only have half the aquamira purification set

A little while back I bought a package of aquamira chlorine dioxide, which consists of two parts; chlorine dioxide and phosphoric acid. Conveniently during my travels the acid part leaked leaving me with only the chlorine dioxide drops. A little search on the internet leads me to believe that other acid, like lemon juice or vinegar would do the trick as well but my chemistry's a little shaky. Any thoughts from someone more experienced?

Yes, and no..

It'll probably add a taste, and might not work as good.

If you don't enough about it working well to spring the 15 bucks enough for another set - just skip treating and drink the
water and take your chances.

Failing that, give up and buy another.

Of course, you can just boil and then you don't have to worry about any of that chemistry. The highest and best use of water is making tea anyway.

I have always had a bunch of part B left after part A was used. I am surprised that someone has not offered to send you their left over part B.

Thanks for the help. The trip I was scrambling for got canceled by a typhoon that never came. Now I've got plenty of time to pick up a new set.

If you're stuck like that again, bleach in a dropper bottle also works - check the US government disaster prepardness sites for dosage. Just mind the soak times... some of the spores take longer to break down chemically, which is why I carry a pump. Bleach is still the back up set if I break it, though.

Aquamira Liquid is not intended for our needs as backpackers. The only liquid solution I know of that is a purifier is what is made by the MSR Miox.

I don’t want backpackers out there using the liquid and having a false sense of security. A certain concentration level and contact time is needed. A weak mixture of chlorine dioxide just isn’t going to kill the nasties and that is what AquaMira liquid is.

The chlorine dioxide tablets are good. Just ensure that they say they can kill all the nasties. If they are good, they will say that a contact time of up to four hours is required.

Aquamira’s website has this to say about its tablets: “When used as directed, Aquamira Water Purifier Tablets meet the EPA guidelines for Microbiological Water Purifiers making it the safest solution on the market. Great for weekend hiking, camping, hunting, or fishing trips.” Nothing of the sort is stated for the liquid.

I was always hearing before from others that it was just a bureaucratic issue about EPA registering and that it didn’t mean much. I always thought that if Aquamira wasn’t willing to have proper laboratory studies to get it EPA registered, then they didn’t care enough for my needs. Now that they have gotten their tablets registered, a different picture seems to be painted. The drops don’t meet EPA guidelines for killing all the nasties and, therefore, don’t qualify as “the safest solution on the market” as they promote for their tablets.

Check this info from the Centers for Disease Control: Drinking Water Treatment Methods for Backcountry and Travel Use and accompanying text.

Note also that the label on Aquamira liquid says it kills bacteria and viruses. The big problem is actual protozoa (giardia and cryptosporidium) which are a lot harder to kill with chemicals.

Note also the recommended filter size in the CDC literature, which rules out the Aquamira Frontier Pro filter (3.0 microns) for filtering protozoa. I had to spend almost a half hour to get the Frontier Pro's micron size information, which was not on the Aquamira website or on the packaging, but was in an obscure place on the McNett website (parent company). IMHO, it is extremely dishonest of this company not to disclose the filter size openly! For that reason alone, I do not trust their products!

Good thing I live in Canada, where the same drops, used properly, do meet government guidelines for killing the nasties - so I can safely use them

And considering the miox makes the same mixed oxidant stuff out of salt I am dubious at best of any claims it's any better. I can carry batteries to make my free oxidants or just the two bottles. I seriously doubt there is any real difference in practical, proper use.

Phat, I assume that you are talking about Pristine in Canada. I don't see where they say it has been approved by Canada and will treat all the nasties. In fact, it is their filtering systems for which they state, "will remove 99.9% of Cryptosporidium, Giardia and other pathogens". No such statement is made for Pristine. It is once again much the same about how great chlorine dioxide is, but without particulars as to Pristine.

Miox has been shown to kill all the nasties and has the EPA registration to prove so. AquaMira does not. As such, there is a real difference, part of which is probably the level of concentration of mixed oxidants.

I just want everyone to have enough facts to make an informed decision. For me, I don't feel comfortable rolling the dice when there are documented treatments that I can use and weigh little.

As best as I've been able to ascertain, MIOX primarily produces hypochlorous acid and sodium hypochlorite, although some resources also note free chlorine, chlorine dioxide and ozone as products. Whichever the case, it's not a "ClO2 generator" per se.

From the literature, it would seem the dry ClO2 tablets take longer to form free ClO2 than the liquids (both 1- and 2-part) and as a result are a slower method. The Pristine site at the link says this about the liquid:



I know this much: ClO2 has a several log advantage over sodium hypochlorite (standard chnorine bleach) so would always be my first recommendation for chemical treatment. Which form of ClO2 is up to the user. For me, the tablets are a no brainer as a backup or in my emergency kit but other methods are my primary choice.

Cheers,

That is also what I see at the Pristine site about the liquids versus what it does say for its filters. Note that it says, "ClO2 is effective against the following water contaminants". It doesn't say Pristine is nor does it give a percentage that it kills. Of course it may kill 90% of the nasties, but that is not adequate protection.

I would be happy to retract my statement if it can be shown that AquaMira and Pristine meet the same standards as MIOX.