Getting the right o ring for a Pura UV unit isn’t always simple. The chart below is designed to help.
All o rings listed can be found here.
| Pura Unit Description | Built Prior to Fall 2009 | Built after Fall 2009 |
| UV1 | OR018 | OR015 |
| UVB | OR019 | OR016 |
| UV20 | OR019 | OR016 |
| UVBB (See Note Below.) | OR020 (See note below.) | OR026 (See note below.) |
There is one exception. There is an intermediate BB unit built between Fall 2009 and Jan. 2012. It uses a unique o ring: OR017.
Standard tank-style backwashing iron filters are normally used for iron removal from well water. They are very effective, but they are large and they require a drain connection, electricity, and a significant amount of water for regeneration. They eventually need media replacement and replacement or rebuilding of control heads. In other words, although they can solve the significant problems caused by iron and manganese in well water, they are fairly expensive to purchase and they can be an ongoing expense and a maintenance chore.
Our cartridge filter for iron is for small amounts of iron (generally less than 3 parts per million). It can help with manganese as well, but is not a good treatment for hydrogen sulfide odors. This easy-to-install system is recommended for applications where pH is 7.0 or higher and service flow rates are usually 4 or 5 gpm or less. Multiple units, of course, can be installed in parallel for higher service flow rates.
The cartridge used for this free-flowing filter is the advanced Pentek radial flow iron removal filter with iron oxide media. See this chart for approximate gallon capacities.
The housing is the old faithful 20″ Big Blue from Pentek with 1″ or 3/4″ ports. A heavy stainless mounting bracket, screws, and filter wrench are included.
Basic unit comes with housing, bracket with screws, filter wrench and a Pentek iron removal cartridge.
Multiple iron filters can be installed in parallel to accommodate homes that need higher flow rates. The illustration shows a sediment filter followed by two iron units in parallel. This filter array can comfortably treat iron at residential service flow rates of seven or eight gallons per minute. Moderate use homes with up to four people can use a single unit. With more than 4, a double unit as shown above is needed.
Please call 888 382 3814 for more information or to order.
Products that Deal with Water Hardness
The pages below contain information about the three leading types of hardness treatment for city water.
TAC, Template Assisted Crystallization. (ScaleNet, also known as OneFlow)
Whole House Filtration Units
Compact Whole House Filters (Cartridge Style). Multi-Filter Versions of Compact Whole House Filters. (See links to other items in this series at the bottom of the article.)
Tank Style Backwashing Filters for Chlorine or Chloramines (See Carbon and Catalytic Carbon units.)
Drinking Water Units
Reverse Osmosis Units (Black and White)
Simple Undersink Filters — No faucet needed. Filtered water is dispensed through cold water side of the standard sink faucet.
Undersink Filters (Black and White Series) — Filters with their own faucet for filtered water.
More information? Please call 888 382 3814.
Editor’s Note: Probably this is something you’ve wondered about. If everyone on earth decided to go swimming in the ocean at the same time, would there be room for all of us? And would the water spill out of the world’s oceans causing devastating flooding? To put our minds at ease, here’s the answer from the Curious Kids section of at The Conversation website.
You can think about the oceans as a gigantic bathtub. More than 70% of the Earth’s surface is ocean, giving this bathtub an area of about 140 million square miles. To figure out how much the water will rise, we need to know the volume of people sitting in it and divide it by this ocean area.
Currently, there are almost 8 billion people on Earth. Human beings come in all sizes, from tiny babies to large adults. Let’s assume the average size is 5 feet tall – a bit bigger than a child – with an average volume of 10 cubic feet. Only half of each person’s body would be submerged when they sit down, so only 5 cubic feet adds to the water level. With 8 billion people total, you can calculate 5 x 8 billion which gives a whopping 40 billion cubic feet that would be added to the oceans.
But remember, this volume would be spread over the vast area of the oceans. Using the same bathtub math as before, we divide the 40 billion cubic feet of volume over the 140 million square miles of ocean.
