Carbon Filtered @ 5 Microns?

[NorthwichTrader]

Can anybody explain what this means at the tap?

I've alteady bought this filter, but would love to know what I can do with it, when fed from an onboard water tank?

Kettle, cooking, drinking?

[Black Country Lee]

Long and short is a filter that removes any particulate larger than 5,000th of a millimeter, the charcoal also helps with certain bacteria and contaminants in the water. Charcoal has a very large surface area which aids the filtering process.

 

Lee.

[ditchcrawler]

Can anybody explain what this means at the tap?

I've alteady bought this filter, but would love to know what I can do with it, when fed from an onboard water tank?

Kettle, cooking, drinking?

I do all that without a filter.

[blackrose]

Can anybody explain what this means at the tap?

I've alteady bought this filter, but would love to know what I can do with it, when fed from an onboard water tank?

Kettle, cooking, drinking?

 

Some people who filter their water have a dedicated tap on the kitchen sink just for drinking water.

 

You only really need to filter drinking water - I can't see much point in filtering the water you're cooking with or making tea from.

I do all that without a filter.

 

Personally I don't want to drink water straight from my tank. I've no idea what's growing in there.

[Nickhlx]

Filters do just that, down to their rated sizes.. typically, 20 micron, 10 and 5 micron filters take out the sediment, and is possibly all that is needed for washing / showering. To go any better than that for e.g. drinking and cooking, what is really needed is a Reverse Osmosis system, which may not be practical on a boat as it needs high pressure water (about 50 psi) and typically 5 times the supply water to the product water, which is stored in a small (10 litre) pressure tank fitted with a bladder, and released on demand.

 

The pressurisation process is simple as the pumps are usually 12/24 volt operation anyway, but this requires power, which may be at a premium on a boat, and equally importantly, the pump is likely to be noisy, as similar to many pumps for the usual pressurisation of the boat plumbing system, which it cycles on and off to keep the pressure up at around 50-75 psi whilst the storage tank is filling. This could be arranged to be during the day though, and switched off at night, and there is no shortage of supply water, as you are floating in it ! The product water is finally filtered through a charcoal filter before it reaches the outlet tap. Depending on how silty the supply water is, the first sediment filter could need changing ( or washing, if you have that type) quite regularly ( weekly or twice a month) although on a house mains domestic water supply this can be as long as 6 - 12 months. I would suggest all filters are changed at around 6 months anyway as bacteria could form, although we have never had a problem in 15+ years, even when left in for nearly 12 months.

 

I have recently rebuilt my domestic system and used bits and pieces from http://www.thewaterfiltermen.co.uk/ - no connection other than as a satisfied customer. Complete, pumped systems are available from about £150 for domestic use, although I would suggest talking to them about an extra pre-filter for canal/river water supplies, and possibly adding a UV filter for belt and braces bacterial control if on a canal.

 

You will never want to be without one, after having a system though !

 

Nick

Edited October 14, 2014 by Nickhlx

[NorthwichTrader]

From a 6-year stay in a caravan, I can confirm a large build up of slimy deposits on the pipework and a very content family of micro (thousands of) insects racing up and down the outer pipework (however frequently you sterilise the system)!

From a 4 weeks stay aboard I can already add the ingress of baby snails to that habitat.

[NorthwichTrader]

This filter is a screwfix product, which is a basic inline filter. I genuinely don't know what you can safely do with the water that comes from it ( which will be directly out of our cold water tap)? I'm guessing you can kettle and cook with it, but can you safely drink it? Bearing in mind I've got to keep a 6-year-old at school, not an old cider gut (like mine) happy?

[nb Innisfree]

We have a aeparate tap fed by a General Ecology filter, too slow a delivery for general use but just the job for safe drinking water. We fill a bottle then stick it in the fridge for nice cold drinks.Bit pricey for replacement filters but worth it to us for peace of mind.

[Arthur Brown]

How you keep the on board tank may be the biggest issue. 1ppm free chlorine will kill anything, the mains in the UK is good and will be at something like 1ppm free chlorine, but the hose content in the fill hose could be very bio active.

[Phil Ambrose]

From a 6-year stay in a caravan, I can confirm a large build up of slimy deposits on the pipework and a very content family of micro (thousands of) insects racing up and down the outer pipework (however frequently you sterilise the system)!

From a 4 weeks stay aboard I can already add the ingress of baby snails to that habitat.

I'm puzzled, sutely a slimey deposit coupled with insects ON the pipework should not be an issue as the potable water is on the inside, and where exactly are the baby snails?

Phil

[NorthwichTrader]

I'm puzzled, sutely a slimey deposit coupled with insects ON the pipework should not be an issue as the potable water is on the inside, and where exactly are the baby snails?

Phil

The slimey deposit was on the tube that went into our 40ltr hog on the caravan, which we lived in during the fit-out, this was below the waterline.

The snails had somehow got under the lid of the water tank on the boat!