Water Filter System for Drinking

We are not live aboards, but my wife and I spend at least 100 nights per year on our boat, year-round.

I previously had a dual stage and UV light filter system Made by water fixer. Overall I give the system a B-.

I am just starting my research, and curious to get input from others regarding a high and purification system. I want a good unit that will kill just about anything out there microbial or viral.

Thanks in advance.

Two things. How about one of those ubiquitous RO units that many have under their kitchen sinks - millions in use. Second, carry two 5 gallon water coolers.

But, if you are filling from city water and keep your water tanks clean, you'll do just fine.

We filter water as it comes aboard, down to .5 micron with carbon block if it's going into our tanks. Then we use a Pur filter pitcher for cold drinking water, coffee, etc.

Forespar now makes a drinking water filter faucet intended for the filter element to be easily changed... I think also .5 micron carbon block... but they don't actually answer any e-mail asking what the countertop penetration size (diameter) might be.

None of that will "kill" stuff, though...

-Chris

Fletcher500 said:

We are not live aboards, but my wife and I spend at least 100 nights per year on our boat, year-round.

I previously had a dual stage and UV light filter system Made by water fixer. Overall I give the system a B-.

I am just starting my research, and curious to get input from others regarding a high and purification system. I want a good unit that will kill just about anything out there microbial or viral.

Thanks in advance.

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Curious, why the need for UV? As someone else said, if you're filling from a muni supply, it's got a residual so there's really no compelling reason for the UV. If you're looking to fill with water that is known to be contaminated, it makes sense.

We live aboard, travel extensively, have a carbon T&O filter, that's it. In 10 yrs. have never given the water a sideways glance, and I'm a retired master plumber and certified water treatment specialist. Have installed a LOT of UV systems, IMHO it's simply not needed on a boat in domestic environs. If you're planning to 3rd world cruise, that's a good reason for UV.

I have a 2 element Whirlpool under sink setup with seoarate water spout.

Sold by Lowes and Amazon.

As long as I get city water from most places, I feel the filters do enough.

The definitely get most tastes out, but some water from iron rich areas are tough to make tasteless.

sunchaser said:

................ But, if you are filling from city water and keep your water tanks clean, you'll do just fine.

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That's they key. Start with a clean system and put nothing but clean water into it. Use a drinking water safe hose and use it for nothing but filling your water tank. Don't leave it on the dock where other people can borrow it to rinse their holding tanks.

"How about one of those ubiquitous RO units that many have under their kitchen sinks - millions in use."

Most of these use 10-18 gallons of water to make a quart? of filtered water.

OK dockside if not paying for water.

psneeld said:

I have a 2 element Whirlpool under sink setup with seoarate water spout.

Sold by Lowes and Amazon.

As long as I get city water from most places, I feel the filters do enough.

The definitely get most tastes out, but some water from iron rich areas are tough to make tasteless.

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I also have a 2 filter system with a separate spout. Seems to work fine.

I have lived aboard for coming up on 12 years on 3 different boats.

Keeping "floaters" out of the water system is really hard....for a variety of reasons.

The worst offending hoses are tbe Marine/RV hoses that are translucent white ones. They seem to grow algae quicker than almost any other hose I have used.

Heck in many areas if you hold a glass of city water up to the light there are sometimes things floating in it.

Not sure I need a one part filter or a threee part system to feel safe....but the 2 filter system I have seems to remove any tastes in the watet and it is perfectly clear every time.

Thanks for the feedback. I have not checked out those RO systems yet, but if they have that much waste, its a no go because we don't have a water maker.


I took on water at Catalina Island a couple years ago, and whatever was in there did a number on my domestic water quality. I had a lot of particulate matter that was visible, and the stuff you cant see can be even worse. It took about a year of several bleaching's to get it right again.


Personally, I think a good filter system is worth the investment, and yes I also drank out of the hose when I was young and survived

Good filter and filter systems can be had from places like
RV Filter Store.
Although they are aimed at RV. They should be able to offer suitable units.
Add a ceramic filter and the UV won,t have much to do.
Keep the contaminants out of the tanks as first step.

First, bacteria will always get into a tank, period. Especially a tank that is left for some time. Bacteria also travels with air. Air moves in an out of your tank, thru the vent, with day and night temperature changes. Chlorine in city water evaporates out if no new water is added. City water leaves many thing in that a filter system removes. If you haven't had a problem, you're lucky.
The best places to buy filter sets is Amazon or Ebay. Then you're using standard filters replacements, too. Common sets are 1-5 micron sediment, carbon block and gac. They remove many things the city water leaves in. Look up online. Standard sizes go from 2.5x10 to 4.5x20. The bigger the filter, the longer it lasts.
UV light kills bacteria, but usually needs 120v AC. I use one before the tanks. I make all my water and it's sanitized before the tank. I also add chlorine. I use a cheap pool chlorination test kit ($5 Amazon) and add to the lowest mark on the gauge. Unless I screw up, I can't taste it.
I know commercial fishermen that use house RO membranes and no filters in clean ocean water. They don't remove as much salt but do produce water. I drank it. Not as good as mine, but is drinkable if you can tolerate the salt.

I accidently put a small amount of diesel fuel into my steel 250 gallon water tank. dumba$$ thing to do. but hey. All tasted ok until I drained my water tank and diesel amount that was floating on top of water, now entered hoses and taps on board. Now a constant smell and taste of diesel in water. Would a carbon filter remove the diesel odor and taste? Am I looking at replacing water lines??

