Peter, and other water specialists
Since you're a specialist in that field, could you share with us some advice
about an easy way to install some filters (and which type) on a small tank
dedicated only for drinking water.
I have 150 gallon tanks aboard, but I don't like to drink the water, just in
case, because my water can sit in the tank for 5 to 6 weeks before fill.
Instead of carrying 1 gallon jugs, I intend to install a small 5 or 10
gallon tank with a specific faucet (foot-pump already installed).
Would you recommand a charcol filter or some Brita thing between the little
tank and the fawcet ?
Or, second choice : would you trust the big tanks if they are equipped with
proper filters ?
Just to put in consideration : we hardly use more than 1 gallon of drinkable
water per day, and about 7-8 gallons per day for the other needs. Frugal...
Thanks !
Bryan
It is not appropriate for anyone to give medical advice about this
situation on aT&T list. I have a PhD in microbiology and know a good deal
about such matters, but I would never share that information with someone
on a trawler list. My advice is to bring in a medical professional to
decide what is the proper way to proceed.
Here is what i do on LeeZe.
We load water about every 4-5 weeks or so.
Before it goes into the tank, it comes thru a potable water authorized
"garden hose" and then thru a chemical that lessens the hardness of
the water and then a 1 micron filter.
For use, all water goes thru another filer that has this hardness
reducing chemical in it.
For drinking water thru its own tap, it goes thru an HOH resin filter
and then a charcoal filter.
The HOH resin lasts about 250-350 liters (remember this is DRINKING
water!) and is recharged using 99.9% pure NaCl (salt).
The charcoal filter gets changed every spring (good for about 2000 gal
or so but)…
The one micron filter gets changed quarterly and the chemical is added
as needed.
Never carry water and no one in 5+ years has bitched yet. No one has
gotten sick yet either, and have loaded all through the eastern Med
and the Greek Islands. Even loaded a few times from PW Tankers.
Twice a year, a shock my PW tank with 2 liters of 50% concentrated
H2O2 (handle with care) just in case.
Lee
Izmir, Turkey
On 11/26/15, B. V. via Trawlers-and-Trawlering
trawlers@lists.trawlering.com wrote:
Peter, and other water specialists
I've installed the Watts Premier "under sink" reverse osmosis drinking
water filter. It cost about $200 and uses no electricity. It runs from
the pressure supplied by the fresh water pump. One usual drawback to
such a system is that it "wastes" five or ten gallons for each gallon of
product water. I've overcome this issue by plumbing the "waste" water
back into the fresh water tank. The added minerals in the 100 gallon
fresh water tank are negligible and flushed as the water is used for
washing and replenished. The RO system stores it's product water in a 3
gallon accumulator tank and has the capacity to make 24 gallons of pure
water a day. I've plumbed the RO water to Drinking Water faucets I
installed at each sink onboard and to the ice maker. Rather than mount
the equipment under the sink where real estate is precious, I placed it
in a remote area of the bilge where I only have to access it once or
twice a year to change the filters. Be sure not to buy the newer units
now sold at Costco that have the proprietary sediment and carbon filter
but rather get the unit that has housings for standard 10 inch filter
elements that are available worldwide. The model I use is the Watts
Premier 500025 Four Stage Reverse Osmosis System selling for $ 196.90.
http://www.premierh2o.com No connection to the company other than a
satisfied customer.
Tom Collins - Misty Sea
Bryan,
From the perspective of one whose background is plumbing and
residential water treatment, I may be able to provide some insight.
There are many thousands of residential water systems that utilize a
drilled well. The drilled well may be from tens to hundreds of feet
deep, typically the top forty or so feet, depending on local conditions,
will have a casing of steel or more commonly today, PVC pipe, typically
6" diameter, the remainder is porous rock. Every locale varies in
response to local geological makeup. The well itself in most cases
functions as the reservoir, or tank if you will. Water levels vary
according to local geology, water table, neighboring wells, all too
varied to list here, but the point being that each system is unique to
some degree, and that most of those systems, in my experience provide
potable water without the need for additional treatment. Folks drink
that water without a second thought to how it arrived at the tap! Not a
stretch to relate that system to one on a boat.
Your on board water system is a controlled environment insofar as you
have control of what goes into the tank, and how the tank is maintained.
