I think you have it backwards. In my opinion the charcoal should be on the bottom, with the fine sand on top of that and the gravel on the very top. That way when you pour water in, you filter out the big stuff and the sand layer cleans it more, then, the charcoal takes out the very fine particulate.

Gravel, sand and then charcoal.

A couple of things that might be good to know: Reversing the order of the filtering buckets would extend the life of the charcoal, at least slightly. It'd make sure that the larger particles are removed before the water hits the charcoal, and allows the charcoal to keep more ability to remove finer particles and contaminants. Charcoal gets its filtering ability from its surface area. The finer you can get that powder, the more surface area, and the better a job of filtering it'll be able to do. You can put an additional layer of clean sand at the bottom of the charcoal, and that'll keep the charcoal from getting into the water, and will make the final result a bit cleaner. This will only really work for particulate contamination. If there's a concern about chemical contamination, either to the filter media, or the water itself, this wouldn't be advisable. One of those things where you'd need to tailor the solution to the situation at hand.

Purchase No Grid Survival Projects book here: amzn.to/3x048Go (amazon associate link)

I was hoping you going to test it!

About 2 years ago I would of said but why would I need this but fast forward to now, I’m saying I need to make one. Cody is really teaching us valuable knowledge we all need to take on board

I always thought the charcoal was the last stage, not the first.

Great video, hope to see more long-form videos. I think the viewership went down when there were fewer videos being posted, so people just weren't checking the channel as much because they got used to fewer videos. Thank you again for ALL of your content, long-form and otherwise!

I remember a video you did a while back where you talked about why you didn't use Milwaukee Tools. It's really cool to see that you're using them now :-) you and your channel are such a blessing to me! I want you to know that. I don't know if you'll read this comment but I certainly hope you do. You said something in a video a few months ago, I don't remember which one it was I wish I could find it and clip that comment... You should make a short out of it.. You were getting out of your skid steer after something wasn't working right and you said, "There are no problems, only solutions." I want you to know that that comment probably saved my life. I think about that comment all the time and try to think of it whenever I do have "problems". Anyway, Yah bless you fellow Sabbath keeper!

Jon Jandai has many videos & most of them larger scale. Highly recommend watching those & many more of his videos! Brilliant...

I love these types of videos. We need a No Grid series! About to buy the book

I getFREE food grade 5 gallon buckets with lids from local grocery store bakery departments.

I would change the order of the filter media. The water to be filtered should make contact with the coarse filter media first and then the media should get progressively finer as it passes through the filter chamber. Other wise you clog up the finer material by asking it to remove large debris (which it will). With the charcoal as the first stage of filtration you will need to replace it more often.

Shouldn’t the layers be rock/sand/charcoal/filter media (cheese cloth or cotton fiber)?

Great video. Simple, to the point and 100% needed. Thanks again

Thank you for a full length video

Question. Shouldn’t the charcoal be the last stage of filtration, not the first?

This is great, I hope we can see more useful videos coming soon.

The video I watched was four months old yesterday and it painted a very bleak future and he said in it Texas is reaching out to the surrounding cities to use them for satellites and we are about forty years ahead of everyone else as far as becoming totally 100% Green and self sufficient and he stated the reasons as we can do math and we like free! Ha ha ha 🙂😎 thanks for the tip!

This is great. Would love to see the one about generating electricity with a bicycle.

And now you know why some are no longer employed at the water treatment facility⚡😜

My Grandfather owned a True Value hardware store!

Thank you for showing us how to take our livelihood back!!

Nice video. With the chaos in the world currently, I’ve been trying to prepare a little more and I’m gonna add this to my home kit. I like that all the materials are easy to source even if the world is shutdown. Also, thanks for all your videos, been watching for years now.

I expected the charcoal to be after the larger mediums.

I thought charcoal was finer and went on the bottom. Am I wrong? I was told by a one of those permaculture types, Geoff LAwton, I think, that Charcoal is like a megacity for microbiology because it stores and will always store pockets of oxygen and water and nooks and crannies within nooks and crannies that are impossible to undo even with a blender, so there is always more room for more micro life than average dirt to survive and thrive... which is why it is good in gardens also.

Literally just ordered that book

This is the things kids should teach, one class of survival skills a week, pretty neat.

Great information Cody, Thanks

Apparently tractor supply buckets are food grade. That’s why I buy them

Thanx for the full length video!

So glad you are doing videos like this instead of snippets from live streams.

If I remember correctly, you can soak the charcoal in a concentrated acid like hydrochloric acid or sulfuric acid. You can buy hydrochloric acid at a pool supply store or you can get sulfuric acid at some hardware or plumbing stores as it's used as a strong drain cleaner. Doing so activates the charcoal, which just means that you add little holes in the charcoal to make it more effective at filtering.

What’s the purpose, or gain from cruising around with no shoes?

Great video. I Look forward to more. About survival.

A great video my friend I make my own filters for my stock pond and Garden ponds.

Love this. More please!!

Cool video! Id love to see a video on restoring vintage coleman lanterns :)

You should check out the Platypus gravity bag filters, they are high volume and work great. Hang a 4L bag of dirty water, and it filters through basically a high flow lifestraw into separate 4L clean bag.

We have very different ideas for what constitutes an emergency.

Thanks for the info. I will add this book to my small collection.

I'm sure the pvc glue is food grade...

best way to learn folks, is to teach. i wonder just how valuable this elementary lesson is to anyone but him🤔

Future video - how to cut your toenails.

