Keeping House Water Fresh

[CaspersCruiser]

I have a 2012 R27 with a 40 gallon house water tank. In the spring, I use a bleach solution to clean the water system, then fill again and drain it to rinse, and then fill it with clean water. I don’t use house water for drinking or cooking. It’s used mostly for interior cleaning, and hand and dish washing. If we’re going to cook on the boat or need drinking water, I bring aboard a seven gallon Aquatainer filled with fresh water.

If I’m not on a cruise, it takes a while to turn over 40 gallons of water. How do you Tugnutters keep the house water supply fresh? Do you intentionally use lots of water to turn over the tank? Do you periodically drain and refill? Do you only fill the tank if you’re going on a cruise?

 

[fishheadbarandgrill]

I intentionally use the fresh water... for drinking, showering, cooking and cleaning.

 

[Bruce Moore]

Add a bottle of vodka. Really.

We've been using it for years to commission each season, and to refresh occasionally. But, use cheap vodka.

Cheers,

Bruce

 

[scross]

On our old boat, the Southern Cross, we never drank water from the fresh water tank either. Too much contamination and old plastic taste that bleach just didn’t seem to fix.
On Our Journey the opposite is the case. We winterize with 4-5 gallons of RV antifreeze and then do a quadruple flush out in the spring. Typically we use up our 30 gallons in 4 days of cruising. So it’s refilled quite often. When filling from a dock hose we let the water run for a minute or so before using it to refill our tank.
At the end of every cruise the fresh water tank is emptied. Filled again at the start of the next cruise. Water tastes great and never any issues.
We don’t do Bruce’s vodka technique but really like the theory! Is adding more than one bottle of vodka an even better solution?

 

[Red Raven]

We initially had a really bad taste to our fresh water and no matter what solution we tried (including the Vodka, chlorine, commercial fresheners etc.), nothing worked. Then we found the stainless screen on the freshwater pump was black with some form of contamination. Cleaned it thoroughly and since then we have great water. We drink it, shower with it, and wash dishes etc. perfect! We use all 40 gallons in 4 days while traveling or it sits for several weeks when not using the boat. Always good! Keep the pump screen clean!

 

[Boatagain]

I use the Clorox method, adding about two ounces to every tankful. Of course, it’s also a good thing if the tank is emptied and refilled with some regularity. We use it to shower, wash hands, brush teeth, clean etc, but not to drink. Every fall the tank is thoroughly rinsed and winterized, every spring it’s thoroughly rinsed with a strong Clorox mixture, followed by cycling two or three tankfuls of,fresh water through the system. The water smells great and, on those rare occasions I get some in my mouth, there’s no Clorox smell or taste, just good clean water. (Though there is this strange appendage growing out the back of my head 😉.)

 

[knotflying]

The key may be in decommissioning. I empty the tank and then add 1/4 cup of bleach and add a few gallons of water and then run it through the hot water and then the cold water and let it run dry again. I The empty the hot water tank by releasing the pressure relief valve and drain from the tank. Close the pressure relief valve and the hot water drain and then another 1/4 cup of bleach into the tank. When recommissioning I put about 5 or six gallons of water in and run it dry and then empty the hot water tank again. Then I fill it up and all is fine.

 

[BB marine]

We use our 30 Gallon tank ( Fluid Motion specification C26,C28 is 40 gallons. Tank it is really 30 gallons ?) for drinking, cooking, cleaning and fresh water toilet flush. We normally get 3 to 4 days of use with this capacity. I clean and flush the fresh water holding tank at the beginning of every season with a bleach solution. I use a filter at the end of my filling hose (Camco TastePURE Inline Water Filter),this filters the water going into the tank, most odor, bad taste and and sediment that can come from marina water systems. I have a whole house filter that filters all the water coming out of the tank to the faucets, shower heads. The filter element is good to treat 15000 gallons of water. I replace it at once a year after flushing and cleaning the tank. The water at the faucets has no odor or taste and looks "crystal" clear in a glass.

 

[CaspersCruiser]

Thanks for all the information.

This issue occurs now when I’m using the boat, but not cruising. The boat is in a slip near my home for the summer and we use the boat for day trips where not a lot of water is used. In the couple years I’ve owned the boat, I’ve been taking extended trips 2-3 times per year and turning over the tank then is no problem. I do check the pump screen and it’s always been clean.

I’ll start pumping some water overboard every time I’m at the boat to periodically turn over the tank. And I may stock the bar with some cheap vodka!

 

[SLyle01]

Hmmm, would a few drams of good single-malt scotch work as well as cheapo vodka? I could drink THAT h2o all day.

 

[Osprey]

For day tripping I would not put more that about 5 gallons in the tank. Whatever is left over at the end of the day could be quickly pumped over board. Add another 5 fresh gallons on the day of the next trip. Avoid leaving significant amounts of water during periods of non-use.

 

[JeffreyAC77]

We initially had a really bad taste to our fresh water and no matter what solution we tried (including the Vodka, chlorine, commercial fresheners etc.), nothing worked. Then we found the stainless screen on the freshwater pump was black with some form of contamination. Cleaned it thoroughly and since then we have great water. We drink it, shower with it, and wash dishes etc. perfect! We use all 40 gallons in 4 days while traveling or it sits for several weeks when not using the boat. Always good! Keep the pump screen clean!

When looking at the water pump (hoping mine is the same on our R31),where is the screen located? Thanks.

 

[Red Raven]

When looking at the water pump (hoping mine is the same on our R31),where is the screen located? Thanks.

The photo below may not be the exact same pump from Johnson but it shows the round housing with the clear cap at the left top. The screen is inside that housing. It is easiest to remove the cap if you remove the whole housing from the pump first. It pops right out if you pull out the locking tab. Be sure to turn off the water pressure first.