Is there any tablets or something that will keep drinking water tasting fresher, while stored in on board holding tanks?
- Status
- Not open for further replies.
R
RonD
Flush the system
Dennis The answer is "yes" but first look over the general state of your potable water system. Water quality depends upon a number of factors: bacterial growth and mineral/chemical polutant content being the dominant ones. There are a couple of steps to follow (in order of importance). Step 1. It's probably a good idea to go through a bleach flush of your entire system for starters. That will kill off the bacterial growth. There are books, etc. advising on the proper water-to-bleach ratios, mixing & standing times, etc. -- Headmistress Peggy can help there. It's important to ensure that the entire system gets flushed with this solution -- tanks, valves, lines, heaters, accumulators, pumps -- the works. If you have in-line filters, remove them (toss them out) & use a bypass hose for the system flush. So when you fill the water tanks with the bleach solution, get everything pumping & running until the solution is coming out of every faucet, shut them off, then refill the tanks with more. Drive the boat around a while to agitate the stuff in the tanks. Then thoroughly flush out the entire system and refill with fresh, clean water. Step 2. WM and other chandleries sell water tablets that you can add to the tank, but make sure the tank is cleaned/flushed first. Step 3. Dissolved minerals/pollutants in the water can also put the taste off & clog the lines with deposits. The best approach here is to start with as good a water source as possible, and to use in-line filters appropriate to the type of dissolved stuff in your area. The closer to the tank the better for certain particulate and mineral filters in order to keep them out of the rest of the system. For potable water (e.g., galley sink) you might include in-line activated charcoal filters up near the faucets -- they will eliminate many bad tastes/odors. Step 4. If your water lines & hardware were severely contaminated (bacterial or deposits) you might have to replace them and then go back to Step 1. Ditto for the water tanks, but they may have access ports for cleaning (but first disconnect the hoses from the tanks and run temprary drain hoses to avoid the stuff from the tank contaminating the rest of the system). Good luck --Ron
Dennis The answer is "yes" but first look over the general state of your potable water system. Water quality depends upon a number of factors: bacterial growth and mineral/chemical polutant content being the dominant ones. There are a couple of steps to follow (in order of importance). Step 1. It's probably a good idea to go through a bleach flush of your entire system for starters. That will kill off the bacterial growth. There are books, etc. advising on the proper water-to-bleach ratios, mixing & standing times, etc. -- Headmistress Peggy can help there. It's important to ensure that the entire system gets flushed with this solution -- tanks, valves, lines, heaters, accumulators, pumps -- the works. If you have in-line filters, remove them (toss them out) & use a bypass hose for the system flush. So when you fill the water tanks with the bleach solution, get everything pumping & running until the solution is coming out of every faucet, shut them off, then refill the tanks with more. Drive the boat around a while to agitate the stuff in the tanks. Then thoroughly flush out the entire system and refill with fresh, clean water. Step 2. WM and other chandleries sell water tablets that you can add to the tank, but make sure the tank is cleaned/flushed first. Step 3. Dissolved minerals/pollutants in the water can also put the taste off & clog the lines with deposits. The best approach here is to start with as good a water source as possible, and to use in-line filters appropriate to the type of dissolved stuff in your area. The closer to the tank the better for certain particulate and mineral filters in order to keep them out of the rest of the system. For potable water (e.g., galley sink) you might include in-line activated charcoal filters up near the faucets -- they will eliminate many bad tastes/odors. Step 4. If your water lines & hardware were severely contaminated (bacterial or deposits) you might have to replace them and then go back to Step 1. Ditto for the water tanks, but they may have access ports for cleaning (but first disconnect the hoses from the tanks and run temprary drain hoses to avoid the stuff from the tank contaminating the rest of the system). Good luck --Ron
J
Joe Barrett
Bottled water only
We use the holding tank for dishes, showers ect. Never do we drink water from the tank. My 2 cents
We use the holding tank for dishes, showers ect. Never do we drink water from the tank. My 2 cents
P
Peggie Hall/Head Mistress
Recommission the system each spring
Fresh water system problems--foul odor or taste--are typically caused by allowing water to stagnate in the system. 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. There are all kinds of products sold that claim to keep onboard water fresh, but all that’s really necessary is an annual or in especially warm climates, semi-annual recommissioning of the entire system—tank and plumbing. In fact, adding a little bleach to every fill is a very BAD idea...not only does it damage the system, but unless you add enough to make your water taste and smell like a laundry, it’s not enough to do any good. Even if it were, any “purifying” properties in chlorine evaporate within 24 hours, leaving behind only the corrosive properties. It's unlikely that the purifying properties in any of the products sold last any longer. The best time to do it is in the spring, because it also gets rid of the taste/smell of antifreeze. For 99% of boat owners, if this is done once a year, it's all they need to do. Before beginning, turn off hot water heater at the breaker; do not turn it on again until the entire recommissioning is complete. 