keeping water potable

CheckRaise · Posted: Sun Jan 30, 2005 12:02 pm Post subject: keeping water potable

I'm wondering what everyone does to treat their water tank and keep it from becoming a giant petri dish. Or do you just not drink the water?

B~C · Posted: Sun Jan 30, 2005 12:11 pm Post subject:

I drain my tank regularly (thow a piece of tubing on the facet and thow the other end out the window) and treat the water with some stuff I got in the RV isle at Joe's. We freeze gallon jugs of water that we generally use for drinking water, tank water is used for coffee, cooking and washing.

katkt · Posted: Sun Jan 30, 2005 12:36 pm Post subject:

What B~C said Thumbs Up

MOOSE · Posted: Sun Jan 30, 2005 12:44 pm Post subject:

I've wondered about this issue myself. Siphoning all the water out works fine if the boat is on the trailer, but when it is in the water the bottom of the tank, I believe, is lower than the water level outside. I've given thought to installing a three way valve to enable draining the tank to the bilge sump, but I recently realized all I would have to do is to direct my siphon hose off the fawcett to the bilge. That way, even when the boat is in the water, complete emptying of the tank should be possible.

We also use some RV juice to keep the water fresh and have found that a few grains of Wylers lemonade mix per cup makes it actually quite palatable. Cooler space always seems at a premium, so it is nice to be able to use the tank water for drinking as well as other purposes.
Al

CheckRaise · Posted: Sun Jan 30, 2005 2:00 pm Post subject:

Great responses, thanks. Anyone have a brand of treatment chemical that they're loyal to?

I was just looking at this stuff. They don't say what's in it, but they claim that one treatment is good for five years. What's the active ingrediant, uranium? Shocked

dogon dory · Posted: Sun Jan 30, 2005 2:12 pm Post subject:

Sorry, Folks - Post Deleted By Author

TyBoo · Posted: Sun Jan 30, 2005 2:22 pm Post subject:

I use one of these gizmos, and Kay likes what it does. Big difference between with and without. In the CD 22, we used one of those inline RV filters with hose connectors. It worked good, too, but not as good as the cartridge type. Our water tanks go empty long before any biology experiments take place.

B~C · Posted: Sun Jan 30, 2005 2:24 pm Post subject:

Pus, Mike treats his water tank with Jim Beam

Sneaks · Posted: Sun Jan 30, 2005 2:24 pm Post subject:

Coffee with tank water? Brrrr, I guess you WA Starbucks types are really jaded. We carry bottled water for drinking/cooking, throw a little clorox into the tank and use it strictly for cleaning/washing. Same as our RV. In the RV, if we've been on the road a while and the water tank's been cycled a few times, only then do we start using it for cooking and coffee. Probably do the same if we went on a long cruise.

katkt · Posted: Sun Jan 30, 2005 2:58 pm Post subject:

Gee Whiz Dogon,
Treat'n your tank like that, your lucky
to find one one that'll go boating
with you Xmas LOL

dogon dory · Posted: Sun Jan 30, 2005 3:14 pm Post subject:

Sorry, Folks - Post Deleted By Author

Pat Anderson · Posted: Sun Jan 30, 2005 3:52 pm Post subject:

Everybody has their own solutions I guess, but since our boat is on a trailer, we just siphon the water out like B~C does. Where we then differ is that I then add about a quarter of a cup of Clorox to the tank and refill. I let that sit overnight, siphon it out, refill with water, siphon that out, and then refill. We find this keeps the tank fresh, and we have no problem drinking the water. We have pretty good water to start with in Fall City and Birch Bay, no noticeable chlorine taste. I will let the chemists calculate the ppm of the 1/4 cup of Chlorox in 20 gallons, I think Chlorox is about 5% hypochlorite...What is left after the first rinse and then dilution in the next fill is below sensory detection by us. If you were really fussy you could do one more rinse before the fill. No need to buy disinfectant from the RV store, household bleach is the most effective disinfectant available...

Captains Cat · Posted: Sun Jan 30, 2005 5:36 pm Post subject:

I've found that if you put enough single malt in a nice glass Cocktail

, add some ice and a splash of tank water, there's no problem. Anything that might be in there is either dead Mr. Green

or so happy Rolling Eyes

it jumps right out of the glass....After 3 or 4 of those I don't care anyway.... Wink

Charlie

Chivita · Posted: Sun Jan 30, 2005 5:44 pm Post subject:

Vinegar works well and does not leave a nasty aftertaste. It's also a good solution if you are dumping your tank straight into a water source as it is not a chemical byproduct.

Sawdust · Posted: Sun Jan 30, 2005 7:31 pm Post subject:

Think I like single malt mo betta than vinegar.

Dusty