Boundary Waters Quetico Forum :: Gear Forum :: Need a quick response: Platypus GravityWorks 4L
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mirth |
S-biners work very well for attaching the bags to a length or rope wrapped around a tree. |
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schweady |
So if you could check it out and reply tonight, great! |
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heypaddler |
I've been field testing our for the past 4 or 5 years on trips. Can't remember exactly how long, but we've never had a problem, malfunction, or negative thought about this thing. |
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schweady |
mirth: "Don't lose the black cap that goes on the clean side of the filter..." Needless to say, it only took 2 trips to lose that dang little black cap. Actually, I know it came home with me; it just vanished somewhere between the unpacking and the storage after that second trip. So, I called Platypus (actually, the parent company, Cascade Designs, Inc.), and requested a replacement. The first time, they sent the clean reservoir closure cap. I call again. This time, they sent the shut-off clamp. I call again. Third time's a charm. Although on their parts list it's labelled 'cleanside cap,' nobody in customer service knows what it's actually called down in the warehouse. So, I figure that, rather than in my pocket, I have to come up with a better way to keep track of this little bugger while running each 4L supply though the system. Ta-dah!.. the lowly rubber band. Duh. Just thought I'd pull up this old thread to share my 'DIY' accomplishment: |
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mirth |
I can attest to the nalgene cap & water-tightness, as I carried my clean bag full to dry camps on a couple backpacking hikes on the Ice Age Trail as well as in the Philmont backcountry. |
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schweady |
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Packerbackerdru |
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midfin |
A spigot would be nice on the clean bag. I just hung the dirty above the clean in a tree branch, when I wanted to used the clean, unhook the hose from the filter and pour it into whatever you need. Since it's gravity driven, simply hold the end of the hose higher than top of the water level in the bag, and it quits coming out. The hoses are soft clear plastic that comes off the barb on the filter easily, so backwashing is a piece of cake and takes seconds. My main concern is will those hoses stay flexible, or stiffen up after time like plastic tends to do? I didn't use a stop watch. I'd guess that it took less than 3-5 minutes to filter 3-4 liters of water. |
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trailrunner |
I've read recently that a Dawn dish bottle cap will fit on the clean bag but we haven't tried that yet. It can be a bit tricky pouring out of the clean bag when it's full so a bottle cap like that would be really handy. When more than two of us are on a trip, we also bring along a 4L Platypus water tank and filter the water directly into it. That way we have clean water in the clean water bag as well as the water tank. |
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campnfish |
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BigBearArlich |
Worked perfectly. Quick release male end of sawyer hose was pressure fit too tight for me to remove by hand. I cut off the male connector, and pushed the sawyer clean hose onto the barbs on the clean end of the Platypus filter - it fit very tightly. I havent run any water through it but the only non standard connection is the sawyer clean hose pressed onto the barbs of the clean end of the platypus filter. And based on how much pressure it took to push this hose on, I have full confidence in that connection. |
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cycle003 |
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schweady |
Our trip starts Friday and I am thinking of purchasing the Platy tomorrow to replace/back up our Sawyer. Excellent reviews seen here, anyway. Some observations and questions: 1. The Platypus clean bag does not appear to have a spigot for dispensing other than the hose inlet. This makes it much less convenient than the Sawyer for continuous filtration/dispensing without rearranging the bags. Any workarounds folks have found handy? 2. The connection barbs on both systems look very similar. Might I be able to plug the Platypus male connectors to the female connections on the Sawyer bags? |
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BigBearArlich |
To empty the clean back you simply clip the hose clamp, disconnect the hose from the clean side of the filter, put the hose in your water bottle and release the hose clamp. Pretty easy. Still not as convenient as the sawyer spigot, and it requires that the dirty bag is empty, otherwise it will keep filtering water. Or you can disconnect the quick release from the dirty bag and it will close off the dirty bag. I hadnt thought of trying to connect the clean hose of the platypus to the sawyer clean bag barbs, but I plan to give it a try later this evening - depending on how quick of an answer you need I can report back. |
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schweady |
cycle003: "You could also just replace the filter with the sawyer squeeze for $30-$40 if you're fond of the Sawyer bag system. " Yeah, that might be in the cards for the future. Right now, we’re in need of a ready-made solution; my procrastination left me no time for a DIY. On the brighter side, after running several bags through all afternoon, I got a good backwash. We’ll see if the time comes down to under an hour... :-o |
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Banksiana |
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ghamer |
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Tomcat |
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cycle003 |
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schweady |
I will probably get the system and use it as sold for this trip. Then work on possible adaptations for future trips. If nothing else, someone in the family will be gifted one or the other system, so no loss. Final update for tonight: Sawyer system filtered 4L in 25 min. Pretty bad, but might have been fine for the two of us this trip. Certainly no match for our men’s group (8) coming up next month. |
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mirth |
Good idea on the rubber band. I will sometimes just jam it in the holes that the strap on the bags pass through, or just lip it on an S-biner clip. I also like to keep a ziploc in the pouch for the filter to store my closure cap for the clean bag & keep it clean while not in use. |