bilge water - salt or fresh ?

[surveyor1]

I have water seeping into my bilge.

How do I deternine if it's salt or fresh without tasting it ?

This will determine where and how I look for the source.

 

[Tom.B]

Boil it and see if salt crystals remain? (High school science flashback)

 

[JD]

surveyor1 wrote:
I have water seeping into my bilge.

How do I deternine if it's salt or fresh without tasting it ?

This will determine where and how I look for the source.

*Unless you are worried it is from the holding tank, why not taste it.* Don't drink it just a bit on your finger.

If you suspect the holding tank I would eliminate that first.* But smell plays a part here as well as where in the boat it is.

 

[Woodsong]

Man up and taste it!

 

[Steve]

I taste it as JD mentioned, finger tip. Once it was shower drain water, kind of gross but I lived to tell the tale here.
Steve W.

 

[Tom.B]

Would you really want to ingest fuel and oil and shower water? Like, ewwwwwww. Gag me with a spoon. Totally ;-)

 

[Woodsong]

GonzoF1 wrote:
Would you really want to ingest fuel and oil and shower water? Like, ewwwwwww. Gag me with a spoon. Totally ;-)

*

Afraid to taste bilge water and yet you call yourself a moderator!!!*

(i'm obviously joking BTW!)


-- Edited by Woodsong on Tuesday 28th of June 2011 02:49:06 PM

 

[Capn Craig]

That which doesn't kill you, makes you stronger.* A little diesel never hurt nobody.* Have you never siphoned a gas tank?* Old mechanics can tell by taste if a automatic transmission has been hot.

 

[JD]

GonzoF1 wrote:
Would you really want to ingest fuel and oil and shower water? Like, ewwwwwww. Gag me with a spoon. Totally ;-)

*The operative word is taste, not drink.* Have you never siphoned gas or diesel fuel.* You can do that with out getting a mouthful at some point.* It won't hurt you.

I would check to make sure it wan't from the holding tank just to be on the safe side.

 

[Anode]

Taste followed by a couple of tequila shots....you'll be fine.

 

[Woodsong]

Actually, we could just toss Chip, AKA "Anode" down in said offending water and see if he eventually starts to corrode??

 

[Anode]

Me and my trawlerdog.

 

[Per]

here is a better advise..

have someone else taste it, didnt say admiral but that is one option.

 

[El Sea]

We are asked from time to time to determine if the water we are removing from fuel tanks is fresh water or salt water. The approach I have taken to without any question is to prove to the mechanic, the owner, the insurance adjuster, the judge, etc that the water is A)fresh water or B)salt water.

So what I have done, is gone to a pet store and purchased a hydrometer for fish tanks!

Good Luck to all*you whimps.... and to the captains that stick their finger in there, Cheers

*

 

[Giggitoni]

Salt water is about 9.0 pounds per gallon and fresh water is 8.33 pounds per gallon. Pass me another beer, will ya'!

 

[KJ]

Rocket Science**

or

an improvement on the boiling suggestion

put some of the offending fluid in saucer and leave it out in the sun,*see what's left behind after evaporation (kinda like the salt farms).***

If there is salt, then you could use it for your shot of tequila, or give it to your pooch and you will have a* *---*** salty dog!********************** KJ

 

[Moonstruck]

Not to infer that the economy is bad or anything like that, but I am thinking about adding a bilge water tasting element to my Slop Jockey, Inc. business.* Many people lose valuable objects such as rings, watches, and other jewlery down the toilet.* Our slop jockey service dives the septic tanks and retrieves them.* Bilge water tasting should be easy money..

 

[dvd]

Stick some bilge water in the freezer along with some fresh water. if the bilge water doesn't freeze as fast as the fresh water, it has something in it - probably salt.

dvd

 

[Delfin]

If you live in the NW, drop a slug in it. *If it dissolves, it's salt water. *If it does a backstroke, it's fresh.

 

[skipperdude]

What makes you think it could be sal****er?

Got a hole in your boat?

One thats not supposed to be there.

It could be fresh. Does it rain much where you are?

Salt. Could be waves and spray.

Could be*your topside or deck hinge is leaking.

Check all the thruhulls. Like now.

All boats leak.

SD

*

*


-- Edited by GonzoF1 on Wednesday 29th of June 2011 04:50:48 AM

 

[Peter B]

What an absolute 'wealth' of ideas...sorry, still trying to work out SD's arithmetic from the OTDE posts re wealth & flat taxes and all..but I looove the sensayumah you guys come up with.** Personally, I'd go with the hygrometer idea - or the lower freezing point, if so broke I couldn't afford the other.


-- Edited by Peter B on Tuesday 28th of June 2011 09:18:15 PM

 

[Pineapple Girl]

Anode wrote:
Taste followed by a couple of tequila shots....you'll be fine.

*I think Chip is on to something here.

 

[surveyor1]

thanks for most of the responses, "hydrometer guy" wins it.

 

[rwidman]

When I suddenly found eight inches of water in my bilge and the pump running, I tasted it. I didn't think twice. It was the difference between hightailing it to where the boat could be hauled, or just leaving it tied in the slip.

It was fresh, BTW. A hose had slipped off a connection on the potable water system.

Of course, my bilge is pretty clean.

 

[surveyor1]

O.K., follow-up.

Tested the water that my boat floats in and the needle was pegged.
Tested with fresh water and the needle doesn't move.
Tested the bilge water and the needle was right in the middle.
Conclusion: I have a mix of both, so now I'm looking everywhere.

 

[magicbus]

Pineapple Girl wrote:Anode wrote:
Taste followed by a couple of tequila shots....you'll be fine.

*I think Chip is on to something here.

I'm not one to argue, but a couple of tequila shots and then a taste works better for me.* Besides, everyone knows tequila makes you smarter ...

Dave

 

[timjet]

Here's a test that will tell you what the fluid is, potty, salt or fresh. Get you knife the one you use to cut a tangled prop and make a small cut just below or below your knee.
Pour the offending fluid on the cut. You will know right away if it's salt or fresh. After a couple of days if the cut get's infected then you know it was potty fluid. Works every time.