October 22, 2025 • 28 mins
Ever turned on a campground spigot and… it ran brown? Same.
In this episode I sat down with Corbin Collet, CEO of Blu Tech, to talk about making RV water actually safe (and tasty) without killing your water pressure.
We get into why those cheap inline “blue canister” filters are basically bouncers that only stop big dirt (20µm), how Blu Tech’s 0.2µm + full-flow UVC setup works, and why using stainless + NSF-certified parts matters from the faucet all the way to your rig. We also hit the surprisingly underrated stuff: leak-free quick-connects, a smarter black-tank flush, the Qi Tank for chlorine/H₂S/iron, and the new Under-Sink UVC for a simple extra layer at your kitchen tap. Plus, a cool origin story: the company’s COVID-era UVC work that pivoted into RV water.
If you’ve ever said “my water still tastes weird,” there’s a good chance your lines/tank just need a proper sanitize—we cover that, too. Fewer plastic bottles, better coffee, fewer headaches. Let’s go.
Want to learn more about Blu Tech, Click here: https://goblutech.com/?ref=millers
Disclosure: we may earn from qualifying links at no extra cost to you. Opinions are our own.
#rvlife #waterfiltration #blutech
Chapters
00:00 Why we went to Blu Tech (and brown spigots)
01:00 The origin story: COVID UVC → RV water
03:10 Stainless vs plastic + why NSF parts matter
04:35 Cheap inline filters vs 0.2µm + UVC (pressure safe)
07:20 The surprise hits: quick-connects & black-tank flush
09:00 Certifications, bad taste fixes & sanitizing lines
11:05 Softener + Qi Tank (chlorine/H₂S/iron) explained
13:10 New Under-Sink UVC (simple install, extra protection)
15:05 Beyond RV: home/off-grid, defense & disaster relief
16:40 Where to buy, shows you’ll find them, final thoughts
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
SPEAKER_00 (00:00):
Welcome back to the RV Shenanigans podcast.
My name is Ryan, and my wife,who is not with me at the
moment, is Lauren.
While we were in the Midwest, wedecided to pay our friends up at
Blue Tech, just up the road inKalamazoo, Michigan, a little
bit of a visit.
We cornered Corbin, the CEO, satdown for a little conversation,
and talked all things, waterfiltration, and why it's
important for your rig.
(00:21):
All right, I have made my way upto Michigan.
Believe it or not, this is myfirst time in Michigan.
First time.
On purpose, at least.
I accidentally did an L car oneday.
I got turned around.
I made my way up to BlueTechnology, the maker of all
things water filters andaccessories to go along with it
in the RV industry.
And I'm sitting with thepresident and CEO of Blue Tech,
(00:42):
Go Blue Tech.
Which version do you want tocall it?
Let's go with Go Blue Tech.
Go Blue Tech.
It's also the website.
Corbin Collet.
That's correct.
Thank you so much for having meon.
SPEAKER_01 (00:51):
Yeah, pleasure.
Thanks for coming.
SPEAKER_00 (00:52):
All right, man.
So, first and foremost, whatexactly is Blue Tech?
Go Blue Tech.
SPEAKER_01 (00:58):
Sure.
So Blue Tech, or Go Blue Techwas we like to refer to it, was
really born out of the COVIDtimeframe.
Like a lot of folks, includingsomeone like yourself, a little
bit.
Doing a little traveling duringCOVID.
We owned some service businessesas a company.
And during that time frame,obviously nobody was going
anywhere in any businesses.
So our company focused on moreof the philanthropic side of
(01:21):
things and realized that therewas a need for hospital masks
during COVID.
Okay.
We didn't know that there was ahuge shortage worldwide.
So we developed a process bywhich we were able to purify
hospital masks.
And we were sending them tolocal hospitals.
So we knew that wasn't going tolast forever.
And so we started looking at,well, what else can we use all
(01:42):
this knowledge that we've gainedfor?
And we learned about a newtechnology, which was water LED
UVC, which was portable,lightweight, 12 volt.
And so we ended up doing istaking our brains and putting
them together, and we ended uppatenting a very unique
lightweight, low-power UVC unit.
And that's really what startedthe whole focus on water.
SPEAKER_00 (02:05):
Gotcha.
So then from there, so that'sobviously the very beginning of
kind of how Blue Tech hit.
But before you guys came in,especially to the RV space, what
was the void that you guys kindof saw in that space that you
wanted to fill?
SPEAKER_01 (02:18):
It's a very interesting question.
Um so we didn't really start outfocusing on a market.
What happened was this systemyou're talking about, once we
came out of COVID, we starteddeploying it into small
communities and small villagesaround the globe.
Um and what it was doing wasproviding cleaner, safer water
for small villages.
So they literally were using ourpump unit, um, which is our 0.2
(02:41):
micron filtration with a pumpand our UVC to get fresh water
for the villages.
Okay.
Um we decided that once we cameout of that, that there was
something there, and we took itto our very first trade show in
Tampa.
Um and we decided to take alongTampa.
Uh decided to take along a fewof our just base filtration
without the pump.
(03:02):
And the very first day we soldout of those systems with the
feedback from the the folks thatwere buying them.
It's like this is the mostincredible build I've ever seen.
Lightweight, small, compact,stainless steel, quick connect
system.
So that really gave us the ahamoment that, hey, maybe we have
a product that we can go intothe RV industry with.
SPEAKER_00 (03:21):
Right.
That's cool.
So, I mean, was it always theidea to do the full stainless
and metal builds, or was it likewhere did you guys go in the
developmental process early onwith that?
SPEAKER_01 (03:30):
Yeah, absolutely.
Obviously, at the veryinception, we were playing with
plastic like everybody else, butrealized that there are a lot of
issues with plastics.
Um, sometimes if they're sourcedincorrectly too, you can end up
with things that actually harmyou versus help you.
So we went down the stainlesssteel path in all of our builds,
and we went approached it fromhighest level um materials,
(03:52):
really for the longevity of thebuild and also for corrosion
resistance and for the uhcleanability and reliability of
the little bit of cleaning andwiping your dunk versus plastic
where it embeds and stainlesssteel is known for drinking
water safety, right?
It doesn't allow for bacterialgrowth on the surfaces.
SPEAKER_00 (04:08):
And I only asked this question because I'm
curious because so many,especially RV consumers, have a
bad habit of cheapest/slasheasiest wins a lot.
So when you guys first startedgoing, how did you combat the
whole thing, I call it thelittle inline or the blue
canister that uh people can buyat Walmart and other places?
How did you combat that?
SPEAKER_01 (04:27):
Absolutely.
That that really came down toawareness and education.
Right.
So part of our mission too is tomake awareness and education not
just globally, but alsorealizing that the US has a very
large problem with water aswell.
Sure.
Especially when you start divinginto campground water, yeah.
We all think that somebody'sprotecting us up top, and you
realize that, you know,especially in campground water,
(04:47):
the owner operator is the guywho's protecting you, right?
And so he's probably over.
Yeah, sometimes.
Um so essentially when we talkto people, it's more about
understanding what's in yourwater, understanding what it
takes to take out, andexplaining what current
filtration systems areproviding.
Right.
So, for example, the inlinefilter that I use myself as a
full-timer, think I'm protectingmy family, it's a 20 micron,
(05:11):
right?
That's barely taking out dirt.
Um, so when we educate themabout that and talk about how
our filters can get down intothe VOCs and the heavy metals,
arsenic, lead, cyst, and thenyou go into bacteria and
viruses, right?
People start to understand, hey,those things, you know, and do
their own research, those aremaybe in my water.
SPEAKER_00 (05:29):
Yeah.
But say I think when we firststarted talking, whatever it's
been years ago now, when youguys are first starting out, you
guys had a graphic or someonefrom your team was using a
graphic that had like themicrons versus what it is.
It's kind of like a flow chartkind of looking thing.
And you start looking at that,and my wife's in medicine.
So her immediate fit the ideawas like, nope, mm-mm.
Like she goes, I knew it, but Ididn't see it.
(05:50):
Now I see it.
So there's no way we're evergonna drink any of that water
again.
Yeah.
Um, and just to do your littlecampground conversation, you
ever opened one up and it's justbrown that comes out?
That happens more times than Icare to admit.
Even before I put in the filter,I always clear the line first.
SPEAKER_01 (06:04):
Well, it and it speaks to another problem.
I mean, so municipals aremonitoring things at the source,
right?
Right.
And but there's this wholedelivery system on how it gets
to you.
Trevor Burrus, Jr.
SPEAKER_00 (06:13):
That was probably built in the 40s, 50s, or 60s.
SPEAKER_01 (06:15):
I think the average age is like 55 years old of
infrastructure, right?
