Bill Davis's Friends

View All

Bill Davis's Villages

Paldong

7 following
Davao, Philippines

27 following

Malipayon

10 following
Bulod

32 following

View All

Bill Davis

Latest Activity

Bill Davis updated (see more) the village 'Mindanao, Philippines (#345 Clean Water)'

"Looks good. Hope I can get up there for a visit next week. Any chance of getting directions?"

May 17, 2010

Bill Davis commented on 'Clean Water Can Be BIG FUN'

"Tim I just did something similar here. My wife teaches third grade and have been doing a unit on inventions. She asked if I would come and present Dr. Manz's invention of the BioSand Filter. I set up a filter near the school fish pond in the…"

Mar 25, 2010

Bill Davis is now following this village

Paldong, Philippines

Partner - Tim Stewart. This village has virtually no access to safe drinking water. For only $3000, we can fix that!See More

Dec 12, 2009

1 Comment

Bill Davis is now a member of Impact Nations

Oct 22, 2009

Welcome Them!

Palawan

Some pictures installing BSFs on Palawan
http://picasaweb.google.com/wmodavis/BSF1#
http://picasaweb.google.com/wmodavis/BSF2#
http://picasaweb.google.com/wmodavis/BSF3#

Comment Wall (10 comments)

You need to be a member of Impact Nations to add comments!

Join Impact Nations

At 6:27pm on January 25, 2010, Bill Davis said…: Tim
Thanks for the reply. In fact I have just returned from another trip to Palawan working on BSF and adding a new project - a Ram Pump to bring water up from a river to a farm 40 to50 feet above the river. The farm is suffering from lack of productivity due to water shortage thereby threatening the income of the farmer and his family. So far we were only somewhat successful, getting water up there but not enough for farming. Enough though for a BSF so they wont have to carry drinking from the nearest BSF, still a fair walk.

I am still very interested in taking you up on your offer but am scheduled to return to Palawan Feb 9 so will have to postpone coming your way. I have heard of someone in Davao area who has some experience with the Ram Pump so may try to take advantage of that when I do come. Will try to contact a nearby source of info first.

The latest batch of BSFs we got on this trip were showing leaks so we did some testing using both a cement paste and Vulca Seal as you suggested. The results are not yet in as we didn't get back to re-testing for leaks after the attempt. Will check on it when I return. It does suggest some manufacturing problems with the filters we are getting so am really interested in your techniques for minmizing leaks in manufacturing.

So stay tuned. I will have a better idea when I can come after my next trip. I will contact you and see what we can mutually work out then.

Thanks for your willingness to help.

Bill
P.S. Do you know anyone using RamPumps there?

At 4:27pm on January 14, 2010, Tim Stewart said…: Hi Bill,

I'm really really sorry. I should have contacted you a few weeks ago, but totally blew it. We are opening the shop again on Monday, and you are welcome to join us at any point after that. We should have enough installations scheduled in the coming weeks that we'll be able to get you out of the shop at some point, but I know you want to be in the shop lots too. Again, I do apologize for the delay.

At 9:34pm on December 13, 2009, Tim Stewart said…: Hi Bill,

We only ever use the VulcaSeal on the outside of the filter. We don't usually encounter many leaks, but when we do they are very tiny and would be difficult to spot from the inside of the filter. We haven't had any complaints that the leaks are reoccurring, so I have to assume that the sealant is holding just fine—keep in mind that we also use an elastomeric paint on the exterior of the filter that helps to further seal it.

We used to use a product called Water Plug which, as the name implies, is designed for exactly this type of use. Another product was something like Thorough Seal, which was also a fast drying cement. The reason we switched was because the VulcaSeal is so much easier to use. With only a small amount of sealant on the outside of the filter, and the cracks being incredibly small, I'm pretty confident that the toxicity is not a problem.

If you are able to identify the source of the leak from the inside, I think you are on the right track to try and patch it with cement from the inside. The VulcaSeal should only be used on the outside to fill hairline cracks.

As always, we are more than happy to help, so keep the questions coming! If it's okay with you, I'd like to delay a decision on the timing of your visit. Late January will probably be the best time, but the month is still taking shape for us and I want to make sure you are here at a time when there is lots of activity for you to observe. Are you mostly interested in seeing our production techniques, or would you like some time doing installations in the field as well?