Cody, I like this type of video, and I like that you're doing them! My question, and I'm not 100 % sure or unsure, so please bare with me. I would think the gravel, then sand, then charcoal would, or should be the order in this filter. Definitely necessary, especially with what has happened in this region of the country. I'm sure you read, or heard about a very dangerous train derailment right on the Ohio, and Pennsylvania border. Roughly 40 miles northwest of Pittsburgh. Burning Vinyl Chloride, which can be a very serious health problem, and even deadly. I've also got to get a copy of that book! Again, please keep sharing these videos! Thank you in advance!

I've also seen online how to make a VERY small version of this, but with a simple water bottle, like a 500ml one or I suppose a 2L would work even better. Obviously can't churn out filtered water like THIS bad boy, but seems like a handy little alternative for one person.

Man if only Canadian Prepper were this knowledgeable instead of constantly fear mongering.

I have that book too, it is a great resource!

I have that book and it is amazing. "52 Prepper Project" By Nash is similar. I suggest people buy both books and you'll be well set to become totally prepared as these books teach how to make everything you'll want and they also teach how to execute various processes such as food preservation.

Great video! NOTE: Do Not Use store bought Charcoal because it has lighter fluid in it

No notification. No alert. Only found this because you mentioned it on the live stream

FYI: Those are hardware store paint buckets. They are not made of food grade plastic and thus can leach harmful chemicals into your water which may cause everything from cancer to hormone imbalances. Yes, food grade plastic is a thing. Not all plastics are intended to hold food or water used for human consumption.

I built a similar system using smaller 1-1/4 gallon pails and aquarium materials.

Great video.

This is freaking awesome! I wish I had a dad like you teaching me cool stuff like this! BTW... you have a cat living in the room....

Thank you!

Yes got it thank you

Very useful👍🏻we know what’s coming

Thank you

Regular inspection of the clean water reservoir is important . I personally know of a situation where black mold / mildew and slime layer was growing inside the clean water side of a filter. People got sick. Inspect and clean. Stay healthy.

You mentioned that the water would need to be boiled, which is totally true. I'd just say that if you're going to boil it anyway, building a distillation setup is also an option. As someone who lives near the ocean I can make as much water as I wan't, as long as I have fuel for a fire.

@Wranglestar Very nice, quick little video!! As with others who have already commented, I have only ever seen this concept executed with the charcoal being the final medium. I’ve also seen a top fibrous layer as well as or instead of rocks. This has prompted me to experiment and make my own. Thank you!!

If you drill the holes following the simple golden ratio spiral the water will benefit . 🌪

Hey Cody, i missed this kind of videos from you,you used to make lots of video like this back in the old time,DIY,Comparison of stuffs.Where did it go now?

My favorite water filtration system that requires few parts involves goats. Goat drinks river or pond water, family milks goat and has very nutritional liquid to satisfy thirst and hunger as well.

You could add a ceramic filter bucket at the very bottom to remove all of the final contaminants and possibly make the water drinkable without boiling

(1) That wasn't sand you used. It was dirt. Big difference. (2) Rocks should be pea sized. (3) Charcoal needs to be pulverized using a mortar and pestle. This increases the surface to volume ratio. (4) For better results, activate the charcoal. The carbonized material is then "activated" by exposing it to an oxidizing gas, such as steam or air, at high temperatures. This activation process creates a network of pores and increases the surface area of the charcoal. The activation step is crucial for enhancing the adsorption properties of the charcoal. (5) The charcoal goes on the BOTTOM. Rocks on top. Sand in the middle.

I've missed these types of videos

Love this. Thanks

Thanks!

Adding comment to express appreciation and show that long(er) form is still loved!

The Rugged Life is another solid book

Love these kind of videos!

This is quality content. Keep it up.

Also if you're in a rural area adding moss above the charcoal layer removed of its mud is another great neutralizer and filter for just outside or river waters.

Great idea 💡

Awesome video nice to see how to actually make one of these filters without just diagrams and pictures

The company I work for we pull water out of the river and run it through 12 filters that use the same media

Great informative video!

Yep. That'll do it. Nice job.

Now show us how it actually worked. Then lets test the water.. See how well it did. It would be a great follow up video. You could get some simple test equipment online very inexpensive.

Finally store your silver coins in the bottom bucket to stop bacteria growing.

I love arts and crafts.

Great video

Looking forward to a Micro Hydro set up

Thanks for all these videos, love from germany

I used the ProOne water filter, equal to Berkey's. Very efficient with the lab results directly from the lab. Withe the buckets, spigots, and filter it cost me $65, but I'm in communist California.

Great video my man

Thanks so much! I need all the help I can get!!

I wish you could do these more.... But I understand the lack of views. I really miss these though.

I can't help asking... What's with the Queen Victorian look? Lol That's a heck of a collar thing you got going on. Lol

Reverse the order plus add a piece of landscape fabric secured with a bungee cord at the top for an initial and replaceable strainer medium… Thanks.

Would this remove metals from the water? I was looking for a DIY way to purify water, before putting it in my fish tank. Tap water has chemicals, metals, calcium, etc.

Chemicals, poisons and radioactivity are the big problems with cleaning your own water. Don't forget to add minerals to your water before drinking, your body can't consume pure H2O. Getting the purified water to the same alkalinity as the human body, is also very important.

MIddle bucket should be charcoal (bottom) then sand then charcoal, then sand. Top bucket should be sand then fine gravel on top. You will replace the top bucket alot, depending on your source water.

Don't need primer under 3" pipe. Get Christy's Red Hot PVC Glue, all you need for small pipe. Also should be CPVC pipe, PVC is not for drinking water, CPVC is.

Nice work

keep doing these vids. Trad.Con. and your hot shot/engine days are the best as i can relate to the firefighting climate

Should have used food grade buckets