It seems young too.
Yeah.
Yeah.
So you've got aginginfrastructure, you've got boil
alerts, you've got wells thatare maintained by operators.
So especially for folks, andthat's where we really got
passionate around it, is thenomadic, the biggest nomadic
group in the US is really the RVcommunity.
Sure.
And that's really where we gotexcited because we could help
(06:36):
people right here in the US andhelp them on their travels.
SPEAKER_00 (06:39):
So your first product, which I know what are
we looking at here, just so thatI know.
SPEAKER_01 (06:44):
Yeah, so this is the evolution into that UVC system
that we talked about.
SPEAKER_00 (06:49):
Okay.
SPEAKER_01 (06:50):
Now, what makes it so unique is if you'll remember
our base level introduced thismagical 0.2 micron.
Right.
And the magic of that is itfolded uh that flowed at a full
rate that would not losepressure in your RV.
So our evolution of that was totake the three filters and turn
them into two by combining thissecond stage with our what we
call our tasty filter for bettertaste and smell with our 0.2
(07:13):
micron, but then adding on anadditional full flow UVC that
was capable of providing enoughwater flow without pressure drop
to your entire RV.
And so this is kind of the holygrail that we've been working
towards since the early days ofconception.
This is that UV product wepacked.
SPEAKER_00 (07:30):
But say, because I think I have either 1.0 or 2.0,
which right now you're on what,3 or 4.0, one of those two
things.
SPEAKER_01 (07:36):
Yeah, I think we're we've got we still have them all
in the marketplace.
But yeah, I think you're right.
This is like 3.0.
SPEAKER_00 (07:41):
But it's funny because I can always kind of
tell based on some of the trimof the thing.
It's like, oh, I've got 1.0 andthat's 3.0 or something like
that.
Just because the blues are alittle different on the code.
Yeah, yeah, there has been someabove.
Just little things because asyou guys go, I think that's one
of the things that's cool aboutyou guys and like Alliance RV,
who uses y'all's filters stockon most of their coaches now.
Um, is cool.
Is like you guys, when you seethe need to update something,
(08:02):
you don't wait for anything.
You just kind of start doing itand then you see it in the
marketplace reasonably quickly.
SPEAKER_01 (08:07):
Yeah, just a funny anecdote on that.
It's one thing we didn't realizeout of the gate was if you
actually put this at your coach,it always ends up backwards
because of the way the waterflows.
Yeah.
So this year we're fixing thatproblem.
SPEAKER_00 (08:19):
So you can actually see that from the Or you can do
what I did and just, well, see,now you engraved them in there
because they used to be lookinglike pop-tot stickers.
I just took the stickers off andmoved them.
Yeah.
But those are what I could see.
SPEAKER_01 (08:27):
Yeah, and those are little details we're looking at
as we had, you know, the needthat stickers were coming off.
Well, let's put them on therepermanently.
SPEAKER_00 (08:33):
So you guys obviously, obviously, filtration
is number one when it comes toproducts, but now you guys have
splintered off into pretty muchanything you can think of when
it comes to the RV water system,filtration system, into other
products.
Is there something that you kindof put in the marketplace,
either recent, about to, and youwent, I didn't even know this
could be a thing, and it kind oftook off on you without
(08:54):
realizing it.
SPEAKER_01 (08:55):
Yeah, absolutely.
SPEAKER_00 (08:56):
I know what it is for me because I wasn't really
curious what you say.
Yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (08:58):
Yeah.
Well, I think our biggest hitthis year that we were not
expecting, we had reallyreleased something called the
black tank flush.
And it was just conceived outof, you know, a problem
statement and space carryingaround a nasty hose that's
filled with who knows what.
Um and we figured out a way tomake a little apparatus that was
right in line because peoplewere complaining about having to
go hook up another hose, walkingback, shutting off the bib, all
(09:19):
these different steps.
So, as part of our designphilosophy, it's you know, take
the steps out, make it easier.
Right.
And that's where that was bornout of it.
SPEAKER_00 (09:26):
So that just lives there permanently, or can live
permanently.
You can take it off if you wantto, uh, depending on your coach
potentially in the room youhave, but it lives there
permanently.
You just plug into the outsideof it, and then you just it's a
valve with a with a backflowprevent.
SPEAKER_01 (09:38):
It's got a sense.
It's a backflow preventer inboth the normal flow as well as
the black tank factor.
That's flow.
SPEAKER_00 (09:43):
So for me, it was your quick connects.
SPEAKER_01 (09:45):
Okay.
SPEAKER_00 (09:45):
I don't know.
I mean, that's the one thinglike I was talking to.
Yeah, because I may I realquick, sorry.
SPEAKER_01 (09:50):
Yeah, absolutely.
I'll give you both of them.
SPEAKER_00 (09:52):
I've I've always like I'm I'm a quick connect
guy.
I'm overall lazy, and I'vebought so many of these dang
things over the years.
And they one, they're not this,they're not this metal, they're
more of like the brass, right?
That kind of thing.
And so the patina, they getgross over time.
So I would never have one fulltiming that would last me longer
than five or six months.
But inevitably, after a fewmonths, they would start to leak
(10:14):
from right here.
SPEAKER_01 (10:15):
Absolutely.
SPEAKER_00 (10:16):
And I was talking to, I don't know if it was Chad
from Changing Lanes or somebodyelse.
We were next to him, um, whoeverit was, and they had a set of
the quick connects that you guysbuilt.
I think they literally just wentand bought the quick connects
because they liked them so much.
They knew nothing else about itexcept for these are awesome.
And I remember I did that forthe first time, and I about took
the front of my finger off.
(10:36):
I went, that's awesome.
Yeah.
As soon as I heard that noise,and I literally, we've had ours
on our coach now for well, someiteration of our coaches.
We've had the same quickconnects that came with the
original system.
And to this day, as long as Iclean it here every once in a
while.
Right.
Um, they've never leaked.
SPEAKER_01 (10:50):
Yeah, yeah.
We have we've had people who'vehad this since our inception,
you know, four years or stillusing these same quick connects
with no problems.
And not to get into too muchdetail, but if you ever look
into the design of a quickconnect, there's a bunch of like
little silly things we did, likeeight balls inside of here, the
level of the spring, stainlesssteel 304 for drinking water
safety, silicone food gradewashers.
(11:10):
So there's a whole bunch thatgoes into making this
successful.
SPEAKER_00 (11:13):
And if you get a quick connect on Amazon, none of
that matters.
They don't know what you'reusing it for your garden hose or
for drinking water.
And I think that's an importantthing that people don't
necessarily realize either.
So um, so what is the is thisthe newest, greatest filtration
system out now, or is there ayeah, this is the absolute
newest, greatest.
SPEAKER_01 (11:32):
I mean, one of the things that we've all done as
well with all of our systemsthis year is gone through NSF
certification.
So we built it that way.
We built it with all drinkingwater safe materials, but we
felt we owe our consumers whowere relying on us and letting
them know we're doing what wesay we're doing, as we went
through and had all theseindependently tested, and we got
a big stamp to say these aredrinking water safe.
And that was a huge, huge step.
(11:53):
So this is the latest product,and again, it's the four stage
with the UVC on board, and it'sreally the ultimate mobile,
small, uh compact system that ison the market.
SPEAKER_00 (12:05):
So from I know you guys do a bunch of other types
of filters depending on you knowapplication need, that kind of
stuff in the RV space.
Outside of this typical, I'mgonna call it a four-stage, even
though it looks like athree-stage or the old
three-stage version of it.
What's some of the stuff thatyou are kind of sister products
to this that maybe have aslightly different application,
like upgrid stuff, that kind ofthing?
SPEAKER_01 (12:26):
Absolutely.
So I'm gonna talk a little bitabout just what we'll call fresh
water use, right?
Um you may be aware we have awater softener, and so the water
takes care of the calcium,magnesium in the water, which
protects your health and hairand skin, but also protects your
appliances and anodes in yourhot water heater.
In addition to that, what we'velearned over time is that our
systems are perfect for 98% ofthe situations you get in in
(12:47):
water.
But the hardest thing is thatpeople understand water is
different at every singlelocation.
So over the years, we've learnedabout some high level of
contaminants that tend to not beable to be filtered very
effectively.
Um, so we developed a sisterproduct that's called the Qi
Tank.
SPEAKER_00 (13:04):
Okay.
SPEAKER_01 (13:04):
And qi stands for chlorine, hydrogen sulfide, and
iron.
So if you go look at a typicalhome system, they'll have a
filter, they'll have a watersoftener, and they'll have this
iron tank, right?
And that's for wells typically.
Right.
And so what we've been trying todo is develop these lightweight
products that allow you to mimicyour home on the go.