The answer? The total rise in sea level would be about 0.00012 of an inch, or less than 1/1000th of an inch. If everyone completely submerged themselves, this would double the answer to 0.00024 inches, which is still only about the width of a human hair.
It turns out the oceans are enormous – and humans are just a drop in the bucket.
Source: The Conversation.
Every minute about 1 million plastic drinking bottles are purchased, creating huge amounts of waste, which mostly ends up in landfills. Today, many people reuse their water bottles by refilling them. This avoids having to repeatedly buy new bottles, saving money, and reducing the amount of plastic waste.However, these bottles are designed to only be used once, so some people are concerned about where it is actually safe to reuse them. We asked eight experts ‘Is it safe to reuse plastic water bottles?’ and the consensus was 75 percent ‘likely’.What are water bottles made of?Plastic water bottles vary in their material, but most single-use bottles are made of PET – polyethylene terephthalate. PET is a clear, lightweight plastic used for packaging of many foods and drinks.It is approved as safe for contact with food and drink in many parts of the world, including the USA and European Union.
Can leaching chemicals from the plastic give you cancer?
Many online articles claim that reusing water bottles can lead to cancer due to certain chemicals being released from the plastic.One chemical that many people are concerned about is BPA, bisphenol A. BPA may disrupt the endocrine system, potentially causing issues related to reproduction and metabolism. BPA is not used to make PET bottles but can be found in other, more rigid plastics like polycarbonate. Despite this, one study has found very low concentrations (5 ng/L) of BPA in PET-bottled water. Two other studies did not find this chemical, so this finding is inconclusive. A different chemical, antimony, is used as a catalyst for PET production. Antimony is not considered a carcinogen when ingested but can cause vomiting and diarrhea.A 2008 study tested the levels of leached antimony in commercially available bottled waters. They did find that leaching occurred gradually over time, but the amounts were much lower than what is considered dangerous. The concentration at which antimony becomes dangerous is around 6 ppb (parts per billion). The study found that antimony concentrations started at 0.195 ppb and rose to 0.226 ppb after three months at 22 degrees Celsius (71 °F).Antimony is not the only chemical that has been studied in bottled water, a whole range of chemicals from plasticizers to metals have been researched. These studies have found that there are some chemicals, like antimony, that leach into bottled water. As of yet, there is no evidence that these pose a risk to human health.
Is leaving your water bottle in the Sun safe?
There are some concerns that the chemical leaching described above happens more frequently at higher temperatures, meaning that leaving your water bottle in the car on a hot day could be dangerous. The 2008 study on antimony levels did indeed find increased leaching at higher temperatures. When water bottles were left at 60 °C (140 °F) it took them 176 days to rise above the threshold of 6 ppb, whilst at 80 °C this only took 1.3 days. These temperatures are very high, so this is likely to only be a problem if you live in a very hot place and regularly leave your water bottle in the Sun to heat up.
What about microplastics?
Microplastics are small pieces of plastic. They are found almost everywhere, including in our drinking water. In fact, a study found that 93 percent of freshly opened plastic water bottles contained some microplastic contamination. The WHO looked into the potential dangers of microplastics, but based on current data they have concluded that they do not pose a significant threat to human health. Interestingly, Dr Umar Abdulmutalib from the University of Surrey says, “Newly released plastic bottles might contain more microplastics compared to the used ones”. Dr Marek Cuhra from the Institute of Marine Research in Norway also thinks that “drinking water out of a used and washed bottle should be safer than a brand-new bottle”. His group found that water fleas grew and reproduced better in plastic tubes that had been washed with warm water than in new plastic containers.
Are there any other risks?
