[philmont] Micro Pur Contact Time

After a couple of Micropur training sessions, at Philmont, here is what we were taught.

1. Fill your Nalgene with water and drop in one tablet of Micropur.
2. Screw on cap and wait until tablet dissolves.
3. Turn bottle upside down and loosen the cap enough to let water seep out over the threads.
4. Tighten cap and wait 30 minutes.

30 minutes was thought to be sufficient for the vast majority of water at Philmont. The longer waiting times are for colder and dirtier water. If the water is muddy, 4 hours is appropriate.

Jim Van Hecke
Asst. Mgr. Camping Services
'04, '05, '06, '07
Philmont Scout Ranch
47 Caballo Rd.
Cimarron, NM 87714
jvh2099@aol.com

In a message dated 01/29/07 22:35:00 Mountain Standard Time, jc.lewis@tx.rr.com writes:

 
 
Okay, everyone. What’s the real deal about contact time for the Micro Pur water purification tablets after they’ve done their Alka Seltzer imitation and dissolved? The flyer in the package says 4 hours; and I know they didn’t write that to satisfy their legal staff (at least, I hope not). However, that really seems to be way too long and totally impractical in the wilderness.
 
A few years ago, soon after MSR put the product into the non-military market, I was taught to use them by some very experienced adult hikers who said the usual 20-30 minutes was fine, depending on how cold the water was. So, that’s what I did. Our Ranger in 2006, said an hour is what they were taught in Ranger training, but also thought 30 minutes was probably enough in a pinch. I don’t know ANYONE, in Scouting or out, who holds to the 4 hours requested by the manufacturer.
 
Given the particular chemical being used, sodium chloride, I think, is there a chemist or water purification expert amongst us out there who knows if less than 4 hours for these things is okay, and, if so, why? If the 4 hours is gospel, why?
 
(FYI for the lurkers and first-time Advisors: Micro Pur by MSR is the only water treatment method Philmont issues. They don’t use the iodine Polar Pure bottles any more. You don’t have to use the Micro Pur so long as you know to treat the water somehow. Some crews bring just filters, like the Katadyn Hiker, and don’t chemical-ize at all. Many crews, however, do a combination of the two methods.)
 
Jerry Lewis
2007 611-I-2
Troop 303, McKinney TX

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As you gather around this virtual campfire with fellow
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cheerful, thrifty, brave, clean and reverent.
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Received on Tue Jan 30 11:57:17 2007