The Lifesaver Bottle
“Is an innovative water purification device that can remove debris, bacteria and viruses from water utilising a unique membrane filtration system. Many people in many parts of the world lack access to clean drinking water. Engineer Michael Pritchard did something about it by inventing the portable Lifesaver filter that can make the most unpalatable water drinkable in seconds.
The Problem
Pritchard saw the tragic waste of life and serious problems caused by the lack of safe drinking water in the wake of the tsunami in December 2004 and then again the following year on August 29, 2005 when Hurricane Katrina hit Louisiana. He couldn’t believe it and felt that something had to be done.
The London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine found that when the Lifesaver bottles were tested using micro organisms in far greater numbers than could ever be found in natural water sources, it stepped up to the plate.
Theirs was the worse-case scenario approach taken and recommended by the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) whose guidelines had been used to draw up The London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine’s own protocols for the testing of all Microbiological Water Purifiers. As well as using modified tap water for their tests they used samples taken from a pond or stream as their challenge test water to simulate ‘real-life’ situations as per EPA guidelines.”
Lab Conditions
Under the conditions of testing in their laboratory as shown in the report, their results showed that the ‘Lifesaver Bottle’ removed all bacteria and viruses from a contaminated water source in excess of legal requirements and as such, complied with all British, US and European Drinking Water Regulations for microbiological reduction.
They call it, ‘the world’s first all-in-one ultra filtration water bottle’ and whilst inventing the Lifesaver bottle Pritchard also invented Failsafe technology. In simple terms that means that when the cartridge has expired it shuts off, preventing the user from drinking contaminated water. One simply changed the cartridge and continued to use it.
The Lifesaver bottle has been designed to help save lives supplying people with clean pathogen-free drinking water and for use it when the average person is trekking, camping, travelling abroad or anywhere one might not trust the water supply. Last year Lifesaver systems launched the Lifesaver jerrycan. Building on the success of its award-winning Lifesaver bottle, it was successfully trialled by the British Army in Afghanistan.
Lifesaver Jerrycan
The Lifesaver jerrycan was created to deliver safe sterile drinking water in increased volumes. Designed with the military market in mind, the Lifesaver jerrycan incorporates Lifesaver’s famous ultra-filtration technology, to remove bacteria, viruses, cysts, parasites, fungi and all other microbiological waterborne pathogens from local water sources without using chemicals, such as iodine or chlorine that leave a distinctive foul taste in the mouth.
The Lifesaver jerrycan comes in two sizes, capable of processing either 10,000 or 20,000 litres of water, to provide safe, sterile drinking water quickly and easily in large quantities. The 20,000L jerrycan filters enough water to provide 10 people 10 litres of water per day for a 6-month tour, at a fraction of the cost of bottled water.
With the Lifesaver jerrycan, military personnel no longer need to rely on foul-tasting purification tablets for sterile water and with supply routes constantly under threat, the ability of a soldier or marine to source water from local sources will mean it can deliver a significant advantage to troops in the field. So when water becomes the new currency in a disaster zone, these products become real-time lifesavers.”
