CANA Provisions AR-1: A Transportable Water Pump for Overlanding and Survival

Unhealthy conditions are sometimes the muse for good concepts. In 2008, Zach, the founding father of CANA Provisions, was working alongside Engineers With out Borders in Cameroon. This African nation was torn aside by many years of financial disaster, warfare, and illness. Clear water — a useful resource most of us take as a right on daily basis — was tough to acquire in rural areas, and this led to outbreaks of preventable diseases reminiscent of typhoid. Zach’s crew labored to construct and set up water assortment and therapy techniques within the village of Nkuv, however he finally returned house to America, the place such techniques did not appear important. However 12 years later, whereas collaborating in a Tactical City Sustainment Course (TUSC) on the revered coaching heart referred to as the Direct Motion Useful resource Heart (DARC), Zach realized that a few of his prior expertise was nonetheless related for emergency preparedness. This led him to develop the CANA Provisions AR-1, a conveyable water pump that is designed to assist households and small teams acquire clear water extra effectively.

Growth of the CANA Provisions AR-1

To know the AR-1, it is essential to know the occasion that sparked its creation. DARC TUSC is a week-long course that “addresses a few of the techniques and methods that could possibly be utilized by a small cohesive group to safe their property and survive throughout a interval of political, social and financial instability with localized recurrent ranges of violence the place the rule of regulation is absent or nearly nonexistent.” Many who’ve made it by means of the TUSC program contemplate it a harrowing however enlightening expertise, and this was definitely the case for Zach. He refers to his expertise as “an train in human struggling” — a significant wake-up name in regards to the actuality of catastrophe preparedness.

Above: In emergencies, bottled water costs usually skyrocket, if it is obtainable in any respect. It is a good suggestion to have a backup plan for acquiring giant portions of water from a close-by supply.

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One in every of Zach’s duties throughout TUSC was to acquire and purify sufficient water for his entire crew. He shortly realized that scooping water from the swamp, filtering out the sediment and particles, and purifying it within the area to supply 10 to fifteen gallons of protected consuming water per day was unattainable with the gear he introduced. This was an enormous downside, and one which remained on his thoughts after the category ended.

Water assortment and purification requires move from the supply to the clear water container. Hand pumps and filter bottles might be efficient for smaller quantities of water, however producing giant quantities is tedious and labor-intensive. Gravity filters are another choice, however they’re painfully sluggish and delicate to clogged filters.

Above: The chassis was designed to assist the pump and fittings for standalone use in harsh environments.

As a way to speed up the method, Zach started experimenting with numerous commercially-available water pumps. Many current pumps may produce adequate water move, however had been designed for in-place use or everlasting set up. Cell use would require a extra sturdy, rugged housing. These off-the-shelf pumps had been additionally designed to run on clear, secure electrical energy — reminiscent of what you may get from a wall outlet — and lacked the digital “mind” essential to just accept energy from quite a lot of cell sources (automotive batteries, Purpose Zero energy stations, and so on.). So, Zach used his engineering data to develop a variable-pressure, diaphragm-based water pump system that could possibly be used virtually wherever on Earth.

AR-1 Options

The CANA Provisions AR-1 is described as “all the pieces you want in a single package to get began transferring water.”  The product description continues, “From supply to container, container to container, pressurizing a pre-plumbed system, or feeding a filter — transferring water is what the AR-1 does. No extra hand pumping, no extra siphoning, no extra dunking containers within the pond.” The package will function the muse for a modular ecosystem of water assortment and purification parts to be provided by CANA Provisions.

The AR-1 pump is contained in an impact-resistant chassis with IP65 dust-proof and weather-resistant seals. It options Anderson 15-45A electrical connectors, a user-serviceable 10A fuse, and all of the electronics essential to securely regulate energy from quite a lot of off-grid sources. The pump pulls solely 3.5A at 12V throughout regular operation, so it may possibly simply run on a conveyable energy station reminiscent of a Purpose Zero Yeti or another 12V fashion battery (LiPo, LiFePO4, Li-Ion, SLA, AGM). Constructed-in vibration dampeners permit it to function virtually silently, even when it is hard-mounted to a trailer or overland truck.

To feed the CANA Provisions AR-1, you may want to attach the included quick-detach 10-foot inlet hose and drop the tip into a close-by water supply. Then, join the outlet hose by way of one other QD socket, route it into your most popular water container, and flip the facility change on the pump. The AR-1 produces roughly 3 gallons (or 11.3 liters) per minute of water move, and its twin in-line strainers filter out particles and particles. Strain is adjustable as much as 55psi.

For those who’re planning to make use of the water for consuming or washing, you must also cross it by means of a secondary air purifier (such because the LifeSaver Jerrycan) to get rid of micro organism and different waterborne pathogens. Chemical purification, boiling, or distillation are additionally viable choices. In any of those instances, the AR-1 eliminates the exhausting process of scooping and pre-filtering buckets of water to feed the air purifier.

Constructing an Ecosystem

CANA Provisions describes the AR-1 because the “first and most vital part of the modular CANA Ecosystem.” Though we’re not in a position to announce particulars but, we have heard that the corporate is working to develop equipment that can streamline the water purification course of, permitting customers to finally pump straight from a unclean supply right into a clear water tank. The AR-1 is also used to shortly pressurize water vessels for rinsing gear, from surfboards to mountain bikes, or may even be used to generate water stress for an overland trailer or tiny house. We’re wanting ahead to seeing how this ecosystem evolves to cowl extra purposes.

For extra info on the brand new CANA Provisions AR-1, go to CANA-Provisions.com.

Written by Patrick McCarthy