Trying the Aquaguard Eliminator

I eventually managed to get my Aquaguard Eliminator and Source Convertube set up the way I wanted with the addition of the Valved Q/D insert. I took it out for a quick trial just to make sure everything worked as well in the real world as it did at home. As I expected it worked perfectly, it's so versatile I can't see me wanting to use anything else. There's no penalty as far as weight is concerned and the filter itself takes up very little space, any way here's the test.

Valved (Dry Break) Q/D Connectors

Valved and Plain Q/D connectors

I got my Q/D connectors from Tom Parker this morning. I'd ordered some Valve (Dry Break) bodies and Inserts and some spare open (non Valve) inserts. I hadn't ordered the threaded fittings, only the barbed type as I needed to keep the total value under £30 to avoid having to pay £26 for courier delivery, under £30 can be posted Royal Mail Recorded at £4.95.

The valved Q/D connectors are fantastic and do exactly what I wanted. To be honest with my set-up I only really need 1 valved fitting (bottom right above), the one that fits into the feed tube at the filter input side. The fitting is part number cAPCD 220-04. Using this means that I can disconnect the bladder from the filter and refill it without water spilling out the feed tube. I could have added a another valved connector to the filter at the input end, this would be a threaded (NPT) valved body, part number cAPCD 100-04. The one place that I definately couldn't use a valved connector is at the filter outlet end, it needs to remain open to allow you do decant from the bladder, through the filter into a pot once the bite valve side of the feed tube has been disconnected. I may order a valved, threaded body to the filter input side to prevent water draning from the filter in the rucksack when the bladder/bottle is disconnected.

The pics below illustrate the differences between the 4 different fittings, the valved ones are slightly longer. They can be mixed and matched to suit, valved insert to plain body, plain insert to valved body etc etc. You can see how well they work, even pressing on the bottle there's no leakage.



Mix 'n' Match





No Spills or Leaks


For my needs they make a fantastic product perfect.



I gave my set-up a test run today, like Springsteen I went down to the river. I'll post the video, Pt. 1 & 2 later.

Q/D Connectors for Aquaguard Eliminator

I had an e-mail from Giles (Butler) of Drink Safe Systems regarding the availability of additional Q/D connectors to enable you to swap the Aquaguard Eliminator filter between systems. The Q/D connectors are available from www.tom-parker.co.uk

Not only are the standard Q/D connectors available but 'Valved' Connectors are also available, these allow you to remove the filter from the feed tube without the risk water running out of the bladder.

The connectors come in 2 parts, the small push in part is listed as an 'Insert' the other part is listed as the 'Body' If you look at the pic above you can see that the fitting are opposing, one set (body & Insert) has the screw thread on the Body and the barbed end on the Insert, the other has the fittings reversed. The threaded end screws into the filter, the barbed end pushes into the feed tube. The reason they are opposing is that with the filter removed the feedtube can be clipped back together, bear this in mind when deciding which fittings you need.

The following part numbers appear to be the ones needed.

1/4 ID Valved Shut Off Body (Push in Barb) - cAPCD 17004S
1/4 ID Valved Shut Off Insert (Push in Barb) - cAPCD 220-04

1/4 ID Open Body (Supplied with Eliminator) (Push in Barb)- cAPC 17004S
1/4 ID Open Insert (Supplied with Eliminator) (Push in Barb)- cAPC 220-04

1/4 ID Valved Shut Off Body (Threaded, Pipe Thread) - cAPCD 100-04
1/4 ID Valved Shut Off Insert (Threaded, Pipe Thread) - cAPCD 240-04

1/4 ID Open Body (Supplied with Eliminator)(Threaded, Pipe Thread)
cAPC 100-04
1/4 ID Open Insert (Supplied with Eliminator) (Threaded, Pipe Thread)
cAPC 240-04

The page with the relevant fittings is linked to below.

APC Acetal Series - 1/4" Flow Q/D connectors


There's little difference in price between the Valved and Open bodies, the open inserts are quite a bit cheaper.

I've ordered some and will update when they arrive. For my set-up one Valved Insert (cAPCD 220-04) fitted to the feed tube before the filter should be sufficient allowing me to remove the filter prior to totally immersing the bottle/bladder to fill it without removing the filter/feed tube/Bite Valve from my rucksack. As the Valve will be closed no water can escape when carrying the filled bladder or reinserting it into the rucksack.

