BajaNomad - Southern Baja area: Water Filtration

Southern Baja area: Water Filtration

Mulegena - 9-12-2012 at 08:08 AM

We're looking to place a whole-house water filtration system on our home's water.

We want a gross sand and rock filtration as the water enters into our cistern. As the water leaves the cistern for the house we want a series of 2-3 filters of varying grades that'll clean out fine sediment, bacteria and micro-organisms.

I know these systems are readily available stateside, but we're down here. We don't want a reverse osmosis system, btw.

Anybody in La Paz or even Cabo know if such a system is available for purchase down there?

[Edited on 9-13-2012 by Mulegena]

bajaguy - 9-12-2012 at 08:15 AM

Go to some place that deals with yachts and ask about a UV system........place some replaceable filter pre-treatment sediment filters in front of the UV system.

If you can't find anything locally, try this:

http://www.waterfixercompany.com/model1000.html

Use this system at our place, works great.

Mulegena - 9-12-2012 at 08:23 AM

Yes, thank you, BajaGuy.

You've educated me about this wonderful system and I may buy it.
If we can find something comparable down here would be great.

Thanks for the tip about the yachties. :light:

Pescador - 9-12-2012 at 08:30 AM

We have a person in San Bruno who just opened up a water treatment facility and sells fillings for garrafones, and he purchased all of his equipment in Mexico. You might want to talk to him and get the information and even though he has a bigger system than you need, he could at least give you the contact information. He took early retirment from the Gypsum mine on the island and invested in this system. He is just south of the Catholic church in San Bruno.

Osprey - 9-12-2012 at 12:43 PM

What's the bad stuff in the water? What terrible things happened to you and others in Mulege that came from the local wells?

Baja well water for village use has been, as far as I know, up and down the peninsula, pure enough that it supports a lot of homes without special treatment. Do you have some issues because of the river that make the local well water there a problem for people if untreated, unfiltered? If so, doesn't the village attend to that for everyone who has service? Purified water for drinking, in 5 gallon garrafones here, is 10 pesos -- that water is treated 3 ways for us cheap-picky drinkers.

For almost 20 years now I haven't bothered to treat city water that runs through my 1500 gallon pila and it's just a big concrete box. No problems in the house, the pipes or my personal pipes.

Just curious M'lady.

Mulegena - 9-12-2012 at 02:59 PM

Hey, Osprey, good to hear from you!

The town's well-water is au naturale, straight outta the ground into holding tanks then through the pipes and into the homes. The river water never enters the water supply.

This is good and bad, as I see it. Good, 'cause its not chlorinated or touched by chemicals, but bad because there's the possibility of organisms. People who do drink the water also go to the pharmacy and take a purge a couple times a year, just in case they've picked up hitchhikers. Also, kinda bad, is the water is chockfull of sediment. White clothes never come out white, even with bleach, and colored clothes are always dingy. The bottom of the washers all have dark sand in 'em.

So, those are my two concerns: micro-organisms and dirty shirts!

Mulegena - 9-12-2012 at 04:03 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Pescador
We have a person in San Bruno who just opened up a water treatment facility and sells fillings for garrafones, and he purchased all of his equipment in Mexico. You might want to talk to him and get the information and even though he has a bigger system than you need, he could at least give you the contact information. He took early retirment from the Gypsum mine on the island and invested in this system. He is just south of the Catholic church in San Bruno.

Thanks for that reminder, Pescador.
We can go look him up or see what the two companies in Mulege use.

I understand that reverse osmosis for home use is quite expensive to set up and uses alot of water; does this mean water is wasted? UV filtering is good and economical but may not destroy all the micro-organisms swimming around as they can be hidden by sediment in the water.

Basically, we'd like a relatively inexpensive system that's effective. The price of 5-gallon garafon water has more than doubled and I find it hard to lug around that much weight, too.

durrelllrobert - 9-12-2012 at 07:11 PM

have you considered a Diatomaceous earth filter as used on swimming pools and hot tubs in the US and in Mexico. A pool company should be able to set you up.
www.nesc.wvu.edu/.../diatomaceous_dwfsom39

Spanish term or phrase: filtros de diatomeas
En los filtros de arena se recomienda realizar un contralavado para evitar el apelmazamiento de la arena. En los filtros de diatomeas, hay que realizar una lavado a contracorriente, eliminar las diatomeas sucias, abrir el filtro, limpiar los elementos filtrantes internos con detergente, sustituir las partes rotas y dejar el filtro abierto.

water

captkw - 9-12-2012 at 07:23 PM

the unit that baja guy posted is nice but your first (PRE-FILTER) IS GONNA HAVE TO BE A HELL OF LOT BIGGER THAN 5 MICRON !!! THAT SIZE IN MOST SYTEMS WOULD GET PLUGGLED DAILY...JUST A SAYING !! BUT WE USE A LOT OF DIFFERENT SYSTEMS IN YACHTS...JUST DO A BIT OF WEB SEARCH....K&T :cool:

bajaguy - 9-12-2012 at 07:49 PM

I use two whole house pre filters before the UV system. Those filters are cheap.

