Water purification
- Thread starter Gwilliston
- Start date
- Status
Any good activated carbon filter will take out the plastic taste. It is probably coming from the tank which means you are not sailing enough and letting the water stay in the tank too long. The alternate solution would be to just put enough in the tank for the days sailing and drain the tank after use.
Plastic 'taste' comes from plastic molecular fragments. That means that your water system probably has components that arent compatible for POTABLE (drinking) water.
These fragments are unbound or uncured monomers that arent 'attached' to a long chainn polymer ... most are quite unhealthful, many are carcinogens or agents that attack the central nervous system. Fiberglass tanks will emit styrene monomer for the lifetime of the tank; cheap plastic/rubber hose will continue to emit and oxidize for the life of the hose; the cheap (typically green) PVC dock hose will emit PVC fragments until you throw it away .... all examples of materials that shouldnt come in contact with potable or 'drinking' (or washing) water.
First, get rid of the that green 'garden hose' and get (a white one) thats rated for potable water.
Condemn any fiberglass water tank used for drinking .... such can be 'lined' with low amine epoxies rated for 'potable water'.
Any system water hose that has turned 'yellow' --- out/replace with new & rated for potable water. If it doesnt say 'potable water' service, its not for potable water service.
Once the 'hardware' of the system is validated, then get inside the tank and mechanically scrub it. It is of absolutely NO use to 'sanitize' a fouled water tank, a tank has a LARGE bacterial colony growing on the internal surfaces as all the chlorine/clorox will do is kill/stun the surface layer and totally leave the 'deeper' microorganism alive and which will cell divided to continue the massive colony/infection.
The proported RV specs. for sanitization of RV systems are for the sanitizations of NEW or CLEAN systems .... certainly NOT for a system that has a developed 'bio-film' (the slipperiness that one feels when one wipes fingers across the walls,etc. of a water tank).
Other 'stinks' that can mimic 'plastic taste': certain molds and mildews of the Aspergillus Family ... some species of this family are quite toxic. They must be scrubbed out then the tankage sanitized .... no other way to do this.
Lastly, clean or replace the ENTIRE tank vent line ... will probably be the 'seed/spore 'container' for constantly re-inocculating the water tankage. You will probably projectile-vomit when you see what's growing in that vent line. Then put a bioblocking 0,2µM hydrophobic filter somewhere near the 'intake from atmosphere' to keep the tank from aspirating bacteria, mold and mildew into the tank everytime you open a spiggot.
Sanitization (10-15 ppm chlorine for at least 1-2 hours) is only done on a *clean* or new tankage and its distribution. Sanitization wont 'clean' a tank ... and those inactivated or killed cells remaining will rapidly become the nutrient source for successive infections of bacteria, etc.
Treat you water tankage like you do with your dishes, pots and pans, water containers, etc. ... like you do at home ----- keep it "hygienically clean". You certainly dont dip your dishes in diluted clorox then put them in the cupboard do you?
The advice given for keeping a minimum amount water in your tank sufficient for immediate needs ... is good advice.
Forget carbon filters .... all carbon filters do is concentrate the fragments and when the adsorption to the carbon is complete (and there is no way you can tell without 'instruments') you still get the 'plastic taste' plus bacteria readily use the carbon as a nutrient source ... and then you have to think about all the harmful chemical fragments that simply passed through the carbon filter ... and the 'dilution' is so great that you can no longer 'smell' them ... but are still there.
If you have stinky water that your nose can detect ... you have a major problem that no deodorant, or witches brew will ever solve; but, using such 'masks' will only 'mask' the presence of a potentially BIG problem. Simple answer mechanically clean/scrub the tank, replace all non-potable rated components, etc. ... then sanitize a clean system.
These fragments are unbound or uncured monomers that arent 'attached' to a long chainn polymer ... most are quite unhealthful, many are carcinogens or agents that attack the central nervous system. Fiberglass tanks will emit styrene monomer for the lifetime of the tank; cheap plastic/rubber hose will continue to emit and oxidize for the life of the hose; the cheap (typically green) PVC dock hose will emit PVC fragments until you throw it away .... all examples of materials that shouldnt come in contact with potable or 'drinking' (or washing) water.
First, get rid of the that green 'garden hose' and get (a white one) thats rated for potable water.
Condemn any fiberglass water tank used for drinking .... such can be 'lined' with low amine epoxies rated for 'potable water'.
Any system water hose that has turned 'yellow' --- out/replace with new & rated for potable water. If it doesnt say 'potable water' service, its not for potable water service.
Once the 'hardware' of the system is validated, then get inside the tank and mechanically scrub it. It is of absolutely NO use to 'sanitize' a fouled water tank, a tank has a LARGE bacterial colony growing on the internal surfaces as all the chlorine/clorox will do is kill/stun the surface layer and totally leave the 'deeper' microorganism alive and which will cell divided to continue the massive colony/infection.
