Replacing the water system on my boat

[Pisces]

My flexible water tank is full of brown slime (bacterial). I was going to replace it. Are they cleanable or is it better to get a new one?

While I am playing plumber should I fit a water filter? if so which one is best for a 26 ft boat - both tap are pump type - old but sill working. I am thinking of redoing the whole system - who is best to get plumbing stuff from?

I am trying to work out what need doing and how much is it likely to cost!

Thanks for any thoughts

 

[Blueboatman]

I have regularly removed the flexible water tank,filled it with warm water and about4capfuls of bleach agitate the tank occasionally,this will disolve the slime,might take an hour or two,or a day,depending on how much build up there is . One can buy replacement inner bladders for Plastimo tanks,dunno about other makes.
if you add 1 capful of bleach per refill,or water purifying tablets,the whole system should remain clean,especially a good idea in warm weather.

 

[Blueboatman]

ADDENDUM - Apparently British bleach,as opposed to US bleach,has other additives,....... onPBO watertank thread it is recommended therefore to use Milton baby sterilising liquid instead.

 

[Guest]

Get yourself to the biggest caravan shop you can find ..... they have all the gear and can help you with best advise ....

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[VicS]

Milton cotains 2% sodium hypochlorite compared to upto 5% in household bleach so use 2½ times as much Milton as you would bleach.

It also contains among other unspecified constituents 16.5% sodium chloride.

It can be used for sterilising dodgy drinking water at the rate of 2.5 ml per 5 litres, then wait 30 mins before using. (On the label, not hearsay)

I would not be too keen on using household bleach for treating my drinking water except in an emergency.

The cost of Milton is sometimes given as a reson for opting for bleach but to put that in perspective the last 500 ml bottle I bought was £1.75 in a local Pharmacy.

I have seen it suggested that the makers of the flexible tanks do not recommend the use of chlorine based materials but that may be because they want to sell their own expensive product or just wrong info.

 

[AngusMcDoon]

I did what you are intending on my boat.

I had a Plastimo flexible tank. I replaced just the interior bladder - a few pounds and a few minutes and that problem solved. I also replaced the flexible pipes. The pipe I bought from a caravan shop. I have a water filter fitted, again you can get them from a caravan shop if there's one near you. You can either get the entirely disposable ones, or ones with a replaceable cartridge filter. Jabsco make a reasonably priced one of the latter type. Either type will cost about £20 a year.

If you fit a filter it's important to replace it annually as recommended. There's a good health reason for this. Filters concentrate the muck they filter out. They have a silver based disinfectant to kill any concentrated bacteria (as well as the carbon to do the filtering). This disinfectant will run out after a year, and the filter becomes infected. Not nice, so after a year ditch and replace.