Water Filter - Pre-Tank

[rebel heart]

I've have two water inputs for my 150 gallon water tank. One is a screw in attachment for a garden hose, and another is a standard deck fitting.

The garden hose attachment runs to a two stage filter, I'm guessing relying on the pressure from the hose to get through the filters. The standard deck fitting does not have anything like this. Further, the diameter is much larger on the deck fitting's pipes.

Is there a baja filter for water? Something handheld better than a brita? I'm trying to come up with a way to filter water coming in through the deck fitting, since being able to fill up via a garden hose is reserved for fuel docks and marinas from what I've seen.

[Yotboss]

Is there a baja filter for water? Something handheld better than a brita? I'm trying to come up with a way to filter water coming in through the deck fitting, since being able to fill up via a garden hose is reserved for fuel docks and marinas from what I've seen.[/quote]

Hi Rebel,

I connected two generic household water filters together with hose fittings in & out. One filter is for sediment and the other is charcoal. We normally make our own water, but, if we have to fill up at a dock, we use this contraption and are still alive after several years. I haven't had to fill up jugs to carry to the boat, but would use the filters while filling up the jugs if I did. We also have filters in the boat, but like to do at least some filtration before putting any water in our tanks.

Tom

[rebel heart]

So you do something like a funnel, then connected to two filters, with an output into the deck fitting? That might be the best thing. I can get water off the main if it's raining, so I'd like to be able to use a filter that I could rig for that as well.

[Yotboss]

Originally Posted by rebel heart

So you do something like a funnel, .

Rebel,
No, my device requires pressure - I connect the hose TO it and run the hose FROM it into the tank (or jug). It wouldn't work in a pour-through situation.

We also can open our deck fills when it's raining and capture that water.... we just let it rain long enough to wash the salt and gunk off before opening up - no filter needed for rain water!

Tom

[svHyLyte]

We have a standard under-sink canister type filter with a clear housing fitted with short lengths of hose for removing sediment, rust and the like from off-ship water sources. (See | HF-360 Water Filter ) A hose from a shore-side supply can easily be connected to this.

In the event that we have to obtain water from a questionable shore-side source while the yacht's at anchor--in jugs for example--I have a small submersible bilge pump with a length of hose that can be connected to the filter canister. (The bilge pump is powered with small rechargable 10 ah 12 volt battery.) The water is decanted into a 5-gallon bucket from which the bilge pump discharges it through the filter canisters and into the ship's tanks. (We also always add a measured amount of unscented household bleach into the water-tanks whenever we do a fill.) Within the ship, we have a second, duel sediment and charcoal based filter, on the discharge side of the pressure pump. Finally, in the galley, we have a third filter for drinking water--see Complete Systems - Seagull IV #Seagull IV X-1F Series (chrome faucet)

The foregoing filter system would also work with rainwater, which would simply be directed into the 5 gallon bucket rather than to the ships tanks.

Cheers,

s/v HyLyte

[Randyonr3]

Not to change the subject, only to make a note..
If by chance you might have a watermaker that has a fresh-water flush system, adding any type of bleach or water purefying agent, you COULD damage the membrain in the system.......

[Pblais]

Getting a gravity feed filtration system isn't going to be fast enough unless you have a holding tank. The example of the Brita water pitcher is a good idea of how long it takes for gravity alone to filter water. You can't really boost the output without creating a holding tank that can raise the level of the water enough to make some pressure.

The two stage filtration at the dock is a great idea as it keeps stuff out of your tank. Filtering at the sink is not a bad idea for the last bit of filtering but it would be nice to filter at least at the two stage level before it ever reaches your tank.

[scotte]

Today I built/installed a two stage filtration system (particulate and charcoal) with valves such that it serves three purposes. First - filter water going into the tanks from the hose. Second - filter water coming out of the tanks and through the boat's water system (and into the watermaker's cleaning input). Third - allow for a hose hookup directly into the boat's water system.