There is one widely-accepted risk of reusing a disposable plastic water bottle, but this is not chemicals – it’s contamination. As these bottles are not made for durability, they can get easily damaged and crack. Dr Jill Bartolotta says, “The plastic used to make bottles is very thin and consequently subject to cracking due to a weaker structure. These cracks can harbor bacteria.” Contamination is particularly likely if the inside of the bottle is damp. Bacteria can grow very fast in bottled water, one study found an increase from 1 colony per ml to 38,000 colonies per ml in 48 hours when the bottle was kept at 37 °C.
The takeaway:
Of the eight experts, six answered that it is likely that it is safe to reuse plastic water bottles. Studies of chemical leaching and microplastics have found that these occur at very low levels and are unlikely to pose serious health threats, unless bottles are repeatedly exposed to very high temperatures. The more likely risk is that of contamination, so if you do reuse a water bottle – remember to wash it regularly.
Reprinted from Science Alert.
These instructions apply only to Pure Water Products’ standard style A Countertop Reverse Osmosis Unit. The parts and instructions do not apply to other products.
In addition to the Black and White Style A RO Unit, here’s what you’ll need:
Our Conversion Kit. Part Number RP105. The Kit costs around $198 and includes everything you will need. Parts can be ordered from our main website using the part numbers of the individual parts.
1 ta005 Storage Tank.
1 jg011 1/4″ tee.
1 jg014 Tank Valve.
1 rc300 Auto Shutoff Valve.
1 rc200 ASO-Membrane Clip
2 rc001 JG Check Valves
1 rc100 Drain Saddle Kit
1 iv100 or iv103 Inlet Kit
1 lf700 Pro-Flo Faucet
5 tb001 Five feet of 1/4″ tubing.
Here’s how you do it
Converting your Black and White Countertop RO to Undersink
1. Install the faucet and inlet kits. When conversion is complete and you install the unit, you will plug the inlet tube into the black (left) housing and the faucet tube into the right (white).
2. Mount the shutoff valve in its clip on top of the RO membrane with the IN/OUT side of the valve facing the capped end of the membrane housing (the end that has only one tube).
3. Remove the tube from the fitting on the membrane cap and install it into the IN port of the shutoff valve. Run a new tube from the OUT port to the recently vacated fitting in the membrane housing cap.
4. On the other end of the membrane, remove the tube from the Permeate fitting (the one that isn’t the drain) and replace it with a short tube that connects it to the nearest TANK port of the shutoff valve. Insert a check valve into the new tube between the membrane and the shutoff valve with the arrow pointing toward the shutoff valve.
5. Loop the tube you removed from the Permeate port of the membrane back and insert it into the remaining empty port of the shutoff valve. (The other end remains connected to the back port of the white postfilter housing.) At any convenient place in this tube, insert the tee to connect the tank to the unit.
6. Install the shutoff valve onto the top of the storage tank, then use a single tube to connect the tank valve to the tee that you installed in step 5.
7. Install the drain saddle following instructions in the kit and connect the existing RO drain tube to the fitting in the drain saddle. Install the remaining check valve between the drain line flow restrictor and the drain saddle with the arrow pointing toward the drain saddle.
Refer to the picture at the top of this article as a model, and don’t hesitate to call or email us if you hit a snag.
Pure Water Products
888 382 3814
pwp@purewaterproducts.com
“Boil water” alerts are issued by water suppliers when the safety of the water they deliver is in question. The standard instruction is that water should be brought to a rolling boil for at least one minute (longer at higher altitudes) to kill waterborne pathogens.
Formerly, government agencies tracked boil water alerts in the US as public information, but as the number of alerts has increased dramatically in recent times record keeping is no longer done. In the absence of such information, Dr. Kelly Reynolds of the University of Arizona recently used a Google News search to identify boil water alerts across the US for a two-week period in August 2013. Dr. Reynolds found 29 alerts during the period.
Alerts are issued for a variety of reasons–bad weather, especially flooding, a break in a water main, low system pressure, finding of fecal coliform by testing, system leaks, system maintenance, detection of E. coli or cryptosporidium by routing testing, and general elevated bacteria counts—are the most common.
