Katadyn Drip

The Katadyn Drip weighs 3.3 kg and is 45 by 25 cm. It is a gravity household water filter for 1 to 6 people, with 4 liters per hour filtration through three ceramic filter candles. It comes in two versions: the Ceradyn and the Gravidyn, where the Gravidyn contains an additional activated carbon element for chemicals and chlorine reduction. The filters are designed to be long-life, low-maintenance, and last 2 to 9 years.

Technical support is provided in the instruction manual online.

The Ceradyn filter cartridge capacity is 50,000 liters per filter, so for the Katadyn Drip, which contains three filter candles, the lifetime capacity is 150,000 liters. For a family consuming 15 L of drinking water per day the expected lifetime of the Ceradyn filters candles are 9 years with low turbidity or 2 years with high turbidity. The full Katadyn Drip system comes with a 2-year warranty.

A randomized controlled field trial found that Katadyn Drip ceramic filters were effective at improving the microbiological quality of drinking water in a low-income community in rural Bolivia in 2004. Independent labs Bachema and Spectrum also confirmed the bacteriological reduction of the Ceradyn and Gravidyn filters in a controlled setting.

To prevent contamination of the filtered water, the instruction manual recommends: letting filter elements dry completely in the air if the filter is not going to be used for longer than two days, cleaning the filter system (container and filter elements) at least once a month, keeping it out of direct sunlight,
and replacing a cracked filter immediately.