You can also get right angle inserts, both valved and open but only in Barbed Push in fitting. The part numbers are;

cAPCD 230-04 - 90 deg Valved - £6.47
cAPC 230-04 - 90 deg Open - £1.41

A complete set whether Valved or open consists of,

1x Barbed Insert
1x Barbed Body
1x Pipe Thread (NPT) Insert
1x Pipe Thread (NPT) Body

I've provided this information in good faith, if you have any doubt about the suitability of the products please seek advice from the retailer.

Source Convertube & Aquaguard Eliminator

Is this the most versatile Hydration/Filtration system available?

I recently bought an Aquaguard Eliminator inline filter to use with my Camelbak hydration system for a variety of reasons, not least because most of my packs don't have bottle pockets that are easily accessible on the move. If the truth be told I'm not a fan of in-pack hydration preferring bottles. The main complaint I have with in pack bladders is the difficulty of re-fitting them to a fully packed rucksack after re-filling. I read about the Source Widepac on Summit and Valley and when I checked the Source website I found something that looked as if it would provide the benefits of a hydration pack but with the advantages of a bottle, the Source Convertube.

The Convertube is basically a feed tube with a screw cap and a variety of adapters that allow you to convert various bottles to a feed tube hydration system. The flexible feed tube has an inner semi rigid tube that can be pulled out to fit most bottles. The standard cap fits most PET bottles (Mineral Water/Soft Drinks etc)and the adapters allow you to use Nalgene, Sigg and I think Laken bottles. The adapters are screwed to the bottle and the Convertube then screws to the adapter. The beauty of this set up is that the bottles with adapters attached can be sealed using a standard soft drink bottle cap, either plain or bike bottle style. I also discovered that the Nalgene bottle adapter fits an Ortlieb Bladder.



Feed Tube and Bottle Adapters



Sigg Bottle and Ortlieb Bladder with Nalgene adapter. Inset Soft Drink Cap and Bike Bottle style caps fitted.

My initial concern was that as the system isn't gravity assisted but requires you to actually suck the water up the feed tube it would be too difficult once the added resistance of the Eliminator inline filter was added.

In any case I decided to go ahead and cut the feed tube, as before I cut it half way along it's length and attached the Q/D fittings. There have been some concerns about the barbed section on the Q/D connectors being too small for Source feed tubes, the Widepac feed tube in particular but I had no problems with the Convertube.

I'm pleased to be able to report that even with the filter fitted, drawing water from the bottle isn't a problem.


Another potential problem then came to mind. The Eliminator filter can be used as a gravity feed to decant water into a pot for cooking. This clearly wouldn't work when using the Convertube as the part of the feed tube that extends into the bottle would be above the water level once the bottle was turned upside down. This turned out to be a non issue. There are 3 ways around the problem.

1. Simply squeeze the bottle to force water up the feed tube and through the filter.
2. Syphon the water out of the bottle by keeping the bottle above the level of the filter and sucking water through to start it off.
3. By pushing the pick-up tube back into the feed tube (leave about 2" sticking out to make it easy to withdraw it again) the bottle can be turned upside down without the pick up tube being above the water level.

Method 1 obviously won't work with rigid bottles such as Sigg but methods 2 and 3 work perfectly well.



Squeezing the Bottle to force water through system.



Syphon Feed.



Gravity Feed.



Pick-up tube shortened by pushing it into the feed tube.


That sorts the issue of hydration using bottles, I can carry a few PET bottles in the pockets on my pack and simply swap them over as they're used up. On the Gregory Z55 I run the feed tube in through the L/H port and back out the R/H port, the filter sits inside the pack.



Feed Tube running Left to Right, filter protected inside pack.



Feed from PET Bottle, 3 Spare bottles ready to be swapped over.


I also have 2 collapsible plastic water bottles/bladders, branded as Outdoor Essentials I bought them from Mountain Warehouse. They have a standard PET bottle screw thread and come with a sports bottle style cap but basic PET bottle caps can be used. The Convertube/Eliminator can again be fitted and the bladder placed in the pack like any other bladder. These bladders have a pleated base which means they stand upright when removed from the pack, mine hold 1.5L. Folded up they take up very little space, and can be filled, capped and carried almost anywhere.





