Whole house water filter

[Franksteer]

Thinking of installing a whole house water filter in my wet bay. We now only relied on a blue Camco filter at the water source. Up to now we carry bottled water witch is a pain in the but, I purchased a culligan under the sink filter. We use a lot of water. Just wondering what other RVers are using?

[Lv2Roam2]

As full-timers we use a whole house filter, then drinking water is filtered again using a 3M under-sink filter, and then the frig water/ice is filtered w/an in-frig filter.

We also treat our FW tank and lines twice a year with recommended chlorine flush and then replace all filters. We also use a portable water softener that really helps.

[Wayne M]

We also have the whole house built into the wet bay, frig filter and under sink filter. Everywhere we have traveled the water has not had a bad taste. The whole house filter in the wet bay is just the standard one filter system that is common in hardware stores.

[rk911]

we have a factory installed whole-house but if the MH hadn't come with one i doubt we would've purchased one.

[ThomB]

I don’t have the room to install one but I built one from parts from Home Depot. It sits inside a 4” PVC pipe on a base just before the water softener. If I could have installed it someplace semi-permanent I would have done so.

[be happy]

I have the factory installed whole house filter, plus the under sink 3m for drinking water. I had one coach in the past that did not have the whole house, just the blue out side. I think the whole house does a better job.

If you do not have the room in the wet bay for one I have seen folks put the whole house filter on the outside with the hose hook up. They would make a stand, much like a Xmas tree stand , that would hold the filter upright. then just attach the white rv hoses to the filter. Seem to do just a good of job as the built in one.

[McCharlie]

When we first started to RV part time we used an inline pressure regulator, an inline filter at the water source and an under sink filter for drinking water. This worked okay but it did reduce the water flow and the drinking water was at time still unpalatable. I decided better flow and better taste were needed to improve our experience. I now use a Renator adjustable pressure regulator and a Clearsource water filter. The adjustable regulator allows for a better flow because it adjusts the incoming pressure as opposed to restricting the flow. The 2 canister Clearsource does not restrict the flow and does improve the taste, smell and feel (in the shower). We do have the option of installing a filter under the sink but at this point I have installed a bypass plug and don't think I will reinstall a filter there.

[macnut]

We also use a high quality pressure regulator and the ClearSource filter and love the improved water flow. I also love being able to swap out the filters when washing my rig for deionized water and spotless rinsing.

[JoeC]

I have a class C MH and no wet bay, but always use a whole house filter with carbon filter to filter all water going into my MH, either FW tank or city hookup. I just bought 3/4" brass garden hose adaptors for a standard whole house filter cannister and built it. It attaches to the side of the RV's water inlet and the food grade "garden hose" connects to the source. The galley faucet cold water get an additional carbon filtration on the cold water. I have a low taste tolerance for "bad water" found all over the country. And all that filtration can't hurt either for just pennies per gallon. Been doing this for more than 4 years and 40,000 miles.

[AFChap]

I added a whole house sediment filter after having sand in the shower … not built in, just between the shore water & the coach. I use a RV-SED1 from The Water Filter Store online. We also have a charcoal filter inside for ice maker & drinking water.

[puttin]

If you're on most municipal water sources there's not much need to filter it, unless the chlorine bothers you. If you're boon docking or hooked up to a private well however- that is where I'd be more careful. Also in the southwest where the water is hard and full of salts, etc.

[Magnum108]

Ahhh, water filtration. Three reasons, taste, dirt, hardness. It takes three systems to ensure it is clean. To make sure the chlorine and other chemicals are neutralized to get better tase, you need a charcoal wholehouse filter. To rid yourself of the dirt and rust, you need a sediment wholehouse filter. And to make sure you get the calcium and hardness under control, especially in the west, you need a portable water softener. Our set up, starting the spigot, is a pressure regulator, hose, a sediment filter in a wholes house canister conected ahead of an on-the-go portable water softener and then the charcoal wholehouse in the wet bay. We also have a filter in our residential refrigerator water dispenser.

[sajohnson]

Like many RVers, we initially used the blue Camco filters. We stopped using them after a short time, because:

* They are relatively expensive
* They become clogged quickly
* Oddly, while they are quick to become restrictive, they only filter down to 100 microns
* Camco claims the blue filter will remove certain contaminants, but water flow must be reduced to <0.5 gpm. 0.5 gpm is a typical rate for filters with a "NSF 53" rating, but regardless of whether Camco's claims are accurate, a half gallon a minute is awfully slow when filling a fresh tank that may be 30-100 gallons or more.

So as a practical matter, the Camco is an expensive, relatively ineffective, sediment filter that clogs quickly.

1) We replaced the Camco with a standard (2.5 x 10") clear filter housing and use one (1.0) micron filters that are rated to flow 5 gpm. Look for spun polypropylene. The brand doesn't matter (but it's best to stick with name brands). Pentek is good quality and reasonably priced.

In order to connect the filter housing we bought:

* 2 each brass 'garden hose' to 3/4" male adapters. (The mfr assumes the housing will be installed in a home with typical 3/4" pipe).

* A NSF rated 'drinking water safe' washer hose. 6' long, with a stainless steel braid covering. That connects the housing to the "city water" inlet.

* A short section of heavy duty garden hose with a thick steel wire wrapped around it as a strain relief. That provides a connection that will turn freely (the brass adapter obviously won't) and, if we can get within 6' or so, it allows us to connect the filter to the spigot without getting out a drinking water hose.

The 1 micron filter easily lasts all season, and we have the added benefit of being able to see the water as it flows through.

2) We use a PUR faucet mount filter. They are actually very effective filters. They have an NSF 53 rating and will remove/reduce *dozens* of contaminants.

One filter usually lasts a whole season. One year, when sanitizing the system I made the mistake of using a hose that had just a small amount of very fine sediment in it, and I did not run the water through the sediment filter. Some of that sediment remained in the tank and was picked up by the pump. It clogged the PUR filter pretty quickly. Take away: If you use a PUR filter, definitely use a good sediment filter upstream of it -- 1 micron is preferred.

3) It's not really necessary, but we use a Brita pitcher. Brita filters are also very good -- NSF 53 -- and again, one filter lasts all season. We figured that we wanted a modest size pitcher to hold water anyway, so why not 'double filter' the drinking water?

That's our 3 stage system: sediment; PUR; Brita. Oh, and we get the filters in bulk at Costco. The PUR filters are about $7 each and the Brita about $3-$3.50 each.

For a home an under-sink system would make more sense because the filters last longer, but for our View the PUR & Brita works well. If we had an under-sink system we'd end up tossing the filters at the end of the season, so the cost would be more.

[cdrprn]

Our 2014 Itasca Suncruiser came with a 3m filter under the sink plumbed to a little faucet on the the countertop. We too used to carry cases of bottled water which was a pia. Our new Journey has the whole house filter and a 3m type under the residential fridge. So far so good but I recommend the best filter you can afford plumbed in for the best results. Don't forget to carry a spare filter cartridge.