Water then goes through the UV system consisting of ANOTHER sediment filter, a charcoal filter then the UV light.....those pesky micro-organisims don't have a chance once they hit that UV chamber!!!!

water filtration

Shimmer - 9-12-2012 at 08:19 PM

www.aguadebaja.com

great system. 612 157 7695. Chris.

They are in La Paz, and offer several options... one includes a water softner aspect. Just put one in my personal home and one in one of my remodels. I am more than pleased. these systems were designed specifically for southern baja hard water.

Mulegena - 9-12-2012 at 09:39 PM

Thank you, Shimmer, for your link.
I wish the company well. They have a good product and as you stated its geared to Baja's needs,
but wow! kinda pricey

[Edited on 9-13-2012 by Mulegena]

water filtration

Shimmer - 9-13-2012 at 04:45 AM

Its true... The price on the whole house systems is expensive. As a home builder and property manager, one of the problems we find here is the build up of deposits in water heaters, valves, float valves, shower heads, dish washers, and copper pipes.... all needing to be serviced/ replaced in unbelievable short intervals. The watersoftening aspect of the system over time will more pay its high price back, when you consider cost of labor and materials to combat these perpetual malfunctions. I understand your feeling on the price it appears / is seemingly high without taking these issues into account. I am told there are other systems in La paz for sale but dont know them. This one was referred to me, came with outstanding references and I put them in. Persist and I am sure your product will be found.

Bob and Susan - 9-13-2012 at 05:28 AM

actually my neighbor tested the town water...
its clean
only dirt and sand ...NO bugs

the problem occurs when people store the water in black tanks without clorinating it OR covering it

the water at the pump is clorinated after its pumped
but not enough to store it

the water DOES have ALOT of calcium in it (its hard water)
your rock system will clog in 2 years because of the calcium

a diatamatious earth filter wont work either...
my diatamatious earth pool filter filters water...

but to clean water it has to go thru the filter several times
one time is NOT enough to clean water

every three months we have to take the filter apart and scrub the calcium off the grids
if not cleaned the grids will clog

personally...i think you are worring too much about the town water...
it's fine
i watch the town water come out of the pump every other day
its really clean

just get a clorinator for your storage tank and you'll be good to go...

or just get some clorine tablets and
throw one in once a week to keep the tank clean (standing water)

home depot in ensenada sells clorine tabs

latina - 9-13-2012 at 07:00 AM

I second "Aqua de Baja" on Madero in La Paz. We put the whole house filtration system in over 3 years ago and are %100 satisfied. Besides the obvious benefits, our faucets aren't clogging up monthly, we don't have lime stains on our tiles from floor washing and when you shower your body and hair actually feel "squeaky clean" instead of slimy... As for cost, we have a similar system in our home in Canada and it was three times as expensive....go figure...

CortezBlue - 9-13-2012 at 07:52 AM

I know many folks in San Felipe who drink the water from the tap without any filtration. The water comes out of the mountains above San Felipe, and the water test show that the water is clean, however, my concern is the delivery method. Here in the USA we use back flow prevention devices. These devices keep standing water from backing up into the water supply via irrigation systems etc. These are not used in Mexico, so even with clean water, during the delivery process, it is possible that chemicals and raw sewage and find it's way into the water supply.

I actually put in a small water pump that I purchased on amazon that connects a long straw into a 5 gallon water bottle. I plumbed my ice make and a water faucet in the kitchen to get clean bottled water. I haul 2 5 gallon bottles back and fourth from Fenix and refill them for about $1 per 5 gallons.

http://www.amazon.com/Flojet-BW1000A-Bottled-Dispensing-Syst...

Works great and I don't have to waste 2 or 3 gallons of water to get one gallon using an under sink RO system.

[Edited on 9-13-2012 by CortezBlue]

oladulce - 9-13-2012 at 08:34 AM

Great question Mulegena and thanks for the info about Agua de Baja Shimmer.

I'm curious about the frequency of filter changes and Wooo has other questions-gonna contact them.

