I would like to be able to drink the water in my holding tanks without worry of contaminations. Is there a ready made system that I could attach to the system.
Drinking water
- Thread starter John Steinle
- Start date
I use the same sanitizing process for our sailboat as I do for our motor home.
https://www.rvtrader.com/research/news-reviews/press-room/rv-how-tips-sanitize-your-rv-water-system
https://www.rvtrader.com/research/news-reviews/press-room/rv-how-tips-sanitize-your-rv-water-system
Very good discussion on this
https://forums.sailboatowners.com/index.php?threads/drinking-water-from-holding-tanks.180494/
https://forums.sailboatowners.com/index.php?threads/drinking-water-from-holding-tanks.180494/
Have been doing it for many years. Cleaning and sanitizing the tanks if fine. A filter takes out tastes and other things.
Filter: http://www.homedepot.com/p/GE-Whole-Home-Water-Filtration-System-GXWH04F/100471282
For a cartridge you want activated charcoal type: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B...0-edfa-588e-842c-7f5b1d2809cf&pf_rd_i=3741111
Put the filter on the pump discharge since there is a vacuum breaker on the filter.
Filter: http://www.homedepot.com/p/GE-Whole-Home-Water-Filtration-System-GXWH04F/100471282
For a cartridge you want activated charcoal type: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B...0-edfa-588e-842c-7f5b1d2809cf&pf_rd_i=3741111
Put the filter on the pump discharge since there is a vacuum breaker on the filter.
That's an abbreviated version of the same instructions I've been sharing for 25 years--and have also included in my books. You'll find 'em on just about every RV site on the net. Detailed instructions are here:
http://forums.sailboatowners.com/index.php?threads/bleach-into-water-system.178928/#post-1293062
We put tapwater from the dock's hose into our water tanks. It is chlorinated and has fluoride as well. This seems to be enough to keep bacteria at bay. We drink and cook with it. When it gets low we top it up again. At the end of the season we blow the system dry with an air compressor. If the water were to become contaminated for some reason we'd empty the tank, clean it, and refill it. Haven't had any trouble since 1997, filling up whenever we needed water from whatever dock we tied up to, from Mt. Desert to NYC.
My feeling is why carry water if you can't drink it. Sterilizing the tank with Clorox and a mild application of Clorox to keep growth at bay is a standard technique. Don't overdo the Clorox for the long term - the chlorine had an adverse affect on the nylon hose fittings. A carbon block filter removes any taste of chlorine. I use a carbon filter only at the galley, not in the head.
Keeping the taste of fiberglass out of the water is another issue with a fiberglass tank. I researched and found a tank coating that's NSF approved for small tanks - 3M Scotchkote 323. I did my tank and lid with it. You also want an NSF sealant for the lid (and other joints) - I found Sikaflex 1A. I recommend both these products.
Keeping the taste of fiberglass out of the water is another issue with a fiberglass tank. I researched and found a tank coating that's NSF approved for small tanks - 3M Scotchkote 323. I did my tank and lid with it. You also want an NSF sealant for the lid (and other joints) - I found Sikaflex 1A. I recommend both these products.
I guess I am the minority here, we never drink the water from the fresh water tank. In particular, this new Hunter has been a major......make that MAJOR problem trying to keep the water fresh. To be fair, when purchased we inherited quite the mess, the tank had water in it at some point and was severely neglected. I did many of the things above including flushing the entire system several times, bleach water, chlorinating tablets and so forth. We also use water from the dock line through an RV/marine fresh water hose. How bad was it? So bad that when flushing the lines I had to pull the screens from the faucets or they would clog with "yick". These Hunters also have an anti-scald gizmo attached to the hot water tank, a mixer that adds cold water just in case you forgot how to turn on the cold water side of the faucets. That gizmo had a screen in it that would clog in less than 30 seconds of running the hot water side of the system. Fast forward to season two, the whole system was flushed several more times, the anti-scald gizmo is resting on the shelf in my workshop and I also blew out the whole system with a compressor for winter storage this year. Would I drink the water? Even after all that the answer is no, I don't trust it yet. We will continue to have bottles of water in the fridge for drinking. It is possible that at some point all the nasty things that were growing in the tank and lines will have been chlorinated to oblivion and flushed out.
Last year we decided to try to drink the water from the boat's tank. Before that we used only bottled water for drinking. With a little research here we discovered that we should shock treat the system in the Spring and then use filters from that time on. We did this but then we sent a water sample away for testing. Results from the tests showed no contaminations and we drank the water all season without mishap. We also purchased a number of bacteria self test kits and I will test every so often. If you have not been maintaining your water system for drinking, before you start, you may want to examine your hoses and fittings to be sure they are acceptable for drinking water. PVC hoses with red or blue tracers are probably OK. Brass fittings are probably suspect as they may contain lead. You will enjoy not having to purchase and discard plastic containers.
Lots of good advice here.
We have also felt that we must be able to drink the water from our boat's water tank(s). One of our tanks is a custom ss tank and the other one is plastic. Both have clean-out ports and they are used regularly to wipe down the interior with some bleach on a wet towel.
We have been cruising for multiple weeks every summer for over 20 years.
Lots of production boats do not come with a 6" screw out port. Install one, and put one on either side of any internal baffle. As boat jobs go, it's not too difficult and waaaaaay tidier than working on your fuel or holding tank!
Once you get used to drinking pure water from your boat's tap, you'll wonder how in the heck you ever settled for 'camping out'...
After all, you would not normally put up this hassle in your land house.
ps: if you have a boat with a stock aluminum water tank (like many of the 80's Hunters) it's best to replace with ss or plastic. City water chemicals really cause a lot of gritty corrosion inside those tanks and that material wanders throughout the rest of the distribution piping. Chemically, it was a poor idea when new and just gets worse with age.