I think I'll probably use 1 x 500ml PET bottle and 1 x Plastic bladder, the bladder needn't be filled until required or at least as late in the day as possible.

The whole set-up including Convertube, Eliminator Filter, PET bottle and Bladder weighs in at less than 250g.

Weight Watching

Gregory Z55

I knew my pack weight was going to be an issue before I left on my last trip but I didn't know just how big an issue it was going to be. I estimated it at the time to be around 19kg but I have a feeling now that it might have been over the 20kg mark as I've been busy trying to cut it down.

The 3 worst offenders were my Rucksack, Sleeping Bag and Roll Mat at 5406g so they were the 1st items to be replaced. I had already ordered a PHD Minin 500 prior to leaving but hadn't decided on a Rucksack or Roll Mat at that stage.

I knew what I was looking for in a pack and had a short list drawn up, one of the contenders was the Gregory Z55 which has what I would describe as an Internal/External Frame, similar to the old Vango Air Canyon packs. I find that they suit me better than packs with a closed cell/alloy spar back pad which I find to oppressive for want of a better word. Having looked at the Gregory website I did a quick search and found the Z55 on sale at Cotswold, reduced from £140 to £70 so it was duly ordered.

The pack sorted I started to look at Roll Mats and decided on the POE Ether Thermo 6 at £47 from Raw Outdoors.

The 3 new items came in at a total weight of 3090, a weight saving of 2316g.

That gave me a good starting point but clearly throwing more money at the problem wasn't possible or even likely to have any effect as the rest of the gear was reasonably light anyway. The next step had to be a close look at what I'd carried, what I hadn't used or what I could reasonably do without. The only items that I hadn't used at least once were the trowel and 1st aid kit, in fact I actually used the scissors from the 1st aid kit. With that in mind I started to look at individual items to see if there was anything that could serve a dual purpose or if there was anyway to lighten any of the items. I did buy 2 Sea to Summit Ultrasil Dry Bags, 8L and 13L to replace an Exped L Dry Bag and an Alpkit Black Large Stuff Sack, I bought 2 simply because the first, 8L while being big enough for my sleeping bag was too small to also take spare clothing (I only thought of that after buying the 8L Dry Bag) but it works as a stuff sack for my Montane Flux.

The List below is what I've managed to come up with, certainly an improvement but the next move is going to be expensive. Clearly my camera gear is too heavy,

Olympus E-3 + 14-54 - 1418g
CCS Pouch - 269g
Batteries/Cards/Misc - 217g

Total - 1904g

Panasonic SDR-S7 Cardcam - 210g
CCS Pouch - 150g
Batteries/Cards/Misc - 71g

Total - 431g

Thats a total of 2335g, the Cardcam and bits and bobs is fine, the E-3 and associated items isn't. I have an old Olympus C5050 zoom which weighs in at 528g and I may just take it next time. Ideally if money wasn't an issue (some chance) I'd be looking at either a Panasonic DMC-G1 a Panasonic DMC-LX3 or whatever Olympus releases in m4/3rds later this year. In any case I won't be in a position to switch any time soon.

New gear List/Weight

Load carrying
Rucksack - Gregory Z55 - 1575
Liner - Tesco Rubble Sack - 60

Load Carrying Total - 1635

Shelter
Tent - Terra Nova Laser - Poles + Stuff Sack - 1316
Tent Pegs - Vargo Nails x 4 - 60
Tent Pegs - Camcleat Y Pegs - x 6 - 96
Tent Pegs - Blacks Alloy Skewers x 4 - 60
Peg Bag - Alpkit Small Red - 7
Footprint - Own Design - 170

Shelter Total - 1709

Sleeping System
Sleeping Bag - Snugpak Premier 1 - 957
Stuff Sack - Sea to Summit Ultra Sil 13L - 42
Roll Mat - Pacific Outdoors Equipment Ether Thermo 6 - 623

Sleeping System Total - 1622

Cooking System A
Stove - Einzel Kocher Kombi inc Stuff Sack - 241
Pot - Alpkit Mitymug mk2 - 122
Mug - Tibetan Titanium 450ml Mug - 61
Cutlery - GSI Long Spoon - 11
Teaspoon - Plastic Disposable - 2
Cozy - Own Design Thermawrap - 35
Cloth - J Cloth - 21
Lighter - Ronson Disposable - 16
Bowl/ Chopping Board - Orikaso Folding Bowl - 34

