Fresh Water Filters

Tony B · Jun 11, 2016

What is a reasonably priced filter system at reasonably good quality for freshwater filtration from hose tap on the dock and into my tank?
Reasonably priced for me is around $150 to $200.
Am I too low in pricing?

Thanks in advance

Aquafarm · Jun 11, 2016

Are you using the marina supplied water tap?
Most marinas we use use a municipal water supply ( already treated). So we use an inline water filter to reduce sediment, chlorine and stuff the water might pick up coming through the hose lines. The canisters are $25-50 bucks. If you are using other sources ( raw lake, river??) that would take a lot of filtering and would cost much much more $400-1000. For that I'd fill my tanks where there is a good water source, even if I had to travel for it.
Good luck.

Tony B · Jun 11, 2016

I am using marina supplied water which is most probably municipal water. The water seems to be of good quality, however, I would like to filter it further.
Specifically, which canisters are $25 - $50?
in addition to the canisters, what else would I need?

FF · Jun 12, 2016

$39.98 / each

Glacier Bay Advanced Household Water Filtration System Model # HDG2VS4
(26)

• Ship to Home Free with $45 Order

This type of unit with a charcoal filter will make the water taste better.

It can be onboard , or simply in line with your dock fill hose as you fill a tank.

It is not wise to leave on the dock where non use and sun temps will speed up growth.

It will not do a cleanup on Mexican or other contaminated water.

For that you need a UV setup that kills the little buggies that give you the trots..

Larry M · Jun 12, 2016

We use a Matrikx Carbon filter. All water gets filtered going into the boat. We use a flow rate of about 2 gpm and find that gives us enough contact time to get the chlorine and taste out of the water. We change the filter every 4 months or when we get breakthrough (taste the chlorine). The water quality, taste and particulate removal is as good as any bottled water IMHO.

Not all carbon filters are created equal and they all have a finite life. Check th flow rates and gallons that can be treated. You can't fill the tanks with full on city water flow and get the manufacturers stated specifications.

http://www.discountfilterstore.com/media/docs/user-guides/dfs/kx-matrikx-1-10-user-guide.pdf

tadhana · Jun 12, 2016

We use standard household filters that you get at the hardware store. We cruise full time and so we take on water at about 75 different places every year. Most marina water systems are from a municipal water supply. It is chlorinated. We want the chlorinated water in our tanks storage to preserve the water and prevent mold from growing. We have the carbon filter down stream of the tank so that we take the chlorine out as we use the water but leave the stored water chlorinated. Some marinas are on wells, so we actually do use a sediment filter (not a carbon filter) plus a water softener in-line at the tank fill.

ranger58sb · Jun 12, 2016

Tony B said:
What is a reasonably priced filter system at reasonably good quality for freshwater filtration from hose tap on the dock and into my tank?
Reasonably priced for me is around $150 to $200.

Go to filtersfast.com (no affiliation) and look at the "Big Blue" filter housings (and similar), and the Pentek DGD-2501 duel-gradient 25/1 micron filter elements.

They also have smaller housings and you could use a Pentek FloPlus-10 .5 micron carbon block filter with those, but that's probably overkill for tank purposes.

I'm using these two filters in-line right now, because our water supply is usually well water, not municipal. One filter element each lasts us a whole season.

Another solution for just drinking water might be a separate faucet right at your sink, for example the Moen SIP system, which uses a Choiceflo 9601 carbon block filter. That's my longer term solution to that secondary filter on tank water, whenever I get a chance to do the install.

-Chris

Capt.Bill11 · Jun 12, 2016

Two of these inline with the first one inline housing a 20-40 mic sediment filter and the second one down stream holding a 40 mic charcoal filter.

Set the up with a water flow timer so you don't have to worry about over filling your tanks if you forget to turn the water off.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0045LUE4W?pc_redir=T1

nodestination · Jun 16, 2016

I have Berkey Light water filtration system. While is bulky, does very good job. It cost me $250 on line.

Bay Pelican · Jun 16, 2016

When you look at canisters, suggest you consider one that uses 2" x 10" filters. These are everywhere in the marine environment as they are used in many of the water maker systems. Of course they can be bought cheaply on line.