(13:25):
So this chi tank helped boltonto this and eliminate some of
those campgrounds where filtersjust aren't enough regardless of
what filters they are, just dueto the high levels of
concentration.
Right.
So an owner operator may begetting ready to test and fills
his system up with bleach, andgo lo and behold, it's
hyperchlorinated.
So you can't get the water thehigh the chlorine taste out.
(13:46):
Interesting.
Mm-hmm.
SPEAKER_00 (13:47):
I didn't even know that was a thing, to be
completely honest with you.
SPEAKER_01 (13:50):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (13:51):
Talking a little bit about our viewers as a whole for
a second.
Is there a particular argumentthat anybody's come back with in
your product development, justkind of testing the waters that
said I and they just don't getit for some reason?
In other words, they don'tunderstand why they need to
spend the money on an upgradedwater filtration system that
you've actually won over.
Sure.
Is that ever become a thing?
(14:12):
Or is it once once they're sold,they're kind of they understand
the process and they're notgoing to be able to do it.
SPEAKER_01 (14:16):
If we could bring in, I took some of our newer
employees down to the theHershey show this year.
SPEAKER_00 (14:20):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (14:20):
And they were just giddy.
They came back and they saidpeople were coming up and they
look have the system.
It's great, they've never tastedbetter water.
And that's really been the canthe consensus about the system
once you have it and and jumpin.
Um, the other part of it, too,that people really like about
the system is it's I always tellpeople it's not what's just in
your water, it's what you canput in your water.
(14:41):
Yeah.
So filtration is very importantbecause that's the most
important part, but it's all theassociated pieces that go
together that could potentiallyadd harm to you, right?
So we learned that drinkingwater hoses are drinking water
safe up to about 100 degrees.
Um, so we designed ours not onlywith the stainless steel, but we
have a special liner insidethat's NSF certified to not
off-gas and create problems foryou.
SPEAKER_00 (15:02):
Ah, I gotcha.
SPEAKER_01 (15:03):
Um, and then we took that into regulators and
splitters and all these thingsthat are conventionally brass.
SPEAKER_00 (15:08):
Right.
SPEAKER_01 (15:08):
And if you've watched any of the stories about
things coming in from otherlocations, nobody's verifying
that that material is brass.
So you don't know what exactlyis in there and what it's
putting in your water.
Right.
So people like that they cancome by our system, know that
we've added the safest materialsthroughout from the bib all the
way to the coach.
And then additionally, I thinkyou may be aware we've come out
(15:28):
with a product that also allowsyou then to sanitize your RV
lines prior to using the system.
So you end up with the safestecosystem of water products um
on the market.
SPEAKER_00 (15:37):
Yeah.
Let's say now you just need toget some sort of an inline
system that allows us towinterize the thing a little
easier to do.
SPEAKER_01 (15:43):
I know that'd be great.
SPEAKER_00 (15:44):
Doesn't help the drinking water at all, but it'd
make my life a lot easier.
Absolutely.
So, and I know you guys do a lotof stuff when it comes to water
filtration, but one of thethings, and you kind of spoke to
this earlier with um some of theinternational villages and that
kind of stuff, but you guysactually do quite a bit of work
more on the charitable side ofthings as well.
If you don't mind, what's thatinitiative for you guys and if
(16:06):
we can kind of go down that roadfor a second?
SPEAKER_01 (16:07):
Absolutely.
It's kind of morphed over theyears.
So we started out, as we'vementioned, deploying in third
world countries, trying to getthem clean water, which we put a
lot of systems in thesedifferent locations.
Um, and then we teamed up withuh a charitable organization as
we realized how big the globalchallenges are, meaning if you
ship a system into a particularcountry doesn't mean it'll ever
(16:29):
end up in the village.
So there's some politics to getit to where it needs to go.
And that was probably biggerthan us.
So we teamed up with water.orgto operate with them more as a
contribution to their cause.
Um we did some World Water Days,teamed up with Key Stone RV and
did some promotions to raisemoney and then we donate as we
(16:51):
go.
Um, where Blue Tech took theirfocus was really more focused on
the US, focused on protectingpeople's health, but more
importantly, looking at thesustainability of water.
And what I mean by that is ifyou look at a normal family of
four traveling around the US,right, um they are creating
(17:12):
around 250 pounds of waste andbottled water waste.
Yeah.
And if you translate that acrossall the products that we've
sold, our company, on anestimate, feels that we've
reduced a thousand tons of uhplastic bottled waste going into
landfills.
And the problem with that isthat water, guess where, or
sorry, that waste, guess wherethat ends up most of the time,
(17:34):
oceans.
And that and then ends up backin your water system as micro as
microplastics.
SPEAKER_00 (17:38):
Gotcha.
SPEAKER_01 (17:39):
So it's this cyclical thing that we're trying
to solve a problem of cleanerwater, but we're using products
that create it, not to mentionthe microplastics that are in
our bottles that are potentiallyharming our health.
SPEAKER_00 (17:50):
Right.
I'm about to say, I mean, that'sone of the things.
So we were guilty of that.
And then as soon as we got ourfiltration system on it, it's
one of those things if you don'tknow, you don't know.
I mean, you as I'm that person.
Like, I gotta be, I can be tolda thousand times, and I kind of
like the plate's hot, don'ttouch that.
Right.
Yeah, I'm that guy's like, yeah,yeah, I gotta find out.
Yep, that's hot.
SPEAKER_01 (18:09):
That's hot, absolutely.
SPEAKER_00 (18:10):
But I'm that same person.
And I remember the first fewtimes that we're right before we
put our filtration system on ourValor, our first coach that had
it, um, we hooked everything upand I thought to myself, like,
wait a minute, let me sanitizethe lines, the tank, let's
completely flush it like overlyaggressively.
And then we hooked up to it.
And once we really got theclean, and we used the clean
water to flush the system versusthe dirty water.
(18:32):
Exactly.
Just kind of you I thoughtthrough the process a little bit
better than just swing it andstart dozing stuff down.
Right.
And once we got it flushed outnicely, we never bought a bottle
of water again unless we werejust like an RV show.
Yeah, and it became a necessitything, but we literally both
bought those big Yeti jug-owater things, and that's what we
used all the time.
Absolutely.
And we didn't even think twiceabout it.
(18:52):
Again, if you're in an RV, justsanitize your lens every once in
a while, maybe, because hedoesn't have any control over
that.
SPEAKER_01 (18:57):
Yeah, and that and then just on that topic, I mean,
we used to get people who wouldbuy this system and it's
supposed to be great, and they'dtaste the water for the first
time.
And it says, Yeah, this tasteshorrible.
And it's really came from yourtank.
Did you clean your tank and yourlines?
It's like, well, no.
That's like, well, okay, let'sstart there.
So that's actually where thatbleach-free product came from.
It was a solution to give ourand our customers to be able to
(19:18):
take care of that problem.
SPEAKER_00 (19:19):
Gotcha.
So genius.
So what I mean, there thisquestion would be taken 15
different ways.
So I'm going to start off as acompany and we'll kind of niche
down into the filters andeverything else.
But where do you see blue techgoing 2026 since we're almost
there?
Uh and on.
It's crazy, we're almost in2026.
Wow.
It's amazing.
And in kind of the next fewyears.
SPEAKER_01 (19:38):
So, really, our focus and continual focus has
been on this awareness andeducation.
Um until you understand you havea problem.
There's no sense spending tendollars, let alone some
additional money for thatproblem statement.
So, some of our biggest excitingthings coming out this year will
be a way to put kind of your ownwater quality in your
(19:59):
fingertips.
Um can't really get too far intodetails because it's pretty,
pretty revolutionary.
Uh so we're doing on some thingsprimarily around the awareness
piece.
And then secondarily, um, a lotof people don't understand this,
but there are a list ofcontaminants that are monitored,
right?
So um the Site Drinking WaterAct of 1974 puts out these
(20:19):
contaminants and they add to itevery year.
And so we're staying in tunewith what some of the additional
contaminants they're identifyingthat are problems, and working
towards solutions for thoseparticular contaminants as well.
SPEAKER_00 (20:31):
Which is at least and you correct me if I'm wrong,
which is way ahead of what let'ssay like the EPA kind of puts
out.
It's almost you're proactivelythinking in front of the.
SPEAKER_01 (20:39):
We're in line with what they're doing.
SPEAKER_00 (20:40):
Okay.
SPEAKER_01 (20:41):
So we're trying, I mean, it's very difficult
because you know they've gotgiant processing plants to make
these this water change intosomething generally good for
you, regardless of theinfrastructure.
Um, but we're trying to do thatas best we can in this mobile
application, which is where theinnovation comes in.
