Water filter

[David Mack]

But turn the water pump off first, and be prepared for a certain amount of spillage when you remove the old cartridge.

[RickS]

Thanks PD1964. Apologies for late reply. It is really stiff and slightly weeping. I am going to wait until the staff are back at the marina in case my brute force approach doess any damage. At least, as you say, it just screws off, so how much damage can i do ? 😀

On 27/12/2021 at 16:46, David Mack said:

But turn the water pump off first, and be prepared for a certain amount of spillage when you remove the old cartridge.

Thanks David. I did wonder whether it might be a good idea to turn the pump and supply off before starting this. Bucket will be at the ready!

[Hartlebury lad]

Hi, i have just found this thread, we have been boating (non cc) for 8 years now, on a 1996 Evans and Son boat. I think the tank is SS, and have always been reluctant to drink water directly from the tank - we take on board separate cold drinking water and top up a dispenser in the galley. 

I am at the point where in this day and age, its daft and impractical to be surrounded by loads of 5L containers of water. Its more of a bacteria thing for me.

Maybe an inline filter below the kitchen sink? Or am i over cautious?

[David Mack]

21 minutes ago, Hartlebury lad said:

I think the tank is SS, and have always been reluctant to drink water directly from the tank

Why? You drink the water that comes out of the kitchen tap at home, and the same chlorinated mains water goes into the boat's tank.

Edited April 23, 2022 by David Mack

[Lady M]

How about a Brita water filter jug?  No doubt others on here can and will advise about tank cleaning.

[Tracy D'arth]

21 minutes ago, Hartlebury lad said:

Hi, i have just found this thread, we have been boating (non cc) for 8 years now, on a 1996 Evans and Son boat. I think the tank is SS, and have always been reluctant to drink water directly from the tank - we take on board separate cold drinking water and top up a dispenser in the galley. 

I am at the point where in this day and age, its daft and impractical to be surrounded by loads of 5L containers of water. Its more of a bacteria thing for me.

Maybe an inline filter below the kitchen sink? Or am i over cautious?

Fill the tank to the brim.  Milton the tank once, leaving it overnight, then flush it twice from empty to full..

 

Forget about it for 5 years and just drink the water. You will be fine.

[Tony Brooks]

I think that you are verging on the paranoid. I drank from our stainless steel tank with sterilizing every few years for over 20 years and no ill effects. I know others here do the same. Be it at home or on the boat the public water supply is chlorinated so should be bacteria free. As we saw with Severn Trent at home or the boat can be contaminated by microzoa type stuff that the water company failed to sort at the treatment works but it seems to be rare.

 

Finally Thames Water issued a report where they had tested a number of homes with water filters fitted and they found than they tended to have a higher bacterial load that the homes without filters. When I took the ceramic water filter  off my ex hire boat the state of it was so disgusting with slime and hair I would never fit a filter, I would rather risk a dose of the squitters (that you can get from eating out anyway).

[Hartlebury lad]

Agreed, David,  But at home, its freshly drawn daily from the mains. On the boat, it is held in a holding tank, often for several weeks without replenishment, with a (albeit tiny) cocktail of microbes going back to 1996! 

Edited April 23, 2022 by Hartlebury lad

[David Mack]

3 minutes ago, Hartlebury lad said:

Agreed. But at home, its freshly drawn daily from the mains. On the boat, it is held in a holding tank, often for several weeks without replenishment, with a (albeit tiny) cocktail of microbes going back to 1996! 

Chlorination will deal with the microbes every time you refill the tank. On that score it is probably better to let the tank run low then refill, so you get a bigger dose of fresh chlorinated water, rather than continuously topping up a small amount. Or just empty and refill the tank from time to time, or as Tracy suggests, flush out with Milton or thin bleach periodically.

[Hartlebury lad]

Responding again, i probably am over cautious. I am sure i heard recently that some water authorities were lowering the standards of water treatment as our drinking water was if anything over treated! 

Milton the tank then, flush out twice  ( poor water pump!) and maybe a filter jug in the fridge for those balmy summer days! 

As an aside, i am sure i read on a Milton or similar product bottle" not to be used for metal containers"?

[mrsmelly]

38 minutes ago, Hartlebury lad said:

Hi, i have just found this thread, we have been boating (non cc) for 8 years now, on a 1996 Evans and Son boat. I think the tank is SS, and have always been reluctant to drink water directly from the tank - we take on board separate cold drinking water and top up a dispenser in the galley. 

