45C Water Question?

[Gina Marie]

Thanks to you all I am now in the process of upgrading the galley,heads and saloon. In doing so I have replaced all the devices that have anything to do with water. All Sinks, Heads,refrigerator, ice makers have been replaced.

I do not have a R/O or a water maker on the vessel yet all my water is supplied as I know it from my water holding tank.

Hence the querry?

The ice maker,galley sink and bathroom sinks get its water from the water tank, is this save to use?

How should this be treated. I am going to assume that since the fuel was not properly cared for the water tank has had no treatment. How do I acquire safe on board water.

I also have on the port side of the cockpit a intake that is labeled dockside water if I connect this to a dockside water supply what does that do. Does it override the on board tank.

Without spending $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ on a water maker how Does one use the benifits of a ice maker and brush your teeth.

I look forward to your input.

Thanks Tom/ Gina Marie

 

[Genesis]

My rule is to never drink any onboard water on any vessel short of a SHIP!

The base problem is that water in a tank can't be kept safe for very long, so unless you turn it over basically all the time, there's nothing you can do.

The dockside water connection bypasses the tank but be very, very careful about leaving that connected if you're not on board. MANY boats have sunk from being connected to an infinite water source with the owner absent - think about it!

I pour a gallon of bleach into my tank every few months, let it sit overnight, then flush it out several times. This kills the beasties in the water and tank at that instant, but you can be guaranteed that they will grow back.

Its probably ok to shower in and wash your hands with (use soap!) but I wouldn't drink it. I carry bottled water, sodas and beer on board for that purpose.

If you insist on using the icemaker there are decent RO filters you can buy and put inline. That's an option, but adds another thing to maintain.

 

[Gina Marie]

Thanks for the input, in short don't drink the water. If on dockside for a vacation for a few days does this override work does it take over all water functions and then is it safe to make ice then. Thanks Tom

 

[MikeP]

There is a lot of controversy about this but here's what I do and it has always worked fine; we use tank water for everything:

Run all the water out of the on-board tank(s).
Pour 1 cup of clorox bleach for every 100 gal of water into the tank.
Fill the tank(s) with water.
Turn on all the faucets/showers and let them run until you can smell the chlorine. Turn off faucets.
Allow any ice makers to make a complete basket of ice. This will probably take at least a day.
Turn on all faucets/showers again; run until tank is empty.
Do it all again.

Using a hose that is OK for drinking water, fill the tanks again. Assuming the water supply is normal city water, it will be fine for any use. Don't bother with the various water "sweetner" products. They are more expensive and less effective than clorox.

Also, as G suggested, It's very important to turn over the water. That is another excellent reason to not use dockside water plumbed directly into the boat. Use the water in the tank and refill the tank.

If we aren't using the boat regularly, I will run all the water out of the tank every 2 weeks and replace it.

 

[Trojan]

I drink my water. If you can't drink it why have it. I use dock side water when I can. Just to save my pump. I add a quart of peroxide to my tank once a month and drain the tank the next day and refill with water. Any peroxide left in the tank will evaperate. I turn the dock side water off when I leave and use the tank water while away.That way I leave the ice maker run so I have ice cubes when I return. If I break a water line when gone, 150 gallons of water won't sink my boat. Bill

 

[Beckytek]

While we are tied up at the marina, we connect to the shore water supply. I turn off the fresh water pump at the breaker panel. All your water needs are supplied by the hose connection. the hose should be labeled for drinking purposes also. We have installed a aquapure filter at our galley cold water feed and use all our drinking, and cooking, water from this outlet. The filter works very well to take out any bad taste or impurities. We change the filter every year in the spring. We also have just cleaned out the fresh water tank using the bleach and letting it set for 4 hours and flushing with fresh. The water from the tank is only used when we are away from the dock. You will have to turn on the fresh water pump in order to supply your needs. We have been doing this for many years without any ill effects.
Don't forget to turn the water spigot off when you leave your boat at the marina.
Ron

 

[Kathy L]

Tom, As stated "turnover" is the key. To help this along I put a fresh water wash down in the cocpit. On the way in from fishing we use this to wash the rods etc. I also add a cap full of clorox every time I fill the tank. We make ice all the time and use for drinks or fish (if we have any) with no bleach smell or taste.

 

[Passages]

There was a great thread on this topic last year. Attached is the link.

http://www.samsmarine.com/forums/showthread.php?t=33

Hey Genesis, any chance of copying the procedure to the FAQ section?

 

[jim rosenthal]

I lived aboard for several years and used tank water only. I just filled the tank frequently. If you are doing that, the tank water turns over so often that it is safe to use for brushing your teeth etc. I would not, however, cook with it or drink it from the tap. Bottled water is much safer and healthier.
Having nearly sunk my first boat by leaving it hooked up to dock water, I don't do that anymore either .
It is not possible to keep tank water safe unless you are living on the boat and filling the tank every few days. Even then, it is risky especially in the summer. Use the tank water for bathing, and drink bottled water. What grows in the tank and water lines is not pretty and you do not want to ingest it. If you do, sooner or later there is a high likelihood you will need to come see me in the Emergency Room.

