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**Wotname** · 04-12-2020, 04:16

Quote:

Originally Posted by John De Bree

I must be missing something too. Because here in Australia a lot of us non city people in the country are on rain water tanks and we never add anything to our water. And it's the same thing on my boat every 10years like at home we wash our the tank. We all seem very healthy so I'm confused why you want to put anything in at all.

As far as I can tell, it is a USA thing. As you know, we have way more things down under to worry about than what is in the water tank.

sailorboy1 · 04-12-2020, 05:29

Quote:

Originally Posted by OrinocoFlo

Seems very silly to me to be adding chlorine to watermaker water, which is basically the same thing as bottled water purchased from the store. Do you advise adding chlorine to bottled water? After living half the year for over ten years on RO water, we’ve never added anything and have had zero problems. The tanks get a good cleaning every five years or so and thats it, and we use a Britta pitcher to get rid of the tank taste.

Well that is a .......... argument really

sailorboy1 · 04-12-2020, 05:39

While I expected a little flames on the thread i sure didn't foresee what it became.

I am just going to go the low dose bleach to get a small free chlorine level in the water tanks. I know the small carbon drinking water filter I have takes that out so there isn't any reason to not believe the large one on the WM flush line wouldn't. If it kills a membrane every 3 years so what. That is low cost in the big picture and way less to me than any water related illness.

Moontide · 04-12-2020, 07:12

Did not read all the prior responses, but everything I have every seen says don't run any water with chlorine through the membranes, including any city water and presumably any RO tank water that chlorine was added to. My system has a carbon filter installed for both making and separate one for flushing. The pros I asked still said do not mix RO and city water and no chlorinated water through the membranes.

One solution is to not make excessive amounts of water so that it is not left sitting in the tank too long. "Rotating stock" as it were.

sailorboy1 · 04-12-2020, 10:09

The whole point of the carbon filter is to “not run chlorinated water through the membrane”

Training Wheels · 04-12-2020, 10:13

Plus, if you add bleach to the tank to bring it to 2 - 4 ppm after you flush the watermaker, when you make water the next time the ppm will be less as it will be diluted by the new water added to the tank.

robert sailor · 04-12-2020, 10:43

As others have said bleach is murder on aluminum water tanks, fine with plastic or fiberglass.

We have been cruising with a watermaker for many years and all of it in the tropics. At the beginning of the season I clean the tanks using peroxide and thereafter I add nothing to the tanks..if we are cruising in areas like the Marshall Islands where you are cruising all year , non stop,then I clean the tanks once a year.

We have never had any issues with our drinking water nor the membrane in our watermaker. Our membrane is 6 or 7 years old and still working perfectly.

If you are really concerned about perfect water buy one of those UV light filters that go under your sink, they pretty much kill anything in the water.

Many people divert the RO water to separate plastic containers...like jerry jugs and or similar and use those to replenish their drinking water..never drawing water to drink from the tanks but use tank water for cooking and cleaning.

OrinocoFlo · 04-12-2020, 21:06

We’ve been drinking RO tank water for many years without a single problem, it tastes great when run through a Britta. Wouldn’t consider adding anything to it.

UFO · 04-12-2020, 21:57

Never liked bleach in my water - Even the Chlorine in drinking water, I'd much rather use Hydrogen Peroxide:

https://plumbingsales.com.au/puretec...SABEgL4z_D_BwE

Kd9truck · 05-12-2020, 04:45

Choto, when I bought my current vessel 3 years ago, I replaced all hoses (black, gray, hot, cold, freash supply, raw AC lines, my vessel was only 7 years old and it spent the first 3 years in the Caribbean.
I took a section to my local Jeanneau Dealer, it is a family run and owner business there are 7 participants, 7 vessels. I brought the section to The supervising member, he said running bleach of any concentration though the lines strips the hose of the inside coating that keeps said lines/hose from permeating, the softness and flexability is desirable in boats but also this type of hose is porous when the bleach strips it’s inside coating. Gives the nasty a place to grip and take hold.
@Run the water or leave it empty” were his words of advice, sanitize with vinegar if need be but keep the Ayer running when you do so.
So no I do not put bleach in the system, also I replaced all hot and cold with pex
A flexible non porous alternative

sailorboy1 · 06-12-2020, 09:10

So I added a capful of bleach to a 50 gal tank and that water is a lot better now.

Of course this thread drift as it wasn't the question. So will see over the next 2 months if the carbon filter protects the membrance.

Scubaseas · 06-12-2020, 09:21

Quote:

Originally Posted by sailorboy1

So I added a capful of bleach to a 50 gal tank and that water is a lot better now.

Of course this thread drift as it wasn't the question. So will see over the next 2 months if the carbon filter protects the membrance.

I use test strips to check the water coming out of the charcoal filter before I back flush the membrane. Carbon filters work very well but they also don't last forever. I have my filter rigged just for drinking water (on the galley sink cold) and teed off that line for back flushing. You can get strips from Wally world, Home Depot, pool supply, Amazon etc.. I'm with you on bleach now and then. I shock the system once a year and regularly add bleach to keep algae at bay. I suppose if I replaced everything in the system I could get away with no bleach but why? A little late in my life to worry about errant chemical use after a life in the auto repair/auto body business.