Water purification systems

[captain death]

Hi,

 

Does any one use On board water purification systems/havesting? are they viable, do they work? are they ridiculously expensive?

 

Why do i need one? Well I'd like to survive the forcomming zombie apocalypse , and using tap to refill might be hazardous?

 

Also, maybe not drinking water, but grey water for washing? can it be recycled?

[Nickhlx]

Hi,

 

Does any one use On board water purification systems/havesting? are they viable, do they work? are they ridiculously expensive?

 

Why do i need one? Well I'd like to survive the forcomming zombie apocalypse , and using tap to refill might be hazardous?

 

Also, maybe not drinking water, but grey water for washing? can it be recycled?

 

 

I used to distribute and still run home water purification, but have not implemented anything on our boat as we don't currently use it for long enough periods to justify (yet), but it's always in my mind to think about it when we are CCing...

 

I am thinking of a micro-filtered whole boat system and then additionally, for drinking / cooking / washing up (and brushing teeth) using Reverse Osmosis water, as we have at home. It may also incorporate a UV steriliser...

 

Costs these days of RO are much lower than they used to be a few years ago and with adapting existing kit, a few hundred quid should result in a fairly elaborate system

 

At the moment though, we simply carry a 20 litre special purpose drinking water container, filled daily with tap water, and lightly further chlorinate the main fresh water tank ( 650 litres) to approx 3ppm, mainly because it takes a while to get through a tankful.

I do think (am sure) this is overkill though, but suffered badly when it got contaminated in the early days, so as I can, I prefer to err on the side of overkill.

 

We have adequate power on board to run RO - this needs a pressure of around 50 ( 40 to 100) psi maintained on the supply side to the unit - usually this is achieved by a pump controlled by a pressure switch, much as the normal boat water system,

but as water is constantly flowing, albeit at a slow rate, whilst the purified tank is filling, it is potentially going to be annoying at night if the pump is cutting in every few minutes, or even occasionally. A suitably large pressure container and / or switching off at night may be acceptable though.

 

Suitably filtered canal / river water, sterilised by UV and/or chlorinated, could be used for showering, and after running through the system and tests confirm all is safe, it might well be practical to use the main water tank, fill with canal water, say 60%, and pressurise that if the tank would stand the pressure needed - It is built into the bow and is made from 6mm steel plate, so may well be able to withstand the pressure, possibly derived from a small compressor.

 

The easy way though is to continue as most do - filling the tank every day or three, adding a bit of Milton ( thin bleach) and keeping the fingers crossed

 

Nick

 

 

Edited October 23, 2012 by Nickhlx

[by'eck]

Hi,

 

Does any one use On board water purification systems/havesting? are they viable, do they work? are they ridiculously expensive?

 

Why do i need one? Well I'd like to survive the forcomming zombie apocalypse , and using tap to refill might be hazardous?

 

Also, maybe not drinking water, but grey water for washing? can it be recycled?

 

Nature Pure is generally accepted as the best system and as such is the one adopted by most airlines. Filter element is not cheap but purifies 500 gallons. I used one in my last boat allowing tank water to be used for drinking.

 

 

Click on image for more info.

[Tuscan]

We keep a Brita jug full of water in the fridge for drinking , everything else from the tank

[Nickhlx]

We keep a Brita jug full of water in the fridge for drinking , everything else from the tank

 

I thought I read that the jugs were bacteria breeding factories

 

Nick

[Tuscan]

I thought I read that the jugs were bacteria breeding factories

 

Nick

 

 

No thats the human body, we are still alive and kicking

Edited October 24, 2012 by Tuscan

[blackrose]

Nature Pure is generally accepted as the best system and as such is the one adopted by most airlines. Filter element is not cheap but purifies 500 gallons. I used one in my last boat allowing tank water to be used for drinking.

 

 

Click on image for more info.

 

This is the one I have. I reckon I filter a couple of litres per day just for drinking and at that rate each 50 quid element lasts me a couple of years.

[jelunga]

This is the one I have. I reckon I filter a couple of litres per day just for drinking and at that rate each 50 quid element lasts me a couple of years.

We have the sane system. Has lasted about 15 months with daily use for all drinking wster for two of us.

We use the water straight from a stainless steel tank for washing up, showers, hand abd face washing and teeth cleaning. However, we are scrupulous with keeping the filling hoseebd clean and flush the pipe for 3-5mins before filling tank.