 

[Mike36c]

Maybe an inline UV sanitizer along with the above techniques would make the water drinkable. I've read about UV systems, does anyone have experience.? Mike

 

[Norm Mayer]

After using the Clorox treatment (I used a gallon of clorox for my 250 gallon tank and letting it sit for a day, then flushing the system out), we have been using the tank water for ALL purposes; cooking, coffee, drinking, brushing teeth. Every time I fill the tank I add one cup of Clorox per 250 gallons, plus the water treatment, according to directions, from Starbrite. For drinking we also added the common charcoal filter to the galley cold water line. No taste or odor ever comes from that tap. If the water in the tank gets a month old, it may have a slight odor from the other taps. We have lived aboard 6.5 years with no visits to the Dr. or any other problems. We are tyed to dock water at the dock, which DOES bypass the tank. When out the tank water works for everything. (Don't have an icemaker yet, so no experience there)

Do you think a month is too long to store water in a tank? Many community water supplies have big water tanks on stilts that may hold researve water for many months before needed, and it is safe. (tested often, to be sure)
Yes, there has been much controversy over this subject, but a small amount of clorine (read Clorox, as it is very pure) will take care of the little beasties. I was taught to use the clorox treatment back in the sixties while in Boy Scouts and has stood me well thru the years. Good luck, and just follow your own instincts!!!

 

[Genesis]

As was noted there was a nice thread on this a year or so ago, but nothing solid came out of it.

Here's the short and skinny on water in tanks - it cannot be kept safe for drinking purposes.

Water from a municipal tap which is used with some frequency (e.g. your house!) is safe because it was chlorinated a fwe hours before you drank it, and anything that it picked up hasn't had time to grow.

Take that same water and stick it in a bottle for a week or two on your kitchen counter with the cap off, and drinking it would be quite unwise.

Now you say "but its in a tank!" And I say "Yeah, and your tank has a vent, and in the summer that water is quite WARM!"

I run the bleach through every couple of months, and turn the tank over every couple of weeks during the summer. Still, I don't drink it. Shower with it, wash hands, use it to flush the head, yes.

Drink, no.

Filtration + UV is a potential solution, but (1) its expensive, (2) it requires maintenance, (3) it doesn't really fix the problem, only mitigates it. The problem is storing water in a vented tank over significant periods of time.

If I wanted to use the ice machine (I have one on board, but its a little U-line thing that doesn't make enough to matter in a day) I'd install a high-quality R/O filter immediately in front of it, and deal with the maintenance issues. My Hatt has a charcoal-cannister style filter just upstream of both it and the galley sink, but those only control taste, odor and some chemical contaminents - they are NOT proof against biological contamination, and that's what will at best give you a nasty case of Montezuma's revenge.

For full biological safety along with the rest you need a three-step process:

1. A charcoal/media filter to get rid of turbidity, solvents and chemicals.
2. A R/O filter to get rid of most biological contaminents and most other dissolved substances. This MUST have a pre-filter (1) in front of it or it will be destroyed by contaminents.
3. UV to sterilize things that pass the R/O.

The other obvious option is a still, which sucks major amounts of energy, but is about as good as it gets all the way around.

That's a lot of expense and maintenance. If you have a watermaker you have (1) and (2), and provided you have clean seawater to "feed" it then you're ok - if not, you still need (3).

Too much expense, trouble and such for me - I'll just bring bottled water on board to drink and count on periodic sanitization and turnover to have water safe enough to shower with.

If I was living on board I'd find a way to deal with it, 90% of which would be through turnover (one way or another - whether off the tap at the marina or via a watermaker)

 

[SKYCHENEY]

I have 2 of those Aqua Pure filters, one on the galley sink/fridge and one at the wet bar. I think they work well to take out odor/taste problems, but boy are they pricey. They are AP517 filters which I am told are now obsolete (I think this was an OEM install). Anyway, I haven't found them for less than about $38/each. Does anyone have a good source for these? I realize that any activated charcoal filter would be costly, but these seem excessive.

 

[Genesis]

Yeah, they're stupid expensive. Best solution is to remove the heads and replace with something modern for which cartridges can be had at a RATIONAL price.

 

[MikeP]

Well, this thread looks just like the last one! We all have opinions based on our experience. I doubt anyone will change what they do based on a conflicting opinion. It appears that those that use the water and treat/maintain it haven't had any trouble, and those that don't use the water also haven't had any trouble.

Certainly can't argue with the logic that using only bottled water is the safest way. Then again, can't argue with the fact that chlorine WILL kill all the bugs.

I guess it's just one of them "personal choices."

 

[Captcoop]

I own a construction company that installs water mains and we use the chlorine tablets that you buy for swimming pools usually a product called HTH. I think one tablet will shock treat 50 gal. of water. You can treat your water and let it set 24 hrs. Then you check for a residual of the chlorine, if you have any trace after 24 hrs. your water is pure. This will only take care of the bacteria the solids or trash will need to be filtered out. Good Luck

 

[doc g]

Seagull IV water purifer/filter systems has the best undercounter system available. They are quite expensive but worth it. These things even filter out viruses,cysts,and parasites such as giardia. The small unit is about 400.00 with replacement filters at about 70.00. There are also different filters available ,allowing you to change the element depending on the need for a certain level of protection. My boat's got one and we use the tank water only to "keep it moving".

 

[wshelton]

A solution for the ice makers for those of us in the South. I got rid of the built in U-Line because of the bad taste either with the tank water or on tap. I replaced the built in with one of these portable ice makers. You fill it up with bottled water and away you go. Will make ice in 10 minutes and as much as 30 lbs. within a 24 hour period. Great device--you can find them on the web and under $350. BTW, try soda water in your coffee maker sometime. Makes the best coffee, just keep enough aboared for the scotch.

 

[Captcoop]

The best solution for the ice maker is to turn the unit on and lift the arm that stops the making of ice and buy a bag of ice and put it in the tray. Get out the martini shaker and relax. Good Luck

 

[Genesis]

Yep. I use it as another freezer