Long Term Report: AquaStar Plus! Water Purifier
Date: January 28th, 2006 Manufacturer Name: Meridian Design, Inc. Website: http://www.uvaquastar.com/	Product Information Manufacturer: Meridian Design, Inc. Model: AquaStar Plus! Year of Manufacture: 2005 Capacity: 32 oz  (1 L) MSRP: $95.00 (US) Listed Weight: 8.5 oz  (240 g ) Measured Weights:        Control head/UV Tube 2.6 oz  (74 g)       Batteries (pair) 1.1 oz  (31 g)       1 L Polycarbonate bottle 4.2 oz  (119 g)       Total  8.0 oz  (227 g)
AquaStar In The Snow

Tester Information & Background

Name: Andy Rad

Gender: Male

Age: 48

Height: 6 ft (1.83 m)

Weight: 165 lb (75 kg)

Email: aisrad@cableone.net

I started backpacking 21 years ago, most were short three-day trips, but are now generally five-day.  By backpacking, I’m referring to summer, winter camping, and fall hunting.  About half my trips are lightweight solo and the other half with my family.  I used to own a llama, thus allowing me to continue backpacking with my small children.  In recent years I’ve substituted a collie for the llama. When I’m not with the family I tend to take less-traveled trails or bushwhack the hard mountainous terrain in and around Idaho.  The majority of my trips are in central Idaho, with a few into northern Idaho, eastern Idaho, and eastern Oregon.

Long Term Report

As winter set in, the AquaStar Plus UV water purifier performed beautifully.  It was pleasant not having to fumble with a filter, and cold hands from pumping water.  I just fill the bottle, run two purification cycles, and drink.  Prior to AquaStar , I used chemical purification, in the warm months, and had to resort to a filter in the cold.  Then there was the problem of keeping the filter matrix from freezing, and not being damaged from ice crystals.  There was always that lingering question if the matrix was intact, or did it have micro-fractures, thus allowing passage of parasites.  On the flip side, UV purification has the inability of penetrating debris and requires careful inspection of the water source. I find that the AquaStar convenience allows me to carry less water.  Even for day hikes when I used to carry a couple liters of water and no filter, I now just carry the AquaStar . 

As I stated in my field report, sourcing enough power under cold conditions was an issue.  I have since gone to Panasonic batteries and remedied the issue.  The original documentation stated that operation of the unit was unstable below 40F (4 C), and may not activate.  It has since been updated on their web site, and states two purification cycles are required below 40F (4 C).  This is due to the UV tube's diminished effectiveness at cold temperatures.  I've been using the unit where water is near freezing and ambient temperatures are well below freezing with no issues; provided I'm using fresh name brand batteries.

Since, I generally have an LED head lamp turned on or available, I've seldom use the lantern feature.  It has come in handy a few times inside the tent (more of a novelty than actual need).  If I were to recommend a change, it would be to replace the white LED with a red LED.  Red would preserve night vision and consume about 1/10 the power.  This would allow me to leave it on while drifting off to sleep and with very little power consumption.  The lantern is on a 15 minute timer, so there is no need to worry about accidentally leaving it on for hours.  I might even use it to light the tent when getting up during the night, as it would be less intrusive and preserve night vision.

As was stated in my field report, the ABS plastic fractured and I was able to repair it with "Marine GOOP".  AquaStar sent me a replacement unit, as per the photo below, that included new production features as I will explain.  For starters, and most obvious, is that the blue wire guild has been replaced by a white glow in the dark piece. Second, is the black filter/screen for removing debris from water sources that have contaminants larger than the UV ray's can penetrate.  I have not used the screen, but I would have thought an elastic band would be cheaper and easier to use than cord and lock.  The third change is the cap threads have been altered to allow the unit to fit large mouth Nalgene^® containers, thus allowing the user to transfer the UV unit from bottle to bottle.  Although not recommended by the manufacturer, a collapsible canteen can now be utilized, thus reducing a couple ounces of weight. The down side to the canteen is that the UV tube is no longer protected during transport.  The most subtle and last change is that AquaStar increased the end of cycle indicator to approximately 20 seconds.  This was a common complaint by the test group, because it was difficult to determine if the unit had successfully completed the purification cycle.  Unless the cycle indicator was carefully monitored, it was easy to miss the short 10 second flashing LED.  On top of that, add some bright sunlight and the small green LED is hard to see.

In conclusion, I’ve observed some introductory manufacturing issues with the AquaStar , as are often common with a startup company or product.  As is evident by my replacement model, the manufacturer has listened to input, and implemented changes.  The unit comes with a two year free replacement warranty, thus quality concerns should be lessened.  Given that my original unit cracked and the possibility that the batteries or unit becomes defective, I will continue to carry a small quantity of backup chemicals.  To me it seems that a fraction of an ounce of backup chemicals is a small price to pay for the convenience of the AquaStar UV water purifier.  With a filter there is the weight, inconvenience, and in most cases the absence of virus protection.  With chemicals there is the wait and need to carry extra water while waiting on the chemicals.  The AquaStar is a good alternative!

Test Locations and Conditions

Testing during this final stage was less than the previous field testing, nevertheless the unit was subjected to cold waters and I didn't fall victim to any parasitic invasions.  It is unknown if the unit protected me by killing off the little buggers or if there were none present.  I didn't check the water temperatures, but it must have been near freezing at times, because the mountains are snow covered from the source all the way to where I was drawing water from streams.

This final stage of testing was conducted in the central Idaho mountains with elevations around 6000 ft (1800 m).  Temperatures were on the mild side from 15 F (-9 C) to 45 F (7 C).