Potable water

[rslifkin]

I use tank water for some cooking like boiling sweetcorn, making noodles boiling potatoes. I will occasionally take a sip of tank water to wash down pills. My tanks get a half cup of bleach per 150 gallons of marina water.

For coffee, lemonade, ie tea, etc I use distilled water which I make with a home distiller.

pete

That's a lot of bleach! If the tanks and lines are clean, it shouldn't take nearly that much to prevent the water from growing stuff (especially if you're starting with chlorinated city water).

 

[OldDan1943]

HA HA, if you have space for bottle water means you dont have enough TP on board.
When my ex left me, I didn’t have to buy TP for boat, for a year+

 

[Shrew]

We bleached the tanks (poly) then installed a water filter.

https://defender.com/en_us/general-ecology-nature-pure-qc2-water-filter-system-with-faucet-420600

 

[OldDan1943]

Are folks replacing their SS water tanks with Poly tanks?

 

[rslifkin]

I replaced a failing aluminum tank with an integral fiberglass one. Lined with a potable water rated epoxy coating and installed big carbon filters in the water system just in case the tank leaches anything into the water.

 

[Bmarler]

Are folks replacing their SS water tanks with Poly tanks?

i probably wouldn't. i like stainless steel for my fresh water tanks. i can build it myself, and can make a custom shape to maximize the volume.
if i couldn't do it myself though, i'd probably look for a replacement from a company like ronco. their tanks are very good quality, custom fitting locations, etc...

 

[Slowmo]

I find this an interesting question. We always drank the water from the tank (2x140gal) of the boat I grew up on without any issues (unless we got a a bad load like we did in Campbell River once). However that boat never had anything but water in its tanks, specifically no RV antifreeze. The RV Antifreeze imparts a lasting bad taste that proves difficult to completely eliminate. I've moved to winterizing with cheap vodka and it improved things a lot. In any case we do carry the 2.5gal water bottles for those not happy with the tank water. This summer I plan to try adding a filtration system at least for the galley cold water to see if that makes the crew happier.

 

[jimdavi]

Fiberglass tanks-use chlorinated tap water to fill tanks. 3m high flow filter for cold tap and ice maker. Turn over water fairly quickly. 360 gals.

 

[Bacchus]

And your reasoning for not using the carbon filter on the shore water supply?

No problem if its for immediate use and not for tank filling.
Better to just put the carbon filter at / under sink for drinking, cooking, coffee, use and have both tank and shore water charcoal filtered for both.

 

[CaptTom]

I'm old enough to remember when we actually drank from the garden hose!

I love water. As a kid (OK, as an adult, too) I'd stop and get a drink from every water fountain I passed. They used to have them in every store, park, stadium, school, theater, you name it. I drank 'em all. Some tasted better than others, but they all quenched my thirst. Down South I'd even drink the water with the strong Sulfur smell. Somehow I survived.

I would have laughed at the idea of selling water in a bottle.

Now everyone is so particular. It seems people would rather die of dehydration than drink anything but bottled water.

My thoughts on water is that it has been there for millions of years being cycled through the earth, evaporation and rain.

Actually, Neil Degrasse Tyson tells a story about how there are so many molecules of water in even a tiny drop, and they're cycled through every living thing so frequently, that right now in your body you have molecules of water which also passed through, say, Abraham Lincoln or Ghengis Kahn. Pick any name, or any animal, or body of water, or whatever.

 

[Old Sea Dog]

Removed the port water tank. Assuming tanks had not been replaced, they were installed in 1979. It was a baffled 75gal stainless steel tank. There was a rusty film on the interior surfaces. Replacing with Ronco 60gal plastic.

 

[North Baltic sea]

How is this possible since bottled is made from tap water after going thru filtration.

I use inline carbon filter to fill. Then cold tap at galley and ice maker goes through inline filter. Taste comparison could not tell the difference between bottled and tap. So far have not done a flush of water tanks.

My thoughts on water is that it has been there for millions of years being cycled through the earth, evaporation and rain. Other than taste and foreign matter, it is still water. Drank glacier melt water (on the glacier) and could not tell any difference.

Hi, I live in Finland and the quality of the water here is just so good.

"Did you know this? Bottled spring water is no different than tap water!

Metropolis 29/05/2018 08:00

Finland is known to be a country of clean and high-quality groundwater and spring water. Finns' taps provide fresh water for cooking and to quench thirst. The stores also offer a wide selection of bottled waters and mineral waters, with significant differences when looking deeper than the surface. In addition, bottled spring water is practically the same as everyone's tap water.

