Pressurized Water

Eric M · Jul 14, 2010

Howard,

There is definately nothing wrong with an onboard water system on a boat, lots and lots of us have them and can't imagine life without. ~2x per year I disconnect the water suction line from the tank to the pressure pump and stick it in a bucket of bleach / water mix. Fill all the lines in the boat and let it sit over night. Flush it all clear with fresh water the next day and you have killed off bacteria that may have been in the system.
Search the web for marine water tanks and you will find lots and lots of vendors who offer tanks in a wide variety of off the shelf sizes designed to fit into boats.
You might want to figure out your water demand before you look for a tank. 20 gallons will go pretty quick with 4 people on board esp when even just a rinse off shower is involved.
Go for it, you will be glad you did.
--Eric

Peggie Hall HeadMistress · Jul 14, 2010

A bladder is ok for water holding

But a good quality bladder is as expensive as a top quality polyethylene tank with the added drawback of a fairly short (avg 15 years) lifespan. So I'd go with a rigid plastic tank, or maybe two totalling about 30-40 gallons...which should be enough if you learn how to conserve it.

Ronco Plastics (no relation to Ron Popeil and his VegOmatic Ronco) Ronco Plastics is your best source for water and waste tanks...they make TOP quality thick-walled rotomolded tanks for a very reasonable price and have more than 400 shapes and size, over 100 of which are non-rectangular (including several "bow" shaped)...and they install fittings in the sizes and locations specified by the customer when they make the tank, which should make it easy to connect existing plumbing..though you should replace hose that's 30 years old...old hose tends to become very hard and brittle.

Pick out the tank(s) you need from the Ronco catalog, then save some money AND support this site by ordering it and a water pump (you'll need one) and new hoses through the online store here: sbo.com plumbing

Maintaining fresh water that's as pure and safe as any that comes out of a tap at home--and also just as good tasting--is easy...just recommission the system once a year according to directions I've posted to this site more than a dozen times (search for "fresh water maintenance).

RichH · Jul 14, 2010

1. Is there a bladder or soft tank that I could use with current plumbing? I have room in a different section of the v-berth on the floor that looks like it could hold a 20/25 gal dromedary type setup.
**** Yes indeed there are such tanks. The Cautions is that such a tank SHOULD MEET FDA/NSF specifications and regulations for ****POTABLE**** or DRINKING water. and be so CERTIFIED. Otherwise you may be drinking, etc. with a LOT of harmful 'leachables'.

2. If not could anyone point me to a custom tank manufacturer that might be able to fabricate something to fit the previous or newly selected area?
Ronco Plastics is a good source for polyethylene tanks in various configurations. Polyethylene is the SAFEST. www.ronco-plastics.com, etc.

What is the prevailing thought on on-board water?
Keep the insides of the tank clean, add a wee bit of chlorine (1 oz. of clorox per 25 gallons ... or a wee bit LESS if your WIFE'S nose can detect it in the water) to keep the microorganisms in check, .... but DONT put a carbon filter IN the system as it will extract the needed chlorine !!!!! If the dockside water is from a 'municipal' source (not a well, etc.), it will most probably already have the *proper* amount of chlorine in it.

Get a 1,0µM 'cannister' type filter that you attach to the end of the dock hose to prevent 'chlorine resistant' microorganisms from entering the tank. These are available from Home Despot or Lowes, etc. ..... BUT must state: 1,0µM (99.9% efficiency) ... or "rated" for CYST REMOVAL.

druid · Jul 14, 2010

Bladder "tanks" don't last - get a good quality plastic tank. Ronco is good; up here in Canada I buy all my tanks from Barr Plastics: http://www.barrplastics.com/ Not the cheapest, but high-quality tanks. I bought my new freshwater tank and my holding tank from them (as well as my 120 litre holding tank in Far Cove).

Make sure you brace it adequately - 40 gals of water weighs about 400 lb! (Oops - that's Imperial - donno what US gallons weigh)

druid

thereisabelle · Jul 14, 2010

8 lbs. a gallon the world around. filter between tank and pump. prefer 2. rinse any cleaning agent out.(bleach no more than 10% ever) refill tanks as use requires.potable water is just that.i wouldn't fill the ice trays with it. jimbob

woodster · Jul 14, 2010

druid said:
Bladder "tanks" don't last - get a good quality plastic tank. Ronco is good; up here in Canada I buy all my tanks from Barr Plastics: http://www.barrplastics.com/ Not the cheapest, but high-quality tanks. I bought my new freshwater tank and my holding tank from them (as well as my 120 litre holding tank in Far Cove).

Make sure you brace it adequately - 40 gals of water weighs about 400 lb! (Oops - that's Imperial - donno what US gallons weigh)

druid

your imperial gallon is almost 5 US qts and our US qts weigh 2 lbs/32 ozs US...our US gallons are 4 US qts weighing 8 US lbs or 1 US gallon witch ever you choose

regards

woody

Peggie Hall HeadMistress · Jul 14, 2010

Welllll..actually...close, but no cigar

thereisabelle said:
8 lbs. a gallon the world around.

Using the US measurement, water and waste actually weigh 8.333 lbs/gal.

