Water Testing

[Akirapryde2006]

We own a 1979 43’ Hatteras DC.

I have been deeply thinking of our onboard water tank.

I am unsure if I can trust them. Mind you, I don’t smell anything from the water. Nor do I see anything.

I am thinking of getting the water tested.

But before I do, I wanted to know.

Am I wasting my time?

Are we supposed to not trust the onboard water tank?

What is the wisdom the group can share?

 

[brettportzer]

Dr. Jim has advised us not to drink the water. I am currently replacing my entire water system, and I have added a 12v UV filter setup along with some other filters in the hopes of having at least better water overall. Not sure if it will end up really being drinkable or not.

 

[worldsaway]

Personally I have never used the onboard water tank for drinking water. We always drink bottled water. The onboard water filter is fine for showers or even brushing your teeth etc but I have never trusted it for drinking.

 

[madhatter1]

Same here on our 46. We do keep filling the tank and using it to keep the water as fresh as possible and the pump running. We also have no odor or anything visible in the water but would never drink it.

 

[Sadey]

There was a previous thread on this subject and I believe someone with some professional authority talked about the bleach levels relative safety using city water in on board tanks. If I remember correctly, the gist of the thread the use city water, assuming the tank is fairly clean already, will provide for safe, potable water. We used an On The Go portable water softener to fill our water tank. For drinking water had a Britta filtered container in the refrigerator. We also had filters at the galley cold water supply, the bar sink and a second filter in line with the Keurig coffee maker and at each ice maker. Years of usage with no apparent harm.

 

[Pascal]

We drink it. Carbon/charcoal filter on the main pump output and then the filter in the fridge. No taste. I ve checked it with a TDS meter and it was very low.

I m going to add a UV light I ordered but haven’t a chance to install

 

[Dragonten]

We drink out of ours. I have a large whole boat water filter that is not cheap, plus smaller filters on each faucet in the galley and bar area/ice maker. Lastly, we put the faucet water through a Britta water pitcher with filter before serving.

 

[Captain Ralph]

We go thru 220 gallons ship board very often. Docked or aweigh.
Nothing wrong with our ships tanks water.
Laundry, showers, and all else like in the house.
We ad some chlorine when we make water (2 x RO systems) in safe offshore water.
Never any ships potable water issues.

Now after sitting a few months could be a different issue.

 

[SKYCHENEY]

Been drinking tank water for 50 years. I'm still here.

 

[Eddieclemons]

Every winter I shock my tank with bleach and rinse it out with at least two flushes. I like my tanks to have tap water with no filtration, and then I have a filtration system on my kitchen sink, refrigerator and salon ice maker. You can bring bottled water on the boat, but we don't provide it.

 

[SKYCHENEY]

Some might argue that the micro plastics in bottled water are worse for you than the tank water.

 

[brettportzer]

We got a marine fridge for the boat this year, it is a little small inside than the apartment size fridge that was on the boat.

The original fridge must have been huge.

Anyway, no room for the filter jug thing we had in the fridge previously, and I have been on bottled water for awhile since I have been working on the water system.

It is no fun stocking bottled water as your only drinking water.

 

[Sadey]

Sky has a point about micro plastics versus the possibilities of contaminants in onboard tanks.

 

[ian w]

The water hoses going onto the boat can be the source of problems They have to be newish
Still alive after 36 years drinking water out of the tank.You can always boil it first if in doubt

 

[warrenw]

I have 2 stage filtration drinking faucets at the sinks in the galley and both heads. The water out of those filtered faucets tastes as good as bottled water. We only have an 80gal water tank (original galvanized steel), so it sees enough turnover that I don't really worry about it much, I just prefer the taste of the filtered water. I also have a filtration system with UV light that allows me to refill the water tank from the lake should we run low in the middle of nowhere. That has been a game changer.

 

[Hatty53]

Remembr, as kids we all drank water from the garden hose. Yes it had a funky taste or was hot from being in the sun, but if we let it run, it cooled off and most of the funky taste was gone. Our shore water hoses are now made of a material that does not leave a taste.
I do remember years ago in Pascagoula, MS I lived aboard a 41DC during the week while working at Ingalls Shipbuilding. The city water was darker than my Jack Daniels, so I bought jugs of water at the grocery and also used it to fill my ice trays. I did not want anything in my Jack Daniels besides clean ice and a little humidity!

 

[luckydave215]

I've been drinking out of boat tanks (and garden hoses) for 70 years without a problem.
Bottled water however I stay away from. As the FDA doesn't consider it a a food, it not regulated or tested.
There could be ANYTHING in bottled water. At the very least the plasticizers that leach out of the bottles are certainly bad for you, and bottled water is deficient in some minerals that you need.
Yeah, tap water tastes like crap, but it isn't bad for you. It is tested every day and rigidly certified.

 

[Briankinley2004]

I remember my parents making coffee out of the tank water of our house toilet when I was a kid. An ice storm knocked out the water supply and I don't think you could buy a bottle of water back in those days. No one got sick and they told me as long as it wasn't from the bowl it was safe to drink. Hose water was our daily supply during the summer

 

[Joe Hewes]

About two weeks ago I installed a new fitting in our water tank aboard our ‘79 58’ YF for our water maker supply line.

While drilling out the new hole on top of the tank the hole saw mandrill slipped out of the drill & yeap, right to the bottom of the FW tank. Terrific.

Using a bore scope & claw retriever I was able to retrieve the hole saw & mandrill ( after a few choice words)

Point is, I was astonished at how spotless the tank is! No debris, growth or mung of any sort. Spotless!

I too have tested, installed multiple filters & still use bottled water.
Having actually seen the inside of the tank gives me confidence that drinking the water is safe.
But still…..

 

[riverrandy]

For a while Bertram had Stainless Drinking water tanks. if not maintained they also got bad.

I have neverminded the taste of the water onboard, but my son introduced me to an under-counter 4 filter water system with a UV light on it. I plumbed it into the fridge, an instant hot, and a spigot at kitchen sink. The quality is so good, I now use glass bottles and keep it on hand in bulk for those who insist on "bottled water". it was about $250.00 from Amazon.