water hose and drinking water

[MarkSF]

Me too, and even with the drinking water hose I'll let the water run for a minute before beginning to top off the tanks.

It's a good idea to store your hose out of the sun.

We have an old PVC garden hose at home, that if left out in the sun, imbues the water with a strong acidic smell that actually burns the throat. Not something I'd want to be drinking.

[LakeSuperior]

Originally Posted by sailorboy1

the hose on the dock I bet isn't approved for drinking either

Having worked in a marina during college days (many years ago) I avoid dock hoses like the plague. Think plugged heads, flushing holding tanks, etc.

I have a dedicated hose for fresh water and that is all it is used for.

[Celestialsailor]

Originally Posted by sailorboy1

as long as you flush the hose first you will be fine, the water isn't gong to pickup something bad enough to matter in the time it flows though the hose when filling your tank

the hose on the dock I bet isn't approved for drinking either

I'm from this school of thought also. Run the water 30 seconds should purge the hose of any real nasties. As mentioned earlier, as kids with always drank from garden hoses. As far as trace elements of lead, remember that for years most of us drank from soldered (lead) copper pipes or PVC pipe. I have a carbon filter on my "drinking only" faucet in the boat. So generally before I fill my tanks, I purge the hose by a quick deck wash down.

[zeehag]

i noticed the drinking water--white--hose, here in tropics, is not desirable as algae grow easily in the bright hose. the darker hoses are more practical.also one uses double filters here to fill tanks, so the color of hose is irrelevant.

btw--30 seconds running time does not rid hose of algae. ask me how i know....hahahahahahaa

[Celestialsailor]

Originally Posted by zeehag

i noticed the drinking water--white--hose, here in tropics, is not desirable as algae grow easily in the bright hose. the darker hoses are more practical.also one uses double filters here to fill tanks, so the color of hose is irrelevant.

btw--30 seconds running time does not rid hose of algae. ask me how i know....hahahahahahaa

Another reason I put an once or two of bleach in the tank when refill.

[WebWench]

Originally Posted by GordMay

Water from PVC hoses, especially those /w brass fittings, may contain lead, endocrine disruptors (like BPA) and neurotoxins.

This is very true! Drinking from a garden hose once in a while probably won't hurt you but long term it could be a problem.
PVC used to make garden hoses probably can contain all sorts of fillers (chemicals and minerals) as well as non sanitary junk. Depending on the acidity or alkalinity of the water you move through the hose these can leach out and into your water tanks. This is why they make and sell those more expensive....drinking water...white with the blue stripe ....hoses.

Hoses that lay out in the sun will also exhibit chemical breakdown. PVC hoses have lots of "cheap fillers" in them....you take a big chance drinking from it!

[zeehag]

cs--that bleachie thing here with this wtf in hoses doesnt get better from clorox..it gets better with avoidance and much prefiltering. once gotten, it takes cycling of one gallon bleach per 10 water in tank for a week, let sit.
then drain then fill to 20 gal with water--is still bleachy--drain do that until water no longer bleachy, then do that over with 2 gal of vinegar to the 20 gal let sit and drain until no more smell of vinegar. then with double filters, fill tanks. is best to avoid algae inside tanks in first place .

[Cheechako]

I considered one of those expanding hoses, the reviews on t hem are terrible, evidently they are only good for a few uses before something fails. Hopefully some of the newer models are better...?

personally I wouldnt worry about water flowing thru a hose for a few seconds pciking up contaminants...

[svmariane]

Or run all your water through a filter/UV thingy before it goes into your tank(s). Ref: Ultraviolet Water Filters And Purifiers Model 1000

[sailorchic34]

Just to clarify, PVC hose and pipe as a rule is 100% fine for potable water. Gee many/most city water mains are c900 PVC. The main problem with PVC is it does get brittle over time.

Any hose or pipe will have bio-burden/ cell growth over time. Same is true for city water mains BTW.

If you flush the hose for 30-60 seconds any bio or mineral contaminates will be flushed out. For heavy growth, rinse and hold a 3% clorox solution in the hose for 2 hours and flush. hydrogen peroxide could also be used.

Lead in fittings now a day is a very small problem. Lead leaching from solder was a problem, but the rate of leaching is very slow and far more a problem where water has sat in the line for days on end. That gives time for the lead concentration to build up to high levels. So flushing generally will rinse the lead away, even when using tin/lead solder that was quite common in homes built before 1975 ish.

[Celestialsailor]

Originally Posted by zeehag

cs--that bleachie thing here with this wtf in hoses doesnt get better from clorox..it gets better with avoidance and much prefiltering. once gotten, it takes cycling of one gallon bleach per 10 water in tank for a week, let sit.
then drain then fill to 20 gal with water--is still bleachy--drain do that until water no longer bleachy, then do that over with 2 gal of vinegar to the 20 gal let sit and drain until no more smell of vinegar. then with double filters, fill tanks. is best to avoid algae inside tanks in first place .

When I first started refitting the boat, I soon discovered a mustiness in the 75 gallon hull tank. Now matter how many times I used bleach the mustiness came back. So I used a full pack of pool shock. Went out for a bouncy sail and back to the slip in 4 hours. My eyes watered because the solution was obviously 1000 times stronger than it was suppose to be. In fact most of the granules had not dissolved because the water could not suspend any more. Four more 75 gallon rise outs and it was smelling less like chlorine. Lots and lots of crud and debris though...all white and dead. I have not had the problem since. I use an ounce or 2 now and all is sweet. I have about 2000 gallons on my carbon filter which is long overdue and will change out this week. You're right...bleach alone did not do it but a good maintenance.
By the way...When I coil my hose from a water souce, I empty the water from the hose...Very important if you don't want to re-introduce bugs to the system.

[roverhi]

Had one of the West Marine potable water hoses. UV ate it up after a couple of years. If you buy one, put it away in a dark place after use.

Regular garden hoses have a rubbery taste. A charcoal filter may or may not take that taste out. Having drunk 'boat water' from almost every conceivable source for the past 50 years, don't think it's going to kill me anytime soon. A little bleach in the tank and a household charcoal filter takes care of the bugs and taste.

[thinwater]

Compromise.

I carry a 50' white hose that I used 100% of the time for drinking water.

I carry a collapsible hose that is ONLY used for wash down extension when the marina tap is far. If the white hose won't reach the tank, generally, I wait for another stop.

In this way I can carry less white hose and the hose is short and easy to handle.

[RDW]

I ended up returning the hose. It was $70 for 75 foot hose, not approved for potable water and would partially collapse when free flowing, i.e. not s nozzle to maintain a back pressure.
RDW

[Cheechako]

thanks for closing the loop on this one! So the hose wants to retract on it's own with water flowing?