While that extra .333 may not make much difference when tanks are small, every 3 additional gallons adds a pound of weight...so it can add a whole bunch to the weight of the contents in a large tank.

thereisabelle said:
filter between tank and pump. prefer 2. rinse any cleaning agent out.(bleach no more than 10% ever)

Nope...Bleach to each fill, NEVER!

Bleach is highly corrosive to the rubber parts in pumps and also degrades the ability of hoses to resist odor permeation. Any purifying properties in bleach evaporate within 24 hours, leaving only the corrosive properties behind...and it's the cumulative corrosive properties which do the damage.

All that's needed is an annual or semi annual recommissioning....and since the large ratio of bleach to water isn't cumulative, it doesn't do any damage.

thereisabelle said:
refill tanks as use requires.potable water is just that.i wouldn't fill the ice trays with it. jimbob

And you'd be wrong. The water in a properly maintained system is at least as pure, and tastes/smells just as good, as the water coming out of any faucet on land...if it doesn't, it's because the system isn't being properly maintained...something that only requires a little effort once or twice a year...but even that much effort seems to be more effort than most boat owners today are willing to invest.

Maine Sail · Jul 14, 2010

thereisabelle said:
filter between tank and pump.

Actually this is a rather poor place for a water filter on most of the pumps sold today. For the best performance the filter should be on the outlet/pressure side of the pump not the inlet/suction side. A strainer screen on the suction side is fine but not one that adds head restrictions.

Filters create restrictions which many of the small 12v pumps can't overcome well. On the pressure side you will have about 25-50+ PSI depending upon the model and even a whole house filter cartridge will reduce flow somewhat but it will work significantly better on the pressure side of the pump. Just be sure to put it before the split for hot/cold so you don't run hot water through it..

I agree with Peggy on the one yearly shock treatment. Your water will be clean and tasty for a whole season. Add a charcoal filter that can do cysts and your going to have real tasty water. We run a GE whole house cartridge and a Britta on faucet filter and have the water tested and it always comes back with shining marks. Actually came back better than city water so we added an under sink filtration system at home too.

Bob S · Jul 14, 2010

But Maine water comes from Poland Springs

...

I am in a mooring field. To get water I go to the fuel dock. There is only one water hose and it's the same one used to flush the holding tank after a pump out.

Ron20324 · Jul 14, 2010

I fill the water tank just before a cruise. After the cruise- when in the slip all week- I use up as much as I can so as to take on that much more fresh water for the next cruise. Works great, and the tap water is always good to drink.

Jerry Clark H356 SV Persi · Jul 14, 2010

Peggy is right on!

I use our 356 about 75 days per year and since commissioning, I have used Peggy Hall's treatment system each spring. We use our water to cook, drink, shower, etc and have had no problem at all. We do fill with a dedicated white hose and are selective about our water supply.

I would never use someone else's hose nor one that was near a pump-out faclility.

druid · Jul 14, 2010

woodster said:
your imperial gallon is almost 5 US qts and our US qts weigh 2 lbs/32 ozs US...our US gallons are 4 US qts weighing 8 US lbs or 1 US gallon witch ever you choose

Where the Imperial system (gallons, inches, feet, miles...) was invented (Great Britain), a pint was 2 1/2 cups. For some reason, probably shortly after the American Revolution, the US decided to make THEIR pints 2 cups - so they were 20% smaller than elsewhere in the world. That moved up through US quarts to US gallons - all 20% smaller than Imperial. Then the rest of the world turned to metric (or at least pretended to...), and the US was left with their 80% measurements.

Anyway, back to our Regularly Scheduled Broadcast....
druid

Jalepeno · Jul 14, 2010

You are correct Druid,
One Canadian (imperial) gallon = 10 lb but now we have to bilingual, one Litre (notice the Canadian spelling) ~ 2.2 lb

Peggie Hall HeadMistress · Jul 15, 2010

There's a very simple solution:

Bob S said:
I am in a mooring field. To get water I go to the fuel dock. There is only one water hose and it's the same one used to flush the holding tank after a pump out.

Use your own hose!

If there's a reason why you can't do that at the fuel dock, tie up long enough to take on water on a dock where you can.

I would also complain to the marina...'cuz it's a simple matter to put two hose bibs on a single water pipe--one for potable water only, the other for "general use." If their argument is, people would just use whichever hose is handy for whatever use, the simple answer to that is, label one bib "potable water" but don't put a hose that bib.

Ron20324 · Jul 15, 2010

Bob S said:
I am in a mooring field. To get water I go to the fuel dock.

Maybe it's time to work up a rainwater funnel to fill the tank?

Chuckbear · Jul 15, 2010

Peggie Hall-HeadMistress said:
Use your own hose!

If there's a reason why you can't do that at the fuel dock, tie up long enough to take on water on a dock where you can.

I would also complain to the marina...'cuz it's a simple matter to put two hose bibs on a single water pipe--one for potable water only, the other for "general use." If their argument is, people would just use whichever hose is handy for whatever use, the simple answer to that is, label one bib "potable water" but don't put a hose that bib.

Or ask them to put a Y on the hose bib and carry your own hose. Chuck

zeehag · Jul 15, 2010

where there is a pumpout station, i make sure i use my own hose..