Cost of Bottled Water ... ?

[atoll]

Originally Posted by HopCar

This is a good product for cleaning fresh water systems on boats: Puriclean - MFG#UPCSTD - 14 oz. Tub

if it still tastes bad,add 1/2 bottle of whisky,scotch or canadian,too much sugar in the american stuff...........

[Pete7]

Originally Posted by HopCar

This is a good product for cleaning fresh water systems on boats: Puriclean - MFG#UPCSTD - 14 oz. Tub

That's what we use each year, although the smaller tub about 2 oz is a perfect size to do the whole tank in one go. 14 oz would do the whole pontoon. I think its posh bleach but since the dose is worked out for a given volume of water I am willing to pay a couple ££ for the convenience.

However, if the tanks aren't good then I would want to look inside them first, before using bleach.


Pete

[colemj]

Originally Posted by Dulcesuenos

I don't drink from any boat that has an aluminum water tank unless its an emergency situation. Aluminum sulfate contamination is nothing to take lightly.

All municipal water is treated with aluminum sulfate. It is used in baking soda and many other food items. The early studies linking aluminum with alzheimers have subsequently been discredited by further data, if that was your worry.

How is your tank getting contaminated with high levels of aluminum sulfate? Any forming naturally will be at such a low concentration as to be WAY below any toxicological or ill-health levels. You will ingest more of it in your sandwich every day than you will drinking water out of an aluminum tank.

You are way over-reacting to a problem that doesn't exist, but to each his own - the load of estrogen mimetics you will get in plastic water bottles are far worse than any aluminum you would ingest out of tank water.

Mark

[tager]

Xenoestrogens, waste disposal issues, cost, and environmental destruction are all reasons to avoid bottled water. Get some big glass bottles, get some excellent water from a well, and stock up some gallons. If you use it strictly for drinking you will use less than a gallon a day.

[svzosha]

Thanks for all the input.... my water tank leaks and because the boat was built around the tank, easy removal is an impossibility.....I don't have $4000 + for an RO watermaker....so bottled water seemed like a likely option.....I do agree that the mountains of plastic debris that is choking our oceans, beaches, and landfills is a monumental problem....guess I have a dilemma on my hands........

[Sailmonkey]

Originally Posted by svzosha

Thanks for all the input.... my water tank leaks and because the boat was built around the tank, easy removal is an impossibility.....I don't have $4000 + for an RO watermaker....so bottled water seemed like a likely option.....I do agree that the mountains of plastic debris that is choking our oceans, beaches, and landfills is a monumental problem....guess I have a dilemma on my hands........

I know the 4k sounds like a lot......and it is.....but just before we took off I installed the Katadyn 40E, and it's worth its price in gold!! We spent a month anchored off of Placencia Belize where the algae bloom made the water too murky to run the RO, and I can tell you when we filled up with water from the dock we were desperate to run the water maker again!! For drinking, I may be odd, but I'll polish off over a gallon a day in the tropics. Pack that much away for a week minimum for two people and see how expensive the watermaker seems!!
Just my 2C.

[callmecrazy]

Originally Posted by svzosha

Thanks for all the input.... my water tank leaks and because the boat was built around the tank, easy removal is an impossibility.....I don't have $4000 + for an RO watermaker....so bottled water seemed like a likely option.....I do agree that the mountains of plastic debris that is choking our oceans, beaches, and landfills is a monumental problem....guess I have a dilemma on my hands........

I would just get several five gallon jugs and fill from a tap whenever possible. You can get inline filters from an RV store (or here at amazon) that are made for hose/tap connections, they're like $20.

[David M]

Just think of your water tank as one gigantic bottle.

[colemj]

Originally Posted by svzosha

Thanks for all the input.... my water tank leaks and because the boat was built around the tank, easy removal is an impossibility.....I don't have $4000 + for an RO watermaker....so bottled water seemed like a likely option.....I do agree that the mountains of plastic debris that is choking our oceans, beaches, and landfills is a monumental problem....guess I have a dilemma on my hands........

If your tank leaks, then a watermaker won't help. The only choice you have is to find another way to store water. Use bladders or water jugs. All water in the Bahamas is RO, so no worries there.

It would be tough to cruise without some way of storing water besides a lot of 350ml individual bottles.

Then again, it is tough to cruise without at least SOME 350ml individual bottles - most labeled IPA, Stout, or something like that...

Mark

[cat man do]

Anyone drinking out of epoxy tanks?
I could use bladders or plastic, but neither have baffles.

[atoll]

Originally Posted by cat man do

Anyone drinking out of epoxy tanks?

epoxy is great,as long as you use the food grade ceramic type coating for the last coat,no taste or smell due to o%porosity.

[Waterway Guide]

Our two big mistakes: 1) We placed a water filter after the pressure pump so "we could have filtered water everywhere on the boat." Well, it took the chlorine out of the water, so the water in ALL the lines got funky.
2) We filled up our tanks at a Bahamian marina without tasting it first. I'm pretty sure it came directly from the sea. Try cleaning out your tanks and system where water is $.50/gal. We had to find a marina with r/o and a flat daily water rate.


Be sure to bring a few high-quality 5-6 gal. jerry jugs to transport water, since many sources are more convenient (or only accessible) by dinghy. Sounds like a PITA, but you get used to it (and you meet a lot of cruisers at the water source). We put a little clorox in our boat tanks when we fill them, and (now) have a plain old water filter right before the galley cold-water tap, which takes the chlorine, and most other stuff out.

[shorebird]

Originally Posted by svzosha

Thanks for all the input.... my water tank leaks and because the boat was built around the tank, easy removal is an impossibility.....I don't have $4000 + for an RO watermaker....so bottled water seemed like a likely option.....I do agree that the mountains of plastic debris that is choking our oceans, beaches, and landfills is a monumental problem....guess I have a dilemma on my hands........

Can you remove your existing tank by cutting it into smaller pieces? You may find it easier to install two or three smaller tanks joined together by "manifolding" them, which is joining them by piping and a pipe union. Essentially it allows you to build one large tank in smaller units where installation space is limited.

[atoll]

Originally Posted by shorebird

Can you remove your existing tank by cutting it into smaller pieces? You may find it easier to install two or three smaller tanks joined together by "manifolding" them, which is joining them by piping and a pipe union. Essentially it allows you to build one large tank in smaller units where installation space is limited.

or cut a hole in the lid big enough to get a bladder inside,the quick fix

[osirissail]

Originally Posted by svzosha

Thanks for all the input.... my water tank leaks and because the boat was built around the tank, easy removal is an impossibility.....I don't have $4000 + for an RO watermaker....so bottled water seemed like a likely option.....I do agree that the mountains of plastic debris that is choking our oceans, beaches, and landfills is a monumental problem....guess I have a dilemma on my hands........

Not really . . . You can get either a Nauta or Plastimo flexible water tank/bladder and install it in the cabin/V-berth/where ever. They hold up to 40 gallons or so and you can use portable 5 or 6 gal jerry jugs to refill it from shore water sources.
See: Flexible Water Tank

I have a 40 gal Nauta that fits in the bottom of my dinghy and I take it ashore to refill from Exuma Markets or where every water is available and then use a small 12VDC washdown pump to pump the water from the dinghy bladder to the ship's water tanks.

It's all a matter of scale. With a bladder in the cabin you can refill from flexible 5 gal jugs. We see many boats with the blue water jerry cans tied along the lifelines.

You can use boat tank water for washing, etc., and the bladder water or jerry can water for cooking and drinking.