Overview of the primary water purification filter market: features installation of devices, types and specifications of devices, manufacturers.
As you know, water contains dozens of all sorts of impurities. It is important, whether it is about water coming from the urban water treatment system or from the artesian well. Yves volume and in another case, there is a whole bouquet of contaminants, bringing not only our health, but also very sensitive home appliances. Therefore, without filters of primary (coarse) water purification can not do.
According to experts, the problem of water purification coming into our home water supply, to date, aggravated to the limit. Of course, water takes place on urban water treatment facilities a serious multi-stage treatment, but in everyday life we often face the effect of its "secondary infection". After all, plumbing communications in most cases have long exhausted their resource, and, accordingly, purified water, proceeding along many kilometers of old, rusty and rotten pipes, is saturated with rust, particles of dirt, various organic and other harmful impurities. Such water is unsuitable for drinking and also adds care to the farm, household appliances are broken, mixers fail, disgusting dark divorces appear on expensive plumbing, which are laundered with difficulty. It is aware of the water purification systems today in the literal sense of the word is vital. In addition to the material, we will talk about coarse filters that are put at the entrance of the water supply network in an apartment or house and are the most important component of any water supply system, regardless of the source used and water quality.
How and where you can make water analysis
Before you give a decent amount of money for a modern high-tech unit, it is advisable to make a preliminary study of the composition of water, which will determine from which impurities and pollution it is necessary to purify water, and which substances are located there within the normal range. From this will depend, whether you will be limited to only mechanical water purification.Perhaps a jar or a bottle (it is better to take a bottle from under peeled drinking water with low mineralization) 1,5-2l water should be dial, they will serve as a model for analysis. Capacity and cover from it must be thoroughly rinsed with the water that you will suffer to the study (and in no case use no detergent!). Before the sample fence, it is recommended to drain water from the system (approximately for 10 minutes) in order to remove the stagnant water from the pipelines. Filling the bottle, it is necessary to close it tightly and in the very near future (no later than 12 hours later) attributed to the district SES, the local department of the Vodokanal or one of the independent research laboratories. It is important to keep in mind that when fenced samples from urban or village networks, the composition of water may vary throughout the day due to the unevenness of water consumption.
For such an analysis, depending on its complexity, you will have to pay from 500 to 3500 rubles. Now, knowing, as they say, the enemy in the face can be searched for the choice of the corresponding weapon-modern filter system. To properly determine the composition and performance of the water treatment plant, it is necessary to take into account the following circumstances: there is at your disposal expensive household appliances, which makes special requirements for the quality of water used; Seasonally or constantly in the house people live; What is the average and peak amount of water consumed daily.
Installing filters
Coarse filters are mounted on entering the pipeline to a house or apartment. To do this, the piece is cut into the pipe that feeds the water, and the filter is installed on its place. Before him can be a consumption counter. Entering for apartments in high-rise buildings are risers, hidden usually in a technical cabinet in the toilet or bathroom (although sometimes they are located in the kitchen). If only one bathroom is equipped with a dwelling, and therefore there are two risers (hot and cold), then two filters are required for hot and cold water. However, in some cottages and modern planning apartments, there are at least two pairs of distribution of risers, in which case the filters will need more - each riser on the filter. In order to be conveniently removed and cleaned the filtering device, as well as if necessary, change the items, it is important in the process of mounting the device to provide shut-off valves. It is advisable to place them before the filter and behind it.
When the device is installed, water coming into the house passes through its filter element. The latter most often represents any porous or cellular material, which is delaying mechanical impurities of a certain size. It should be borne in mind that the diameter of the pipes in homes is different. Therefore, before purchasing a filter, you need to measure the diameter of the incoming pipe in your apartment. The manufacturer of water treatment systems usually there are several options for connecting (the most common in everydayted 1/2 3/4, but 1-2-inch and more are also found). If you still mistaken in size, do not be mistaken. You can solve the problem by purchasing a special adapter of the desired diameter.