SPEAKER_00 (20:55):
Right.
Gotcha.
Is there any expansion potentialoutside the RV space?
SPEAKER_01 (21:00):
We have been new homeowners.
Yeah, we've had some really coolthings happen this year.
We do have some friends andfamily that are using our
systems in their home, includingmyself, um, as test beds, right?
Sure.
Um but the biggest evolutionreally has been that initial
system that we deployed for thesmall villages has now been
adopted into some defense and tosome disaster relief
(21:21):
organizations.
Um really cool product.
It's gonna be, yeah, it's we'reexcited about that deployment.
Um we're continuing to try tounderstand how to best help the
overlanding community as well.
Yeah.
Because you know, it's a uniquesituation.
Well, it is.
You know, you've got solar thatyou can pull from the sun, but
you've got to have water too,right?
Or you can't.
So we've got a system, as we'vesaid, with a um pump on board
(21:44):
that allows you to draw fromlakes and streams.
It's just coming up with betterways to make that more
user-friendly.
SPEAKER_00 (21:51):
Trevor Burrus, Jr.: Well, I guess they're not
user-friendly, but that's got tobe an extreme version because
it's not like I mean, gettingwater from a campground, at
least it went through atreatment plant of some kind.
Again, the delivery system isquestionable at best, but at
least there was intent at thesource to do something.
And then obviously how it comes.
If it's out of a stream or awell or something else, it's
just whatever.
SPEAKER_01 (22:10):
Yeah, it's it is whatever, and we've been working
really hard.
I mean, what I've been told isour effectiveness is like a life
straw at 3 GPM, if that makessome sense.
So it's just it's that littlething you suck on.
SPEAKER_00 (22:22):
I know what that is, but I don't know what three GPM
means, sorry.
SPEAKER_01 (22:25):
Full flow, right?
So your house, your house flowsprobably at 2.2 out of a faucet
for the 12.
SPEAKER_00 (22:30):
Oh, I gotcha.
Okay.
Full rate.
I'm with you now.
Yeah, flow rate.
Gotcha.
Um I catch on eventually.
So as far as let's let's justand I'm saying this as the pipe
dream, like what's the idealsituation in 15, 10, 15 years
from now, product-wise?
Like, is there something that'sjust a it's a pipe dream now,
but technology is kind ofcatching up with you, or is it
(22:51):
just slow and steady space, winsthe race kind of a thing?
SPEAKER_01 (22:54):
Aaron Powell Well, I think you mentioned some homes,
and we are, if you didn't noticethis year, we launched an XLT
version, which is the samedurable construction, still 50%
smaller than most of thecompetitive products, right?
But to try to address the smallcabin and or off-grid living.
Sure.
Um, so we'll continue to evolveinto that space, and it it has,
(23:15):
you know, the same challenges.
Water, water, I guess, right?
Um, evolution-wise, um, we'llcontinue as a product line in
the water sector to againmonitor what's coming at us and
provide solutions.
Um, we'll provide additionalaccessories.
We've got a fun little shut-offrelief valve coming, just little
(23:36):
things that make it easier forthe campers.
And we'll continue to always dothat.
Um, but you may see you know,Blue Tech expand beyond just the
water category.
And the reason is is we feellike our approach from a design
philosophy and the fact thatwe're kind of a form over
function company that thingslook great, they're built well,
(23:58):
that there's room in othercategories potentially that can
benefit from our designphilosophy and our mission
statement.
SPEAKER_00 (24:04):
Well, I was gonna say, even just from the third
party, I mean, it's just theconstruction of everything.
I mean, let alone just if welet's tilt that forward.
I mean, just the amount offasteners that are in that
alone.
I mean, that canister probablydoesn't need four fasteners, but
it's got them.
Right.
Kind of a thing.
And it's just one of those whereit's it's just built right.
You know it's not gonna screwwith you essentially.
It's a fastener, I said screwwith you, sorry.
SPEAKER_01 (24:25):
But that's yeah, most of our team comes from
we're ex-automotive folks aswell, right?
So we have another business thatis operating in quality in
automotive every day.
Um, so a lot of this high-end,we've seen failures, we know
what fails, we know, you know,CPK studies for people who are
technical, but um, all thatdesign philosophy and years of
being an automotive is now beingtransferred into these designs
(24:47):
for OEM, which is somewhatunique, right?
SPEAKER_00 (24:51):
So I will say too, we're starting to see some OEM
RV manufacturers place at leastat least a single stage at bare
minimum, which is one of those Ialways view it as better than
nothing.
SPEAKER_01 (25:02):
Yeah, very cool.
SPEAKER_00 (25:02):
Um, but still not the premium version of that
stuff, but it'll kind of keepeverything cool.
Like I believe is uh besidesAlliance, who else is doing it?
SPEAKER_01 (25:09):
Um we have that on Puma, the Puma line, and we've
also had it on some of theForest River and Riverstone over
time as we've moved to thestainless, that's kind of been
obsolete, but we're coming backaround now with our stainless
offerings.
Gotcha.
unknown (25:22):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (25:23):
I was gonna say, too, the cool thing about the
products is if you have a uniquemounting situation, you don't
just have canisters like this.
You make them where you canmount them on a wall, and then
they're freestanding without thecage.
This one's meant to be, I guess,inside or outside.
It's just versatile.
SPEAKER_01 (25:35):
Right.
SPEAKER_00 (25:36):
Ours depends on the day for us.
But if it's getting coldoutside, we would put them
inside.
Exactly.
Warm and in the way outside.
SPEAKER_01 (25:42):
Yeah, and I think you're aware we offer it in the
one, two, and three stage withdifferent types of filtration.
Then we offer these also in,like you're saying, permanent
mounts for people who don't wantto have something portable and
built in.
Um, I think the newest thing,just to put a little plug in
there, is we are launching areally cool um new UV product um
called the Undersync UVC.
SPEAKER_00 (26:02):
Okay.
SPEAKER_01 (26:02):
Um and what it allows you to do is to plumb
that in instead of having a DIYsolution, yeah.
Um, just simply unscrew your twoum connection points, one on the
faucet and one on the shutoff,and it literally goes in lines
so that your cold faucet willalways be UV protected.
So that when even if you haveour system, when you're running
off the tank, it's protectingyou.
(26:23):
It's another line of defense forwhat's growing in that tank.
SPEAKER_00 (26:26):
Especially if that's like if you get your drinking
water from the kitchen sink kindof a thing, it's just one extra
layer.
Because when you said that, Iassumed there'd be a secondary.
SPEAKER_01 (26:34):
And we do we do offer a secondary faucet.
Right.
But what we've learned is thatunless you like DIY projects,
it's a it's not hard, but itdoes take a little bit of skill.
SPEAKER_00 (26:44):
Aaron Powell Does anybody like a DY project
project or are we just giventhem?
SPEAKER_01 (26:47):
I don't know.
I think as husbands, we're yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (26:49):
I've been given them.
I mean occasionally I come upwith a new idea and I'm like,
let's try this.
And then two minutes later, I'mlike, that was dumb.
Don't do that.
SPEAKER_01 (26:55):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (26:55):
Um, then I then I hire a mobile tech.
SPEAKER_01 (26:58):
Exactly.
That's what that's for.
SPEAKER_00 (26:59):
Perfect, man.
Um, where can everybody find allof the stuff for Blue Tech?
SPEAKER_01 (27:04):
Yeah.
We've been um expanding kind ofour accessibility footprint,
right?
So currently today, obviously atgo bluetech.com is a great place
to find everything.
And then we do have some strongpartnerships with companies like
Mobile Must Have, TechnoRV,eTrailer, and General RV that
you can find our products instore.
SPEAKER_00 (27:24):
And then what shows do you guys like to go to to
show it's show season?
So we got to talk about that.
I know you were at Hershey.
SPEAKER_01 (27:29):
Absolutely.
So we're typically at Hersheyand we're at um the Tampa show.
Yep.
And then we do have a dealernetwork that is now starting to
cover rallies that are on ourbehalf.
Okay.
And then our our partners,TechnoRV, cover probably around
60 shows.
So if you come to our website,find a location, you'll see
where we'll be at next withproduct.
SPEAKER_00 (27:47):
So in other words, if you messed up like I do
sometimes and you forgot toorder filters, you can start
finding them at a lot ofdealerships.
If you're at one of thosestorefronts that happens to
carry your product, then theywill more than likely have it at
a show if you're looking for itthere.
Um I've learned to just when Ibuy it, when I'm replacing
filters, I always have a backup.
When it goes in, I order thenext one.
SPEAKER_01 (28:05):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (28:05):
And then I just move on.
