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Talk about favorite or hated suppliers, recommend good materials or sources, or anything of the same ilk. This is also a good place to suggest unique ideas and innovations you may have come up with.
One of the things I've been running up against is keeping my potable water smell free. The solution to this seems to be a small amount of chlorine added to the water supply. This leads to an issue with something called THMs which are not exactly good for you, although the issue they represent is minor. The other issue is chlorine taste in the water. After a bit of online research the solution to both the taste and THM issues seems to be at the tap filtering. The thing I came up with was the Aquasana AQ-4000 filter system.
This system removes 99% of both chlorine and THMs, attaches to the faucet and the filter unit can be placed where convenient with an optional mounting bracket. It will probably go behind the sink on KAHOLEE so it is easy to get at. There is also an option for under sink mounting with a special faucet but this requires more plumbing. I'll let you know how it works out once in use.
Allen,
That is very good idea, but why is your water starting to go sour - is because something that was in water has gone bad or is growing? As I understand it a small amount of Chlorox (one cap full) added to the water tanks will prevent a lot of issues and will not harm you if consumed.
Brian Jollyboat, Triton #466 Sepi,Triton #346 (1st, Triton) No Quarter
The sail works great, but I haven't used it since the Chesapeake. In the ICW you're a powerboat on a stick. I have deployed the jib once or twice just to stabilize when it was windy but for the most part I'm just motoring all the time.
The problem with the water probably started in Rockland where the water had lots of iron in it. It had an odor by the time Tim and I got KAHOLEE to Havre de Grace and wasn't helped by the water there or at Worton Creek where people had external, house type, filters on the dock end of their hoses that were red from the iron (I assume) in the water. The tanks are empty now so I'm going to give them a washing and flush the system with bleach then refill and add a small amount (I wrote to Clorox for instructions) to keep the water clean. Chlorine reacts with organic matter present in any water to form what are called THMs that can cause cancer, however, all the research I've read suggests the chlorine prevents greater problems than that caused by THMs. In fact one study suggested you have more of a potential health risk from a peanut butter sandwich. The filter removes both the chlorine and the THMS so it's the best of both worlds. It will also mean I do not have to transport separate drinking water which saves space and is always a good thing on a Triton. The filter system takes up less space than my current water bottle, not including the backup gallon jugs I keep forward.
Allen,
I glad to know that you on top of the water situation, as I am not surprised that you are and sounds like you have this situation well in tow.
I am glad to know that sail is working well and looking forward to learning more about your exciting trip as you report in. I know that I am not the only one who is enjoying your adventure from the screens of our computers so keep the posts comming in. Good Sailing,
Brian
Brian Jollyboat, Triton #466 Sepi,Triton #346 (1st, Triton) No Quarter
A scrub four seasons ago and using the recommended doses of Aquabon seems to work for us. I looked into the available filters but all I found then required more pressure than our little pump would supply.
When we got to San Diego and started to drink the water there, we instantly tasted chlorine (not from our tanks, per se, but from the city water that we put in our tanks). Not delicious when you're drinking your morning cup of chai!
So, we got an inline filter from a marine store. I don't remember the exact filter brand off the top of my head, but it was one that was specifically for our "pedual" (i.e. "manual" foot pumps) water-pumping set-up (as opposed to a different one, that would only have worked for a pressurized-pump type water system). This filter was plumbed in the line leading from our water tank to the galley foot pump, and resided beneath the sole right near the tank. It completely eliminated any chlorine taste (even later when we were treating our water tanks with bleach in the recommended dose, although I don't believe that put nearly as much chlorine taste in the water as the urban water had).
I didn't know about THMs at the time, so I don't know about whether it filtered those out. We purchased the filter (and a spare) at Downwind Marine in San Diego (great, well-stocked, "Ma & Pa," cruising oriented chandlery).
Rachel, here are two of the resources I used. I also emailed the Clorox people about treating water onboard and this is their reply regarding drinking water.
To purify the water for drinking, we recommend using 1/4 teaspoon of Clorox Liquid Bleach to one gallon of water, let sit for 30 minutes. After this time there should be a slight chlorine odor to the water. If the slight chlorine odor is not present, repeat the dosage and wait 15 more minutes.
At the time (no Internet where we were), I got my info from a couple of cruiser's medical books. It was probably similar - I remember doing the calculations for our size water tanks, and then using the same amount each time. I'd say maybe our water ended up slightly less bleachy than they're recommending (but they are the Clorox people).
I just didn't know of the existence of THMs at the time, so I don't know whether our filter did anything about them. For all I know if might have. I should find out what kind it was.
One thing I do remember reading about bleach, is that the treatment has a finite lifespan. In other words if you kept the bleached water in your tanks for a long time, the bleach effect would wear off. (I think you could always re-treat though.) We "only" carried about 70 gallons of water, so it got used up and replaced on a regular basis.
I'm already to the point where I can't remember how we found out anything without the Internet and search engines (yikes!). (Actually, one fun thing for me about being away was having a useful reference library aboard. "Paper ballast" :D)
The recommended amount of bleach varies a bit. A report from the state of South Dakota on purifying water recommended 1/8 teaspoon, half what Clorox recommends. The common thread seems to be that you can smell the bleach in the water. I figure, since I'm filtering the water at the tap and removing 99% of the chlorine going with the 1/4 tsp recommendation would not constitute an issue.
With regard to the Internet as a search tool, I too find it hard to contemplate doing any research with out it. Back in the day you'd spend hours in a library research department where, now, you spend a few minutes with Google. :)
I actually thought about getting a library science degree, books are wonderful things. I use to hand out in libraries all the time, not even use the card catalog, just wonder around window shopping (you never know when you'd find some interesting book you'd never heard of). Then Barnes and Noble came along with a Starbucks inside so I started hanging out there (wish they'd put a coffee shop in libraries, books and coffee go together like fish and water). Now it's Google, Amazon and a home espresso maker. Got to know the lady at the Post Office in Truth or Consequences because I was always picking up my book orders from Amazon. In fact, part of KAHOLEE's design was specifically to carry books, but I've already exceeded my design capacity. :D
Doesn't most city water have a little chlorine added to it already? I know that ours does, though our little rural county doesn't add any flouride like Leon does, could be the source of all the missing teeth jokes about our county. But I digress.
I think, based on my backpacking and post hurricane info, that 1/4 t is what you put into UNTREATED water. If you want more, ie for water that is going to sit in a tank for a while, add some. But 1/4 t per gallon seems like way too much to me. Almost enough to shock treat your tanks.
We did the bleach treatment to the system and the water seems to be just fine now. We did back off on the 1/4 tsp suggestion a bit though. We will see how this works out in a month or two.
For added filtering we also have a http://www.filtersfast.com/Brita-On-Tap ... ilters.asp faucet mounted filter in the galley on the faucet for double filtration. We drink right out of our 1979 tanks with this set up no problem!!
One thing about filters is you need to "exercise" your water system at a minimum weekly or the filters will go bad. I run the water for about a minute each time I'm on board and this keeps the filters fresh. We save a ton on bottled water by being able to drink right out of our tanks and get a full season out of the GE filter.
Location is behind the starboard settee.
A close up:
This photo was taken during winterization and the Brita was by-passed.
