Pool chlorine instead of bleach to clean water tanks

[wrwakefield]

Hi Skipmac and A64,

Here is the marketing lit about the product.

As I understand it, it is just a stabilized hydrogen peroxide that takes longer to oxidize than pure H2O2- and costs about the same.

Dosage? The lit says:

For oxidation of impurities, feed Neutra Sul until there are very few oxygen bubbles in treated water.
For iron treatment, feed Neutra Sul at 2 ppm per 1 ppm of iron.

How much have I been using?

We have 2- 110 gallon tanks. When we desire to sanitize the entire potable water system [e.g., after lay-ups when we weren't on the boat full time...] I draw the tanks down to about half full and add half a gallon to each before heading out to slosh them around. After a bit of mixing, we draw water through every tap onboard, including the 11 gallon water heater, and let it sit for a while. This dosage typically has the water from the taps just barely fizzing...

I figure that like peroxide, the shelf life is limited, and the product is cheap, so I just use a full bottle at a time, and keep a full, unopened around in case of need.

My efforts to date been preventative in nature. If I had a situation where the tanks/plumbing were know foul or with undesirable odors, I would more closely follow the instructions and keep adding product until the bubbles diminished.

Most of our water is from our watermaker, so our potable system remains very clean. When we draw water from a dock, we use a sanitized potable water hose with a filter.

As an additional precaution, we also take our potable water from a tap with a 1/2µ silver halide filter. [I suffered the ill effects of bad water once in the distant past... Like kidney stones, once is enough...]

Cheers! Bill

[a64pilot]

I think I will give it a go with 1 gl to my 157 gl water tank?
I wonder if we can find a recommended dosage rate to disinfect water?
Other than Montezuma's revenge I have had no prior issues with water, but don't want to either.
I do not need to check that block

[HopCar]

Practical Sailor Magizene published a series of articles on maintaining your fresh water system. The testing was done by Thinwater who posts on this forum often. He recommended a product called Purisan. It not only kills the biofilm that grows on the tank sides but causes it to disintegrate and fall off so it can be flushed out.
My former company imports it from England. It won't damage aluminum tanks.
Puriclean - MFG#UPCSTD - 14 oz. Tub

[a64pilot]

Seems I can find that 1 to 2 PPM is what is recommended for bacteria with a 10 min or longer contact time. I have no idea as to the validity of the source. I assume of course that that would be the unobtainable 100% pure stuff of course.
Are any of you smart enough to tell how much of 7% to get to 1 to 2 parts per million for 100 gls of water?

[Jammer]

I don't know much about boats but I know a thing or two about water chemistry.

Originally Posted by Valmika

Does anyone use pool chlorine instead of bleach to purify their water tanks and system. I flush my tanks twice a year with it and just wondered if anyone else does and what ratios they use?

I have used pool chlorine as a water system disinfectant for the well and piping system at a house I have.

Originally Posted by a64pilot

Pool chlorine is I believe calcium hypochlorate. Liquid bleach is sodium hypochlorate.

Liquid chlorination products for swimming products are identical chemically to bleach but stronger. The tablet and powder products vary widely in their composition.

Originally Posted by JstaRebel

Household bleach is usually a 6% concentration (although some of the cheaper stuff is 3%), while pool chlorine can typically be found in strength between 10% and 12%. All of this is sodium hypochlorite, and works the same in sanitizing your water.

In both cases the jug the product comes in is chlorine permeable so the actual strength of the product diminishes with storage.

Originally Posted by zeehag

if your tanks are stainless dono t do this. if plastic-- go for it.
the strong cheicals kill the welds and you will also have that issue with which i am currently dealing---ie, gods donot make enough jb weld for the welds of m y tanks.....

Stainless steel tanks can be readily cleaned and sanitized without damage using the products sold to the dairy industry. Do a google search for "Dairy Sanitizer." Widely available around the world under various brand names

Originally Posted by Dave22q

OP appears to have solved a non-problem. With bleach cheap and widely available and the small amounts needed to disinfect a tank there is absolutely no point in seeking alternatives. Now if you want to discuss Clorox vs. private label...

The advantage of stronger concentrates are that they are easier to store, ship, and haul where a large quantity is needed. In most cases a quart of laundry bleach will last you a year, though.

Originally Posted by wrwakefield

Instead of bleach, we use a purpose made water system sanitizing product: Neutra Sul HP41N Professional Grade Oxidizer [for cleaning/sanitizing potable water tanks and plumbing- similar to 7% hydrogen peroxide, but better.]

This won't harm anything in the water system [we have 316 stainless steel potable water tanks] has no odors of its own, is cheap, and oxidizes to potable water if flushing tanks after a 'flash' treatment is not an option. [i.e., It is used to sanitize water to make it potable.]

In case this is of interest.

