If You Don't Drink the Water?

[thompsonisland]

My boat has Monel tanks and plastic lines. Fresh water comes on board via the marina garden hose.

I am not comfortable drinking water from most municipal supplies, or that has been through a hose. So, I need a plan. For now, I buy bottled water for the bost, or, if it's a short trip, bring well water from home in glass and steel.

There are counter top RO systems, but I don't know if they remove plasticizers and the water must be remineralized (I can get mineral additives or add a little sea salt or bone stock, maybe, and in few circumstances could maybe add sea water).

There are desalinatinators but they are expensive and I worry about seawater quality many places (Would use one in the Arctic, sure).

There are bottles but that's still plastic and waste, plus if it isn't a spring then it is RO(see above).

What do you do?

[Mimsy]

You are over thinking this. If you aren't comfortable drinking municipal water, a watermaker is your answer. If you are still worried, get a UV filter system. No, it is not cheap but the most expensive thing at all times is being persnickety. The cheap option is to stop being picky and just fill the tanks w/ municipal water or rain water when available. If you are like my husband and being persnickety is just part of your DNA, you are just going to have to com to grips with the fact that you will have to pay for that quirk of your personality.

The other solution is to give up water all together and start drinking wine. It won't be any cheaper than a watermaker over time but after a few bottles you will start to care less.

[Vasco]

Drink the water right from the tank. In places where the water might be iffy (such as Nassau when the reservoir is low) I fill a bucket first and my wife who is the water expert sips it and decides whether to fill the tanks or not. We do not fill the tanks if the water is questionable. So far so good.

[thompsonisland]

It's not just persnicketyness, alas. I am concerned about the carcinogenic factors at play.

[sailorchic34]

I just use the water in the tank and have been for 8 years now. Really mankind up to the last 100 years or so has been drinking out of rivers and streams and have been for quite a long time. Many parts of the world they still do it that way.

From an engineering perspective, I don't use filter media on the drinking water either as the media itself offers a perfect media for bacteria growth. Something they don't tell you in those brita commercials..

[belizesailor]

I use water directly from the tanks. Pass through an inline filter when filling (particulates filter and charcoal). If I am the least bit skeptical of the source, and often even when I am not, I treat with appropriate amounts of chlorine. Inspect and clean the water tanks every couple of seasons.

We mostly use water from the RO system. It is a Spectra system, which has been very good, but are now insanely expensive. There are other good lower cost RO options. As long as your run your RO system away from populated areas, marinas, and other obvious sources of contamination you will be fine. You can also add fuel/water filters (to remove any petroleum contamination) and UV tubes to kill bugs up stream of the RO system, but I've never had any issues just being contentious of where I run the system. We prefer more remote locations anyway so this is rarely a practical consideration.

If you are concerned about water quality from the tanks for drinking then install a small filtration system just for purified drinking water. I have a few friends who have done this and have considered doing the same. Beats humping around bottles which are filled with essentially the same thing (purified municipal water almost universally these days).

I also do some rain catchment. Catchement goes into a bucket with a tap a few inches above the bottom. Also a fine mesh filter on the inside of the tap. These in combination serve to leave any particulates behind in the bucket.

[Mimsy]

Originally Posted by thompsonisland

It's not just persnicketyness, alas. I am concerned about the carcinogenic factors at play.

Then your best bet is probably water maker with UV filtration system. You wouldn't use a water maker in a harbor anyway and if the oceans water are too iffy we are all screwed.

I haf a friend with similar concerns and he opted for a water maker, Seagull UV filtration system, ceramic filtration system then on tap charcoal. 5 years on he seems pretty happy with it and thus far remains healthy.

[Cheechako]

I dont know there is anything that can get you away from "plastic worry". There are likely more derrimental things in your well water.... like pesticides, e coli etc. Plastic aside, a UV filter will kill most everything else and cost less than $200 total. But require 120v power. The best water for me is RO water. Just fill your tanks when you are in clean water, not in a harbor where everyone poops.