At 4:45pm on November 24, 2009, isidrito ambulo said…: To avaoid leaks in the finish product,we put more cement factor than prescribed.And the pouring of concrete in the mold should be done carefully.

At 4:39pm on November 24, 2009, isidrito ambulo said…: Hi Bill.Im toti,assistant of tim stewart in davao city.Welcome to our network.I heard that you are also into Biosand filtration.Im glad to hear that.Tim asked me to give you some tips on how to patch leaking filter.What we do is first mark the portion of the filter where it leaks,empty the filter and dry up the leak portion and apply the vulca seal.Just spread vulca seal in and out of the filter and let it dry.It only takes 5 minutes to dry up,then check again by filling filter with water.

At 5:12am on November 24, 2009, Tim Stewart said…: Hey Bill,

Thanks for writing. I'm sorry to hear that you've received leaky filters. Most of them can likely be rescued. The salesman in me can't help but mention that all of our filters are tested for leaks immediately upon removal from their mold and if any leaks are found they are patched and retested. We also use a high concentration of cement in our concrete in order to insure that the filters will be able to withstand some very treacherous delivery routes.

Anyways, all that to say that we do in fact have a method for patching them. We used to use a product called Water Plug, but switched to VulcaSeal because it is cheaper and easier to apply. I'll ask my partner Toti to write you a quick note to give you any tips he may have on how to best patch up a filter.

In regards to your visit, I'm not sure when the best time will be. Things are slowly starting to wind down as we approach Christmas and I've yet to decide exactly when we will shut down the manufacturing center for the holidays. The political situation in the ARMM is heating up this week too, so that will likely delay several of our deliveries which will lead to an abundance of stock. I'll keep you posted. If things are too slow between now and Christmas, would January work for you?

Cheers,
Tim.

At 9:48pm on November 11, 2009, Tim Stewart said…: Bill, so glad to hear things went well in Calgary. We would be more than happy to have you in Davao. You would be welcome to stay at my home and visit the shop and spend time with our staff both in the shop and out in the field. As I said to Phil a couple weeks ago, we are very eager to help bring aid to the Manila area, but feel so helpless being on the wrong side of the country. If we can help by sharing knowledge and experience with you, then we are excited for that opportunity. As always, be sure to contact me with any questions you may have as you develop your plans.

At 11:11pm on October 28, 2009, Steve Stewart said…: Welcome to the network. Steve just put a video onto the home page to introduce you to the unique features of the Impact Network, and why it is such a powerful tool to rescue lives.

At 10:02pm on October 22, 2009, Tim Stewart said…: Hi Bill, sorry I think was confusing. Our operation is in Mindanao, not Manila. I was simply asking about your work in Biñan. I don't know of anybody who is operating a BSF project in the metro-Manila area at this time, so I guess shipping them from Palawan is your best option. I've often wondered about the cost involved in shipping filters, so I would love to hear about your experience.

I'm assuming that CAWST has been in the Philippines before, but I personally received my training from one of our Canadian team members who had attended a workshop in Calgary. Here in Mindanao we now do training for other organizations. We do one day training for installations and six day training for the full experience including manufacturing filters, installing filters, and project management.

If you'd like to know more about our Mindanao operations, feel free to check out this page.

At 4:16pm on October 22, 2009, Tim Stewart said…: Hi Bill, glad to have you here at Impact Nations. How did you find us? I'd be happy to discuss our experience with you. You're working up in metro Manila now, yes?

Getting a steel mold made for the first time is a trying experience, and requires a lot of your own attention. The fabricator cannot be left alone for long. It's important to hire a fabricator, not just a welder. You need someone who instinctively understands how things work. I'm sure the crew in Calgary will discuss this with you, so forgive me if I'm being redundant.

The other thing to watch for is the quality of the steel. Filipinos sometimes have an attitude that says "it's good enough". I have several times had to return my steel to the dealer because they delivered plates that were to thin. If the steel is too thin, the metal tends to warp on the exterior walls of the mold which makes it difficult to remove the mold from the concrete. Thin steel can also result in the ledge that the diffuser plate sits on being too narrow.

Well, I'm realizing that I have a whole bunch I could tell you. It's usually a fairly long discussion during the training that we do here in Davao. I'm not sure how much info you're looking for at this point, so I'll leave you alone for now. But if you have questions, please feel free to ask. Perhaps once it comes time for you to build molds in Biñan I could give you some more specific help.

Cheers,
Tim.