The proported RV specs. for sanitization of RV systems are for the sanitizations of NEW or CLEAN systems .... certainly NOT for a system that has a developed 'bio-film' (the slipperiness that one feels when one wipes fingers across the walls,etc. of a water tank).
Other 'stinks' that can mimic 'plastic taste': certain molds and mildews of the Aspergillus Family ... some species of this family are quite toxic. They must be scrubbed out then the tankage sanitized .... no other way to do this.
Lastly, clean or replace the ENTIRE tank vent line ... will probably be the 'seed/spore 'container' for constantly re-inocculating the water tankage. You will probably projectile-vomit when you see what's growing in that vent line. Then put a bioblocking 0,2µM hydrophobic filter somewhere near the 'intake from atmosphere' to keep the tank from aspirating bacteria, mold and mildew into the tank everytime you open a spiggot.
Sanitization (10-15 ppm chlorine for at least 1-2 hours) is only done on a *clean* or new tankage and its distribution. Sanitization wont 'clean' a tank ... and those inactivated or killed cells remaining will rapidly become the nutrient source for successive infections of bacteria, etc.
Treat you water tankage like you do with your dishes, pots and pans, water containers, etc. ... like you do at home ----- keep it "hygienically clean". You certainly dont dip your dishes in diluted clorox then put them in the cupboard do you?
The advice given for keeping a minimum amount water in your tank sufficient for immediate needs ... is good advice.
Forget carbon filters .... all carbon filters do is concentrate the fragments and when the adsorption to the carbon is complete (and there is no way you can tell without 'instruments') you still get the 'plastic taste' plus bacteria readily use the carbon as a nutrient source ... and then you have to think about all the harmful chemical fragments that simply passed through the carbon filter ... and the 'dilution' is so great that you can no longer 'smell' them ... but are still there.
If you have stinky water that your nose can detect ... you have a major problem that no deodorant, or witches brew will ever solve; but, using such 'masks' will only 'mask' the presence of a potentially BIG problem. Simple answer mechanically clean/scrub the tank, replace all non-potable rated components, etc. ... then sanitize a clean system.
Suggest you check out the Seagull IV by General Ecology. It is a purifier, not a filter, that works by removing solid and chemical containments while leaving the minerals intact! As such it cannot be used to desalinate water. We have been using it to drink directly out of the tanks since 2002. I was looking for something that would eliminate having to carry bottled water for a trip to the keys and back. Several friends of mine have installed it also. I even installed one in my home. I probably sound like a salesman with the company; however, it just happens to be one of the best and most convenient additions I have made to my boats. Check out specs and test data at: www.generalecology.com
Curing a "plastic" taste isn't purification...
Water from municipal water supplies has already been purified, so unless you've been out of the country and taken on water that's suspect or taken on well water that may have been contaminated, you don't need to purify the water, you just need to recommission the system. Read the post at the link Stu Jackson posted above for instructions to do that.
Bill...sometimes I wonder if anyone has bothered to read anything I've posted in the last 15 years...apparently you haven't, 'cuz I must have posted this at least a dozen times:
Although most people think only in terms of the tank, the plumbing is actually the source of most foul water, because the molds, mildew, fungi and bacteria which cause it thrive in damp dark places, not under water.
Although most people think only in terms of the tank, the plumbing is actually the source of most foul water, because the molds, mildew, fungi and bacteria which cause it thrive in damp dark places, not under water. Many people—and even some boat manufacturers—believe that keeping the tanks empty reduce the problem, but an empty water tank only provides another damp dark home for those “critters.”
[FONT="]There are all kinds of products (and also bad advice) that claim to keep onboard water fresh, but all that's really necessary is an annual recommissioning of the WHOLE system--tank AND plumbing. That should be enough to keep your water tasting and smelling as good as anything that comes out of any faucet on land. If you need to improve on that, install a water filter. Just remember that a filter is not a substitute for cleaning out the system, and that filters require regular inspection and cleaning or replacement.[/FONT]
Peggie, I hear ya. Sometimes folks don't bother to read the links we often provide. Hmm, didn't you just say that...??? 
Follow Peggy's advice. I will be doing so again for the 10th time on my 356 and I have great water - always from the tap! My only other recommendation is to empty the tank of the heavily chlorinated water and then run your water house continuously through the system - matching the input to the output of your pump. Do that for long enough to get the chlorine taste out and then fill about 1/4 full. Let that sit for a little while and then flush it again. Sometimes it takes me three times to flush out, but I am done for the season and have great water.
Peggy, we have been listening. I am rebuilding our holding tank system to increase ventillation this year, and in the meantime using odorlos with KO we keep odors to an absolute minimum. We recommission the fresh water side using your techniques every spring. We have only noticed a stagnant taste once when I was off the boat for several weeks, so we flushed everything and dosed the fresh water using your technique. This is our second boat maintained to your standards of plumbing and now I must say that the smell of teak is the only thing we notice. Thanks again...
end of hijacked thread.
end of hijacked thread.
- Status