SPEAKER_01 (28:06):
And we do love it when people come back and then
you know work directly with theBlue Tech store.
But um, we also just recentlyput filters back on Amazon with
by popular demand, right?
SPEAKER_00 (28:16):
So Which is more code for We're Lazy and Like
That One Spot.
We want it right now.
Subscribe, reorder, then theydon't have to mess with it.
Exactly.
Um perfect.
Uh I will add links toeverything in the show notes if
you're listening to this downbelow or on YouTube in the
description.
Appreciate it, man.
SPEAKER_01 (28:31):
Yeah, thank you for coming by.
Appreciate the time.
SPEAKER_00 (28:33):
Hopefully, you enjoyed that look into all
things blue tech and why whatthey do means so much for the RV
industry.
Thank you so much for joiningus.
As always, we'll have links downbelow in the description or the
show notes, depending on howyou're listening or watching
this podcast, to everything wetalked about in the episode.
Thank you so much, and we can'twait to chat with you next week.
Welcome back to the RV Shenanigans podcast.
My name is Ryan, and my wife,who is not with me at the
moment, is Lauren.
While we were in the Midwest, wedecided to pay our friends up at
Blue Tech, just up the road inKalamazoo, Michigan, a little
bit of a visit.
We cornered Corbin, the CEO, satdown for a little conversation,
and talked all things, waterfiltration, and why it's
important for your rig.
(00:21):
All right, I have made my way upto Michigan.
Believe it or not, this is myfirst time in Michigan.
First time.
On purpose, at least.
I accidentally did an L car oneday.
I got turned around.
I made my way up to BlueTechnology, the maker of all
things water filters andaccessories to go along with it
in the RV industry.
And I'm sitting with thepresident and CEO of Blue Tech,
(00:42):
Go Blue Tech.
Which version do you want tocall it?
Let's go with Go Blue Tech.
Go Blue Tech.
It's also the website.
Corbin Collet.
That's correct.
Thank you so much for having meon.
SPEAKER_01 (00:51):
Yeah, pleasure.
Thanks for coming.
SPEAKER_00 (00:52):
All right, man.
So, first and foremost, whatexactly is Blue Tech?
Go Blue Tech.
SPEAKER_01 (00:58):
Sure.
So Blue Tech, or Go Blue Techwas we like to refer to it, was
really born out of the COVIDtimeframe.
Like a lot of folks, includingsomeone like yourself, a little
bit.
Doing a little traveling duringCOVID.
We owned some service businessesas a company.
And during that time frame,obviously nobody was going
anywhere in any businesses.
So our company focused on moreof the philanthropic side of
(01:21):
things and realized that therewas a need for hospital masks
during COVID.
Okay.
We didn't know that there was ahuge shortage worldwide.
So we developed a process bywhich we were able to purify
hospital masks.
And we were sending them tolocal hospitals.
So we knew that wasn't going tolast forever.
And so we started looking at,well, what else can we use all
(01:42):
this knowledge that we've gainedfor?
And we learned about a newtechnology, which was water LED
UVC, which was portable,lightweight, 12 volt.
And so we ended up doing istaking our brains and putting
them together, and we ended uppatenting a very unique
lightweight, low-power UVC unit.
And that's really what startedthe whole focus on water.
SPEAKER_00 (02:05):
Gotcha.
So then from there, so that'sobviously the very beginning of
kind of how Blue Tech hit.
But before you guys came in,especially to the RV space, what
was the void that you guys kindof saw in that space that you
wanted to fill?
SPEAKER_01 (02:18):
It's a very interesting question.
Um so we didn't really start outfocusing on a market.
What happened was this systemyou're talking about, once we
came out of COVID, we starteddeploying it into small
communities and small villagesaround the globe.
Um and what it was doing wasproviding cleaner, safer water
for small villages.
So they literally were using ourpump unit, um, which is our 0.2
(02:41):
micron filtration with a pumpand our UVC to get fresh water
for the villages.
Okay.
Um we decided that once we cameout of that, that there was
something there, and we took itto our very first trade show in
Tampa.
Um and we decided to take alongTampa.
Uh decided to take along a fewof our just base filtration
without the pump.
(03:02):
And the very first day we soldout of those systems with the
feedback from the the folks thatwere buying them.
It's like this is the mostincredible build I've ever seen.
Lightweight, small, compact,stainless steel, quick connect
system.
So that really gave us the ahamoment that, hey, maybe we have
a product that we can go intothe RV industry with.
SPEAKER_00 (03:21):
Right.
That's cool.
So, I mean, was it always theidea to do the full stainless
and metal builds, or was it likewhere did you guys go in the
developmental process early onwith that?
SPEAKER_01 (03:30):
Yeah, absolutely.
Obviously, at the veryinception, we were playing with
plastic like everybody else, butrealized that there are a lot of
issues with plastics.
Um, sometimes if they're sourcedincorrectly too, you can end up
with things that actually harmyou versus help you.
So we went down the stainlesssteel path in all of our builds,
and we went approached it fromhighest level um materials,
(03:52):
really for the longevity of thebuild and also for corrosion
resistance and for the uhcleanability and reliability of
the little bit of cleaning andwiping your dunk versus plastic
where it embeds and stainlesssteel is known for drinking
water safety, right?
It doesn't allow for bacterialgrowth on the surfaces.
SPEAKER_00 (04:08):
And I only asked this question because I'm
curious because so many,especially RV consumers, have a
bad habit of cheapest/slasheasiest wins a lot.
So when you guys first startedgoing, how did you combat the
whole thing, I call it thelittle inline or the blue
canister that uh people can buyat Walmart and other places?
How did you combat that?
SPEAKER_01 (04:27):
Absolutely.
That that really came down toawareness and education.
Right.
So part of our mission too is tomake awareness and education not
just globally, but alsorealizing that the US has a very
large problem with water aswell.
Sure.
Especially when you start divinginto campground water, yeah.
We all think that somebody'sprotecting us up top, and you
realize that, you know,especially in campground water,
(04:47):
the owner operator is the guywho's protecting you, right?
And so he's probably over.
Yeah, sometimes.
Um so essentially when we talkto people, it's more about
understanding what's in yourwater, understanding what it
takes to take out, andexplaining what current
filtration systems areproviding.
Right.
So, for example, the inlinefilter that I use myself as a
full-timer, think I'm protectingmy family, it's a 20 micron,
(05:11):
right?
That's barely taking out dirt.
Um, so when we educate themabout that and talk about how
our filters can get down intothe VOCs and the heavy metals,
arsenic, lead, cyst, and thenyou go into bacteria and
viruses, right?
People start to understand, hey,those things, you know, and do
their own research, those aremaybe in my water.
SPEAKER_00 (05:29):
Yeah.
But say I think when we firststarted talking, whatever it's
been years ago now, when youguys are first starting out, you
guys had a graphic or someonefrom your team was using a
graphic that had like themicrons versus what it is.
It's kind of like a flow chartkind of looking thing.
And you start looking at that,and my wife's in medicine.
So her immediate fit the ideawas like, nope, mm-mm.
Like she goes, I knew it, but Ididn't see it.
(05:50):
Now I see it.
So there's no way we're evergonna drink any of that water
again.
Yeah.
Um, and just to do your littlecampground conversation, you
ever opened one up and it's justbrown that comes out?
That happens more times than Icare to admit.
Even before I put in the filter,I always clear the line first.
SPEAKER_01 (06:04):
Well, it and it speaks to another problem.
I mean, so municipals aremonitoring things at the source,
right?
Right.
And but there's this wholedelivery system on how it gets
to you.
Trevor Burrus, Jr.
SPEAKER_00 (06:13):
That was probably built in the 40s, 50s, or 60s.
SPEAKER_01 (06:15):
I think the average age is like 55 years old of
infrastructure, right?
It seems young too.
Yeah.
Yeah.
So you've got aginginfrastructure, you've got boil
alerts, you've got wells thatare maintained by operators.
So especially for folks, andthat's where we really got
passionate around it, is thenomadic, the biggest nomadic
group in the US is really the RVcommunity.
Sure.
And that's really where we gotexcited because we could help
(06:36):
people right here in the US andhelp them on their travels.
SPEAKER_00 (06:39):
So your first product, which I know what are
we looking at here, just so thatI know.
SPEAKER_01 (06:44):
Yeah, so this is the evolution into that UVC system
that we talked about.
SPEAKER_00 (06:49):
Okay.
SPEAKER_01 (06:50):
Now, what makes it so unique is if you'll remember
our base level introduced thismagical 0.2 micron.
Right.
And the magic of that is itfolded uh that flowed at a full
rate that would not losepressure in your RV.
