Author Archives: filter_guy

DIY 5 gallon slow sand filter (experiment) update

In September of last year a 5 gallon slow sand filter (filter 10a)  was set up. The orginal post is here. Since then 2 more filters have been added to the experiment. We call them filter 10b and 10c. They have been … Continue reading

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Backwashing a slow sand filter

If you “backwash” a slow sand filter, you will destroy it.  Backwashing is for rapid sand filters. I posted a bit of info on this about a year ago. I did not mention why backwashing will ruin a slow sand filter. Here … Continue reading

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DIY 5 gallon Slow sand filter update for February 2014

It is now February 7, 2014. At this location its been below freezing at night for all of February, and for the past 4 days not above freezing at all. On the 6th of Feb. at about 4:00 am, the low here … Continue reading

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Drought in the U.S. : what you can do

Water is becoming an issue here in the U.S. for a number of reasons : http://www.marketwatch.com/story/us-drought-hurts-cattle-crops-prices-heat-up-2014-02-07 http://www.opb.org/news/article/council-recommends-drought-declaration-for-4-ore-counties/ http://bigislandnow.com/2014/01/16/big-isle-drought-declaration-triggers-usda-loan-assistance/ http://www.usda.gov/wps/portal/usda/usdahome?contentidonly=true&contentid=drought_news.html Rain water harvesting is a way to store water. Even if it is only used for non-potable purposes, it still helps … Continue reading

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Rain water harvesting regulations in Ohio

This is an update from a previous post that has become so huge I will have to do something, not sure what yet. Anyway, here is the info on Ohio: Update, February 1, 2014 regarding Ohio: After checking the Ohio … Continue reading

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Harvest rainwater help alleviate the effects of Drought

There are places in the US where water is rapidly becoming an issue. California is in the midst of a severe drought. In other places, there are problems with water polluted from hydraulic fracturing  otherwise known as “fracking” and chemical spills. For some people, … Continue reading

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DIY 5 gallon slow sand filter update

The weather has warmed up here. For the past 2 weeks it has been above freezing most of the time. The 5 gallon filters have been running for 2 weeks. The output on all;  10a, 10b, and 10c; has cleared … Continue reading

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slow sand filters in freezing temperatures

Update December 8, 2013: The temperature got down to 10 degrees F here last night – this was the last measurement we had, it is likely that the temp was lower than that (we are not actually in Seattle, we are way … Continue reading

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Rain water harvesting is not illegal (lets keep it that way)

Update; March 21, 2014: We have found that nearly every state in the U.S. allows rain water harvesting by individual home owners. Only a few states have severe restrictions. This could all change if citizens do not stay involved in … Continue reading

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Sustainable water filtration

This blog, and the websites associated with it are an ongoing study of slow sand water filtration, which is a sustainable technology. In view of current events and the general decline of the quality of our environment on a local … Continue reading

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