Water Filter - Montana Owners Club

rames14 · 05-01-2005, 05:47 PM

Well, they say necessity is the mother of invention. I was mowing around our trailer last weekend and "touched" the in-line water filter - crack. It just so happened that I saw a really ingenious setup the same weekend. One of the other trailers had a conventional whole house filter stuck in the top of an orange safety cone with the top cut off. Went to the local Menards and bought everything for less than the price of an in-line filter. It's larger and the filter element is replaceable. Instead of $20/filter it is now $3.

DHenry · 05-01-2005, 06:46 PM

Great post, thanks for the information.

BillyRay · 05-02-2005, 03:59 AM

yup, I just paid $17 for elcheapo brand at walmart.

jrgwdenner · 05-03-2005, 06:30 AM

Thanks, that is a great tip. Why is the stuff at the camping stores always so expensive?

tweir · 05-03-2005, 07:09 AM

...just like buying "stuff" at a marine store---"specialty products" for the well-heeled...yeah, right! Maybe if I brought in last year's W-2 they would feel sorry for me and offer a discount...! Yeah, right again...!

sreigle · 05-03-2005, 10:05 AM

Ron, I was at Lowe's today and bought one of the 18-inch orange cones. I even managed to cut off just the right amount so the filter is a nice snug fit. It's now sitting upright instead of laying on the ground.

rames14 · 05-04-2005, 03:10 PM

As soon as I saw this, I thought it was a good idea. Then, after I broke my filter, I had the motive. I would have never thought of this. I have a whole list of things from the rally last year that I want to do before we head out west at the end of June. I need to stop reading and watching. RVing's supposed to be relaxing and all I do is come up with more work. Still need to put up the pegboard and the outlet in the basement. Then, the new Montana's don't have the sewer tube under the frame. Plus, need to get my new Honda electricity maker. Do you think if I put down Montana as a dependent that the IRS will notice?

Emmel · 05-04-2005, 03:43 PM

Ron, we have the unit we purchased at Sears for about$20 and when we were in Indiana last year for the rally we splurged for the metal bracket sold at CW. It is really nice to have it off the ground. I also put the Y at the filter so I can get the bubbles out of the hose before I hook up to the 5er. The electric outlet is next too.

Montana_2785 · 05-05-2005, 03:24 AM

Quote:

quote:Originally posted by rames14

[...] RVing's supposed to be relaxing and all I do is come up with more work. [...]

I've asked my wife several times, "Why do they call them Recreation Vehicles when it seems that all I do is work on it?"

Eric

Montana_1424 · 05-06-2005, 11:04 AM

Do you have any pics of this setup, I guess I am just not getting it from the description. Also, does anyone still use there pressure reg with an inline filter? I stopped becasue the flow slowed way down, I am assuming becasue the filter restricts it. I am concerned about getting overpressurized and blowing through the filter. Does anyone have any insight on this?

sreigle · 05-06-2005, 03:16 PM

Ed, what is it you'd like to see a picture of?

I still use the regulator. I use a Y adapter at the park's spigot. To that I install the regulator, then the hose to the filter, the filter itself, then hose to the Montana. I know some filters restrict the flow to 3 gallons per minutes. That's why we bought this one. 6 gallons per minute. That's more than the regulator will pass so the filter does not restrict the flow whatsoever, if that makes sense.

Montana_1424 · 05-06-2005, 06:10 PM

I think the filter I just bought is 2 gallons a minute, anyway, what filter do you have?
I guess I was looking for picturs of the setup whihc started this thread, somthing about a cone.

I would like to use a filter that does not restrict the flow, and is not priced out of wack. Excatly what setup do you use, how do you like it, and where did you get it? If you could forwrd the details to me, that would be much appreciated.

patodonn · 05-07-2005, 03:07 AM

same thing as Steve, except, when we set up, I check the CG water pressure at the connector faucet with a guage...If it is 55 psi or lower, I don't install the regulator...if it is higher, I do use the 50 psi regulator. I've seen as high as 100 psi, and a slow as 35 psi at different CGs.

I think we will make a trip to Sears today or tomorrow to look for a filter similar to the one(s) described above...tired of paying the high $ for the filters you get at CW or Wally World.

