UV filtration kit - Davey SF50

The first time Mark and Christine Vinsen met Jacob Lewis of Allflow was when Jacob sucked out their septic tank on a property they owned in Cable Bay. Nearly two decades later, Mark and Christine asked Jacob to help them realise a new business opportunity.

Over the last 20 years the couple has been involved with various local waste companies and has remained a Allflow customer. When Jacob hears dogs barking outside, he knows Mark and Christine aren’t too far away, as they always bring their French Bulldogs, Spud and Bug, along to the Allflow shop.

“For us it’s an old relationship that keeps flowering,” Mark says. “We come into the shop all the time. We ask about Jacob, Amos, Clayton, their families, and we have a good catch up each time. It’s been a longstanding, loyal relationship.”

Last year Mark and Christine decided to make the ambitious decision to add a new venture to their lives: they bought the 26000 Vodka brand, which was originally founded in Nelson in the mid-2000s. Using the brand, they are launching a new company called Liquid Corp to sell 26000 Vodka and, in time, other beverages.

“We have consent to use the cleanest, clearest, blue water you’ve ever seen to make our vodka. Still, we want to be completely safe and we are filtering it before making the vodka. Naturally, I went to the guys at Allflow for help setting up this process.”

At Allflow, Jacob advised him to purchase a four-filter system from Puretec, along with various stainless steel food grade fittings and hose. Mark says the filtration system “takes our 26,000-year old bore water and makes it perfect.”

The water moves through a system of stainless steel pipes and fittings and it is pumped to the bottling station, sealed, and packaged. An air pump and compressor from Allflow, along with air tubing and more fittings, completes the manufacturing process at the bottling and capping phase.

Mark built all of this himself from a drawing he showed Jacob.

“These guys are so experienced, I brought in my drawing and they knew what I was after and helped me piece together all the parts I needed so I could build it the way I wanted to. I was after quality parts and I know I can get that at Allflow. It may have cost me a bit more to do it this way, but that’s fine with me. I know I’m getting the quality I want.”

Christine says she is grateful for the knowledge Allflow has because it gives her confidence. “We know we can go to Allflow with an idea, like Mark’s sketch, and they know exactly how to help us. They are the experts at what they do and they give us confidence that we are on the right track and getting the right products for what we want to achieve.”

In time Mark and Christine aim to expand their beverage line to include other products like seltzers. Allflow aims to be right alongside as Mark and Christine expand.

“We have been Allflow customers for years and we’re extremely happy with the relationship,” Mark says. “I know they are selling me products that meet my requirements for my business. I know whatever they sell me isn’t going to fail.

“Plus, we have a mutual respect and trust, and I’m into loyalty. They’ve looked after me for many years.”

See the 26000 production setup on our YouTube Channel.

Spud and Bug:

If you are building a new home or retrofitting an existing one with a water filtration systems, you have two choices: whole-house and single tap.

Both provide cleaner, clearer, and better-tasting drinking water. They are also more efficient, require less maintenance, and are simple to install.

Under-bench filtration for a single tap

Compact under-bench systems fit easily inside kitchen sink cupboards, although they can be used at any single tap in the house. They are available in a variety of versions depending on your needs. Generally water passes through one to three filters up to a tap mounted on the sink. 

The most common are the standard filters. They are effective, compact and easy to install, and are the cheaper option.

Our Jacob Lewis says under bench systems have a few variations. "The filters come in one, two and three-stage models and the more stages your water goes through, the cleaner it will be. The filters we stock can remove sediment, chlorine, taste and odours, and reduce but not eliminate levels of lead, bacteria, viruses, and several chemicals."

Have a look at our Puretec X7 for more information.

Another under-bench filtration system is a reverse osmosis (RO) system, though they are not as common. RO systems are larger and have more stages and a pressurised water storage tank that fits under the sink or in a cupboard next to the sink (which may require an auxiliary pump). Using the household water pressure, the tap water travels through a series of up to six filters that trap all the contaminants of a standard filter and many more smaller chemicals and bacteria. While a standard filter typically removes particulates ranging in size from about 10-30 microns, RO filters have a pore size of 1 micron or less meaning they will remove small bacteria like Cryptosporidium and Giardia.

Give us a call on 03 543 9057 or email us if you're interested in learning more about RO systems.

Ultraviolet purification for whole house use

Ultraviolet (UV) water purification is the most effective way of disinfecting bacteria and viruses from water. The UV rays destroy 99.99% of illness-causing microorganisms by attacking their genetic core.

A UV system can be installed to take in stored water from a tank, filter it, then pump it to all taps in the house.

Jacob says, "UV systems are effective, simple, and low maintenance. They're also environmentally friendly because they don’t require chemicals and use less energy. However, the UV light doesn't remove some of the impurities from water, like heavy metals and chlorine. You can opt to combine a UV system with a RO or carbon filter system to have safer drinking water."

We sell a selection of Puretec kits and Davey kits on our filtration page.