Automatic Filter.

Kaipara and Waitemata Echo, 30 October 1914, Page 2

Automatic Filter.

This filter is vei'y easy to make, and when _ once started will run for a long time without any atten- ' tion. It will be found very useful where rainwater, collected on the roof, has to be used for domestic purposes, as such water is often contaminated by dirt from the' roof, wiiich gives it a very unpleasant appearance. The glass tub- '. ing used is. very cheap, and may', readily be bent by heating the part ' where the bend is to come iii the ! flame of an ordinary batswing burner until the glass is quite soft, i and then removing the tube from the ilame and bending it to the j proper shape. | Procure a conical milk sieve from a tinsmith, and place it in a layer of fairly coarse sand. The sand should be previously washed. This is done by stirring it up, a little j at a time, with water. The sand! settles almost at once, and leaves the dirt floating1 in the water, so | that on pouring off the water the sand is left clean. The whole of the sand used should be washed in1 tins way. Now place the sieve in a hole cut in Cue top side of a box, wiiich acts ; s a support for the whole arrangement. This is clearly] Shown by the. accompanying illustration.

Use a stone bottle or an oilcan - the bigger the better —to contain the water to be filtered. In the neck of the bottle or can place a sound cork which makes a good fit. Have two holes in the cork, in which fit tig-htly twci glass tubes, both reaching to the bottom of the can, one straight and the other bent twice at right angles, so that its end is about lin. below the filter to catch the filtered water, and the apparatus is ready. To start the filter, fill the bottle or can with the water to befiltered, putin the cork, and then blow down the straight tube. The water will then begin to siphon o\er I>s the other tube, and will rise in the filter ui,til it is level it will remain until all the water in the can has come over and passed through the filter. As all the dirt originally present in the water collects in the sand, the latter should be regularly removed from the filter and washed, as otherwise the filtered water will become contaminated in time.