I am at the point where in this day and age, its daft and impractical to be surrounded by loads of 5L containers of water. Its more of a bacteria thing for me.

Maybe an inline filter below the kitchen sink? Or am i over cautious?

We lived aboard for over thirty years. Always drank straight from the tank. Different boats with different tanks, some integral, some stainless steel. Never had a problem. The missus kept one of those britta filter jugs for her tea though. I did fit a fancy expensive ceramic filter on my new boat but I have since realised it was overkill.

[PD1964]

6 minutes ago, Hartlebury lad said:

Agreed. But at home, its freshly drawn daily from the mains. On the boat, it is held in a holding tank, often for several weeks without replenishment, with a (albeit tiny) cocktail of microbes going back to 1996! 

 I’m seeing more boaters like yourself a lot are younger, dragging water containers back and to from water points and I think why?

 Thought about it the other day, the water point hadn’t been used for 2-3 days as there are a couple around, a boater drags his rolling water container up and starts filling straight away, no run through. I thought that water has been static in the pipe work for a couple of days, at a length away from the main running feed, the weather has been hot and Sunny. Would that water stand more chance of developing harmful bacteria then water in his boats water tank?

If people want to go and drag water barrels around or buy 50 bottles of Peckham spring water it’s up to them but why? When they have an onboard water tank?

[Mad Harold]

3 minutes ago, mrsmelly said:

We lived aboard for over thirty years. Always drank straight from the tank. Different boats with different tanks, some integral, some stainless steel. Never had a problem. The missus kept one of those britta filter jugs for her tea though. I did fit a fancy expensive ceramic filter on my new boat but I have since realised it was overkill.

But your leathery old gut is probably used to Police Station tea!

Some of us have more delicate stomachs.

 

[Hartlebury lad]

3 minutes ago, mrsmelly said:

We lived aboard for over thirty years. Always drank straight from the tank. Different boats with different tanks, some integral, some stainless steel. Never had a problem. The missus kept one of those britta filter jugs for her tea though. I did fit a fancy expensive ceramic filter on my new boat but I have since realised it was overkill.

More weight to the argument then. Help me out, whats the definition of an integral tank, as opposed to an ss tank? Our tank i assumed was ss - i cant see it under the welldeck, the filler is next to the bow doors. When it was nearly empty i peered down the hole with a powerful torch, and spotted few very small rust spots surrounded by clean looking metal. 

[peterboat]

5 minutes ago, Hartlebury lad said:

More weight to the argument then. Help me out, whats the definition of an integral tank, as opposed to an ss tank? Our tank i assumed was ss - i cant see it under the welldeck, the filler is next to the bow doors. When it was nearly empty i peered down the hole with a powerful torch, and spotted few very small rust spots surrounded by clean looking metal. 

An integral tank is the hull itself, you would have a hatch on the well deck to get in clean it out and black it! If you see shiny steel its stainless steel. 

[PD1964]

59 minutes ago, Mad Harold said:

But your leathery old gut is probably used to Police Station tea!

Some of us have more delicate stomachs.

 

 I think you may have something there. There seams to be more bacteria and intolerance’s today then back in the 60’s 70’s Just look at all those pale skinny young vegetarian/vegan boat owners, who are Glutan, Wheat, Carbohydrate intolerant it must cost them a fortune in yakult and Actimal probiotic drinks. They could of saved so much money and be more healthier if they just cut the mold off their cheese as a kid, or toasted their bread with the blue patches.

56 minutes ago, Hartlebury lad said:

More weight to the argument then. Help me out, whats the definition of an integral tank, as opposed to an ss tank? Our tank i assumed was ss - i cant see it under the welldeck, the filler is next to the bow doors. When it was nearly empty i peered down the hole with a powerful torch, and spotted few very small rust spots surrounded by clean looking metal. 

You’ve had the boat 8 years and you don’t know what kind of water tank you have? I would expect that question of a week owning Newbie, not an 8 year boat owner. Unbelievable.

Edited April 23, 2022 by PD1964

[blackrose]

1 hour ago, Tracy D'arth said:

Fill the tank to the brim.  Milton the tank once, leaving it overnight, then flush it twice from empty to full..

 

Forget about it for 5 years and just drink the water. You will be fine.

 

I thought you weren't meant to use Milton direct on metal as it causes a chemical reaction even on stainless steel? This are instructions for Milton tablets and I assume it's the same for the fluid.

