cliff
Well-Known Member
20 years on one filter? wow - I change the filter annually or sometimes bi-annually but I would never have thought one could get 20 years out of a filter cartridge - which ones do you use that last that long?
Disinfect fresh water bag/tank?
- Thread starter chrisbitz
- Start date
KellysEye
Well-Known Member
I used to clean our water tanks with a quarter cup of bleach per 40 gallons, run the taps briefly to clean the pipes. Leave for 12 hours and no more than 24. Flush twice running the taps filling each time, then final fill. Check if you can use that on a bag, also check the bag for chafe when it is empty.
sailaboutvic
Well-Known Member
We too don't drink the water from the tank , at the end of the day bottle water is cheep enough and as someone said you could alway carry a 5 or 10 lts container and fill it when you find a tap.
Dufour385.webs.com
Dufour385.webs.com
D
DogWatch
Guest
I was having similar problems as the boat had been laid up for 10 years with water left in the tanks.
Eventually I removed the tanks and poured half a tub of puriclean granules into each and filling them on the ground. After leaving them until there was a carry-on film amount of foam spilling out (around 2 hours) I emptied and rinsed the tanks, probably around half a dozen times each. I repaired a couple of holes in the galley tank using the dinghy repair kit (this works rather well amazingly).
6 years later I still have fresh tanks (I also changed all the pipes and fitted new pumps at the same time).
I tried milton and the correct amount of puriclean as advised on the packet and it just doesn't work. Remove and shock. I was close to adding a spa shock treatment from my hot tub, but didn't need to in the end. just an overdose of puriclean from the local caravan shop.
EDIT>> acshully, it's now 10 years on the galley tank and about 8 on the heads tank, no milton ever added, we do use the boat 12 months though and empty the tanks regularly as we are on a mooring. Worth the extra effort, get the tank out and blitz it!
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pagoda
Well-Known Member
Sort of. We do that as well. It does not stop us thinking about the water in the tank, but we worry LESS about it. If you have a steady throughput of water (who doesn't) over the season, it's less of a concern in many ways. A decent charcoal filter is worth having mind you. A couple of 5litre water bottles last a day or two. They sometimes get re-filled en route.
Son no 1 is more paranoid about "tank water", or pontoon water as he calls it. I generally let a hose run several minutes to flush the lines before topping off the tanks, but he's of the generation who think bottled water is the norm!
We always boil tank water for cooking.
Graeme
chrisbitz
Well-Known Member
Just a minor update, I found an info sheet that came with the plastimo bag, and I don't know how old it is, but there's a photocopied sheet from plastimo that says use tablets to clean the tank, and UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES (!) use Milton fluid as it damages the lining inside the bag!
pvb
Well-Known Member
That's because Milton is basically ridiculously expensive diluted bleach. However, using bleach (or Milton) occasionally, with copious rinsing, shouldn't harm flexible tanks.
davidpbo
Well-Known Member
I replaced a Plastimo 40L liner for £20 or so earlier this year. I think I got it from Force 4 chandlery. Can check if needed.
We have also taken the bags out and used a long bottle brush to get the remains of slime out.
We have also taken the bags out and used a long bottle brush to get the remains of slime out.
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VicS
Well-Known Member
I am aware of that but I do not know what the problem is.
Any idea what the liner is made of? Low density polythene ? If so its not affected by sodium hypochlorite solution, nor by sodium hydroxide solution so the alkalinity of Milton should not be a problem.
VicS
Well-Known Member
Milton is not just diluted bleach. It is made from hypochlorite purified to remove heavy metals which can lead to the formation of toxic chlorates ( as in weedkiller).
It also contains sodium chloride which enables a solution ( 1 in 20), which is isotonic with body fluids, to be used for wound cleaning......... I'd not want to use domestic bleach for wound cleaning!
As for ridiculously expensive ... it works out considerably cheaper to use than the tablets which many people seem to favour.
Tarka1
Well-Known Member
Aquasol water purifier
http://www.force4.co.uk/788/Force-4-Aqua-Sol-water-treatment.html
Will sort it for you, we have Plastimo tanks which occasionally taste a bit dodgy but a dose of this makes it taste like spring water!
http://www.force4.co.uk/788/Force-4-Aqua-Sol-water-treatment.html
Will sort it for you, we have Plastimo tanks which occasionally taste a bit dodgy but a dose of this makes it taste like spring water!
pvb
Well-Known Member
But the wound cleaning properties aren't necessary for simply cleaning a water tank! Ordinary cheap bleach, followed by several rinses, is by far the most cost-effective solution.
single
Well-Known Member
I don't drink mine (ok for brushing teeth) but i was told initially big dose of bleach on full tank, flush whole system a few times, refill with good dose of Milton and leave for a day then flush. Finally refill with standard dose of Milton.BUT the most important bit was to keep the tank FULL if leaving the boat for any period of time.I'm sure the water in some of the foreign places iv'e been has been way worse than my boat water.
chuzzlewit
Well-Known Member
That's just what I do. It stops me worrying about legionairs' disease
pvb
Well-Known Member
Legionnaires' Disease is usually contracted by inhaling tiny water droplets, so drinking water isn't a big risk. However, showering on the boat could be...