Wintering of water tanks

[westernsailor]

Whats the best practice for this ?




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[TheBoatman]

We always drain them down, this saves both weight and possible problems with freezing. Then in the Spring, flush them out a couple of times and then add the steriliser tablets, pump out, refil and Bobs your uncle.

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[Ohdrat]

you could always empty some whisky into it as anti freeze.. that way you get a warm glow at the beginning of the season/forums/images/icons/smile.gif

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[EdEssery]

Last time you leave the boat before she comes out, put some Milton in the tank - a couple of generous capfuls per tank (around one part in a 1000). Leave this in the tank until haul out. Don't drink this water - drain it/pump it all out as she comes out of the water. Leave the tanks empty over the winter. In the spring give them a second treatment with Milton - same quantities - drain them after a week, refill and go sailing....

Ed

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[Shanty]

Another vote for Milton - used slightly differently:
At the end of the season, I top up the water tank and add Milton at the rate specified on the bottle for sterilising babies bottles.
Remove the in line filter (not sure if this is necessary).
Pump through on all outlets (in my case heads & galley) to ensure the whole system contains Milton solution.
Leave for one hour.
Pump the system dry (Milton reacts with aluminium, so don't want pumps etc left full of Milton).
In the Spring, I run a few gallons of water through the system to flush it out, and then refill & use

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[Cloven]

I agree with TheBoatman. Also allows you to ensure that taps are drained. I had a case of plastic taps in a caravan (sorry to mention such a vehicle here but same as boat taps) splitting after a hard winter frost and then finding the cost of replacement.

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[3reefs]

Does anyone disconnect water hoses from water pumps, taps or tanks?
(My manuals seriously suggest this)

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[vyv_cox]

Never heard of this one. We run the pump until it sucks air, then leave the taps open. I assume that this means a U-shaped length of hose between pump and tap still contains water but presumably flexible hose can cope with freezing. Hose pipe in the garden certainly can. We drain the calorifier but don't remove hoses.

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[Boathook]

All the posts give good advice.
I drain my tanks, remove a hose from the pump to stop it splitting in a frost. In the spring I reconnect everything CLEAN THE HOSE (with miltons) and add miltons as recommended to the tanks and leave for a few hours. I then drain the tanks & fill up with fresh water whilst still pumping out for a while. So far no problems. Until the start of this year I used a brewers cleaner from Boots but they do not seem to stock it any more.

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[alpha]

Contrary to those posting above, I do not drain completely, on the grounds that you will be unlikely to have a system where the LOWEST point is truly drainable, and where there are no low loops to worry about. So, I drain the tank completely, by running the taps, then add a 50/50 mix of water and propylene glycol ('non-toxic' antifreeze, sometimes hard to find but worth tracking down), before running each tap, shower head, etc, until the antifreeze mix appears. Then you know that the whole system is full of antifreeze.

In the Spring, I flush through several tankfuls of water, but do not (to date) add a sterilising agent (new tank recently fitted).

This link may be helpful:
http://www.glcclub.com/lifeline/02may/drinkingwater.htm

...and I find Nigel Calder's absolutely invaluable in every respect:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos...37413/sr=1-2/ref=sr_1_3_2/026-6740425-4899648

(Sorry, haven't worked out how to make the links work, you'll have to cut and paste into the address bar).

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