The Filter

Yeah, that's right, I'm drilling though stainless steel with my [not Jodie's 'cause it didn't have a big enough chuck] drill and a 12mm bit.

Swansea is on a permenant 'boil-water alert' due to the lack of appropriate filtration systems. Apparently, the only time it's an issue is after heavy rain, and then bacteria in the water reaches unacceptable levels. So we supply bottled water to all the guests, and pre-boil all water used in food preparation. But what about us?

Jodie and I quickly did the sums on how much it would cost to keep us in spring water, even when bought in bulk... it was way too much. So, we bought a filter system with an ultraviolet lamp to kill the bacteria [this doesn't change our stringent approach to water safety with guests [since it can't be guaranteed to always kill all backteria]]. Below, I'm pictured handling the UV light tube.

At one stage, just after we were contemplating tearing out some more gyprock under the sink, and drilling a hole in the kitchen counter for the power cord - we considered calling a professional. Well, we did call a professional - the only plumber in town who said he didn't like our chances this side of Christmas. Next stop - the hardware store. We called them, and explained the situation, and headed in to pick up supplies [this is TTTHS#1].

TTTHS #1: We came back with a compression elbow and a lugged elbow. We couldn't really figure out how the plumbing worked... so we called in the expert - Jason from the Hardware store - who kindly paid a house call.

Jason knew that we needed more stuff. So after he explained how the plumbing worked, we went back to the Hardware Store.

TTTHS #2: We came back with a Socket and 15mm Nipple. But we still couldn't get the t-junction sorted for the cold water feed into the mixer tap.

TTTHS #3: This time we got an Easy Hooker - which was just the device we need to give us some extra length to work with, and easily turned joints on both ends.

So after 3 trips to the hardware store, a house call and about 6 hours of labour and frustration. Oh... and RE-thread taping EVERY joint after the first effort leaked [you can't use too much of that stuff]... We had the filter installed.

The power adaptor is screwed in above the unit, with the UV lamp above the filter.

Woo hoo! Drinkable water, straight from the tap!

The plumbing situation here is a little desperate. Today I called our lone plumber, since our hot water for the shower wasn't working [it's awesome having guest suites we can run to in an emergency [assuming we aren't full]]. He did successfully diagnose the issue over the phone, which prompted another hardware store trip, and new washers! It's as good as new!