Water Bladders

[rubyjean]

Has anyone had any experience with Plastimo flexible water tanks? I need to carry more fresh water. Cannot install a larger hard tank..Michael..

[FrankZ]

I installed a small one on the last boat as it fit the space and was quick.

The biggest downside I had was filling I had to burp it quite a bit to get it full.

[denverd0n]

Haven't use the Plastimo bladders. The thread on wines reminded me that in the past I have used empty, 5-liter, plastic wine bags to store water. It can be kind of a pain to refill them, but once filled they make an easy to store container for water.

[JanetGroene]

I too have used wine bags. I cut a small opening in the seam so the bag could be flushed and filled, then I scrunched it closed with a rubber band. I don't have a bag sealer but that might work even better. Small wine bags are also good to make ice water if you have freezer room. Fill not too full, freeze, then set up on a counter and as soon as some melts you have a faucet that delivers ice water.

[daddle]

I have a 100 litre (26.4g) PLASTIMO bladder to sell you cheap. Plastic bladder in a nylon shell. PM me.

[Artif]

We used to use a 200l flexi tank to transport water from the dock to our boat, in the bottom of the dink. Plastimo were the first ones we tried, we had it replaced 3 times under warranty, due to leaks. To be honest we over filled it which caused the problems, but they are a thin bladder inside a canvas sack.
We then got a Vetus flexi tank, that lasted until we got rid of boat after several years use and abuse. It was much better made and far more durable, but a little heavier.

The Plastimo would probably be O.K. for occasional use but the Vetus tank would be far better long term.

[Hudson Force]

I installed a 35 gallon Nauta water bladder a month ago and I've found it very suitable at this time. An air tight O-ring at the fill cap was essential for me to achieve full extraction of the tank's capacity. Witout the O-ring I was sucking air with a quarter of the water volume remaining in the tank. Of course, this is dependant on the mounting and the effluent lead, but it is an important consideration.

[vet222]

Caution with underfloor positioning using water bladders. Our boat we bought requires a galley floor rebuild as previous owner overfilling simply forced the flooring crossbeams upward and beyond breaking point. Takes no effort what so ever to achieve this when gravity filling bladder via a deck fill. Found it to be a 2 person job filling to ensure one on the tap and one monitoring bladder

[ADMPRTR]

We had installed a 150L Plastimo and it gave us many years of service until we sold the boat. I did find there was a plastic taste to water and as previously mentioned the bag need to be "burped" when filling it so you have to have access to it.

Also, you may need to build a support to hold it inplace. I used used plywood as support and styrofoam to protect it from abrassion against the sides of the hull and sharp bits.

[farotherside]

I installed three 26-gallon Plastimo bladders in my trimaran this past summer, and so far have been very happy with the results.

I first laid down a few sections of 'multy-tile' in the bilges where I installed the bladders, to give a space for airflow. Then I used a roll of polyurethane foam undercarpet padding (claimed to be antibacterial/antimildew) to line the bilge floor and walls, removing the question of chafe from stringers and rough bilge walls. Finally, I plumbed the tanks.

Six months later I have not had any leaks, even after much sailing in rough conditions. I have found that the tanks do impart a slight plastic taste to the water, but only after being left for a few weeks - I expect that to fade eventually. One of the bladders is installed in the aft, under a galley compartment, and as another poster stated filling from the deck the bladder can develop quite an upward force! I cannot fill it to full, as it lifts the floorboards.

[starfishy]

We replaced our two old disgusting (circa 1969) hard fiberglass tanks with new plastimo 39 gallon water tanks this past winter. Used them in the Bahamas and we are really happy with them. They are linked to our forward tank through the fill lines and a manifold by the galley faucet and we fill through the deck fill. Biggest problem we have had is we have to fill the forward tank and wait for the water to drain down into the other tanks but I think that is more of a matter of gravity then the bags themselves.

It turned a project that would have involved completely removing and replacing two old fiberglass tanks into a project where we cut off the top of the old tanks and placed the new bags inside them.

[bewitched]

We use a 350 litre nauta brand bladder for fuel storage when we are on delivery with the race boat. It lies in the cockpit in the sun and we walk all over it. It's tough.

[roger.waite]

I installed a couple five years ago, and they are still going fine. IME, the plastic taste to water builds up when you are not turning over the water content often enough. You can treat the water with 'sodium silver chloride complex' (Yachticon Aqua Clean or similar; do not use bleach). But the best answer is more time on the water!

Only trivial issue I had was with the 90 degree bend going into the top of the tank, which stopped me inserting a hose to flush the tank. You have to pump it out instead (e.g. 12v domestic pumps, or impeller pump on drill).

Important to tie the tanks in place properly. We also had to reinforce the lining of the locker as we were putting a big tank in a smaller space - the weight of the water water started to peel the ply off. But easy to install.

[rocksculpter]

It's been about 20 years since I put in four Vetus pvc tanks. 20 gallon tanks that yielded 15 in the spaces I found for them. Two paired forward and two aft with a valve to choose which pair was in use. The way the inlets are, from above, I've never had to 'burp' them and the enclosures stout enough I don't worry about overfilling. I went to the flex tanks because of the access was limited, the downside is I wish I could get at them for cleaning purposes. I have used a bit of bleach at times which should be OK. I see they have gotten pricey but if you compare just the cost of buying ss and making your own it's a toss.

[bbbbbguy]

Before the installation of my water maker, I used the endless supply of wine bags... but with a twist! Yes...I too cut the bag at the seam for cleaning, but I bought one of those handheld "seal-a-meal" gadgets. They work like a sealameal, but look like a funky stapler. Once you clean the bag, this gadget will reseal your cut. You can get them from, "As seen on TV" online for around 20.00.