Cooking System A Total - 542

Cooking System B
Stove - Einzel Kocher Alcohol Set Up - 71
Pot - Alpkit Mitymug mk2 - 122
Mug - Tibetan Titanium 450ml Mug - 61
Cutlery - GSI Long Spoon - 11
Teaspoon - Plastic Disposable - 2
Cozy - Own Design Thermawrap - 35
Cloth - J Cloth - 21
Lighter - Ronson Disposable - 16

Cooking System B Total - 339

Hydration
Feed - Source Convertube - 101
Filter - Aquagear Eliminator Inline - 90
Bladder - Outdoors Essentials 1.5L c/w Plain Cap - 33
Bottle - 500ml PET c/w Plain Cap - 28

Hydration Total - 250

1st Aid/Repair/Spares
Mossie Net - Highlander - 29
1st Aid - Own Design - 82
Anti Bac Wash - Tesco Gel - 52
Whistle - Plastic Safety - 9
Back-Up Firelighting - Flint (Use with penknife) - 26
Cord - Para cord - 21
Batteries - 3 x AAA - 36
Repair - POE Roll Mat Repair - 11
Stuff Sack - Alpkit Small Red - 7

1st Aid/Spares/Repair Total - 273

Wet Gear
Jacket - Montane Venture - 450
Over Trs - Trespass Trestex - 296
Gloves - WindX - 88
Gaiters - Trekmates Grasmere Short (Straps & Buckles Removed) - 59

Wet Gear Total - 893

Other Clothing
Insulation - Montane Flux - 613
Stuff Sack for Flux - Sea to Summit Ultra Sil 8L - 13
Wind shirt - Tacgear - 174
Fleece Hat - Miltec - 51
Cap - Field Cap - 98
Gloves - Trekmates Micro Fleece - 35
Buff - Buff - 37

Other Clothing Total - 923

Spare Clothing
Base Layer Top - Sub Zero Factor 1 L/S Crew - 127
Base Layer Bottom - Sub Zero Factor 1 Long Johns - 118
Socks - Short Trekking - 94
Boxers - Primark Lycra - 63
Stuff Sack - POE Roll Mat Stuff Sack - 23

Spare Clothing Total - 425 (Spare Clothing in POE Stuff Sack Stored with Sleeping Bag in Sea to Summit 13L Dry Bag)

Misc Equipment
Trekking Poles - Highlander - 558
Tent Light - Osram Dot-it LED - 67
Head Torch - Energizer LED - 77
Hygiene - Wash Kit - 167
Hygiene - Trowel & Paper - 165
Penknife - German Army Issue Victorinox - 94
Compass - Silva Type 54 - 47
GPS - Garmin Etrex Summit - 188
Sunglasses - Bloc - 23
MPS Player - Phillips GoGear 4gb - 64
Phone - Sony Ericsson K750i - 114
Maps - OS 1/50000 - 100 approx
Maps - OS 1/25000 - 100 approx
Route Card/Notes/Pen etc - 50 approx
Map Case - A4 Ziplock - 10

Misc Equipment Total - 1824

Total Weight System A - 10096g
Total Weight System B - 9893g

Water and Food

Water Max weight 2000g
Food approx 750g per day x 4 = 2500g

Fuel
2 x 250ml Meths @ 230g each - 460g

Camera Equipment
Max 3000g (DSLR + Lens, Card Cam, Spare Batteries, Cards & Essentials )

Opting for cook System B and removing items in Italics would reduce weight to - 9267g

Items in Bold Italics could be Replaced with Lighter Alternatives,

Alpkit Wee Airic @ 528
PHD Minim 500 + S2S Ultra Sil Dry Bag @ 892

This would reduce the above to 9065g Not including Water/Food/Fuel





PHD Minim 500 & POE Ether Thermo 6




Source Convertube, PET Bottles and Outdoor essentials Bladder. The black bottle is an Oval 600ml Sigg, nice but too heavy. I'll be using the Aquaguard Eliminator Inline Filter from DrinkSafe-Systems with the Source Convertube.