I am of the opinion that many folks harbor an unrealistic fear or
phobia, of drinking the water from those tanks. If the tank and the
appurtenant piping is clean to start with, and only clean potable water
is introduced to the system, the chance of spontaneous development of
pathogens in that system is essentially nil. The fact that the water is
stored in the tank for a period of time does not necessarily mean that
it will "go bad".
That said, treatment systems exist to sterilize the product water if
that is a concern. The most reliable method of treatment is a UV lamp,
where the water passes through UV light. This causes any pathogens to be
killed by causing a rupture of the cellular structure. You're still
drinking their carcass, but they're rendered inert. Yum. The UV lamp
must be changed on a regular basis to retain its efficacy, generally on
an 18 month cycle, some have a monitor that indicates a need for
replacement, and all require a pre-filter to insure that the quartz tube
through which the water flows remains perfectly clean. Routine
maintenance would include inspection of the tube and cleaning if needed.
The cost is probably less than buying, schlepping, and storing bottled
water. (Which, in most instances is bottled from a municipal source and
has no other treatment other than filtration.)
You can also use an oxidizer (chlorine, hydrogen peroxide, etc)
introduced into the tank in an appropriate dilution to kill and
prevent the growth of pathogens, but you're also then drinking that
chemical. Generally, municipal water will have a mandated residual of
bacteriological agent that would prevent pathogen production and
preclude the necessity of adding chemical to the tank; but if you're
taking on well water from a rural marina, they may or may not be
required to treat that water, and treatment on that level is the
responsibility of the operator of the system (the marina). If the marina
is unkempt, you can project that same level of care to the water system
maintenance!
In nearly 10 years of cruising, we've enjoyed perfectly drinkable water
aboard, whether it comes from shore source or our watermaker. I employ a
water softener I fabricated, all water that comes aboard is softened,
however it offers no bacteriological benefit. I also have in place a 10"
T&O (charcoal- Taste & Odor) filter that all the water except deck wash,
passes through, it keeps the water tasting great, and filters any
sediment. Again, if you're taking on municipal water, that water is
mandated to be potable, and those requirements generally insure that the
water is reliably safe. I have not added chemicals to my tank other than
after the boat has been winterized, and I mildly shock the system when
flushing it when de-winterizing. I've encountered folks who add
disproportionate amounts of chlorine to their tanks on a regular basis,
a practice that is simply overkill, and unnecessary; perhaps unhealthy.
Many folks think nothing of drinking tap water, water in a restaurant,
when they have no control over that source, yet refuse to drink the
water from their on board system that is totally within their control. I
simply don't understand the 'yuck" factor that is associated with
drinking water out of their tanks.
Proper care and maintenance can provide clean, good-tasting, and
perfectly safe drinking water aboard without the need for additional
treatment.
HAPPY TURKEY DAY!!
On 11/26/2015 9:51 AM, B. V. via Trawlers-and-Trawlering wrote:
Peter, and other water specialists
Since you're a specialist in that field, could you share with us some advice
about an easy way to install some filters (and which type) on a small tank
dedicated only for drinking water.
<snip>
Steve Sipe
MTOA #3962
Solo 4303 /Maerin/
Lying Brunswick Landing
I'm no water specialist, but can tell you what we do to drink water
directly from our stainless steel tank, just like in the city. We are full
time cruisers, though, so the water is circulating all the time.
We 'shock" the water system annually by pouring 1/2 gallon chlorine bleach
(the cheap stuff without fragrance or anything else) in our 120 gallon tank
before we fill it,to make sure it's mixed up. Then we run a lot of the
water through every faucet on the boat until each one obviously smells like
chlorine. It takes a while to get to the first hot water faucet because
it's got to get into the hot water tank. We let this sit eight hours, then
pump it all out. Don't let it sit longer as the chlorine isn't good for
some valves, but it kills bad things in the system.
If you can dump the tank in the bilge or overboard, it saves wear and tear
on your water pump.