So our evolution of that was totake the three filters and turn
them into two by combining thissecond stage with our what we
call our tasty filter for bettertaste and smell with our 0.2
(07:13):
micron, but then adding on anadditional full flow UVC that
was capable of providing enoughwater flow without pressure drop
to your entire RV.
And so this is kind of the holygrail that we've been working
towards since the early days ofconception.
This is that UV product wepacked.
SPEAKER_00 (07:30):
But say, because I think I have either 1.0 or 2.0,
which right now you're on what,3 or 4.0, one of those two
things.
SPEAKER_01 (07:36):
Yeah, I think we're we've got we still have them all
in the marketplace.
But yeah, I think you're right.
This is like 3.0.
SPEAKER_00 (07:41):
But it's funny because I can always kind of
tell based on some of the trimof the thing.
It's like, oh, I've got 1.0 andthat's 3.0 or something like
that.
Just because the blues are alittle different on the code.
Yeah, yeah, there has been someabove.
Just little things because asyou guys go, I think that's one
of the things that's cool aboutyou guys and like Alliance RV,
who uses y'all's filters stockon most of their coaches now.
Um, is cool.
Is like you guys, when you seethe need to update something,
(08:02):
you don't wait for anything.
You just kind of start doing itand then you see it in the
marketplace reasonably quickly.
SPEAKER_01 (08:07):
Yeah, just a funny anecdote on that.
It's one thing we didn't realizeout of the gate was if you
actually put this at your coach,it always ends up backwards
because of the way the waterflows.
Yeah.
So this year we're fixing thatproblem.
SPEAKER_00 (08:19):
So you can actually see that from the Or you can do
what I did and just, well, see,now you engraved them in there
because they used to be lookinglike pop-tot stickers.
I just took the stickers off andmoved them.
Yeah.
But those are what I could see.
SPEAKER_01 (08:27):
Yeah, and those are little details we're looking at
as we had, you know, the needthat stickers were coming off.
Well, let's put them on therepermanently.
SPEAKER_00 (08:33):
So you guys obviously, obviously, filtration
is number one when it comes toproducts, but now you guys have
splintered off into pretty muchanything you can think of when
it comes to the RV water system,filtration system, into other
products.
Is there something that you kindof put in the marketplace,
either recent, about to, and youwent, I didn't even know this
could be a thing, and it kind oftook off on you without
(08:54):
realizing it.
SPEAKER_01 (08:55):
Yeah, absolutely.
SPEAKER_00 (08:56):
I know what it is for me because I wasn't really
curious what you say.
Yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (08:58):
Yeah.
Well, I think our biggest hitthis year that we were not
expecting, we had reallyreleased something called the
black tank flush.
And it was just conceived outof, you know, a problem
statement and space carryingaround a nasty hose that's
filled with who knows what.
Um and we figured out a way tomake a little apparatus that was
right in line because peoplewere complaining about having to
go hook up another hose, walkingback, shutting off the bib, all
(09:19):
these different steps.
So, as part of our designphilosophy, it's you know, take
the steps out, make it easier.
Right.
And that's where that was bornout of it.
SPEAKER_00 (09:26):
So that just lives there permanently, or can live
permanently.
You can take it off if you wantto, uh, depending on your coach
potentially in the room youhave, but it lives there
permanently.
You just plug into the outsideof it, and then you just it's a
valve with a with a backflowprevent.
SPEAKER_01 (09:38):
It's got a sense.
It's a backflow preventer inboth the normal flow as well as
the black tank factor.
That's flow.
SPEAKER_00 (09:43):
So for me, it was your quick connects.
SPEAKER_01 (09:45):
Okay.
SPEAKER_00 (09:45):
I don't know.
I mean, that's the one thinglike I was talking to.
Yeah, because I may I realquick, sorry.
SPEAKER_01 (09:50):
Yeah, absolutely.
I'll give you both of them.
SPEAKER_00 (09:52):
I've I've always like I'm I'm a quick connect
guy.
I'm overall lazy, and I'vebought so many of these dang
things over the years.
And they one, they're not this,they're not this metal, they're
more of like the brass, right?
That kind of thing.
And so the patina, they getgross over time.
So I would never have one fulltiming that would last me longer
than five or six months.
But inevitably, after a fewmonths, they would start to leak
(10:14):
from right here.
SPEAKER_01 (10:15):
Absolutely.
SPEAKER_00 (10:16):
And I was talking to, I don't know if it was Chad
from Changing Lanes or somebodyelse.
We were next to him, um, whoeverit was, and they had a set of
the quick connects that you guysbuilt.
I think they literally just wentand bought the quick connects
because they liked them so much.
They knew nothing else about itexcept for these are awesome.
And I remember I did that forthe first time, and I about took
the front of my finger off.
(10:36):
I went, that's awesome.
Yeah.
As soon as I heard that noise,and I literally, we've had ours
on our coach now for well, someiteration of our coaches.
We've had the same quickconnects that came with the
original system.
And to this day, as long as Iclean it here every once in a
while.
Right.
Um, they've never leaked.
SPEAKER_01 (10:50):
Yeah, yeah.
We have we've had people who'vehad this since our inception,
you know, four years or stillusing these same quick connects
with no problems.
And not to get into too muchdetail, but if you ever look
into the design of a quickconnect, there's a bunch of like
little silly things we did, likeeight balls inside of here, the
level of the spring, stainlesssteel 304 for drinking water
safety, silicone food gradewashers.
(11:10):
So there's a whole bunch thatgoes into making this
successful.
SPEAKER_00 (11:13):
And if you get a quick connect on Amazon, none of
that matters.
They don't know what you'reusing it for your garden hose or
for drinking water.
And I think that's an importantthing that people don't
necessarily realize either.
So um, so what is the is thisthe newest, greatest filtration
system out now, or is there ayeah, this is the absolute
newest, greatest.
SPEAKER_01 (11:32):
I mean, one of the things that we've all done as
well with all of our systemsthis year is gone through NSF
certification.
So we built it that way.
We built it with all drinkingwater safe materials, but we
felt we owe our consumers whowere relying on us and letting
them know we're doing what wesay we're doing, as we went
through and had all theseindependently tested, and we got
a big stamp to say these aredrinking water safe.
And that was a huge, huge step.
(11:53):
So this is the latest product,and again, it's the four stage
with the UVC on board, and it'sreally the ultimate mobile,
small, uh compact system that ison the market.
SPEAKER_00 (12:05):
So from I know you guys do a bunch of other types
of filters depending on you knowapplication need, that kind of
stuff in the RV space.
Outside of this typical, I'mgonna call it a four-stage, even
though it looks like athree-stage or the old
three-stage version of it.
What's some of the stuff thatyou are kind of sister products
to this that maybe have aslightly different application,
like upgrid stuff, that kind ofthing?
SPEAKER_01 (12:26):
Absolutely.
So I'm gonna talk a little bitabout just what we'll call fresh
water use, right?
Um you may be aware we have awater softener, and so the water
takes care of the calcium,magnesium in the water, which
protects your health and hairand skin, but also protects your
appliances and anodes in yourhot water heater.
In addition to that, what we'velearned over time is that our
systems are perfect for 98% ofthe situations you get in in
(12:47):
water.
But the hardest thing is thatpeople understand water is
different at every singlelocation.
So over the years, we've learnedabout some high level of
contaminants that tend to not beable to be filtered very
effectively.
Um, so we developed a sisterproduct that's called the Qi
Tank.
SPEAKER_00 (13:04):
Okay.
SPEAKER_01 (13:04):
And qi stands for chlorine, hydrogen sulfide, and
iron.
So if you go look at a typicalhome system, they'll have a
filter, they'll have a watersoftener, and they'll have this
iron tank, right?
And that's for wells typically.
Right.
And so what we've been trying todo is develop these lightweight
products that allow you to mimicyour home on the go.
(13:25):
So this chi tank helped boltonto this and eliminate some of
those campgrounds where filtersjust aren't enough regardless of
what filters they are, just dueto the high levels of
concentration.
Right.
So an owner operator may begetting ready to test and fills
his system up with bleach, andgo lo and behold, it's
hyperchlorinated.
So you can't get the water thehigh the chlorine taste out.
(13:46):
Interesting.
Mm-hmm.
SPEAKER_00 (13:47):
I didn't even know that was a thing, to be
completely honest with you.
SPEAKER_01 (13:50):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (13:51):
Talking a little bit about our viewers as a whole for
a second.
Is there a particular argumentthat anybody's come back with in
your product development, justkind of testing the waters that
said I and they just don't getit for some reason?
In other words, they don'tunderstand why they need to
spend the money on an upgradedwater filtration system that
you've actually won over.
Sure.
Is that ever become a thing?