 

 

Edited April 23, 2022 by blackrose

[blackrose]

29 minutes ago, mrsmelly said:

We lived aboard for over thirty years. Always drank straight from the tank. Different boats with different tanks, some integral, some stainless steel. Never had a problem. The missus kept one of those britta filter jugs for her tea though. I did fit a fancy expensive ceramic filter on my new boat but I have since realised it was overkill.

 

I also drink water straight from my integral tank but it goes through a dedicated drinking water filter and tap on the kitchen sink. The filter elements are changed annually and filter out any potential waterborne pathogens and anything that might possibly be growing in the tank. But the main reason I have it is that the filtered water tastes much better. I wouldn't drink it direct from the tank without the filter but that's just a personal choice.

[Hartlebury lad]

21 minutes ago, PD1964 said:

 I think you may have something there. There seams to be more bacteria and intolerance’s today then back in the 60’s 70’s Just look at all those pale skinny young vegetarian/vegan boat owners, who are Glutan, Wheat, Carbohydrate intolerant it must cost them a fortune in yakult and Actimal probiotic drinks. They could of saved so much money and be more healthier if they just cut the mold off their cheese as a kid, or toasted their bread with the blue patches.

You’ve had the boat 8 years and you don’t know what kind of water tank you have? I would expect that question of a week Newbie, not an 8 year boat owner. Unbelievable.

I always assumed it was stainless steel, it looked like stainless steel inside and i only queried it because i saw some tiny rust like deposits inside. I also only queried the actual definition of an integral tank, excluding all other types of tank. There are one or two "unorthodox" discrepancies on the build of the boat - ask anyone who has owned one of these . 

Just because i want to be absolutely certain of an important aspect of my boat and boating experience ( or at least important to me ) should not justify your attempt to ridicule me.......

[blackrose]

If it's a conventional integral tank at the bow you're likely to see a hatch in the well deck for you to get into the tank to clean and repaint it. No hatch and you're likely to have a stainless tank although some do have access for cleaning.

[Hartlebury lad]

1 minute ago, blackrose said:

If it's a conventional integral tank at the bow you're likely to see a hatch in the well deck for you to get into the tank to clean and repaint it. No hatch and you're likely to have a stainless tank although some do have access for cleaning.

Cheers, that confirms it. I only had a minor doubt at one point because its a decent enough belt and braces boat, but important aspects such as swim tanks being undersized,  and no rear deck hatch to access the weed hatch and stern greaser were two idiosyncrasies that immediately needed attention - especially after breaking a rib early days lying across a hot engine to access the weed hatch!

[Idle Days]

Do water filters fall into the same category as Girly Buttons?  

 

Asking for a friend!

[blackrose]

38 minutes ago, Idle Days said:

Do water filters fall into the same category as Girly Buttons?  

 

Asking for a friend!

 

I think they only fall into the same category if your friend is the type of knob head who likes to tell other people what equipment they should or shouldn't have on their own boats. 

Edited April 23, 2022 by blackrose

[Mad Harold]

37 minutes ago, Hartlebury lad said:

Cheers, that confirms it. I only had a minor doubt at one point because its a decent enough belt and braces boat, but important aspects such as swim tanks being undersized,  and no rear deck hatch to access the weed hatch and stern greaser were two idiosyncrasies that immediately needed attention - especially after breaking a rib early days lying across a hot engine to access the weed hatch!

I looked at a quite nice narrowboat with a view to buying, but decided against for the reasons you have outlined.

There was no access to the weed hatch from the deck, but small gap from the top of the weedhatch to the deck only big enough to get your arm in and feel around. Not enough room to get yourself into, and you had to lie across the engine.

If I remember correctly, it was built by Eggborough Marine.

[Tracy D'arth]

11 minutes ago, Mad Harold said:

I looked at a quite nice narrowboat with a view to buying, but decided against for the reasons you have outlined.

There was no access to the weed hatch from the deck, but small gap from the top of the weedhatch to the deck only big enough to get your arm in and feel around. Not enough room to get yourself into, and you had to lie across the engine.

If I remember correctly, it was built by Eggborough Marine.

Early Pipers are like that. You burn yourself to toast over a hot engine if you have to get into the weed hatch.

 

I have seen Milton used in stainless tanks. Providing it is not overdone the dilution factor renders it harmless. It can, if too concentrated, turn stainless and other metals black as does household bleach but it is not so detrimental to the metal as acid. It also turns metal dentures black as they are chrome steel yet dentists recommend it for occasional use to sterilise dental plates.  DAHIKT !