Fresh Water Pump Strainers

[sailorboy1]

So was fushing the water lines because the dealer did a poor job in getting the anti-freeze out. And the flow just kind of stops and I can tell that the pump is not maintaining pressure.

Pull out the pump suction strainer and is packed with "stuff". I mean it ws nasty and I wouldn't want to be drinking water that had paassed though it. Cleaned it but now need to disinflect and clean the tanks.

So just a remainder; have you checked your water strainer lately?

[Target9000]

Yes.

[sailorboy1]

On another note: if/when you do check your strainer wear some rubber gloves or at least wash your hands real well afterwards. A few hours prior to doing mine the other day I cut my hand a small amount, about 1/4" long and about the depth of a standard paper-cut.

This morning it was infected a little. But more serious is that I can tell there is a little blood posioning going on. I'm sure this is from the slime that was in that strainer (I should have known better). The cut now looks fine but if that red line isn't gone tommorow it's a trip for doc for some drugs!

[SV Demeter]

Originally Posted by Don Lucas

On another note: if/when you do check your strainer wear some rubber gloves or at least wash your hands real well afterwards. A few hours prior to doing mine the other day I cut my hand a small amount, about 1/4" long and about the depth of a standard paper-cut.

This morning it was infected a little. But more serious is that I can tell there is a little blood posioning going on. I'm sure this is from the slime that was in that strainer (I should have known better). The cut now looks fine but if that red line isn't gone tommorow it's a trip for doc for some drugs!

Whoa! If the slime in your freshwater system is giving you blood poisioning you might want to look into that. Hope your not brushing your teeth with that water...

[sailorboy1]

I killed anything in the tanks today. I'm sure because since I'm in water treatment I took a chlorine test kit to the boat with with me. I also was able to verify that the carbon filter on the drinking facet does in fact remove clorine!

I checked that pump strainer again and it was already growing a new layer. I blame it on the boat yard that prepped the boat not flushing out the anti-freeze well. A small amont of anti-freeze becomes nothing but a biological food source.

[Kettlewell]

Do not ever put that pink stuff in your water tanks! Despite everyone doing so, it is nasty and leads to all sorts of disgusting growth. After using that stuff the tanks sometimes never recover, I'm sorry to say. The only solution I have found is to buy the cheapest vodka available and pump that through the system after carefully draining out as much water as possible. The vodka water in the spring leaves your tanks fresh and clean tasting and looking. My tanks have big inspection ports and I have done both--after the pink stuff, yuck! After the vodka, you can drink out of them. Don't believe those that tell you that the vodka doesn't have a low enough freeze point or it will damage your pumps. I have done this for eons in boats stored in New England and never have had a problem.