Gray Water Tank - Do You Have One ?

[Dame.n.Jess]

We have the original glassed in water tank on our yacht which we dont trust as a drinking water tank and we are considering using it as a grey water tank.

Our question is, do you have one, want one or even need one.

we dont hear much about them as the conversation always seams to go towards make sure you have a holding tank...


Any thoughts

Damien

[anjou]

I guess it all depends on where you are, your local regulations and maybe your environmental conscience.
Grey water is a bit of a grey area, some EU countries insist on holding tanks for vessels using inland waterways, others dont.

Whichever, I think everyone should be more sensitive to the environmental impact of detergents and bleaches by not dumping directly into water

[Lancerbye]

We now have more eco friendly cleaning products than ever before and if one is diligent with what is discarded as grey water, the need for a grey water tank should not be necessary. At present here we have a hard enough time find pumping stations for waste. Filters on grey water discharge could improve the discharge.

[kjames]

I think shower water is generally regarded as the best quality grey water. We harvest this at home for watering the garden but I find (and good advice generally supports the fact) that even shower water needs to be moved on / disposed of, within 24 hours as it does go bad / smelly. I know there are different rules in different parts of the world but in the light of my experience I think this water should either go to a holding tank or directed straight into sea. I also think that all other 'used' water should be regarded as black water, and sent to a holding tank. Cheers

[Kindle]

We have a grey water tank-the boat was built with it. The sinks and shower drain into it and then we have a large hand pump to pump it overboard. (Guess this totally overides the purpose of the tank )

The minus is that I am always worried about putting something in that will smell, even though it doesn't, and I don't really like to have pump it out frequently.

The big plus is that I end up with only one seacock for all of my drains and it is above the water line. Simple and safe.

As for your water tank problem, we have a similar situation. We do not feel comfortable using our tanks for drinking water but our two main watertanks are fiberglassed in to the hull and kind of make a watertight bulkhead at the waterline and we don't want to tear these out. We are researching two different options. 1) line the original tanks with bladder bags or 2) add a third tank and have two different fresh water systems. One for potable water and one for dish washing, showers etc.

[Bash]

Yes, I have a gray-water tank. It works far better than the shower sump it replaced.