Before you choose a filter, you need to find out at what section of the pipe is planned to install the device - horizontal or vertical. Note, not all manufacturers have such models that are simultaneously suitable for both vertical and horizontal installation. As for the process of the installation itself, it should not be independently necessary. But the "dear" specialist to call at all not necessarily the task is completely on the shoulder and ordinary plumbing. Especially since the company where you get the equipment must necessarily provide you with detailed instructions, where it is described what, how and where to install.
The filter element is inserted into the housing, often resembling the flask. Choosing a device, you need to know that filters for hot and cold water have excellent cases from each other. After all, they "work" they are at different temperatures, which means they are made from different materials. So, for the flasks under cold water it is quite suitable for polymer material. The car of the hot water filter housing must be high strength, so they make them from bronze, brass, steel or reinforced nylon. The device whose flask is designed for cold water, in no case cannot be installed on a hot riser. But the hot water filters are also suitable for cold, but more roads.
Today, manufacturers offer such types of water purification filters, such as mesh, cartridges (or cartridge) and sediment.
Ivan Kotenhev, Rusklimat Termo Engineer:
"When choosing a company for a quantitative physicochemical water analysis, it is better to give preference to independent research laboratories with an appropriate license. They are usually equipped with a more advanced set of equipment, they are highly professionally and are absolutely impartial to the results obtained. In addition, before going to the laboratory, it will be reasonable to obtain a specialist consultation, which will indicate the optimal type of analysis to determine the quality of water. In many respects, it depends on the source and purpose of the water supply system, as well as on the requirements of the manufacturers you use the household appliances. "
Mesh filters
The device is a metal grid placed in a hermetic case. The size of the mesh cells fluctuates, as a rule, from 20 to 600 microns and causes its filtering ability. Such models can be used for quite a long time, but they need to be periodically removed and rinsed, which, you see, someone will seem like a rather troublesome occupation. Cleaning the filter grid is carried out by the design of devices in its own way. So, in the simplest modifications, the mesh element is removed from the housing (for which the flask is dismantled or unscrew the grid itself; while it is necessary to overlap water in the feed pipe for a while), then manually clean it and washed under the water. The whole procedure usually takes from a few minutes to half an hour, if, of course, you have the necessary tools at hand (for example, the appropriate wrench).If the filters are installed on both pipes (hot and cold), it is necessary to rinse them in turn. How often it will be necessary to do, depends on the quality of water and, of course, from the state of the pipeline in the house. However, in addition to periodic cleaning, other inconveniences of the device of this design will not deliver the user.
Among the mesh filters there are also samples with an automated flushing drive. Such devices are called reverse flushing filters. Self-cleaning devices do not need to disassemble and wash the dirt every time is washed off by the flow of water, which goes in the opposite direction. To clean the filter, in some models it is enough to open a drain tap at the bottom of the installation. The result is a pressure drop between the input and drain, and the filter element, squeezing the spring, is shifted down and puts forward the so-called backup grid to the working zone. Water begins to go through this clean part of the grid. Then the filtered water enters the inside of the grid, where the turbine is installed, and, evenly distributing the flow, flushes the accumulated mechanical particles. After closing the drain crane, the spring returns the grid to its original position. The whole process takes about 20 seconds. The price of such filters ranges from $ 250 to $ 1000. The device is optimal for cleaning from mechanical inclusions, suitable for both hot and cold water, and the internal cartridge can be used for years.
There is a cheaper option of semi-automatic filters (from $ 50). They do not have a reverse wash system, but they have a special drain tap, allowing periodically to remove the dirt accumulated in the sump. When washing self-cleaning devices, the hose should be summed up to the drainage junction so that all waste ished into the sewer. Understand when it's time to wash the filter, it is very easy: if the pressure in the plumbing fell, then the time has come.