Cheers! Bill

It will not kill parasitic cysts (e.g. giardia) or other difficult-to-control disease-causing organisms. Depends what you're trying to do.

[TheThunderbird]

I was told by a chemist to add a cup or two of chlorine each time l fill the tank (80gall).

So far you dont taste it, it is fine and good (tap water is treated the same way!)

[TheThunderbird]

@DenaliRose
After flushing each and any taps, better wait overnight, or longer if you can leave the boat.... and after that l flush twice and get tanks empty. Once upon a time, it is so.

[CarinaPDX]

Originally Posted by wsmurdoch

Last year I bought "Clorox Bleach Crystals (Regular Scent)" at Target. It is sodium dichloroisocyanurate. I may give it a try this year. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sodium...roisocyanurate

Originally Posted by HopCar

Practical Sailor Magizene published a series of articles on maintaining your fresh water system. The testing was done by Thinwater who posts on this forum often. He recommended a product called Purisan. It not only kills the biofilm that grows on the tank sides but causes it to disintegrate and fall off so it can be flushed out.
My former company imports it from England. It won't damage aluminum tanks.
Puriclean - MFG#UPCSTD - 14 oz. Tub

I bought a couple tubs of Puriclean, which I use to occasionally clean the tanks. The active ingredient is sodium dichlorisocyanurate, 12% w/w. It is recommended to use at 1 teaspoon per gallon water to clean water tanks/systems, for 1 to 12 hours. I suspect the Chlorox crystals are a lot less expensive way to get the same thing.

If you are using charcoal filters before the faucets to remove the chlorine and tank taste (recommended) then when cleaning the system be sure to remove the filter elements and pump the cleaning solution out the faucets. Only after thorough flushing, put in new cartridges. The charcoal is very good at removing the chlorine so bacteria tends to flourish downstream of the filter.

Greg

[a64pilot]

Help me out guys please. I think that if I take 1 gl of 7% solution and put it in 100 gl of water I get 70 PPM.
reasoning is
I put 1 gl of 7% solution into 100 gls I now have .007% solution?
If so then .007% solution is 70 PPM?

[a64pilot]

[QUOTE=HopCar;2336819
My former company[/QUOTE]

What does this mean?

[CarinaPDX]

Originally Posted by a64pilot

Help me out guys please. I think that if I take 1 gl of 7% solution and put it in 100 gl of water I get 70 PPM.
reasoning is
I put 1 gl of 7% solution into 100 gls I now have .007% solution?
If so then .007% solution is 70 PPM?

7%=0.07, dilute 100:1 would now be 0.0007 (add 2 zeros), or 7 parts per 10,000, or 700 ppm. I think...

Greg

[a64pilot]

Originally Posted by CarinaPDX

I bought a couple tubs of Puriclean, which I use to occasionally clean the tanks. The active ingredient is sodium dichlorisocyanurate, 12% w/w.

If it is that, and I have no reason to doubt you as I don't know, but that stuff is what I think is used in swimming pools as "shock" and if that is what it is, it does have chlorine and would I think be harmful to aluminum tanks?
Say that three times fast

[a64pilot]

Originally Posted by CarinaPDX

7%=0.07, dilute 100:1 would now be 0.0007 (add 2 zeros), or 7 parts per 10,000, or 700 ppm. I think...

Greg

I think your right about the add two zeros to get to .0007 if I dilute 1 gl by 100 gl.
If so then that gets me right at 7 PPM for 100 gl. So it seems that 1gl mixed with 200 gl of water gets you to 3.5 PPM, which is close to the recommended 1 to 2 PPM, if in fact that number is valid.

Now just need to find for sure what PPM of H2O2 will disinfect water with a decent exposure time, over night would be fine for me.

[Sunday Driver]

For my plastic tanks, I use 3 tablespoons of household bleach for 32 gallons to disinfect and 1/2 teaspoon per 32 gallons to treat. Never a problem in the 11 years I've owned the boat.

[CarinaPDX]

Originally Posted by a64pilot

If it is that, and I have no reason to doubt you as I don't know, but that stuff is what I think is used in swimming pools as "shock" and if that is what it is, it does have chlorine and would I think be harmful to aluminum tanks?

Whether it is used as a pool cleaner I will leave to others. I just read the label. And yes, the "dichloro" part of the ingredient means that there are two chlorine atoms in each molecule.

The container says "Puriclean will clean stainless steel and NOT harm any components." They say nothing about aluminum, and I don't know what the effect would be on aluminum. Personally I avoid letting aluminum contact my food and drink, as it is implicated in the amyloid placques associated with Alzheimers disease (although causation has not been proven AFAIK).

You might consider asking the Puriclean folks at Clean Tabs Ltd | Water Purification | Water Purification Tablets | Water Tank Cleaning | Water Treatment | Drinking Water Disinfection if their product is safe to use on aluminum tanks. They should have a definitive answer.

Greg