We use a 5 micron filter on our fresh water system using a identical canister and filter as with our water maker.

CarlinLA · Jun 16, 2016

Agree with everybody else - the household filters seem to fit boat spaces and work fine.

Perhaps something like this would fit in your system somewhere...

Xsbank · Jun 16, 2016

One caution - some filters are quick disconnect canisters which use system pressure to keep them sealed. That only works in a household system that is under constant pressure. In a boat, whenever you shut off the system (for me whenever I leave the boat) you can get leaks.

Codger2 · Jun 16, 2016

Xsbank said:
One caution - some filters are quick disconnect canisters which use system pressure to keep them sealed. That only works in a household system that is under constant pressure..

Excellent point! Years ago, this exact scenario happened to me. Not a lot of water leaked but enough that it was a PITA! :blush:

Carolena · Jun 16, 2016

Our marina has well water but it is tested every month in line with municipal requirements. We just use a Camco RV filter on the hose, and replace it once a year (about $20 from Amazon or WallMart). Works great for us. We know the filter is working because one year I forgot to order a new one for spring (dock water is shut off in winter) and so I decided to use the old filter just for the one fill until I could get a new one. Water was barely comming out. When I looked inside the hose end, I could see all the sediment. We don't drink from our tanks, although we do use tank water for cooking and brushing teeth. Never any smell since using the filter. We do try to turn over the water every two weeks during the season, so it doesn't sit too long. We do not add chlorine to our aluminum tanks.

Hurrying Nowhere · Jun 17, 2016

Carolena said:
Our marina has well water but it is tested every month in line with municipal requirements. We just use a Camco RV filter on the hose, and replace it once a year (about $20 from Amazon or WallMart). Works great for us. We know the filter is working because one year I forgot to order a new one for spring (dock water is shut off in winter) and so I decided to use the old filter just for the one fill until I could get a new one. Water was barely comming out. When I looked inside the hose end, I could see all the sediment. We don't drink from our tanks, although we do use tank water for cooking and brushing teeth. Never any smell since using the filter. We do try to turn over the water every two weeks during the season, so it doesn't sit too long. We do not add chlorine to our aluminum tanks.

Carolena, do you pack on bottled water to drink?

Carolena · Jun 17, 2016

Yes, mostly in gallon jugs.

FlyWright · Jun 17, 2016

Carolena said:
Yes, mostly in gallon jugs.

Same here. I have a 2"x10" canister filter under the galley sink but like many others here, I use the 75 gallons of tank water primarily for Navy showers and dishwashing.

I carry 28 (!) 1-gallon jugs of RO water from our home RO system for drinking water in an attempt to attain the ability to anchor out for 2 weeks without provisioning, watering or pumping out. I found these Plano trunks from Bass Pro that store 8 gals each. They fit perfectly between my stringers and my hull.

sunchaser · Jun 17, 2016

Some of us do not have a need for any filtering of incoming water. Some have a need for filtering water from tanks as tank grit alone is clogging things. Some use RO water for filling tanks when cruising. We do not take boat to Mexico or Bahamas so that foreign issue is not pertinent for us.

So many different variables.

Me, I do no filtering anywhere and rely upon good clean PNW water to suffice. (Having worked and lived in third world countries the issue of bad water is indeed serious though.) We do flush out the tanks once per year and get very little dirt or debris coming out.

When cruising, we carry about 15 gallons of drinking water - from the dock of course. Boat tap water is good enough for cooking and coffee and quite honestly seems fine for drinking, which I do frequently.

markpierce · Jun 17, 2016

Using marina/municipal water for toilet and sinks, but bottled water for drinking.

Bay Pelican · Jun 18, 2016

We have a 5mm filter on our fresh water system although for the most part our water comes from our watermaker. In addition we go through about 2 gallons a day of rain water which we use for cleaning, shaving and other non food, non drinking uses.

When at the dock (beginning of season, repairs, battery equalization), we fill the tanks with dock water and the filter helps out with the particles.

Fresh Water Filters

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