What water filter do you recommend?

[David J Smith]

Good morning all from the lovely River Nene near Northampton.  I want to fit an inline domestic drinking water filter to our narrowboat Ticketyboo. Can you advice please? I've been on ebay. And the majority of replacable cartridge typy say that they "Are not bacterial" filters. Do I need that type? or not. We do put Aquatabs in the integeral tank every other fill up. So i guess this killls bacteria?? Its mainly to get rid of the tastes. And hopefully filter out anything else in the tank. Sediments etc. We had the water tank repainted with the proper black paint.( Water potable). But my wife is still a bit sceptical even after five months. I drink it. And had no problems. I'm just hoping that I can pursuade her to drink it, by fitting a filter. 

Thanks in advance. Dave and Diane.

[Alan de Enfield]

10 minutes ago, David john Smith said:

Its mainly to get rid of the tastes

 

 

If you want to get rid of the taste then you need an 'activated charcoal filter' it doesn't kill bugs but it does remove hydrocarbons, earthy etc taste.

[Rob-M]

Stop putting Aquatabs in your tank and that will remove the taste.

 

We don't have any filters and the only time I've put Aquatabs in the tank is when we used to leave the tank half full for 3 months over the winter.  Now we use the boat over the winter we don't add anything to the tank and just drink the water.

[Tony Brooks]

Simple answer - don't waste your money, don't fit one. Every time water filters are raised on here a significant number, including myself, say they do not use one and have not for 20+ years. Domestic testing has filters tend to produce worse bacteriological water than straight from the tap because of insufficient filter changes. If you have very good reason for needing a filter then I would suggest a Britta jug because changing the filter is easy and they are readily available from supermarkets etc.

[Jen-in-Wellies]

Get a filter where the filter cartridge is inside a case. Fit the case, but don't fit the cartridge. See if she says how much better the water tastes now. 😀

https://www.screwfix.com/p/bwt-high-capacity-water-filter-kit/16747

 

 

[David Mack]

35 minutes ago, David john Smith said:

We do put Aquatabs in the integeral tank every other fill up.

Why? You are filling the tank with chlorinated mains water. It's not like a camper needing to treat the water from a mountain stream.

[mrsmelly]

25 minutes ago, Tony Brooks said:

Simple answer - don't waste your money, don't fit one. Every time water filters are raised on here a significant number, including myself, say they do not use one and have not for 20+ years. Domestic testing has filters tend to produce worse bacteriological water than straight from the tap because of insufficient filter changes. If you have very good reason for needing a filter then I would suggest a Britta jug because changing the filter is easy and they are readily available from supermarkets etc.

Seconded. Dont bother, a waste of time and money. A britta jug is what the missus kept but we left it in the kitchen cupboard 99 percent of the time.

[Chris John]

Fit one of these. Replacement filters are about £35. Probably get it cheaper than that link. 

Ive used one for 19 years changing filter every year and I’ve had no problems with water quality 

 

https://marinestore.co.uk/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=cl59000-1000&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI8Of__qLp-QIVjrrtCh3VfwL6EAYYASABEgLNCfD_BwE

[Ex Brummie]

https://www.google.co.uk/shopping/product/16106060039940030372?lsf=seller:6742346,store:12368253345815529971,lsfqd:0&prds=oid:3291401536904186423&q=in-line

I use these. They come with a 1/4"bsp thread each end, and with a 1/4" female bsp to 15mm compression adapters can be easily fitted to 15mm supply to your cold tap. You don't really need to treat all your water.

[Tony Brooks]

7 hours ago, Chris John said:

I’ve had no problems with water quality 

 

Can we take it that you have it bacteriologically tested regularly or are you going by sight and taste?

[Chris John]

17 minutes ago, Tony Brooks said:

 

Can we take it that you have it bacteriologically tested regularly or are you going by sight and taste?

Oh ffs!

1 it tastes ok

2 I’ve never had the shits 

Edited August 28, 2022 by Chris John

[Tony Brooks]

1 minute ago, Chris John said:

Oh ffs!

1 it tastes ok

2 I’ve never had the shits 

 

Just trying to gently point out that seem to have no basis in your statement as written. All you can say is that water always tastes OK and does not seem to have made you ill. That is no proof of water quality and I can say the same drinking directly from the tank except for a couple of fills after I sterilized the tank and pipes. A bottle of cheap thin unscented bleach costs far less than £35 a year.

[Chris John]

6 minutes ago, Tony Brooks said:

 

Just trying to gently point out that seem to have no basis in your statement as written. All you can say is that water always tastes OK and does not seem to have made you ill. That is no proof of water quality and I can say the same drinking directly from the tank except for a couple of fills after I sterilized the tank and pipes. A bottle of cheap thin unscented bleach costs far less than £35 a year.

I also don’t get the water tested at home, or the beer tested when it comes out of a pump and I’ve seen what some do and don’t do to bar pumps. 
The poster asked what filter he should fit and gave a reason why he wanted to fit one. 90% of people then said why he shouldn’t get one. He didn’t ask if he should or shouldn’t get a filter. 

[Guest]

I've got a filter on mine. Fitted it 10 years ago, cuz someone gave it me. No idea what make . But I am certain it's good value for money! 😁

Never had to change cartridge, although I also got a free spare. Water still comes out of the 'special' drinking water tap so everyone is happy! 😂

Problem solved.

