Water System Overview

The water system consists of 4 stainless steel portable corny ball-lock kegs, each with a capacity of 18.9l or 5 gallons. Each keg has a gas-in and liquid-out ball-lock quick connect attached to flexible braided vinyl NSF drinking water safe hose.

The two liquid-out ports are connected in series to the hose, which in turn is connected to a Remco 3200 series 3.2 gallon per minute 12v pump. This pump is powered by the Goal Zero Yeti 1000 battery pack.

From the pump, there are two outgoing water lines. First one goes to the General Ecology Seagull IV - X1 Water Purification Filter through a 1/4” OD water tube. The second line goes through a 1/4” water tube all the way to the kitchen area of the van. From there it parts ways to a little sink sprayer on a hose which is used for showers, dousing campfires, personal hygiene. The one water tube also is connected to both the hot and cold water connections on a kitchen faucet.

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Water Purification System

In May 2019 we purchased and installed the Aquasana AQ-5300 3-stage water filter. Thinking all water filters are pretty much the same, we just went with what was on sale at the time. While the water filter was sufficient for filtering the basic sediment, particles from our water, it did not keep any bacteria or virus out of our drinking water.

We looked into other more expensive water filter systems, and watched YouTube videos of other vanlifers using 12v powered UV light filters that allow virus and bacteria to travel through a glass tube, get exposed to UV light, die, then travel through the water system and into your cup. Though the viris and bacteria are dead, it still goes into your body. No problem, though the problem for us was having to actually power the UV light. We have the Goal Zero Yeti 1000, but we don’t have solar and we don’t have a large amount of battery storage - only 1000 watt hours or 83 amp hours.

After a while we came across a product from General Ecology called Seagull IV-X1. We are not sponsored by this company - we are impressed enough to purchase this expensive filter and use it in our van build.

On January 11, 2021 we installed the water purification filter, and made a video on our setup. Notice that a UV light is not necessary for this system.

Manufacturer Website

A link to the product on the manufacturer website is here:

https://generalecology.com/collections/marine-rv/products/732000

We bought a New Old Stock (NOS) off of eBay. You can do a search to see if there are any available using this eBay Link

Filter Product Details

A cut/paste from the product details are here for ease of reference:

The Seagull IV X-1F Drinking Water Purifier System with FP Faucet for Marine/RV use employs General Ecology, Inc.’s proprietary Structured Matrix™ purification technology that instantly purifies without needing harmful chemicals or electrical connections, producing great tasting purified water from fresh water sources. Structured Matrix technology has been independently tested and documented to meet the EPA Guide Standard and Protocol for Testing Microbiological Water Purifiers against bacteria, cysts, and viruses.

- Purifies water instantly
- Removes: bacteria, cysts, giardia, crypto, viruses, particles, tank taste, odors, specific organic chemicals
- Bottled water quality at a fraction of the cost

Seagull IV X-1F system, Part number 732000, includes an X-1 Stainless Steel housing, RS-1SG Seagull IV purification cartridge [P/N 788000], Connection lines (2), secure metal mounting bracket, and point-of-use FP Faucet with ceramic disc valving.

Filter Specifications:

Here are the product specifications:

- Seagull IV X-1F for RV/Marine: P/N 732000
- For Cold Water Use Only — Does not Desalinate
- Particle Retention: 0.4 micron
- Flow Rate: 1.0 gpm (3.8 lpm)
- Nominal Capacity*: 1,000 gallons (3800 liters)
- Minimum Operating Temperature: 33°F (0.5°C) DO NOT FREEZE
- Max Operating Temperature: 100°F (38°C)
- Operating Pressure: 20-125 psi
- System Weight: 2.04 kg/ 4.5 lb
- Canister Weight: 0.45 kg / 1.0 lb
- Replacement canister: RS-1SG, P/N 788000

Personally, after tasting the water that comes out of this purification filter, it tastes different (in a better way!) than our Vancouver tap water which is infused with chlorine. It also tastes different than the Kirkland pure-spring water bottles that we get at the local Costco. It produces a clean taste unlike that which we have experienced in the past. Knowing that our water is safer to drink than before, we will finish our bottled water and then use the water from our drinking faucet from now on.

The filter housing is heavy and made of stainless steel. There is a special clamp that securely closes the top and bottom half of the container. There is also a thick rubber O-ring between the two halves.

The inlet to the water filter is on the top offset, and the outlet is at the top centre. Each connection is via a brass compression nut. Using the 1/4” OD tubing, we put a brass sleeve inside the tube, and a nylon ring around the tube. We then tightened the nut onto the inlet connection, secured it tight and it was leak free. We did the same for the outlet connection. Very simple to do.