Dang it, BigWooo has installed a Water Fixer system in the new casa but he hasn't finished the plumbing or electrical yet so it hasn't been used. I sure like the anti-scale feature on the Blue Angel treatment system and Mr. solar-Watt-monitor likes that it doesn't need electricity like our UV set-up.

I don't know how our water in central BCS compares to the mineral levels in the South. I've never lined-dried laundry before we moved here- is it normal for towels to be stiff as a board and jeans so taut you can stand them up after they've been on the line? If it's the water, it's scary to think what our plumbing and kidneys are going to look like so the cost of the system might not be so bad in the long run.

We're lucky to have pristine, sweet water that comes straight from the well and delivered to our cisterna but the weak link is the delivery truck. Our water guy is a wonderful man but his pipa has seen better days and i'd be afraid to look inside his tank. Watching the old truck with the hose coiled up on the back bouncing down the dusty roads makes me wonder where else that hose goes between our tank fill ups.

Mulegena, if we switch to the Agua de Baja equipment we might have an unused Water Fixer system available if you're interested.

Air dry

bajaguy - 9-13-2012 at 09:41 AM

We air dry our clothes here in Carson City and also in Baja.....same stiff as a board in towels and denim fabric at both places, everything else is OK.

If you want "fluffy" towels, the best option is a clothes dryer, but then, defeats the purpose

ncampion - 9-13-2012 at 11:34 AM

Try these guys, they have an office in Cabo. Did good for me.

http://h2obaja.com/

Marinero - 9-15-2012 at 07:16 AM

What is the objection to R/O? If mounted near the pila the excess water can be returned with little or no loss. The R/O water is sent to point of use by small hoses after visiting an accumulator tank.

Reeljob - 9-15-2012 at 07:26 AM

Have used a "Waterfixer" on several boats to clean the dock water before putting in the fresh water tank. Never a problem.

Just couple weeks ago saw a `135' mega in Cabo that had a Water Fixer connected between the dock water and the boat.

RnR - 9-15-2012 at 08:06 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Marinero
What is the objection to R/O? If mounted near the pila the excess water can be returned with little or no loss. The R/O water is sent to point of use by small hoses after visiting an accumulator tank.

This scenario would APPEAR to work, for a while......

Reverse Osmosis, RO, works by using pressure to extract pure water from the feed water. The feed water has a certain amount of dissolved solids in it when it enters the RO treatment chamber. The pressure on the feed water forces pure water molecules through the RO membrane while the dissolved solids are retained on the feed water side of the membrane. As the pure water leaves the feed water, the concentration of the dissolved solids increases in the remaining feed water. As the concentration in the feed water rises, equilibrium is reached which the system operating pressure and no more pure water will pass through the membrane.

The only solution is to increase the pressure or reduce the concentration of the dissolved solids on the feed water side. This is where the waste water comes into play. Flushing and replacing the high concentration feed water from the RO chamber with new, low concentration, feed water allows the process to resume.

So, simply returning the waste stream to the pila will eventually raise the dissolved solids concentration in the entire pila to the point at which the pressure/solids equilibrium is reached once again and the system will cease to function.

RO is primarily intended to separate dissolved solids from the feed water and not micro-organisms. Micro-organisms larger than the pore size in the RO membrane will be separated while those smaller than the pore size will pass right on through. This is why additional UV treatment of the processed RO water is recommended.

Marinero - 9-15-2012 at 10:09 AM

In reply to RnR, I have run a 6 gallon accumulator tank for over 5 years. My pila is fairly large and that,together with other usage, seems to prevent any build-up. And, R/O water tastes good. Btw, undersink units might not be the best bargain anyway, on account of short lifespan.

RnR - 9-15-2012 at 01:19 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Marinero
In reply to RnR, I have run a 6 gallon accumulator tank for over 5 years. My pila is fairly large and that,together with other usage, seems to prevent any build-up. And, R/O water tastes good. Btw, undersink units might not be the best bargain anyway, on account of short lifespan.

Re-using the RO waste water in this manner is actually a very good solution.

If the pila is replenished with fresh water and if the majority of the pila water is used for other uses such as toilets, showering, gardening, etc, the small addition of the RO waste water will not affect the overall quality of the pila water supply.

Agua De Baja

sully242 - 1-16-2017 at 12:04 PM

Based upon the above discussion, I installed the 5 Star Blue Angel whole house system 2 years ago from Agua de Baja. I have not had any issues and drink water straight from the facet, hose, shower, wherever without worries. It is a bit expensive, and you could probably build our own if you buy all the parts and the correct filters in the States. Very simple set up and easy to replace filters.