The market also presents models of washing devices with pressure gauges, which allow you to find out the degree of cloghood of the filter. Pressure gauges stand at the entrance and output of the device and show what the pressure drop is currently. Manufacturers, as a rule, check the flasks for maximum pressure, and in the technical data sheet of the product should be given. For example, there are filters capable of withstanding the pressure from 16 to 25bar. Many mesh filters are also equipped with such a device as a pressure reducer that limits the water pressure at the entrance to the apartment pipeline. In general, the working pressure on the network should not exceed 6bar, but sometimes hydrowoods occur in our plumbing systems. They lead to short-term double (or even more) increase in pressure on which household appliances are not calculated. The gearbox smoothes these oscillations and thereby contributes to the extension of the service life of sanitary fittings.
On the Russian market, net filters offer Bugatti, Honeywell Braukmann, Herz (Austria), RBM, Tiemme (Italy), OVENTROP, SYR (Germany) and others. And the most reliable and structurally thoughtful, according to experts, are products manufactured by Honeywell Braukmann.
Characteristics of some mesh filters
| Manufacturer | Model | Maximum pressure, bar | Water temperature, with | Cell size, μm | Design features | Price, |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Honeywell Braukmann (Austria) | F74C. | fifteen | thirty | 50, 100 and 200 | Installation is possible both on the vertical and horizontal part of the pipeline. | 130-180 |
| F76S. | 25. | Until 70. | 20, 50, 100, 200, 300 and 500 | Makes the installation of automatic reverse flushing drive | 350-900 | |
| FF06. | sixteen | Up to 40. | 100 | Self-cleaning, with a transparent flask | fifty | |
| Bugatti (Austria) | 170. | sixteen | Up to 150. | 400, 500, 600 | Metal housing non-surging | four |
| RBM (Italy) | 991. | sixteen | Up to 100. | 800. | Metal housing non-surging | 7. |
| 989 DN 15. | sixteen | Up to 100. | 100 | Metal housing non-surging | eight | |
| SYR (Germany) | Drufi Logic | sixteen | Up to 120. | 95-125 | Makes the installation of automatic reverse flushing drive | 243. |
| HERZ (Austria) | 1411142. | sixteen | Up to 100. | 300. | Self-cleaning | eighteen |
| OVENTROP (Germany) | Aguanova Compact R. | sixteen | Up to 30. | 100 | Self-cleaning, with pressure reducer | 120. |
| Rastelli (Italy) | DN15 | twenty | Up to 120. | 400. | Coupling | 150. |
| DN20. | twenty | Up to 120. | 500. | Coupling | 200. |
Cartridge filters
They are collapsible, usually a transparent flask in which the filter element (or cartridge) is inserted. To date, such models are produced in three sizes: 5, 10 and 20 (although 5-inch are rarely used). The device body is two types: Slim Line (thin) and Big Blue (thick). The size of the filter affects its performance and cartridge service frequency. From above on the flask there are special holes intended for fastening the device to the wall using special brackets. Transparent flask allows you to visually assess the degree of contamination of the filtering cartridge.Among cartridge devices can highlight the filament filters. The filtering medium in them is made from the Kapron thread or reinforced nylon. The cord is wound on the mesh frame tube as well as simple threads on the coil. The higher the cord and winding density, the higher the efficiency of the device. Such cartridges purify water better than mesh models, since their filtering capacity is approaching 0.5 microns, but mostly in the apartments set more "coarse" filters (5 or 10 μm). However, the filament cartridge can even be applied in cases where there is a suspension or sand in the water. The device with this problem is perfectly coping with. Such filters are usually used only for cold water (indicators of their operating temperature are low to 60s) and are designed for pressure in the system up to 7 atm. From the hot water, the cord swells and increases in size, which naturally reduces its filtering ability.
Requires, petal, sorption, propylene and other cartridge filters are quite widespread. Some models are equipped with an automatic flushing system. But experts believe that a similar function in cartridge devices is little effective, and therefore, when the filtering cartridge is contaminated, it is better to replace it with a new one.