1. Prepare a chlorine solution using one gallon of water and 1/2 cup Clorox or Purex household bleach (5% sodium Hypochlorine solution ). With tank empty, pour chlorine solution into tank. Use one gallon of solution for each 5 gallons of tank capacity. 2. Complete filling of tank with fresh water. Open each faucet and drain cock until air has been released and the entire system is filled. Do not turn off the pump; it must remain on to keep the system pressurized and the solution in the lines. 3. Allow to stand for at least three hours, but no longer than 24 hours. 4 Drain through every faucet on the boat (and if you haven't done this in a while, it's a good idea to remove any diffusion screens from the faucets, because what's likely to come out will clog them). Fill the tank again with fresh water only, drain again through every faucet on the boat. 5. To remove excess chlorine taste or odor which might remain, prepare a solution of one quart white vinegar to five gallons water and allow this solution to agitate in tank for several days by vehicle motion. 6. Drain tank again through every faucet, and flush the lines again by fill the tank 1/4-1/2 full and again flushing with potable water. An annual or semi-annual recommissioning according to the above directions is all that should be necessary 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. To keep the water system cleaner longer, USE your fresh water...keep water flowing through system. The molds, fungi, and bacteria only start to grow in hoses that aren't being used. Before filling the tank each time, always let the dock water run for at least 15 minutes first...the same critters that like the lines on your boat LOVE the dock supply line and your hose that sit in the warm sun, and you certainly don't want to transfer water that's been sitting in the dock supply line to your boat's system. So let the water run long enough to flush out all the water that's been standing in them so that what goes into your boat is coming straight from the water main.
Fresh water system problems--foul odor or taste--are typically caused by allowing water to stagnate in the system. 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. There are all kinds of products sold that claim to keep onboard water fresh, but all that’s really necessary is an annual or in especially warm climates, semi-annual recommissioning of the entire system—tank and plumbing. In fact, adding a little bleach to every fill is a very BAD idea...not only does it damage the system, but unless you add enough to make your water taste and smell like a laundry, it’s not enough to do any good. Even if it were, any “purifying” properties in chlorine evaporate within 24 hours, leaving behind only the corrosive properties. It's unlikely that the purifying properties in any of the products sold last any longer. The best time to do it is in the spring, because it also gets rid of the taste/smell of antifreeze. For 99% of boat owners, if this is done once a year, it's all they need to do. Before beginning, turn off hot water heater at the breaker; do not turn it on again until the entire recommissioning is complete. 1. Prepare a chlorine solution using one gallon of water and 1/2 cup Clorox or Purex household bleach (5% sodium Hypochlorine solution ). With tank empty, pour chlorine solution into tank. Use one gallon of solution for each 5 gallons of tank capacity. 2. Complete filling of tank with fresh water. Open each faucet and drain cock until air has been released and the entire system is filled. Do not turn off the pump; it must remain on to keep the system pressurized and the solution in the lines. 3. Allow to stand for at least three hours, but no longer than 24 hours. 4 Drain through every faucet on the boat (and if you haven't done this in a while, it's a good idea to remove any diffusion screens from the faucets, because what's likely to come out will clog them). Fill the tank again with fresh water only, drain again through every faucet on the boat. 5. To remove excess chlorine taste or odor which might remain, prepare a solution of one quart white vinegar to five gallons water and allow this solution to agitate in tank for several days by vehicle motion. 6. Drain tank again through every faucet, and flush the lines again by fill the tank 1/4-1/2 full and again flushing with potable water. An annual or semi-annual recommissioning according to the above directions is all that should be necessary 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. To keep the water system cleaner longer, USE your fresh water...keep water flowing through system. The molds, fungi, and bacteria only start to grow in hoses that aren't being used. Before filling the tank each time, always let the dock water run for at least 15 minutes first...the same critters that like the lines on your boat LOVE the dock supply line and your hose that sit in the warm sun, and you certainly don't want to transfer water that's been sitting in the dock supply line to your boat's system. So let the water run long enough to flush out all the water that's been standing in them so that what goes into your boat is coming straight from the water main.
K
Kate
A
Al Miegel
What Peggy said and ....
We use a PUR ultra water filter at the tap and an undersink charcol filter. Works fine and eliminates virtually all the taste of algae or chlorine. We only filter one tap for use at the galley sink.
We use a PUR ultra water filter at the tap and an undersink charcol filter. Works fine and eliminates virtually all the taste of algae or chlorine. We only filter one tap for use at the galley sink.
- Status
- Not open for further replies.