(14:12):
Or is it once once they're sold,they're kind of they understand
the process and they're notgoing to be able to do it.
SPEAKER_01 (14:16):
If we could bring in, I took some of our newer
employees down to the theHershey show this year.
SPEAKER_00 (14:20):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (14:20):
And they were just giddy.
They came back and they saidpeople were coming up and they
look have the system.
It's great, they've never tastedbetter water.
And that's really been the canthe consensus about the system
once you have it and and jumpin.
Um, the other part of it, too,that people really like about
the system is it's I always tellpeople it's not what's just in
your water, it's what you canput in your water.
(14:41):
Yeah.
So filtration is very importantbecause that's the most
important part, but it's all theassociated pieces that go
together that could potentiallyadd harm to you, right?
So we learned that drinkingwater hoses are drinking water
safe up to about 100 degrees.
Um, so we designed ours not onlywith the stainless steel, but we
have a special liner insidethat's NSF certified to not
off-gas and create problems foryou.
SPEAKER_00 (15:02):
Ah, I gotcha.
SPEAKER_01 (15:03):
Um, and then we took that into regulators and
splitters and all these thingsthat are conventionally brass.
SPEAKER_00 (15:08):
Right.
SPEAKER_01 (15:08):
And if you've watched any of the stories about
things coming in from otherlocations, nobody's verifying
that that material is brass.
So you don't know what exactlyis in there and what it's
putting in your water.
Right.
So people like that they cancome by our system, know that
we've added the safest materialsthroughout from the bib all the
way to the coach.
And then additionally, I thinkyou may be aware we've come out
(15:28):
with a product that also allowsyou then to sanitize your RV
lines prior to using the system.
So you end up with the safestecosystem of water products um
on the market.
SPEAKER_00 (15:37):
Yeah.
Let's say now you just need toget some sort of an inline
system that allows us towinterize the thing a little
easier to do.
SPEAKER_01 (15:43):
I know that'd be great.
SPEAKER_00 (15:44):
Doesn't help the drinking water at all, but it'd
make my life a lot easier.
Absolutely.
So, and I know you guys do a lotof stuff when it comes to water
filtration, but one of thethings, and you kind of spoke to
this earlier with um some of theinternational villages and that
kind of stuff, but you guysactually do quite a bit of work
more on the charitable side ofthings as well.
If you don't mind, what's thatinitiative for you guys and if
(16:06):
we can kind of go down that roadfor a second?
SPEAKER_01 (16:07):
Absolutely.
It's kind of morphed over theyears.
So we started out, as we'vementioned, deploying in third
world countries, trying to getthem clean water, which we put a
lot of systems in thesedifferent locations.
Um, and then we teamed up withuh a charitable organization as
we realized how big the globalchallenges are, meaning if you
ship a system into a particularcountry doesn't mean it'll ever
(16:29):
end up in the village.
So there's some politics to getit to where it needs to go.
And that was probably biggerthan us.
So we teamed up with water.orgto operate with them more as a
contribution to their cause.
Um we did some World Water Days,teamed up with Key Stone RV and
did some promotions to raisemoney and then we donate as we
(16:51):
go.
Um, where Blue Tech took theirfocus was really more focused on
the US, focused on protectingpeople's health, but more
importantly, looking at thesustainability of water.
And what I mean by that is ifyou look at a normal family of
four traveling around the US,right, um they are creating
(17:12):
around 250 pounds of waste andbottled water waste.
Yeah.
And if you translate that acrossall the products that we've
sold, our company, on anestimate, feels that we've
reduced a thousand tons of uhplastic bottled waste going into
landfills.
And the problem with that isthat water, guess where, or
sorry, that waste, guess wherethat ends up most of the time,
(17:34):
oceans.
And that and then ends up backin your water system as micro as
microplastics.
SPEAKER_00 (17:38):
Gotcha.
SPEAKER_01 (17:39):
So it's this cyclical thing that we're trying
to solve a problem of cleanerwater, but we're using products
that create it, not to mentionthe microplastics that are in
our bottles that are potentiallyharming our health.
SPEAKER_00 (17:50):
Right.
I'm about to say, I mean, that'sone of the things.
So we were guilty of that.
And then as soon as we got ourfiltration system on it, it's
one of those things if you don'tknow, you don't know.
I mean, you as I'm that person.
Like, I gotta be, I can be tolda thousand times, and I kind of
like the plate's hot, don'ttouch that.
Right.
Yeah, I'm that guy's like, yeah,yeah, I gotta find out.
Yep, that's hot.
SPEAKER_01 (18:09):
That's hot, absolutely.
SPEAKER_00 (18:10):
But I'm that same person.
And I remember the first fewtimes that we're right before we
put our filtration system on ourValor, our first coach that had
it, um, we hooked everything upand I thought to myself, like,
wait a minute, let me sanitizethe lines, the tank, let's
completely flush it like overlyaggressively.
And then we hooked up to it.
And once we really got theclean, and we used the clean
water to flush the system versusthe dirty water.
(18:32):
Exactly.
Just kind of you I thoughtthrough the process a little bit
better than just swing it andstart dozing stuff down.
Right.
And once we got it flushed outnicely, we never bought a bottle
of water again unless we werejust like an RV show.
Yeah, and it became a necessitything, but we literally both
bought those big Yeti jug-owater things, and that's what we
used all the time.
Absolutely.
And we didn't even think twiceabout it.
(18:52):
Again, if you're in an RV, justsanitize your lens every once in
a while, maybe, because hedoesn't have any control over
that.
SPEAKER_01 (18:57):
Yeah, and that and then just on that topic, I mean,
we used to get people who wouldbuy this system and it's
supposed to be great, and they'dtaste the water for the first
time.
And it says, Yeah, this tasteshorrible.
And it's really came from yourtank.
Did you clean your tank and yourlines?
It's like, well, no.
That's like, well, okay, let'sstart there.
So that's actually where thatbleach-free product came from.
It was a solution to give ourand our customers to be able to
(19:18):
take care of that problem.
SPEAKER_00 (19:19):
Gotcha.
So genius.
So what I mean, there thisquestion would be taken 15
different ways.
So I'm going to start off as acompany and we'll kind of niche
down into the filters andeverything else.
But where do you see blue techgoing 2026 since we're almost
there?
Uh and on.
It's crazy, we're almost in2026.
Wow.
It's amazing.
And in kind of the next fewyears.
SPEAKER_01 (19:38):
So, really, our focus and continual focus has
been on this awareness andeducation.
Um until you understand you havea problem.
There's no sense spending tendollars, let alone some
additional money for thatproblem statement.
So, some of our biggest excitingthings coming out this year will
be a way to put kind of your ownwater quality in your
(19:59):
fingertips.
Um can't really get too far intodetails because it's pretty,
pretty revolutionary.
Uh so we're doing on some thingsprimarily around the awareness
piece.
And then secondarily, um, a lotof people don't understand this,
but there are a list ofcontaminants that are monitored,
right?
So um the Site Drinking WaterAct of 1974 puts out these
(20:19):
contaminants and they add to itevery year.
And so we're staying in tunewith what some of the additional
contaminants they're identifyingthat are problems, and working
towards solutions for thoseparticular contaminants as well.
SPEAKER_00 (20:31):
Which is at least and you correct me if I'm wrong,
which is way ahead of what let'ssay like the EPA kind of puts
out.
It's almost you're proactivelythinking in front of the.
SPEAKER_01 (20:39):
We're in line with what they're doing.
SPEAKER_00 (20:40):
Okay.
SPEAKER_01 (20:41):
So we're trying, I mean, it's very difficult
because you know they've gotgiant processing plants to make
these this water change intosomething generally good for
you, regardless of theinfrastructure.
Um, but we're trying to do thatas best we can in this mobile
application, which is where theinnovation comes in.
SPEAKER_00 (20:55):
Right.
Gotcha.
Is there any expansion potentialoutside the RV space?
SPEAKER_01 (21:00):
We have been new homeowners.
Yeah, we've had some really coolthings happen this year.
We do have some friends andfamily that are using our
systems in their home, includingmyself, um, as test beds, right?
Sure.
Um but the biggest evolutionreally has been that initial
system that we deployed for thesmall villages has now been
adopted into some defense and tosome disaster relief
(21:21):
organizations.
Um really cool product.
It's gonna be, yeah, it's we'reexcited about that deployment.
Um we're continuing to try tounderstand how to best help the
overlanding community as well.
Yeah.
Because you know, it's a uniquesituation.
Well, it is.
You know, you've got solar thatyou can pull from the sun, but
you've got to have water too,right?
Or you can't.
So we've got a system, as we'vesaid, with a um pump on board
(21:44):
that allows you to draw fromlakes and streams.