Bottled spring water is no different from tap water

Many Finns enjoy their drinking water directly from the tap. As an alternative to traditional tap water, bottled spring or ground water as carbonated or still water has been offered for a long time. Non-carbonated spring and groundwater, however, do not really differ in their properties from tap water. Tap water is usually filtered, UV-treated or, for example, surface or ground water purified with the help of iron and calcium compounds and carbon dioxide."

NBs

 

[Circumnavigator]

We drink directly from the blow-molded plastic tanks on Morning Light. Potable (pink) antifreeze is a good anti-bacterial so the tanks get a sanitizing every year. We also drank from Fintry's steel tanks -- part of the work we had done on her in England before we came across the Atlantic in her was to build two new tanks -- 500 gallons each. The original 1,000 gallon tank is coated with bitumen which is a carcinogen.


On our circumnav on Sweetwater, we put 715 hours on a watermaker -- never used shore water as even in first world places it can be a problem. Before the Darwin to Ambon race the Darwin public health officer warned us all that the local water often had giardia.


Jim


Sweetwater -- Swan 57 sloop on which we circumnavigated 1995-98
Fintry -- x Royal Navy Fleet Tender -- owned 2003-2022, 20,000 miles including trans-Atlantic
Morning Light -- Webbers Cove 42 single screw trawler 2021- ?

 

[gilbertpark]

In Europe all the water is chlorinated so I am told drinking from the tank is OK for a few days after a refill because of the residual chlorination. You can add chlorine to the tank and there are various items on sale for chlorination of tanks. Most people put too much chlorine in (read the instructions) and then complain of the chlorine taste. If this does worry you then put an inline, inexpensive filter to remove the taste.

What we have is a microbiological filter supplying its own tap at the galley.

We don't have any water in bottles, except for an emergency reserve of 3L. The plastic bottles when empty just go to landfill and so are not environmentally friendly, nor is the production cost or production miles.

 

[Mila Vera]

Our tanks are aluminum. We had our tank water tested for aluminum. The analytical results indicate our tank water has higher levels of aluminum than is recommended by National Drinking Water Standards. To error on the side of safety, we use our aluminum tank water for dishes, showers, cleaning, etc. We use bottled water for consumption.

Mainship 400; 2004 model:
We do the same.
Use tank water for everything but coffee and daily consumption.

 

[Bellakins]

On our trawler we just drink it straight from the tanks usually. We fill up at marinas in the US or at home, so the water is treated. I shock our boat water system at the beginning of the season. In our sailboat in the Caribbean we had a double filtration system - a filter system to the main water tank and a filter system at the sink. We either used water from a marina or used our watermaker.

 

[mguelker53]

Potable water option

We have a 32’ Bayliner with an 80 gallon fresh water tank. I add a 1/4 cup of bleach to a full tank every time I refill. Seems to work in making the water taste fresh and sweet. I used to add a couple of gallons of anti-freeze to the tank every fall when closing things up for the season. But I’d always have to flush the tank multiple times every spring to make sure all the anti-freeze residue was out. But none of my friends added anti-freeze to their tanks and never had a problem even on our coldest winters. So i stopped doing it and haven’t had any issues. Of course it depends on how cold your winter gets. When we take longer cruises where the availability of fresh water is an issue we always take 15 gallons of fresh water in gallon jugs, usually available for about a buck a gallon. As we have the chance we refill the gallon jugs along the way. We recycle the jugs when we get home. We’ve never run out of fresh water even on our 6-week cruises. Good luck!

 

[UncleTimmyBro]

5 gallon Sparkletts bottles bungeed to the table stand on a CHB 34’. Rechargeable dispenser plugged into the bottle in use.

 

[rslifkin]

I've never had trouble getting antifreeze out of the system in the spring. Make sure you use the -50* stuff (the pure propylene glycol version, not the version with alcohol blended into it) and don't let it get diluted. If there's any risk of dilution, use a stronger mix. Any weaker mix won't keep the system sterile and can lead to all sorts of nasty things growing.

In the spring, I always let the pump suck the tank as dry as it can get. Add a couple gallons of water, suck it dry again. Repeat that a few times, then put a little water in the tank and leave the hose running at reduced flow so it's just keeping up with what the pump can pull out of the tank or very slowly filling. Flush the system thoroughly (I usually end up putting a couple hundred gallons of water through the lines, etc.). Fill the tank up and it's good to go.

 

[ranger58sb]

We fill up at marinas in the US or at home, so the water is treated.

Just a comment: not all water from marinas, especially more rural or very small town facilities, is treated.

-Chris

 

[Nepidae]

We test our water before we take any on. Testers from Bondic & TDS to name 2 brands.