We have also felt that we must be able to drink the water from our boat's water tank(s). One of our tanks is a custom ss tank and the other one is plastic. Both have clean-out ports and they are used regularly to wipe down the interior with some bleach on a wet towel.
We have been cruising for multiple weeks every summer for over 20 years.
Lots of production boats do not come with a 6" screw out port. Install one, and put one on either side of any internal baffle. As boat jobs go, it's not too difficult and waaaaaay tidier than working on your fuel or holding tank!
Once you get used to drinking pure water from your boat's tap, you'll wonder how in the heck you ever settled for 'camping out'...
After all, you would not normally put up this hassle in your land house.
ps: if you have a boat with a stock aluminum water tank (like many of the 80's Hunters) it's best to replace with ss or plastic. City water chemicals really cause a lot of gritty corrosion inside those tanks and that material wanders throughout the rest of the distribution piping. Chemically, it was a poor idea when new and just gets worse with age.
A bit of Dewars added to each drink after 4 p.m. will help as well....Pat
My B323 has a 40- gallon tank. I guess I'm lucky in that the water supply to the finger pier comes out of a townhouse maybe 30 yards up the hill. In the spring after I get the antifreeze out of the water system and flush a time or two, I throw in a dose of water treatment tablets. I do this at every water fill-up over the next weeks until the (dozen?) tabs are all gone.
When I come back from overnight/weekends ( 2 x a month), back at the dock I use the water liberally so as to empty the tank until the pump starves. This is fresh, drinkable, water every other week at the very least.
When I come back from overnight/weekends ( 2 x a month), back at the dock I use the water liberally so as to empty the tank until the pump starves. This is fresh, drinkable, water every other week at the very least.
Sounds like the PO left you quite the mess. Our 2005 has had no issues which we've had for 10 years now.
The battle with the water tank is not worth my time and effort to fight.
Bottle water and jug water available everywhere we go. Cheapest I can get was C$1.99 for a case of 24 at No Frills. Tank water for washing dishes only.
Why risk my health?
Bottle water and jug water available everywhere we go. Cheapest I can get was C$1.99 for a case of 24 at No Frills. Tank water for washing dishes only.
Why risk my health?
You're actually "drinking" a lot more of your tank water than you realize. You wash your hands in it, then pick up a sandwich. You rinse out a glass then put your bottled water in it....wash dishes in it, then eat food from those dishes. You wash your face and/or shower in it...do you really think that you never get a single drop of that water in your mouth? Your eyes? Your ears?
If it hasn't made you sick yet, it's not going to. An annual recommissioning of the system--hardly a "battle with the water tank" is all that's needed to provide you with tank water that's as clean as the water from any faucet on land. If the taste of it doesn't suit you, put a faucet filter on the galley sink. The cost for both will cost you far less than you're spending annually for bottled water.
If it hasn't made you sick yet, it's not going to. An annual recommissioning of the system--hardly a "battle with the water tank" is all that's needed to provide you with tank water that's as clean as the water from any faucet on land. If the taste of it doesn't suit you, put a faucet filter on the galley sink. The cost for both will cost you far less than you're spending annually for bottled water.
We installed a Seagull filter at the sink -- we use that water for cooking, tea, coffee. We still carry bottled water for drinking -- convenience, and the ability to chill it in the fridge.
A friend has a sink filter, but also uses a Shurflo garden hose filter that they use to while they are filling their tanks.
A friend has a sink filter, but also uses a Shurflo garden hose filter that they use to while they are filling their tanks.
I find it helpful to think in terms of what each step does:
- Clean the tank. You cannot sanitize a tank that has sediment. Bugs will grow in the sludge, and no practical amount of bleach can penetrate it. Sanitation starts with cleanliness. Don't delude yourself into believe a chemical can replace rolling up your sleeves and washing the dishes.
- Filter the fill. You need to keep the tank physically clean, and hose and pipes are notorious for shedding algae. There is no point in using a dock-side filter, because the hose and filter will grow stuff and shed it. The filter needs to be at the fill point. This really is NOT a good place for carbon, since you want the chlorine in the tank. I like 1 micron bag filters.
- Disinfect. ~ 0.5 ppm chlorine. If there there is a residual in the tap, this may not be needed.
- Secure the vent. The US plumbing code requires a 20-mesh screen to keep bugs out. Other wise, it's like leaving a glass of water on the deck. Obvious.
- Filter to 0.5 micron before the tap to remove chlorine-resistant cysts (gardia, crytosporidium) and parasites. A granular carbon filter will NOT do this. Must be NSF 53 rated. A carbon block filter will also remove the chlorine and many other things. Like Seagull, but there are many brands (curiously, Seagull is not NSF 53 rated, to my knowledge).
Thinwater -- about your point #2 "filter the fill": Here is what my friend told me they do:
"We carry two water filters: A refrigerator filter mounted between the water tanks and the sink faucets. A similar filter with hose connectors which we place between the hose and the nozzle when filling tanks. We use a SHURflo (RV-210GH-KDF-A) Garden Hose Filter(available from Amazon)"
Does this SHURflo correspond with your 'filter the fill'? I'm not sure what you mean by a dock-side filter, which sounds pointless, but I'm curious where a dock-side filter would be physically located.
"We carry two water filters: A refrigerator filter mounted between the water tanks and the sink faucets. A similar filter with hose connectors which we place between the hose and the nozzle when filling tanks. We use a SHURflo (RV-210GH-KDF-A) Garden Hose Filter(available from Amazon)"
Does this SHURflo correspond with your 'filter the fill'? I'm not sure what you mean by a dock-side filter, which sounds pointless, but I'm curious where a dock-side filter would be physically located.