Lord forgive me for this diatribe

[howardclark]

So, now that Premier have taken over our marina, health and safety are uppermost in peoples minds.
They have helpfully given me a tap to put on the end of my hose for when filling my water tanks. I haven’t unwrapped it yet because I understand it cannot be locked open to let the tanks be filled but has to be squeezed continually. It forms some sort of protection to prevent backflow into the mains.
Now Premier are definitely Good People - and I appreciate they are only following rules set by Even More Good People who sit on committees to decide such things, and I have used several of Premier marinas and have always been impressed, but holding that thing open to fill my 100 gallon tanks would take about an hour! I have discussed this dilemma with Bad People who say just to fill up the old way when no one is looking but that would make me a Bad Person too!
My hose is about 20m long and clean- after all we drink from that water. It is an interesting conundrum to contemplate what sort of circumstances could cause a hazard. Could it be almost never?
Anyway what I want to know god, is if I hold the tap open for an hour can I sue the a**e off the b******s for the ensuing trauma?

 

[Porthandbuoy]

Does it shut off automatically when the tank is full, like a petrol pump?

 

[howardclark]

Don’t know-haven’t unwrapped it!

 

[pvb]

It's madness, put the tap in a "safe place" and forget about it. Premier won't care; they've ticked the H&S box by giving you the tap.

 

[Graham376]

If it has to be squeezed to obtain flow then a cable tie may serve the purpose.

 

[Kukri]

Saw a chap at a Shell place on the A12 filling an artic with a pair of pliers jammed into the diesel pump handle.

 

[[3889]]

Liverpool City Council banned mixer taps as there was a 'risk' that residual water from an open tank feeding the hot water system could poison the city's population (I'll pre-empt the scouseophobes: no bad thing). One of the few absurd risk controls I know to be rescinded but at least there's hope that sense may prevail, eventually.

 

[laika]

Err....are you sure they are insisting you use it when filling up your tanks? We got given the little gun things when they took away the hoses in Brighton. No-one has been telling us we have to use them: I think we all just assumed they were freebies to sort of say sorry for taking the hoses away. It's quite a reasonable one so I do use it when cleaning the decks. I don't when filling the tanks. I believe like yours they're 100 gallons in old money.

 

[Roger52]

We certainly haven't use it when we fill the tank but useful for washing down the decks. Just stick the hose in the hole as usual and leave it to fill..

 

[Sybarite]

So, now that Premier have taken over our marina, health and safety are uppermost in peoples minds.
They have helpfully given me a tap to put on the end of my hose for when filling my water tanks. I haven’t unwrapped it yet because I understand it cannot be locked open to let the tanks be filled but has to be squeezed continually. It forms some sort of protection to prevent backflow into the mains.
Now Premier are definitely Good People - and I appreciate they are only following rules set by Even More Good People who sit on committees to decide such things, and I have used several of Premier marinas and have always been impressed, but holding that thing open to fill my 100 gallon tanks would take about an hour! I have discussed this dilemma with Bad People who say just to fill up the old way when no one is looking but that would make me a Bad Person too!
My hose is about 20m long and clean- after all we drink from that water. It is an interesting conundrum to contemplate what sort of circumstances could cause a hazard. Could it be almost never?
Anyway what I want to know god, is if I hold the tap open for an hour can I sue the a**e off the b******s for the ensuing trauma?

Vice grip?

 

[Daedelus]

They gave me one and I thought great, it'll fit the garden hose. (It doesn't fit onto the lay flat hose I use on the boat but that has a valve on the end anyway).

When I tried it I found it does have a locking device on it so if you do want to use it to fill your tanks while you do something else you can.

V useful for watering the plants in the garden too.

 

[explores]

It seems that Premier are the only people that have taken away the hoses away, why?

 

[Quandary]

It seems that Premier are the only people that have taken away the hoses away, why?

Scottish Canals removed them about ten years ago, hoses can fall in water, cause Legionaires disease, water from them can make its way back into the public system poisoning the whole populace.

Hundreds of sailors have died after using them, the fact that it does not happen for fifty years or more is not an argument.

 

[Lucky Duck]

Dean and Reddyhoff marinas now also lack hoses which apart from MDL establishments doesn't leave that many left in my neck of the woods.

I do wonder if the decision is as much about saving their water bills rather than anything rlse

 

[laika]

It seems that Premier are the only people that have taken away the hoses away, why?

It's not only premier. I thought it was to do with risks of bacteria growing in the pipes (someone on our pontoon got quite ill and this was the suspected source) but some things I've seen online, including this that appears to be an outtake from an RYA magazine (can't find the original reference) seem to suggest it's because water companies were concerned about water from hoses siphoning back into the water supply and marinas being unwilling to spend money on the additional plumbing to prevent it.

This is the relevant water regulations advisory scheme guidance:
https://www.wras.co.uk/downloads/public_area/publications/general/ign_9-06-02_marinas.pdf/

Also it seems that yes, we're supposed to use the guns. Section 3.12 of the current premier regulations states:

Water (where available) is provided from standpipes which can be used by Owners. Owners will need to provide their own hose and ensure this is disconnected and removed after every use. The hose must be tted with a trigger gun. Unless explicitly stated, water from standpipes should not be considered safe drinking water.

And one purpose of the gun is apparently to prevent back syphoning:
https://premiermarinas.com/Marina-News-Events/Marina-News/2018/January/Distribution-of-Hoseguns

 

[pvb]

The water in the marina pipe is under mains pressure. How on earth can it ever "back syphon" into the mains supply? It's H&S gone mad.

 

[capnsensible]

How come this is not a problem in the rest of the known galaxy outside the uk where people use their own hose to fill up their tanks?

Seems a bit odd to me.

 

[Stemar]

The water in the marina pipe is under mains pressure. How on earth can it ever "back syphon" into the mains supply? It's H&S gone mad.

In the event of a failure of the mains supply - burst pipe - it's not unlikely that taps in homes or on marina pontoons will be at negative pressure as water tries to syphon out of the system. At that point a hose without a non-return valve dangling in the 'oggin will suck sea water into the pipes. Admittedly, pontoon taps are pretty close to sea level, so it's less likely than a tap on the 4th floor of a block of flats, but some pipes do dip below sea level.

 

[doug748]

Dean and Reddyhoff marinas now also lack hoses which apart from MDL establishments doesn't leave that many left in my neck of the woods.

I do wonder if the decision is as much about saving their water bills rather than anything rlse

I think you may have put your finger on it there Little Grebe. Looking at the amount of silly boat washing that goes on, it could be a good thing too.

 

[harry potter]

No no Castle Marinas also at Birdham Pool though curiously enough not at Royal Clarence