It's just coming up with betterways to make that more
user-friendly.
SPEAKER_00 (21:51):
Trevor Burrus, Jr.: Well, I guess they're not
user-friendly, but that's got tobe an extreme version because
it's not like I mean, gettingwater from a campground, at
least it went through atreatment plant of some kind.
Again, the delivery system isquestionable at best, but at
least there was intent at thesource to do something.
And then obviously how it comes.
If it's out of a stream or awell or something else, it's
just whatever.
SPEAKER_01 (22:10):
Yeah, it's it is whatever, and we've been working
really hard.
I mean, what I've been told isour effectiveness is like a life
straw at 3 GPM, if that makessome sense.
So it's just it's that littlething you suck on.
SPEAKER_00 (22:22):
I know what that is, but I don't know what three GPM
means, sorry.
SPEAKER_01 (22:25):
Full flow, right?
So your house, your house flowsprobably at 2.2 out of a faucet
for the 12.
SPEAKER_00 (22:30):
Oh, I gotcha.
Okay.
Full rate.
I'm with you now.
Yeah, flow rate.
Gotcha.
Um I catch on eventually.
So as far as let's let's justand I'm saying this as the pipe
dream, like what's the idealsituation in 15, 10, 15 years
from now, product-wise?
Like, is there something that'sjust a it's a pipe dream now,
but technology is kind ofcatching up with you, or is it
(22:51):
just slow and steady space, winsthe race kind of a thing?
SPEAKER_01 (22:54):
Aaron Powell Well, I think you mentioned some homes,
and we are, if you didn't noticethis year, we launched an XLT
version, which is the samedurable construction, still 50%
smaller than most of thecompetitive products, right?
But to try to address the smallcabin and or off-grid living.
Sure.
Um, so we'll continue to evolveinto that space, and it it has,
(23:15):
you know, the same challenges.
Water, water, I guess, right?
Um, evolution-wise, um, we'llcontinue as a product line in
the water sector to againmonitor what's coming at us and
provide solutions.
Um, we'll provide additionalaccessories.
We've got a fun little shut-offrelief valve coming, just little
(23:36):
things that make it easier forthe campers.
And we'll continue to always dothat.
Um, but you may see you know,Blue Tech expand beyond just the
water category.
And the reason is is we feellike our approach from a design
philosophy and the fact thatwe're kind of a form over
function company that thingslook great, they're built well,
(23:58):
that there's room in othercategories potentially that can
benefit from our designphilosophy and our mission
statement.
SPEAKER_00 (24:04):
Well, I was gonna say, even just from the third
party, I mean, it's just theconstruction of everything.
I mean, let alone just if welet's tilt that forward.
I mean, just the amount offasteners that are in that
alone.
I mean, that canister probablydoesn't need four fasteners, but
it's got them.
Right.
Kind of a thing.
And it's just one of those whereit's it's just built right.
You know it's not gonna screwwith you essentially.
It's a fastener, I said screwwith you, sorry.
SPEAKER_01 (24:25):
But that's yeah, most of our team comes from
we're ex-automotive folks aswell, right?
So we have another business thatis operating in quality in
automotive every day.
Um, so a lot of this high-end,we've seen failures, we know
what fails, we know, you know,CPK studies for people who are
technical, but um, all thatdesign philosophy and years of
being an automotive is now beingtransferred into these designs
(24:47):
for OEM, which is somewhatunique, right?
SPEAKER_00 (24:51):
So I will say too, we're starting to see some OEM
RV manufacturers place at leastat least a single stage at bare
minimum, which is one of those Ialways view it as better than
nothing.
SPEAKER_01 (25:02):
Yeah, very cool.
SPEAKER_00 (25:02):
Um, but still not the premium version of that
stuff, but it'll kind of keepeverything cool.
Like I believe is uh besidesAlliance, who else is doing it?
SPEAKER_01 (25:09):
Um we have that on Puma, the Puma line, and we've
also had it on some of theForest River and Riverstone over
time as we've moved to thestainless, that's kind of been
obsolete, but we're coming backaround now with our stainless
offerings.
Gotcha.
unknown (25:22):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (25:23):
I was gonna say, too, the cool thing about the
products is if you have a uniquemounting situation, you don't
just have canisters like this.
You make them where you canmount them on a wall, and then
they're freestanding without thecage.
This one's meant to be, I guess,inside or outside.
It's just versatile.
SPEAKER_01 (25:35):
Right.
SPEAKER_00 (25:36):
Ours depends on the day for us.
But if it's getting coldoutside, we would put them
inside.
Exactly.
Warm and in the way outside.
SPEAKER_01 (25:42):
Yeah, and I think you're aware we offer it in the
one, two, and three stage withdifferent types of filtration.
Then we offer these also in,like you're saying, permanent
mounts for people who don't wantto have something portable and
built in.
Um, I think the newest thing,just to put a little plug in
there, is we are launching areally cool um new UV product um
called the Undersync UVC.
SPEAKER_00 (26:02):
Okay.
SPEAKER_01 (26:02):
Um and what it allows you to do is to plumb
that in instead of having a DIYsolution, yeah.
Um, just simply unscrew your twoum connection points, one on the
faucet and one on the shutoff,and it literally goes in lines
so that your cold faucet willalways be UV protected.
So that when even if you haveour system, when you're running
off the tank, it's protectingyou.
(26:23):
It's another line of defense forwhat's growing in that tank.
SPEAKER_00 (26:26):
Especially if that's like if you get your drinking
water from the kitchen sink kindof a thing, it's just one extra
layer.
Because when you said that, Iassumed there'd be a secondary.
SPEAKER_01 (26:34):
And we do we do offer a secondary faucet.
Right.
But what we've learned is thatunless you like DIY projects,
it's a it's not hard, but itdoes take a little bit of skill.
SPEAKER_00 (26:44):
Aaron Powell Does anybody like a DY project
project or are we just giventhem?
SPEAKER_01 (26:47):
I don't know.
I think as husbands, we're yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (26:49):
I've been given them.
I mean occasionally I come upwith a new idea and I'm like,
let's try this.
And then two minutes later, I'mlike, that was dumb.
Don't do that.
SPEAKER_01 (26:55):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (26:55):
Um, then I then I hire a mobile tech.
SPEAKER_01 (26:58):
Exactly.
That's what that's for.
SPEAKER_00 (26:59):
Perfect, man.
Um, where can everybody find allof the stuff for Blue Tech?
SPEAKER_01 (27:04):
Yeah.
We've been um expanding kind ofour accessibility footprint,
right?
So currently today, obviously atgo bluetech.com is a great place
to find everything.
And then we do have some strongpartnerships with companies like
Mobile Must Have, TechnoRV,eTrailer, and General RV that
you can find our products instore.
SPEAKER_00 (27:24):
And then what shows do you guys like to go to to
show it's show season?
So we got to talk about that.
I know you were at Hershey.
SPEAKER_01 (27:29):
Absolutely.
So we're typically at Hersheyand we're at um the Tampa show.
Yep.
And then we do have a dealernetwork that is now starting to
cover rallies that are on ourbehalf.
Okay.
And then our our partners,TechnoRV, cover probably around
60 shows.
So if you come to our website,find a location, you'll see
where we'll be at next withproduct.
SPEAKER_00 (27:47):
So in other words, if you messed up like I do
sometimes and you forgot toorder filters, you can start
finding them at a lot ofdealerships.
If you're at one of thosestorefronts that happens to
carry your product, then theywill more than likely have it at
a show if you're looking for itthere.
Um I've learned to just when Ibuy it, when I'm replacing
filters, I always have a backup.
When it goes in, I order thenext one.
SPEAKER_01 (28:05):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (28:05):
And then I just move on.
SPEAKER_01 (28:06):
And we do love it when people come back and then
you know work directly with theBlue Tech store.
But um, we also just recentlyput filters back on Amazon with
by popular demand, right?
SPEAKER_00 (28:16):
So Which is more code for We're Lazy and Like
That One Spot.
We want it right now.
Subscribe, reorder, then theydon't have to mess with it.
Exactly.
Um perfect.
Uh I will add links toeverything in the show notes if
you're listening to this downbelow or on YouTube in the
description.
Appreciate it, man.
SPEAKER_01 (28:31):
Yeah, thank you for coming by.
Appreciate the time.
SPEAKER_00 (28:33):
Hopefully, you enjoyed that look into all
things blue tech and why whatthey do means so much for the RV
industry.
Thank you so much for joiningus.
As always, we'll have links downbelow in the description or the
show notes, depending on howyou're listening or watching
this podcast, to everything wetalked about in the episode.
Thank you so much, and we can'twait to chat with you next week.
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