While overall the system seems like it's going to work great, I've got a couple of bugs to work out - the primary one being that the secondary (charcoal) filter restricts flow/pressure too much. Everything's great running straight through the hose, but with a 35PSI pressure regulator in the hose line, or running off the boat's 40PSI pump, the flow is too low. I'm thinking of adding another of the secondary filters in parallel which will hopefully resolve the issue (if it's flow and not pressure) - otherwise I guess I'll need a booster pump (bummer, I'm enjoying NOT hearing the pump fire up while here at the dock every time a faucet is turned on). I'm also planning on adding an accumulator tank, but that has more to do with reducing pump duty cycle and pump pulsing.

Once I get things worked out I'll post up a diagram of the piping and valves. With the setup I came up with, just two valves are needed, so it's really not too complex.

[Pblais]

Even a cheap Jabsco $50 tank will make a huge difference.

[Randyonr3]

If your using a gravity feed from your sails, I wouldnt think you would be worried about chemical in the water so a charcoal filter would not be needed. and a 20 micron filter should let the water run fairley fast.. You could back it up with a 5 Micron which is all you would ever need to see what the flow would be..
I've got filters on the boat so I'll give it a try over the next couple days and report back..
About filters, I've looked everywhere to get the best deals on filters, buying them in bulk, or having them shipped in or going through Spectra where I get a discount.
What I've found is the cheepest for a two stage system using a 20 and a 5 micron filter, Is ACE hardware.. they sell them for about 7.50 for a two pack.. Thats only 3.75 for a filter..
I do run the upper end filters on my watermaker but not for the two stage going into the boat..
To insure pure water going into the watermaker for the flush cycle, I do use a Charcoal filter..

[David M]

Rebel...there is such an animal. They are exactly what you are looking for. Scientists use them for filtering phyto and zooplankton. They are good sized filters, about twice to three times the size of the Racor 500 series filters. They can handle the pressure of a water pump pushing water through them at a pretty good volume...better than some of these little filters. You buy the clear plastic enclosure separate from the filter therefore the filters can be replaced when they start to clog. You can get them in different micron sizes. I would check in a scientific supply catalog like Fisher.

I found this as well: Pleated Sediment Filter Cartridge 5-micron 20"x5"

You need to get down to about 1 micron to filter out the smallest creepy crawlers.

[Randyonr3]

I like that idea about the bucket and the pump... I dont like putting anything into my tanks now that is not filtered...
I was at a marina a year or so ago and didnt filter the water, Thought that if its comming through the hose, it good.. after about a month the boat started to stink and the water from the faucet had an odd smell.. My tanks are plastimo so I pulled the cover and checked them.. the tanks had about 1 inch of red goo in the bottom of the tanks.. tried to clean them, didnt work.. The goo was mineral pulled up by the pump at the Marina.. A combination of Iron and sulfer amoung other things..
The water was checked by the county and it passed as the amount was acceptable. the problem came in the tanks. after filling the tanks, the skum would settle on the bottom.. a week later, I would fill them again and again the scum would settle... after a couple months, the tanks were destroyed...

[vacendak]

Something handheld better than a brita?

you might look at these: Schlauch Vorfilter - Yachticon

[multihullsailor6]

Originally Posted by vacendak

you might look at these: Schlauch Vorfilter - Yachticon

vacendak, thanks for the link, excactly what I've been looking for.

Roger

[thinwater]

Originally Posted by Randyonr3

I like that idea about the bucket and the pump... I dont like putting anything into my tanks now that is not filtered...
I was at a marina a year or so ago and didnt filter the water, Thought that if its comming through the hose, it good.. after about a month the boat started to stink and the water from the faucet had an odd smell.. My tanks are plastimo so I pulled the cover and checked them.. the tanks had about 1 inch of red goo in the bottom of the tanks.. tried to clean them, didnt work.. The goo was mineral pulled up by the pump at the Marina.. A combination of Iron and sulfer amoung other things..
The water was checked by the county and it passed as the amount was acceptable. the problem came in the tanks. after filling the tanks, the skum would settle on the bottom.. a week later, I would fill them again and again the scum would settle... after a couple months, the tanks were destroyed...

The difficulty is that a filter would not have solved the problem; the minerals were dissolved at the time, and the action of oxygen brought them out of solution over time. I suspect a chemical reaction was involved, changing the oxidation state of the iron and the sulfur. I had the same problem. You need either a resin-based home system or a new water source. Sorry, but there is a reason home systems are big and cumbersome. A sample to the Culigan man would be a start.