[David Mack]

3 hours ago, Chris John said:

The poster asked what filter he should fit and gave a reason why he wanted to fit one. 90% of people then said why he shouldn’t get one. He didn’t ask if he should or shouldn’t get a filter. 

 

Q: "What water filter do you recommend?"

A: "None."

[Tony1]

A woman emerged very sour faced from a side hatch I passed last summer, and said she'd just found a dead wasp in her tea, and that she was certain it had come from the water tank.

With this episode in mind I did think about getting one of those strainer type mesh things that removes larger particles (and wasps), but I never got round to it. 

Every few months I throw some water purification tablets into the tank at the beginning of a fill, but it is drinking-quality water that comes from the CRT taps, so any water problems are going to arise from deterioration that happens with the tank itself, e.g. rust. 

I'm hoping that exposure to any stray bugs will be character-building. 

 

[GUMPY]

25 years living on board always drank tank water  no filter of any kind, never treated the water and it always tasted ok

Stop treating it and you will be fine.

 

Edited August 29, 2022 by Loddon

[rusty69]

53 minutes ago, Loddon said:

25 years living on board always drank rank water  no filter of any kind, never treated the water and it always tasted ok

Stop treating it and you will be fine.

 

That is rather an unfortunate typo. At least I hope its a typo. 

 

T&R should not be next to each other on a keyboard. Likewise I&O

[Bee]

Never bothered. The water we use has always come from any available tap anywhere we can find one ( The European canals are often not well served for drinking water and we only carry about 40 galls) The kitchen tap had a little filter in the very end of the spout and it used to clog with limescale so I threw it away reasoning that all the water would be squeezing through this clogged filter and picking up nasties from this source so therefore filters are probably the source of contamination rather than any kind of safeguard. As for illness I never eat shellfish or any kind of filter feeders and as for oysters......Yeugh.

[GUMPY]

47 minutes ago, rusty69 said:

That is rather an unfortunate typo. At least I hope its a typo. 

 

T&R should not be next to each other on a keyboard. Likewise I&O

Typing on a small screen with crap glasses leads to Typo

Now corrected.

I will add since we no longer live aboard, leave the boat for months at a time and had an attack of smelly tank we no longer drink tank water although having sterilised the tank it's safe to do so.

 

Edited August 29, 2022 by Loddon

[mrsmelly]

1 minute ago, Loddon said:

Typing on a small screen with crap glasses leads to Typo

I can recommend Goggles4u, cheap and a good service.

[GUMPY]

43 minutes ago, mrsmelly said:

I can recommend Goggles4u, cheap and a good service.

I actually have very good glasses it's just my eyes take ages to wake up

 

[rusty69]

4 minutes ago, Loddon said:

I actually have very good glasses it's just my eyes take ages to wake up

 

I find on my small screen that it is more the phat fingers than the dodgy eyesight that cause typos. I am forever putting an 'I' instead of a 'o'. Whoever designed the QWERTY keyboard obviously didn't foresee the problems of typing on a smart phone; and why would they.

Edited August 29, 2022 by rusty69

[blackrose]

15 hours ago, Tony Brooks said:

 

Just trying to gently point out that seem to have no basis in your statement as written. All you can say is that water always tastes OK and does not seem to have made you ill. That is no proof of water quality and I can say the same drinking directly from the tank except for a couple of fills after I sterilized the tank and pipes. 

 

But by the same token Tony what's the scientific basis for your earlier statement that filters make the water quality worse? You provided no source? If it's simply due to insufficient filter changes then I'd have thought the solution is fairly simple...

 

I fitted an Nature Pure water filter with a dedicated drinking water tap to my kitchen sink 15 years ago and change the filters once a year. The water tastes a lot better than without the filter and that's the reason I use it. It means I drink plenty of water, keep myself hydrated and I'm not carrying plastic water bottles to the boat like some of my neighbours. I could drink unfiltered water straight from the tank but because it doesn't taste as good it wouldn't encourage me to drink it. My tank was painted 5 years ago with a water potable epoxy. It didn't affect the taste of the water.

 

Like many other things it's all down to personal choice. If you don't want a filter then nobody is forcing anyone to get one. On the other hand, I also think that if some people who dismiss filters actually tasted filtered water compared to unfiltered they might change their minds. Water does tend to stagnate when left in a storage tank and the taste can change within a few days. 

 

My filter was expensive and the replacement elements are too, but as a liveaboard I really don't think it was a waste of money. I've been using it for over 15 years and if it was I wouldn't keep replacing the filters every year. 

Edited August 29, 2022 by blackrose

[blackrose]

11 hours ago, Tony1 said:

A woman emerged very sour faced from a side hatch I passed last summer, and said she'd just found a dead wasp in her tea, and that she was certain it had come from the water tank.

With this episode in mind I did think about getting one of those strainer type mesh things that removes larger particles (and wasps), but I never got round to it. 

 

 

Sounds like you're talking about a strainer rather than a drinking water filter. They're fitted upstream of the pump and their function is to protect the pump from particles from the tank so ideally you should have one. 

On 28/08/2022 at 08:43, Alan de Enfield said:

 

 

Edited August 29, 2022 by blackrose