As pipes and pumps age, and as power outages and incidents of challenging weather become more frequent, it is certain that boil water alerts will become more common.
The boil water strategy for assuring micro-biologically safe water is at best a risky one. We have been conditioned to rely on the safety of our water systems to provide potable water, but this perception of safety is changing. Each time a pipe ruptures or pressure in the pipe goes down, microbes are drawn into the delivery system. A blanket “boil water” warning, even if given on time and received by all concerned, is a haphazard way to assure safety. Studies have shown that both reception of the alert and compliance with its recommendations are far below 100%.
It is certain that we have gone past the time of complete trust in the water delivery system to provide pathogen-free water. Just as more and more people are now relying on home treatment devices to provide chemical-free and more aesthetically pleasing water for drinking, cooking, and bathing, it is logical that “final barrier” devices to assure that water is free of bacteria, viruses and protozoa are becoming more common for city residents.
Fortunately, modern water treatment has developed many alternatives–from very tight filters for drinking water to whole house treatments like ultraviolet. These are certain to become prominent fixtures in US homes. As Dr. Reynolds says, “The inherent, unpredictable nature of the distribution system and the quality maintenance of the distributed water add credence to the need for routine POU [point of use] treatment.”
Reference: Water Conditioning and Purification, Sept., 2013.
The following instructions are adapted from the media manufacturer’s start-up instructions.
1. Open the new bag of Katalox-Light media and put into the pressure vessel. (Use a standard softener funnel, and be sure to cover the top of the riser tube to keep Katalox from going into the tube.)
2. With water off, or the filter in bypass, put the control valve into “backwash” position. Fill up the pressure vessel slowly with fresh water from bottom to the top with the control valve in backwash mode. (The control valve can be unplugged to keep it in backwash as long as needed.)
3. Turn on the water completely and backwash the media for a minimum of 20 minutes.
4. After the backwash is complete perform a rapid rinse for for at least 5 minutes.
PFAS exposure linked with worse COVID-19 outcomes
People who had elevated blood levels of a toxic chemical called perfluorobutanoic acid (PFBA) had an increased risk of a more severe course of COVID-19 than those who did not have elevated levels, according to a new study led by Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. PFBA is part of a class of man-made chemicals known as perfluorinated alkylate substances (PFASs), which have previously been shown to suppress immune function.
The study, published December 31, 2020 in PLOS ONE, was led by Philippe Grandjean, adjunct professor of environmental health.
PFASs have water- and grease-resistant properties and are used in a wide variety of products, including nonstick cookware, waterproof clothing, food packaging, and firefighting foams. PFBA, more than other PFASs, is known to accumulate in the lungs, according to the study.
Researchers looked at PFAS levels in blood samples from 323 Danish individuals infected with the coronavirus. They found that those with higher PFBA levels had higher odds of being hospitalized, winding up in intensive care, and dying than those with lower levels.
The findings suggest that further study is needed to determine whether elevated exposures to other environmental immunotoxicants may worsen COVID-19 outcomes, the authors wrote.
Gazette’s Introductory Note: The EPA’s showerhead standard, adopted several years ago as one facet of its WaterSense program, saves an estimated 2900 gallons of water per year per shower head. Dumping the standard for no apparent reason other than the perceived personal convenience of a single selfish individual is merely one of the scores of bizarre events of 2020. The article below will acquaint you with some of the ins and outs of the showerhead rule.
For more than 25 years, Congress has directed U.S. government agencies to set energy and water efficiency standards for many new products. These measures conserve resources and save consumers a lot of money. Until recently, they had bipartisan support.
But President Trump has turned efficiency standards into symbols of intrusive government. His administration has opposed many of these rules, including standards for light bulbs, commercial boilers, portable air conditioners and low-flow toilets. His latest target: showerheads.
The Energy Policy Act of 1992, passed by a Democratic Congress and signed by Republican President George H.W. Bush, set the maximum flow rate for showers at 2.5 gallons per minute. Now the Trump administration has increased that rate, which Trump calls inadequate to wash his “beautiful hair.”