Cartridge filters are released by USFilter, Keystone, Flowmatik (USA), Honeywell Braukmann (Austria), Overtrop (Germany), Cuno (France), Atlas, TGI (Italy), New Water (Russia) and others.
I have a single nuance: replaceable cartridges are not always suitable in size to filters of different manufacturers. Apotoma when replacing the cartridge, it is advisable to use the product of the firm that produced the device. In cases, it is possible to insert a cartridge in a "alien" filter, but if you count on a long and uninterrupted device operation, it's better not to do this.
Characteristics of some cartridge filters
| Manufacturer | Model | Size of filtered particles, microns | Design features | Performance, l / min | Price, |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Filter (USA) | CP5-20VV | More than 1, more than 5, more than 10 | Lepalic | 38-36. | 10-30 |
| NCP-20BB. | More than 10. | Lepalic | 9,5-38 | 10-30 | |
| Atlas (Italy) | Senior Plus. | 0.5-100 | Transparent flask | - | sixteen |
| "New Water" (Russia) | NV-P. | - | Transparent flask | - | thirty |
| NV-SG | - | Stainless steel housing | - | 240. | |
| Atoll (USA) | A-11SE. | More than 10. | Lepalic | Up to 40. | 44. |
| A-12SE H | More than 5. | - | Up to 30. | 149. | |
| Pentek (Germany) | PBH-410. | 1-200. | With output pressure manometer | 56.8. | 216. |
Sediment filters
Devices consist of a cylinder for filling filtering medium (quartz sand, granite crumb) and control unit. Filters of this type are multifunctional, efficient, but rather bulky and not cheap. Used mainly in cottages, private houses and other large objects, where peak performance is required from 0.7 m3 / h (one fully open or two-open taps) to 1 m3 / h and higher, and water parsing mode involves significant filter loads. For the operation of the devices, pressure is needed more than 2bar, and the pressure loss on the filter is noticeable - about 0.4bar.All installations for cleaning the water of a falling type, regardless of the manufacturer, are almost the same. They can serve as a mechanical cleaning filter (backing of quartz sand) and acidity proofreading (backing of calcium; Calsite, CorosEx models or a deceives filter (catalytic belling; BIRM, FILOX IDR.).
The filter properties of the medium of sedimentary filters are periodically restored by flushing with the reverse flow of water produced in automatic mode. At the same time, accumulated in the deposit filter is discharged into drainage. The installation of such a device is a matter, let's say straight, quite complicated, and only a qualified specialist should perform it.
Filters are installed near the input trunk tube. However, there is no need to be anything directly in the speech pipe directly. The device is located next to the pipe and connects with it a special hose system. In the Russian market, sedimentary filters of Kinetico, Ecowater Systems, USFilter (USA) and others are presented. There are models with automatic control. All teams applies to the microprocessor, and only one day to specify the rigidity of the water and periodically add a mustache salt to periodically (again by the microprocessor signal).
Characteristics of some sediment filters
| Manufacturer | Model | Performance, l / h | Failure volume, l | Price, $ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kinetico (USA) | ST60 / PF (AG) | 1100. | 20/20 | 1430. |
| ST2000 / PF (CERAMIC) | 2700. | 28/28. | 3900. | |
| ECOWATER SYSTEMS (USA) | ETF 2100 PF-10 | 670-1100 | 128-35 | 1000. |
| ETF 2100 PF-12 | 900-1900. | 57. | 1260. | |
| US Filter (USA) | 2510 1252 MME-150 | 1500. | - | 798. |
| 25101450mme-200 | 2000. | - | 1030. | |
| Dolphin (Russia) | UYOV-1 | 1000. | - | - |
The editors thanks Rusklimat Termo, Structure-Bugatti and the Star Research and Production Center for help in the preparation of material.