Under Sink Water Filter

[Tom-NC]

There is a water filter under sink with a special faucet by the sink. My question is there a way to store that filter while winterizing the coach to be used again instead of buying new filter every year when existing filter has only been used for about 2 weeks all season?

I know they make smaller ones as I have seen them at CW and also the water store carries them but it seems a waste to just throw it out after such short use.

Thanks.

[Tom-NC]

There is a water filter under sink with a special faucet by the sink. My question is there a way to store that filter while winterizing the coach to be used again instead of buying new filter every year when existing filter has only been used for about 2 weeks all season?

I know they make smaller ones as I have seen them at CW and also the water store carries them but it seems a waste to just throw it out after such short use.

Thanks.

[smlranger]

I'll wait to see the concensus on this since I've wondered the same thing. There might be a chance that bacteria could grow in the filter medium during storage.

[jgore]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Reply </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
My 04 Journey came with a "plug" that twists in the same way the water filter. I have no idea where to find one.

[AFChap]

Before we started fulltiming, we would remove the filter, seal it in a ziplock bag, and store it in the refrigerator at home. We never had a problem with the filter while doing that. We did replace it annually regardless of how much it had been used.

[Oemtech]

If your only going store the filter for say a 30 day then take the filter out, let drain, put it in a plastic bag and put it in the freezer. But, I would not reuse it passed 60 days maybe 90 at the most. Anything past that I would replace the filter.

I have an 5 stage RO system stuffed under my sink plus a whole house filter that filters all the water to the coach.

[Jackm]

Dale, Very impressive system. I understand the advantages of RO systems but I was curious as to your reasons for installing the system in the first place. Just curious. Thanks.

Jack

[Oemtech]

Jack,

We started using RO water in our stick house because of the amount of minerals in the water here in central Texas. The water is so hard it will etch glass over time. So for drinking, cooking and COFFEE we started using RO water. We got tired of carrying RO water in the rig when we traveled. Also, some camp grounds the water was just horrible. Thus I installed the RO system shortly before we went fulltime.

But, I did not want to hijack this thread. The key is that you should replace the whole house filter every 3 months or sooner if it needed. I have replaced mine more often do to well water in some camp grounds. So if you can't view the filter contamination I would replace it. The 3 filters in the RO system gets replaced every 6 months, the final filter once a year and the RO membrane 2 to 5 years.

What is the cost... I get the whole house filters at Wal Mart or Tractor Supply for $9 for 2. The RO kit good for a year is $27 from CostCo.

[Cousin Ed]

I just drain it well, then zip-lock it and put it in the freezer.

[BBBEEBOP]

I use the smaller filters (buddy pack). I put one in for the Winter when we're in Florida. I change it out when we start to do our summer trips around the NE. We are usually in the rig about 6 month per year. These work great for us.
As for the Winterizer Plug that is put in in place of the filter for winterizing or storage, you can call or e-mail ADCO, they sent me one for free when I couldn't find one in my Vectra.

[journey15]

I also store ours in the fridge for the 3 months it is not in use.
We did purchase a new one this year. Figure it is good for bout 2 years regardless of days of use. Does anyone have any definitive numbers on this?

[AFChap]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Figure it is good for bout 2 years regardless of days of use. Does anyone have any definitive numbers on this? </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
Look on the filter itself. Toward the bottom is a place to write in a couple of dates. Below that is says, "Replace filter no later than 12 months from first date." I can't see what the two lines are titled without removing my filter, but my recollection is that is the install date. Therefore, I replace mine annually regardless of use/non-use.

[Beabop]

We put a t of Clorox in the top of ours and put it in the frige. I am on our 4 th filter in 10 years. I told a tech at a seminar how we do it and he thought it was a good idea.They are supposed to get slow when they need changed but I change ours when it no longer takes the chlorine taste out of campground water.

[Oemtech]

As an ex Navy Corpsman and EMT/Paramedic I would not recommend that you reuse filter that have been in use for the camping season and then put in the freezer.

It truly amazes me what we as RVers will do to save a couple of bucks.

Here is a photo of my RO filters that I removed early because I could not see them and I had changed the whole house filter twice in 3 months of use during the summer camping season.



The filter on the right is a sediment filter and the other's are .5 micro carbon filters. I also replaced the final carbon filter on the RO system. Lastly the whole house Omni filter is a .5 micro carbon filter. My total cost was about $47..... You spend more than that going out to eat.

[Beabop]

ADCO told us that fulltimers should replace it when it got slow. Since we use our stick house every so often, we put the Clorox in and put it in the frige. Remember that this filter only services the icemaker and some drinking water. All the other filters get changed every few months. Oemtech you must have gotten some dirty well water, none of our coach filters have ever looked like that. One of our house filters did during hurricaine Hazel when the well got swamped. We had muddy water for days.

[Oemtech]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Oemtech you must have gotten some dirty well water, none of our coach filters have ever looked like that. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

That's my point.... Most filters you can't see the inside. Remember, the filters in the photo are from my RO system which is AFTER the whole house filter that was changed twice during 3 months of usage. Adding bleach to a dirty filter and freezing does not change much.

[Jackm]

Filter cartridges are ideal for growing bacterial colonies because they provide huge amounts of surface area. This is good for fish tanks but not particularly good for people. The other reason for not stretching the life of a filter cartridge has to do with the way they work. Charcoal relies on absorbtion to remove compounds that taste bad and smell bad. Once a filter has been used for a while, it loses much of its ability to filter out these compounds. There are numerous studies (and even software programs) that quantify the rate at which charcoal-based filters lose their effectiveness. The bottom line? They don't last as long as you might think. So if you want the best tasting water, change your filter frequently and forget about storing used cartridges.

RO systems operate differently and thus should be maintained according to the manufacturer's suggested maintenance schedule.

Jack.

[Chief]

Can't remember where but I recall reading that clorox will render a charcoal filter immediately useless. Seems that the clorox leeches out all the filtering properties contained in the charcoal. Do we have a chemist on the forum??

[Oemtech]

We are penny wise and pound foolish! Buy a new filter for next year.

[FDchief]

Store it in your fridge for as long as you'd like. Also, don't worry about replacing it until the flow slows from the faucet.