Drinking Water from watertanks

[Icarus]

Originally Posted by Simi 60

No filters for us
Water from the tap and from the sky to fill the tanks and drink it

Same here, I think some forget the water we drink has been passed through a lot of kidneys over the last 100 millions of years. There is no 'new' water.

[Elie]

At one time, after a winter in the Carabeans, one of our tanks, started to be smelly a few days after it was filled with clean tap water. Bleach solved the problem. The next spring a took the fastudious of cleaning the smelly tank. What i found in the tank was amazing: serious silt deposit and other thick smelly muck. After a total cleaning job, including a serious rince with bleach, the problem was definitly solved. Since being at it, I replaced all the water lines (for my 5 tanks!) with Pex tubing . The idea was that opact tubing do not let bacteria, or other life form things grow, in absence of light. No more problems. I always fill my tanks using a serious filter, but I do not filter further my tank water.

[boat driver]

if water sits in warm weather- it can get funky. so we add bleach- the chart is nice- wish Id had that before the bill for hair color (more bleach is not better)
otherwise, as long as water is being used it is fine.
The bad stuff comes from mixing various questionable water sources in various countries-then the body becomes confused by many bugs. so bleach covers the question of living bugs.
Only way to really get pure water is thru evaporator and then an uncontaminated tank.
So if a question on drinking water is present- boil it and store separate.

[Sojourner]

Originally Posted by sailorchic34

Here I am 15 years drinking unfiltered water from the water tank. Myself having helped design several biopharmaceutical plants, I realize that the filter media used in water filters happen to be a perfect growth media for bacteria.

I suspected this too. Plus filtration / UV systems etc are just one more complication and expense on an otherwise perfectly complicated and expensive boat Here in Corfu where we're getting ready to winter, my marina bartender friends look at me crazy when I ask for tap water....they think it tastes like crap! Tastes fine to me, and as I like to say, the price is right

[Kit_L]

We have a 300 litre water tank on Seabiscuit. We fill from the local town supply. After reading this thread, we will fill with an in-line filter in place (we have only used a food-grade hose so far). Our food-grade plastic tank is translucent, and seems to be perfectly clean, but to make sure, the recommended Brita filter pitcher seems like cheap insurance.
We only have one tap on the boat.

[Longinod]

I've managed pharmaceutical manufacturing operations for 40 years, utilizing multiple grades of purified water or water for injection. A water maker RO unit with UV will produce water microbially potable, albeit nutritionally void. Sanitizing the tank periodically is wise, but within 72 hours the fearless buggers will have repopulated their stagnant inhabitation to a near steady state condition. Keep the water manufacturing running, even dumping water daily as may not be used. Not practical for a boat? Flush routinely, this was about high quality drinking water. Or, add an antiseptic like ethanol.

[SailFastTri]

Originally Posted by sailorboy1

gee, a few Billion people seem to be able to survive it

So said the tobacco lobby. Ignorance is bliss. We can improve our health and/or avoid some illnesses with changing behaviors and environmental factors. Do yourself a favor and read about gut health and immune.

[paul2884]

Originally Posted by Paradoxus

I use a standard Seagull IV filter combined with a Acuva Tech UV purifier for drinking water out of the tanks, which has gone through a regular filter at the tap also. Good taste and no issues to date.

+1 seems to work fine for us as well

[contrail]

For what it is worth, I drink the water straight from the tanks. I fill tanks from known sources or use my watermaker. I ask for tap water at restaurants and strongly discourage bringing bottled water aboard. I have lived aboard, in good health, for 33 years, in the US, Baja, and the Caribbean, plus another four years of intermittent living aboard. Never "shocked" my tanks, and never had a complaint from anyone regarding the water quality. I strongly suggest watching the You Tube video "The Story of Bottled Water", for those addicted to that product.

[sailorboy1]

Originally Posted by SailFastTri

So said the tobacco lobby. Ignorance is bliss. We can improve our health and/or avoid some illnesses with changing behaviors and environmental factors. Do yourself a favor and read about gut health and immune.

what a freakin argument reach

[thinwater]

Originally Posted by SailFastTri

So said the tobacco lobby. Ignorance is bliss. We can improve our health and/or avoid some illnesses with changing behaviors and environmental factors. Do yourself a favor and read about gut health and immune.

Read WHO reports on the many who die from water-borne disease every year. It's a big number. We've just become insulated from it in the 1st world.



Sanitation is an area where we have come far. It does not have to be a blue bubble, but standardized precautions are well proven.

[MVDarlin]

I use a zero water filter at the tap for coffee and drinking water. Otherwise tap ok. I usually drain tanks once a year. Purge lines with a cup of bleach and 10 gal water.

[sailcrazy]

What is a zero water filter? Is it a canister or a device that attaches to the faucet? What is the filter media, and to what micron?

[GordMay]

Originally Posted by sailcrazy

What is a zero water filter? Is it a canister or a device that attaches to the faucet? What is the filter media, and to what micron?

ZeroWater filters filter water in 5 stages, are NSF certified to reduce lead and other heavy metals, and remove 99.6% of total dissolved solids,
➥ https://www.zerowater.com/zerowater-products.php

[zboss]

Originally Posted by CarinaPDX

I definitely don't get paying a small fortune for Seagull filters; I'm not questioning their abilities - just the price and availability. Standard 10" filter bodies are readily available pretty much everywhere in the world, and there are many suppliers of filter elements, at a very reasonable price. Personally I have a sediment filter rigged to the filler hose to remove anything coming in, but not the chlorine in the municipal water. Then at the taps I use combined sediment/carbon filters to remove the chlorine and any tank taste before using. When changing the filters it is important to clean the short section between the filter and faucet as the lack of chlorine can allow bacterial slime to build up.

Edit: When choosing filter elements do pay attention to the required pressure: particularly the carbon block filters need decent pressure to drive water through them at a good rate.

Greg

We have a seagull filter behind our pentek silvered carbon block and we can't tell the difference between the two - the pentek does such a great job of filtering that the seagull has very little left to remove. Those penteks are much cheaper than the seagull but we do end up changing them two or three times a year.

I think if you keep your tanks clean in the first place, and barring any unusual contamination, you really don't get anything extra from the seagull over the carbon block.

Originally Posted by boat driver

Only way to really get pure water is thru evaporator and then an uncontaminated tank.

for "clean" water you can use a watermaker, which shouldn't let any nasties through.