[MarkSF]

Originally Posted by thompsonisland

It's not just persnicketyness, alas. I am concerned about the carcinogenic factors at play.

Municipal water systems represent the greatest advance in human health in all history, up there with the invention of the vaccine, pasteurisation of milk, and the cooking of food. (Now I think about it, there are flat-earthers who avoid those too)

We're drinking the purest water now that any humans have ever drunk, and we drink purer water than 90% of the world's population today.

PS, bottled water is full of plasticisers, which really ARE carcinogenic. Bottled water might be the greatest consumer con trick ever pulled.

Having said that, I don't like the taste of some tap water, but a Brita jug filter fixes that and lowers some contaminants even lower.

[thompsonisland]

It seems like a baby Berkey and some remineralization might work best for me, from what y'all are saying. There is lots of crap in water, it's true, and I believe most of the "medical" advancements of the last couple hundred years have a lot more to do with clean water and sewerage treatment than anything else. I don't chlorinate, but I have heard of using a little Ouzo in the tank occasionally. I'll look into uv filters, don't know much about them. Thanks for all the feedback.

[rebel heart]

Just get a little $10 britta filter for the stuff you drink.

[thompsonisland]

Britta doesn't manage everything I want to treat, unfortunately. The garden hose thing is a problem-they are way, way bad for drinking water. Berkey will take out flouride, which is important to me. No cheap filter does that.

[rebel heart]

Originally Posted by thompsonisland

Britta doesn't manage everything I want to treat, unfortunately. The garden hose thing is a problem-they are way, way bad for drinking water. Berkey will take out flouride, which is important to me. No cheap filter does that.

Well, good luck figuring that one out. Might want to reality check the amount of money and maintenance that it's going to take to get this working for you. I love having a nice hot shower every day, but the price (in multiple terms) is more than I want to pay.

Good luck either way.

[propellanttech]

Originally Posted by MarkSF

Municipal water systems represent the greatest advance in human health in all history, up there with the invention of the vaccine, pasteurisation of milk, and the cooking of food. (Now I think about it, there are flat-earthers who avoid those too)

We're drinking the purest water now that any humans have ever drunk, and we drink purer water than 90% of the world's population today.

PS, bottled water is full of plasticisers, which really ARE carcinogenic. Bottled water might be the greatest consumer con trick ever pulled.

Having said that, I don't like the taste of some tap water, but a Brita jug filter fixes that and lowers some contaminants even lower.

Funny, I don't share the same opinion.....

Do some research on atrazene and simazene. There have been many cases where municipal water systems have failed the FDA recommended allowance, and the public never knew.

Don't ever believe all that you read. They only tell you the things they want you to know.

Also......not many filters in the world will take out either of the above chemicals. Also, there are times the water is not tested for it (having a well tested).

So the plastic is the least of your worries. Atrazine and Simazine are used daily during the summer. Into the ground water supply it goes. No chemical breakdown needed. From the sprayer right into your nice glass of ice water, only a few steps in between.

If that doesn't scare you, nothing will.

I'll probably stick with RO water myself.

James L

[thompsonisland]

RH, would be just drinking water.

The debate around pure food (and pharmaceuticals) is remarkably acrimonious, and I'm not going to get into it. I've been at this a while, reading the scientific studies, observing my own physical reactions, experiencing life threatening illness, and I've drawn my conclusions. Everyone else can do the same.

Contemporary water is full of crap. Some places are better than others, and LOTS of places are better than they were as humans have struggled to solve the logistical problems of large populations in close quarters. Food is full of crap. Pharmaceuticals are full of crap, so the risk/benefit analysis is always critical. There are better sources and worse options, and the trick (for me) is to minimize my exposure to the contaminants that I lack an evolutionary mechanism for filtering effectively.

I've read some fascinating in vivo drinking water studies, and I can tell you that from my perspective, it merits some consideration.

Always interested in learning what folks do to reconcile the virtues and challenges of modern living