Common Questions Asked, Key Advancements and Info on our VF100 Village Bucket Filter over other Hollow Fiber Membrane Filter kits on the market
Our Frequently Asked Questions
I saw there are biological test results for the filter on your site, do you have any reporting of case studies of projects that have been implemented using the filters showing independent user operation and maintenance over the long term?
Right now we don’t have any actually independent studies by 3rd parties for specific villages or communities who have received our filters. But you can see the independent Comparison Document on our website, where our Filter came in 1st in 2 of 4 categories and won 2nd place in the other 2. If they would have also compared, flow rate, ease of maintenance, along with pricing for all that our Filter offers..we would have won these categories also.
I have personally been to Cambodia twice 3 years apart and of the 90 filters I distributed there, all the families were still using the filter we provided them. I can supply you with a couple of references like our partner Aisha who serves families in Yemen. Working together we have supplied 3K filters to families in Yemen and another 2K as of 8/2/2020, are on their way right now via our partner WHO (World Health Organization).
WHO testing and certification…Its now August 2, 2020 and we are just a couple weeks away from WHO doing all their testing on our filter and so far, we have passed all testing trials and all is looking good
WE will be the only fiber membrane filter that WHO has tested and certified (we had to pay a substantial amount of funds to cover the cost of this testing)
Do you provide any type of educational materials for communities on proper filter use?
Written instructions for assembly and maintenance of our filters are supplied in each kit which includes photos of each step, plus we are just completing a video that we can give you showing each step of assembly and cleaning.
How are replacement parts purchased and/or made available to users?
As of now, we can quote and supply replacement or extra parts as requested. Honestly, the only item that you might want to order extra is syringes, but as you will see below, if the syringe breaks or gets lost…you can use a regular plastic water bottle by screwing it on the end and squeeze the bottle flushing the filter.
I see the pricing listed depending on the quantity of filters ordered. How does shipping or transport of filter units factor into the pricing and logistics of the orders?
We quote all shipping separately….a lot of our customers have their own shipping agreements, but we can quote shipping anywhere in the world using FEDX or DHL, or we can depending on where you need the filters see if one of our customers has a team going there and can carry them in.
Key Advancements and info on our VF100 Village Bucket Filter over other Hollow Fiber Membrane Filter kits on the market:
1. Our cartridge membrane inside our VF100 Filter has a 0.1 Micron Absolute rating: We use only the best fibers in the industry that are individually tested rather than just batch tested. Each cartridge undergoes it’s own test to verify the 0.1 Micron Absolute rating so users can know that every drop of water that comes through the filter is clean and safe. In addition, our VF100 Filter utilizes 3 O-rings to ensure that there is no leaking around the cartridge. Most other filters only have 1 or 2 O-rings.
2. We also offer a VF200 Pre-Filter: After a study came out from Tuff’s University on a study of Hollow Fiber Filters it was found that high turbidity can damage the membrane over time. To protect the VF100, we created our VF200 Pre-Filter to reduce the turbidity/dirt level that passes through the filter thus making the life of the filter last much longer. The VF200 Pre-Filter is a reticulated carbon foam material infused with silver. The foam helps reduce turbidity. The carbon helps to reduce chemicals, heavy metals, and viruses in the water. The silver prevents biofilm from forming on the foam…We offer this for an extra $13/filter kit.
3. Easy Reliable Maintenance: The Back flushing has been made much easier and more sustainable in our latest design which is really important so the filter and syringe can last longer. The syringe that comes with the kit attaches via threads to the end of the filter allowing for a more reliable connection and force in the backflush as well as being able to draw water back and forward through the filter to better clean it. For sustainability, after the syringe has passed, the end of our Filter is also integrated with universal threads that fit water bottles or soda bottles that can be used to backflush our filter.
4. Ending recontamination of the clean water: This is done by adding the simple inline clamp provided in the kit on the hose so the water flow can be turned on and off without having to touch the end where the clean water comes out and hook the filter up on the bucket. This is also really helpful if you use a larger bucket to setup a distribution center, like 10 gal bucket, so you can attach several filters, where the hook can’t be used to hang the filter at the top of the bucket.
5. The additional Faucet or Bottle Adapter:Many homes have running water but it is still not safe to drink and they don’t want to necessarily have a bucket on there counter to provide them with clean water. With the faucet adapter, you can attach our Filter to any universal 3/4″ thread or metric comparison. The kit also comes with two different lengths of hose depending on the application that you want to use. This same adapter allows you to use the our Filter on the go as well. By attaching the VF100 Filter to any bottle that you can fill up in a stream or other water source you can have safe water to drink anywhere.
6. All-in-one kit: Our VF100 Filter kit comes with everything you need for every possible way to use the filter, so you don’t have to order or worry about not having one of the parts for more universal usage in the field. With the kit, you can use the filter on one bucket, at a faucet, on a bottle, or even put it inline under the sink or on a refrigerator filter line. Our standard VF100 Filter kit comes with every adapter and different size hoses all included. You only need to determine if you need the VF200 Pre-Filter to be added in the kit where necessary.