We also have a water cooler (it also heats) that holds a 5gal bottle in the bottom. As the 5gal is used we will get more at Walmart when we provision to top the 5gal bottle up.

The house water is for showers, teeth & dishes.

 

[Capt Ray]

All good input on the subject. Not a bad question at all. No single answer.


I grew up in Maine. To winterize:
After using a shop vac to suck all the water out of all the fresh water lines, it was common to put some non-toxic anti-freeze into the system. My experience was it was IMPOSSIBLE, even after many flushes, to get the taste of the anti-freeze out. But it was fine for doing dishes and showers, etc.

A couple of 2.5 gallon jugs of spring water is what we use for ICE and Coffee, etc.

Technically, now that we are 12 month liveaboards, we should "get over it" and drink from the boat's fresh water system! Other MS 390 owners I know do this. There are a lot of good filter systems that can be added in-line down in the engine room where the f/w pump and manifold is etc. More room there than under the sink.

Last thought: while many of our boats are equipped to use "shore water" when at the dock. It is generally agreed to never actually use this feature. It is better to keep using the water from the tanks as often as possible so it is always fresh.

I have been known to put 1 cup of bleach into the tank on a fill from time to time upon filling it especially if I suspect the water in a rural marina is coming from a well. There is no smell at the tap. Can't hurt. No green hair yet.

Ray
Shellerina.com

 

[Bigsfish]

We are crazy on our boat. Water from a city water supply goes thru a charcoal particle filter then through the water maker spot filter then into the tank. Water to the the final filter and then to the sink and ice maker. Our bust water tastes better than our home water.

 

[Woodstock]

We used gallon jugs of drinking water for the last several years. But a few months ago I installed this filtration system with a separate faucet at the galley sink. It uses a canister filter along with a UV purification system to kill any bacteria. https://acuvatech.com/water-purification-boats/ Very compact and seems to work great.

 

[jbbmillar]

Hello,
I'm a new owner of Mainship 390 and have a silly question:
what do you normally use for drinking water - buying jugs in store, use water filtering system from your main water tanks, or just drink it directly for the tanks?
Thanks!

Make sure you use a hose approved for potable water to fill the tanks - usually white. Makes a big difference.

 

[Pmcsurf1]

Hello,
I'm a new owner of Mainship 390 and have a silly question:
what do you normally use for drinking water - buying jugs in store, use water filtering system from your main water tanks, or just drink it directly for the tanks?
Thanks!

We use our tanks for dishes, shower etc. Drink tank water after Berkey filter. Holds 3 gallons. 3 years now living on boat.

 

[OldDan1943]

Maybe I am playing with gunpowder but, we do everything from the tank water, including drinking the same water.

 

[BruceK]

We buy 10L plastic containers, with tap, sold as filled with spring water, refill with tap, and keep using them. Your body gets used to local water, provided no big changes with it, like when Sydney had both cryptospiridium and giardia in the water. I think we could drink from our tanks, but partner even thinks tap water from the house is safer/better than tap water at the marina.

 

[ScottC]

During our 12 years of cruising in Europe, we have always used our tank water for everything, including drinking. BUT, we have a 3M US-E2 Filter, which by my research is one of the best filters on the market for blocking things unwanted.

https://www.e-filters.eu/en/us-e2-water-filter-system-3m#additional-info

Another "precaution" we take is to open the dock water fully and let it run a few minutes (or better yet rinse/wash the boat) before filling the tanks. This way potentially off/stagnant water (due to sun heating black poly pipes running along the docks) will be rinsed out of the line first.

We have never experienced any water-related illness or discomfort operating this way. Until now, we have never added any bleach or purification tablets. We will be cruising in Greece this summer and it is our understanding that island water (when one can find it) can be questionable (and expensive). We will bring along some purification tablets to put in the tank. We have yet to research this, but if anybody here can recommend such tablets, we would appreciate it!

 

[ranger58sb]

I grew up in Maine. To winterize:
After using a shop vac to suck all the water out of all the fresh water lines, it was common to put some non-toxic anti-freeze into the system. My experience was it was IMPOSSIBLE, even after many flushes, to get the taste of the anti-freeze out. But it was fine for doing dishes and showers, etc.

Draining the tanks usually leaves enough room for expansion if any remaining water freezes.

Compressed air will usually blow out all the lines, usually with no need to add potable AF afterwards.

Make sure you use a hose approved for potable water to fill the tanks

Agree. And we use dedicated hoses for potable water, too, no double duty with those. Rinsed, sealed, stowed 'til next refill.

-Chris