Then we flush some fresh water through every faucet, and then fill it all
up. It still smells a bit at first, but we're told it's not enough to be
hazardous. We don't use any filters and have sone this for 13 years without
a problem.
jeff janacek on Adirondack
On Thu, Nov 26, 2015 at 10:59 AM, Steve Sipe via Trawlers-and-Trawlering <
trawlers@lists.trawlering.com> wrote:
Bryan,
From the perspective of one whose background is plumbing and residential
water treatment, I may be able to provide some insight.
There are many thousands of residential water systems that utilize a
drilled well. The drilled well may be from tens to hundreds of feet deep,
typically the top forty or so feet, depending on local conditions, will
have a casing of steel or more commonly today, PVC pipe, typically 6"
diameter, the remainder is porous rock. Every locale varies in response to
local geological makeup. The well itself in most cases functions as the
reservoir, or tank if you will. Water levels vary according to local
geology, water table, neighboring wells, all too varied to list here, but
the point being that each system is unique to some degree, and that most of
those systems, in my experience provide potable water without the need for
additional treatment. Folks drink that water without a second thought to
how it arrived at the tap! Not a stretch to relate that system to one on a
boat.
Your on board water system is a controlled environment insofar as you have
control of what goes into the tank, and how the tank is maintained. I am of
the opinion that many folks harbor an unrealistic fear or phobia, of
drinking the water from those tanks. If the tank and the appurtenant piping
is clean to start with, and only clean potable water is introduced to the
system, the chance of spontaneous development of pathogens in that system
is essentially nil. The fact that the water is stored in the tank for a
period of time does not necessarily mean that it will "go bad".
That said, treatment systems exist to sterilize the product water if that
is a concern. The most reliable method of treatment is a UV lamp, where the
water passes through UV light. This causes any pathogens to be killed by
causing a rupture of the cellular structure. You're still drinking their
carcass, but they're rendered inert. Yum. The UV lamp must be changed on a
regular basis to retain its efficacy, generally on an 18 month cycle, some
have a monitor that indicates a need for replacement, and all require a
pre-filter to insure that the quartz tube through which the water flows
remains perfectly clean. Routine maintenance would include inspection of
the tube and cleaning if needed. The cost is probably less than buying,
schlepping, and storing bottled water. (Which, in most instances is bottled
from a municipal source and has no other treatment other than filtration.)
You can also use an oxidizer (chlorine, hydrogen peroxide, etc) introduced
into the tank in an appropriate dilution to kill and prevent the growth
of pathogens, but you're also then drinking that chemical. Generally,
municipal water will have a mandated residual of bacteriological agent that
would prevent pathogen production and preclude the necessity of adding
chemical to the tank; but if you're taking on well water from a rural
marina, they may or may not be required to treat that water, and treatment
on that level is the responsibility of the operator of the system (the
marina). If the marina is unkempt, you can project that same level of care
to the water system maintenance!
In nearly 10 years of cruising, we've enjoyed perfectly drinkable water
aboard, whether it comes from shore source or our watermaker. I employ a
water softener I fabricated, all water that comes aboard is softened,
however it offers no bacteriological benefit. I also have in place a 10"
T&O (charcoal- Taste & Odor) filter that all the water except deck wash,
passes through, it keeps the water tasting great, and filters any sediment.
Again, if you're taking on municipal water, that water is mandated to be
potable, and those requirements generally insure that the water is reliably
safe. I have not added chemicals to my tank other than after the boat has
been winterized, and I mildly shock the system when flushing it when
de-winterizing. I've encountered folks who add disproportionate amounts of
chlorine to their tanks on a regular basis, a practice that is simply
overkill, and unnecessary; perhaps unhealthy. Many folks think nothing of
drinking tap water, water in a restaurant, when they have no control over
that source, yet refuse to drink the water from their on board system that
is totally within their control. I simply don't understand the 'yuck"
factor that is associated with drinking water out of their tanks.
Proper care and maintenance can provide clean, good-tasting, and perfectly
safe drinking water aboard without the need for additional treatment.
HAPPY TURKEY DAY!!
On 11/26/2015 9:51 AM, B. V. via Trawlers-and-Trawlering wrote:
Peter, and other water specialists
Since you're a specialist in that field, could you share with us some
advice
about an easy way to install some filters (and which type) on a small tank
dedicated only for drinking water.
<snip>
Steve Sipe
MTOA #3962
Solo 4303 /Maerin/
Lying Brunswick Landing
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