Best,

sreigle · 05-07-2005, 01:55 PM

Kozzy45, this filter handles 6 gpm, which does not restrict the flow into the Montana. That was one of my criteria, too, and why I tossed out the one we bought that was specifically for an RV. Below are pictures of the filter (from a website) and of the cone (sorry, i blurred it a bit, just went out a few minutes ago and took this picture).

Rather than look up the model number and all again I found what I posted awhile back. I'll just paste it here and hope it is what you are looking for. We're very pleased with this filter so far but have not been in any place with truly bad water since we bought this. We have been in places where the water didn't taste very good and it sure improved the taste. It was after I posted this that Ron recommended the cone, so I got one.

------pasted-----
I bought this one at Home Depot on the recommendation of a couple of MOC members. It's a Whirlpool, model WHCF-DWHV, and cost around $30 to $40. I had to buy, while at HD, an adapter for the inlet and the outlet to adapt to a hose connection. That's in the plumbing section. The filter is supposed to handle a whole stick home for six months. We'll see about that. I bought a 2-pack (or is it 3?) of spare filters for something like $14. The flow rate is 6 gallons per minute, so it does not restrict the water flow. That's important to us. I just lay the thing on the ground near the park's water connection. It has a switch on the head for Filter, Bypass, and Off. The manual doesn't state the physical size but I can easily transport it under one arm. OK, hold on and I'll do a quick measurement. Total length is 13 3/4 inches. Widest point is where the hoses connect. That's 5 inches in diameter, excluding the hose adapters. Those add maybe an inch or inch and a half.

This link might be more informative. It's the second one on the page.
http://www.whirlpool.com/catalog/cat...categoryId=174

------end paste---------

the filter has 3 positions - filter, bypass, and off

My short, 3 ft, hose got a big bubble in it so that's why I'm temporarily using a 10' hose between spigot/regulator and the filter.

fulltimedreamer · 05-07-2005, 03:07 PM

We've been using a whole house water filter for a couple of years now. Originally I had it mounted on a frame made of PVC pipe that I could place under the coach to keep it cool and clean. Recently, I remodeled the coach and replaced the pyramid shaped carpet cover that was over the city water connection inside the coach with a cabinet. After building the cabinet I decided the cabinet would be a great place to put the water filter so that I didn't have to set it up everytime we move.

Here is a link to my website with the original PVC holder and the new in-cabinet installation.

http://www.geocities.com/fulltimedre.../rvfilter.html

Montana_1424 · 05-07-2005, 03:14 PM

Steve, that was exactly what I was looking for, thanks a lot.
I will head to HD tomorrow to pick one up. Thanks again for the pictures.

Ed

sreigle · 05-08-2005, 06:14 AM

Lamar, I like your idea of mounting it inside. I'll have to check to see if we have room for that in ours. The city water inlet comes in behind the bottom compartment of the curio cabinet in the 3295RK, at least for our year. This compartment also houses the fresh water fill hose and the water pump. I also added a water pump switch along the door frame for that cabinet. I don't know if I could mount the filter in a manner to keep it from bouncing around on the road and still be able to get it in and out for filter changes. But you got me to thinking about it, anyhow.

richfaa · 05-08-2005, 07:26 AM

A few years ago a water filter was a must as most campgrounds had well water some of it very bad however in recent years we have not even used our filter as campgrounds upgraded to city water or improved their well water system .We carry bottled water for drinking and cooking, always have.Since most of you use filters I am assuming that water around the country varies in quality. We do not get around the country as much as most of you but have not experienced bad water for a long time. More good information for us to store away.

CountryGuy · 05-08-2005, 07:37 AM

Just a gentle reminder for those of you that might be going into PlaMor, Bremen, Indiana for the Great Lakes Region campout in September. The water there has been very bad, VERY RUSTY! So, bad that they have it posted on the laundry room walls to be warned, your whites will probably turn shades of yellow and orange very quickly.

Certain areas of US have some nasty water, this just happens to be one of them we are aware of.

But, you are right Richfaa, over all, I believe that the water situation/conditions is much improved over a few years ago.

vickir · 05-08-2005, 12:51 PM

Carol ... you are so right about the water in the Bremen area! I had to replace two shirts as a result of rust stains. We also encountered the same water issues when we were in Elkhart, but not when we stayed at the fairgrounds in Goshen (odd!). In fact, I told Steve I was NOT going to go back to that area without a filter ... that water is just nasty! It took a lot of scrubbing to get the sinks, tub and toilet cleaned too.

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