Water tanks usage preference

[islandrunner70]

On my Bene 370 there are two water tanks connected through a Y-connection to the fresh water pump. One tank is starboard side under the couch and the other is port side in the stern cabin. Any preference in using one tank over the other or using both at the same time. I switched to using both to avoid stagnating any water.

Thoughts?

 

[Stu Jackson]

It's a management issue for me. We have two tanks. I only use one at a time because sometimes the fresh water pump cycles when both valves are open, although that doesn't seem to be your case.

I find using one at a time always lets me know when one is empty and can then remember to fill up. If I always used both, and then they became empty...

Just switch the one used and you won't have stagnant anything. And regardless of how you use your tanks, stagnant water only comes from lack of use and the amount of time you "store" it, regardless of how you use your tanks.

So, use your boat more often! I know that'll be hard, right?

 

[Gunni]

prevent stale tanks with a halogen

Think of one tank as your "reserve". Unless you have tank level monitors you won't know how much water you have if you are using both tanks at the same time. When one kicks, you know you have a X-gallons in the other tank. To prevent stale water I do as Stu suggests and alternate water tanks. I also add the CDC-recommended amount of plain chlorine to the empty tank when I fill it: 1/8 teaspoon per gallon. For my 70gal tank that works out to about 2 oz. of plain Clorox . This keeps the water for weeks in the summertime and the chlorine-taste works out about that of municipal tapwater. Too much chlorine is a bad idea - hard on the plumbing system poly/plastic parts.

You can also balance the boat out for extra load by using the volume of water you store port/starboard.

 

[islandrunner70]

Thanks for the info. I will switch to an alternating schedule with the chlorine suggestion and see how that works out.

Another question. Flushing out the water tanks. Do you just use the fresh water pump to empty the tanks or do you use a wet/dry shop vac or a separate external pump?