, keep reading!! I’ll walk you through the basic steps and tools needed to make a modification like this possible!
Parts List for Installation:
- Pex Shut Off Valves
- Pex Clamp Cinch Tool
- Pex Brass Fittings
- Pex Cinch Clamps
- 1/2 inch Pex Tubing
- Clearsource Onboard Pro Water Filtration System
First, you will need to find your RV city water line. In my 5th wheel storage bay, I have a Nautilus system. Behind the false wall, I was able to easily locate and access all the ins and outs of my RVs water system. Next, I had to locate a suitable place that I could mount the filtration system. This location needs to be sturdy, out of the way but easily accessible! The storage bay wall that divides all my “RV inner workings” to the storage area was an ideal location except it needed a bit more reinforcing to ensure it could handle the weight I was about to hang on it. A few pieces of Aluminum Angle Stock attached to the bottom of the wall and a couple L brackets attaching the wall to the top gave the wall stronger connection points to both the roof of the bay area and the flooring. But everyones layout on their RV is going to be different, so investigate what will work for you.
Next, start planning where the water lines need to run, being mindful of the direction of flow on the RV filtration system. On my system, you can see how I connect to the backside of the nautilus system where the city connection port connects to and ran PVC tubing to the “in” port of the water filtration system. (Yellow is the connection point, Blue arrows is the direction and flow of water)
From the “out” port of the water filters, I drilled a hole in the wall to pass the water line through and then connected this portion back to the original T-valve that directs water back to the rig.
You can also see where I added a make-shift “hanger” for the long plumbing line coming off the nautilus system. This was to add support to the water line and reduce pressure on the connection points, which are notorious for leaks due to strain.
I also ended up adding a bypass! This was important so that I could quickly bypass the water filtration system in the event of a leak. The bypass also comes in handy while changing the filters in the system!
I have had this filtration system for 1.5 years and I have never had a single issue. I do carry with me extra connects and plumbing just in case of leaks during my travels, but have been extremely happy with this set up!
One last pro tip: Remember to place your Water Pressure Regulator closest to the water source and before your water filtration system!
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