Sawyer mini still works? after freezing

[cmoulder]

AquaMira is good, and lately (past 1.5 yr) also been using Aquatabs for water treatment.

I have only one data point: I ain't been sick yet!

Drank some pretty manky swamp water and some from low-flow streams three or two times.

[cmoulder]

SilvrSurfr, right you are, I’m on cell phone
Sometimes I misspell on porpoise 4your entertainment.
Merry Christmas to you SilvrSurfr—raconteur extraordinaire

Phantom, you'd have been one helluva stock broker if that had been your calling.

MikekiM and I def gunna get down your way sometime. I did Shining Rock with my best bud in Aug 1981 and would dearly love to do it again.

[TrailSlug]

Nah, go ahead and use that filter for a few trips and let us know how you make out

[SilvrSurfr]

SilvrSurfr, right you are, I’m on cell phone
Sometimes I misspell on porpoise 4your entertainment.
Merry Christmas to you SilvrSurfr—raconteur extraordinaire

I think you should change your name to PhantomAsbestos.

Sawyer is very non-committal on what constitutes a "damaged" water filter. I corresponded with them about what constituted a "frozen" water filter, and their basic response was, "If you think it froze, you should replace it." So they did nothing to help me understand on how a Sawyer water filter could be compromised. Can you only use a Sawyer water filter on water that is 32* F or warmer? How come water that is in liquid form (i.e., not ice) that is below 32* F that is flowing will flow through the filter, but it theoretically doesn't damage the filter? I couldn't get a straight answer out of Sawyer on whether sub-freezing, free-flowing water going through the filter would damage it. They just said about the filter, "If you think it froze, you should replace it."

Then you get into the idea of nucleation, which says that water can remain in a liquid state below freezing until it is "disturbed." The common example is putting a bottle of water in the freezer, then you pull it out, slam it on the table and the water turns to ice.

https://www.thermofisher.com/blog/bi...th-nucleation/

From what I can gather, you shouldn't use the Sawyer filter on water that is below 32* F. That's all I know.

[TxAggie]

I think you should change your name to PhantomAsbestos.

Sawyer is very non-committal on what constitutes a "damaged" water filter. I corresponded with them about what constituted a "frozen" water filter, and their basic response was, "If you think it froze, you should replace it." So they did nothing to help me understand on how a Sawyer water filter could be compromised. Can you only use a Sawyer water filter on water that is 32* F or warmer? How come water that is in liquid form (i.e., not ice) that is below 32* F that is flowing will flow through the filter, but it theoretically doesn't damage the filter? I couldn't get a straight answer out of Sawyer on whether sub-freezing, free-flowing water going through the filter would damage it. They just said about the filter, "If you think it froze, you should replace it."

Then you get into the idea of nucleation, which says that water can remain in a liquid state below freezing until it is "disturbed." The common example is putting a bottle of water in the freezer, then you pull it out, slam it on the table and the water turns to ice.

https://www.thermofisher.com/blog/bi...th-nucleation/

From what I can gather, you shouldn't use the Sawyer filter on water that is below 32* F. That's all I know.

One word:

Lawyers. (Or lawsuits, take your pick.)


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[SilvrSurfr]

One word:

Lawyers. (Or lawsuits, take your pick.)

I'm not sure I understand your point. I should sue Sawyer for their vague answers?

[TxAggie]

I'm not sure I understand your point. I should sue Sawyer for their vague answers?

Sorry, not against you at all.


Their vague answers are because they can’t make a firm statement without opening themselves up for lawsuits. If they give a definitive answer then someone it today’s age is sure to sue them if they say it’s OK and a customer gets sick. Doesn’t matter if it was their product or not.

Vagueness is safety.


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[TrailSlug]

They (Sawyer) can't answer if the filter is damaged without opening the filter and inspecting it. I'm sure they do not want to get into that business. In addition a new filter for you is another sell for them I'm sure from a business perspective they do not mind a few frozen filters. I finally switched to the Aquamira Water Treatment Drops after forgetting to take my filter to bed with me on a few occasions. In the south we do not experience these temps enough to remember or maybe it's just I can't remember

[DrPhun]

I saw a presentation on the sawyer filters when they first came out. They are basically full of very small tubes. The tubes are so small that the bugs can’t get through but the water can.

When water freezes, it expands 10%. The expansion of freezing water can break things. Frozen water forms crystals with sharp edges. So if a filter freezes and has water remaining in it, the ice can break things and that could allow untreated water to flow through the filter. I don’t know how you could test for that - perhaps you could try to filter some water with colored particles and test to see if any gets through?

[SilvrSurfr]

I don’t know how you could test for that - perhaps you could try to filter some water with colored particles and test to see if any gets through?

I don't think Sawyer knows how to test for that. Regardless, the testing would probably be expensive. So let's say you test your filter to see if e. coli gets through. First you test with a filter that has never been exposed to water under 32* F, then you test that same filter after exposure to water under 32* F and see how much e. coli gets through.