I used the Seagull system on my last 2 boats. We cooked and drank right from the tanks. I also had a simple carbon cartridge filter in line with the hose to fill the tanks. Never had an issue. The filter for the Seagull is $65, but I would get 2 seasons out of it. I guess 12 months of continuous use?

Chlorine in municipal water only sticks around for about 24 hours. After that you water is chlorine free.

I have a GE "Smartwater" system under the galley sink, tees off of the cold water line through the filters(2) then up through a small spout. It works fine, no odd tastes yet, but the flow rate is low. I do check the chlorine level in the tank water using test strips I ordered online. Our water tank is 100 gal capacity so when cruising we go through it fairly fast. I am always surprised that so far even when sitting for long periods unused the water hasn't developed off odors or tastes. When filling I let the water run a while through a clean hose, then taste it, if it is ok I add a hose end filter and fill the tank, some areas have "rust or sulfur tasting" water I don't need a tank full of that!

Kenmore whole house system. It's four separate filter all plumbed in series, easy to service and reliable.

The only 100% filtration to remove diesel taste/smell from your supply is reverse osmosis . The tanks are easy cleaned with Dawn and hot water but the pump and lines will adsorb the diesel .


How do I know ?? I did the same

Same as psneeld. Two stage under the galley sink. First filter from tank is a sediment filter feeding into the second filter with a charcoal element. When taking water from my marina, we run water for 10 minutes to clear the lines down the pier from stagnation. I use an inline filter on the end of the hose with a brass cutoff lever to control on and off.

gaston said:

The only 100% filtration to remove diesel taste/smell from your supply is reverse osmosis . The tanks are easy cleaned with Dawn and hot water but the pump and lines will adsorb the diesel .


How do I know ?? I did the same

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But oil is death to membranes!

We had a Pura water filter with a UV light in it. We mounted a small water faucer at the galley sink that only provided filtered water. It was a UV1-EPCB-5 filter assembly. It worked well I guess since we never got sick. Used the water for cooking, brushing teeth and final rinse on dishes after washing them. Small AC draw but not too bad. The UV lamps last about a year and then were recommended to replace them.

Big Berkey on the bridge PEX piped to galley sink. Cheap 12v pump under
Sink. PEX to bridge from tankage to feed Berkey. Live aboard, had it for 3 years and very happy with it. No filters to buy, they clean up every 6 months or so with scotch brite. Fill up 1-2 times daily. This is the unit Missionarieyuse on the Ne and Amazon

Maerin said:

But oil is death to membranes!

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Correct its also death to EVERY other filter material including carbon.
My tank was clean tasteless and no smell but there was some residue in the pipe work that leached as the water was been used .We fitted a 3 x canister filter and still had the faintest taste it was only after fitting the RO we could use the boat water for drinking. In hindsight it would have been better if we had re plumed the boat but it was sold before we got that far

I think I’d be trying to clean it out rather than filtering it. Dawn was suggested which sounds good. Put some of that in the water tank then circulate it as best you can through all the water lines. Then flush with lots of clean water.

We are full time liveaboards, and supplement our several thousand litre supply with rainwater and a 200 litre plastic bladder in the dinghy which we fill when pulling into a jetty somewhere.
Nov. last year was the last time we saw a dock to fill.

Haven't died yet but it is something we need to get.
I was just going to get a twin housing for $25 on eBay
https://m.ebay.com.au/itm/10-Inch-2...e=STRK:MEBIDX:IT&_trksid=p2055119.m1438.l2649

and run .5 mic and activated carbon in tandem on the kitchen sink cold line.

Don't need filtered water for shower or toilet.

It's more like 3 gals to 1 gal for RO water however the filters and reservoir tank take up a lot of room, hardly seems worth it.

I think this is a great unit and easy to maintain from what I read...have not done it yet, but on my list.

This one should fit under most sinks.

easy to change filters.

We installed this one this year. Works well.

https://generalecology.com/category/marine-rv/product/naturepure_qc_purifier_with_faucet

Ken

Fajah said:

It's more like 3 gals to 1 gal for RO water however the filters and reservoir tank take up a lot of room, hardly seems worth it.

I think this is a great unit and easy to maintain from what I read...have not done it yet, but on my list.

This one should fit under most sinks.

easy to change filters.

Click to expand...

I have this one at home:
https://www.amazon.com/iSpring-RCC7-Filtration-Softener-Certified/dp/B003XELTTG?ref=ast_p_ei

and it works well. It removes all the florida tastes from the water and leaves me with bottled water tasting water even when I can smell or taste problems in the shower water. It seems to take about 3 gallons to make one, which is OK. I plan to put the waste water out to a tree behind our house and make use of it but have not so far. The filter kits are cheaper than Brita filters.

kchace said:

We installed this one this year. Works well.

https://generalecology.com/category/marine-rv/product/naturepure_qc_purifier_with_faucet

Ken

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How is it holding up? I am looking at purchasing this one as well. Went through way too many plastic bottles last year and started feeling bad for the environment. Thank you.

mystery said:

How is it holding up? I am looking at purchasing this one as well. Went through way too many plastic bottles last year and started feeling bad for the environment. Thank you.

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It worked very well, and since I put less than 1/2 the 600 gallons its rated for through it, I can reuse the filter cartridge next year. I feel the components are all very high quality. I would definitely buy it again.

Ken