UV Water Filter

[Steve and MA]

We have a Clearsource Ultra water filter and Blu Tech water softener mounted in our TV.   We rarely connect the trailer directly to city water and instead fill its fresh tank with filtered and softened water.  We've been wanting to add a UV water filter for drinking water, but until recently haven't found one that uses 12v power that we liked. Blu Tech recently introduced their UVC Purification Faucet and it's just what we were looking for. UV water filters haven't been discussed very much on this forum, and since this is a new product there's not much information about it on the internet.  We decided to go for it anyway. This YouTube video review was posted earlier today, about a week after we bought one.

You may ask, why do we want a UV filter?  It makes sense for us because we don't want to carry around disposable bottles of drinking water. We want to be confident that our filtered and softened tap water is safe for drinking.  Since our "pure" water sits in a reservoir for a week or longer, even if unlikely, microbial contamination is still possible.  The UV filter is our final defense against pathogens.

The install in our Oliver was very easy. It does require drilling a hole in the countertop, but the Blu Tech UVC faucet looks like it belongs there. The kit came with a 120 volt AC adapter that supplies the UVC faucet with 12 volts DC at 2 amps. We don't always run the inverter and we're not always on shore power. For our install we ditched the AC adapter and purchased a DC5521 connector so we could wire directly to a 12 volt circuit.  The Norcold refrigerator is on a 20 amp fuse, so we tapped into its power supply and added a 3 amp fuse at the splice.  Blu Tech doesn't supply a separate DC5521 connector for direct wiring, and we didn't want to cut it off from the supplied ac adapter in case we need to send it back.  Besides the DC connector, we also had to purchase the parts to tie it into our freshwater line. The faucet requires 1/4 inch PEX. We inserted a threaded t-connector with a 1/4 inch PEX fitting in-between the existing cold water PEX to braided stainless faucet fitting under the sink.  

After installation I saw that the counterweight for the kitchen faucet hose bumped against the new t-connector.  We used zip ties to hold the water lines away from the counterweight when it goes up/down. 

So far so good. A blue light glows at the faucet base when the water is running.  The style of the faucet is a close match to the original. 

 

[Mike and Carol]

That looks like a great solution!  We also fill our fresh tank with softened water but don’t use it for drinking.  I carry a small water softener and a Culligan filter to use at the campsite when we use city water.  For drinking, we usually carry large plastic bottles from Costco.  They get dumped straight into the Berkey before we drink it.  The additional concern for us is the large amount of micro and nano plastics that are found in bottled water.  Berkey told me their charcoal filters get most of the plastics and that their new ceramic filters are tested for and are very effective against the plastics.  Plastics are being found in arterial blockages, the brain, tumors and organs.  Bottled water is especially high.  Mike

[Ronbrink]

My solution, Lifesaver Jerrycan for drinking water and ice. It can easily be refilled from the freshwater tank during extended travels, but in a pinch designed to adequately filter the worst of waters (think survival situations).

[DanielBoondock]

Great solution - I love the Blutech stuff. We’ve got the filter unit with UV, and the softener and iron tank. For inside the camper I’ve thought about adding that but don’t like drilling holes. 

But now they’ve got a new solution for hooking into your existing faucet. When the Black Friday deals come around this year I’ll probably pick this up. 

[John and Jodi]

@Steve and MA and @Mike and Carol,

Would you explain your setups a little more please? I'm currently researching water filtration and softening systems and would like more info about the TV setup, how your systems work with the Oliver water system, and any challenges such as cold weather or boondocking. I have a F-150 Powerboost so I have power in my TV. I like the UV faucet idea at the sink for drinking water but would benefit from some photos of the electrical hookup.

[Mike and Carol]

John, my setup is pretty simple.  I run a hose from the camp water outlet to a simple Culligan filter or Camco blue filter, then a short hose to connect to a small water softener, then into the city water port.

 

On Amazon: Water Softener

Mike