It may sound funny, but it’s not. As someone who writes and teaches about water law and policy, I know that the U.S. water supply is finite and exhaustible. Most Americans take water for granted, but as population growth and climate change exacerbate water shortages, experts increasingly argue that water policy should promote conservation.
On Aug. 13, 2020, the Department of Energy’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to amend the existing standard for showerheads. The document’s definition of showerheads exemplified the byzantine logic behind this policy shift.
For example, it provided three images of fixtures with between three and eight heads attached to a single pipe coming out of the wall. So long as none of the individual heads had a flow greater than 2.5 gallons per minute, the measure asserted that each fixture satisfied Congress’ quest for water and energy.
How can the Energy Department allow shower fixtures with as many as eight heads, each emitting 2.5 gallons per minute? For context, Webster’s dictionary defines a showerhead as a “fixture for directing the spray of water in a bathroom shower.”
But the Trump rule interpreted “showerhead” to mean “an accessory to a supply fitting for spraying water onto a bather.” With this sleight of hand, a congressional rule limiting showerhead flows can be deftly avoided by installing a hydra-headed fixture with multiple “showerheads,” each flowing at 2.5 gallons per minute.
The agency also released a fourth image of a wall fixture with seven nozzles, which the new rule would not subject to the 2.5 gallons per minute maximum. The Energy Department deemed these fixtures a “body spray” rather than a showerhead because they are “usually located” below the bather’s head. (Of course, the person showering may be short, or the plumber may install the fixture high on the shower wall.) Body sprays may have six or eight nozzles with no flow limits.
The sad part of this foolishness is that the Environmental Protection Agency’s WaterSense program, which identifies water-efficient projects and promotes water conservation, has been spectacularly successful, at virtually no cost to consumers or the regulated community. Showers constitute 17% of residential water use. That’s 40 gallons per day for the average family, or 1.2 trillion gallons annually in the United States.
WaterSense fixtures and appliances have saved Americans more than 4.4 trillion gallons of water and US$87 billion in water and energy expenses since the program began in 2006. Low-water-use fixtures – including showerheads, toilets and washing machines – are now the accepted norm across the United States.
Some early products, such as the first high-efficiency toilets, had some hiccups. But that was 20 years ago. Today, notwithstanding President Trump’s declaration that “people are flushing toilets 10 times, 15 times, as opposed to once,” consumers embrace low water-use fixtures because they work well, save money and reduce water and energy consumption.
Today the United States faces serious water problems. Georgia and Florida are fighting a prolonged battle over flows in the Apalachicola River, which the two states share. Excessive groundwater pumping is causing water levels in wells to plummet and springs to dry up. As I explain in my book, “Unquenchable: America’s Water Crisis and What To Do About It,” farmers are competing with cities for water.
COVID-19 has helped to make the affordability of water a national issue. Some rural areas, such as the Navajo Nation, where many people need to haul water to their homes and villages, have higher rates of coronavirus infection. People who have lost their jobs find themselves unable to pay their water bills, which in turn compromises the financial stability of water providers.
Allowing showers to use more water will have several unfortunate consequences for cities across the country. It will increase the amount of water cities must treat; raise the chances of raw sewage overflows at water treatment plants – especially in cities such as Washington, D.C. that combine storm and sewer water; and increase the amount of energy used to pump and treat water.
Disrupting low-flow fixture rules will create special hardships for western cities, such as Los Angeles and Las Vegas, that have struggled with water shortages for decades. Both cities remarkably reduced their total water use between the 1980s and 2020, despite rapid population growth, partly by converting residences to low water-use fixtures.
Water is not just another natural resource. Without it our bodies cease to function, our crops dry up, and our economy grinds to a halt. We can’t make any more water, so it makes sense to use the water we have wisely.
Reprinted from The Conversation.
Copyright © Pure Water Products, LLC
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