Recovery Engineering
Recovery Engineering produces water filters, purifiers and desalinators.
While you may never have heard of Recovery Engineering, you surely have
heard of PUR, Recovery Engineering’s line of personal water filters and
purifiers.
Of course,
we couldn’t take the usual "screw-onto-the-sink-faucet" model
with us on our bike trip. We needed a purification system that would do
more than take lead and chlorine out of potable water. We needed a system
that would let us pump water out of a rain gutter, stock pond, or puddle
and give us drinkable water. After all, some of the stretches on the TransAmerica
Trail don’t have drinking water for 75 miles or more. Carrying water for
what would be two days of riding would be an enormous amount of weight
("A pint’s a pound the world around," as they say.)
Normal water filters remove organisms over 1 micron in size, such as
Giardia. Microfilters remove organisms as small as .2 microns, the size
of most bacteria. A purifier eliminates all organisms larger than .004
microns, which includes all water-bourne viruses.
If you think a .004 micron water filter must be big and expensive,
think again. The PUR Voyageur weighs in at a svelte 11 ounces, and is less
than seven inches long. Despite its diminutive size, it can output a surprising
1 liter per minute (that’s a gallon every 3 minutes, 48 seconds for those
of you using the imperial system.) The replaceable cartridge will filter
roughly 200 gallons before needing to be replaced.
If you want to be in the outdoors (or most South American countries)
and drink the water without getting really, REALLY sick, rely on one of
Recovery Engineering’s PUR water filtration and purification systems. You’ll
have a much more enjoyable trip!
Want to know more? Call 612-315-5500
