Water tank hygene

Blue, I too will be watching this post with interest. With my water containers, I fill them up through a product we have here in South Australia called a "Pura Tap" Essentially a very, very fine filter, which is changed yearly. I do not remember the PPM on the filter, but it's not bad.
Anyway, I filled up 4 x 10 Litre units in February, and went to Mungo. Came back with 15 lites.
The weekend just gone, we went to the Teddy Bears Picnic, and yes......... I simply took the remaining 15 litres.......... slack eh!!
Smelt good, tasted good........... and 4 days on..........I'm still here.......... writing to you.
Admittedely, they are stored in my office......... no outside light for growth. The containers are 2 years old.

Cheers

Wolfie

Hey Blue,
I asked this a while ago with some interesting replies.
I have a fixed 90 ltr tank mounted under my GQ which runs off an electric pump. I have to say that with all the advice i received in the past, my solution was to just keep it full of water all the time. I use the water often and just top it up before i head off. I too am still here, water is clean as it can be. Never had anyone ill from drinking it. I hope your refering to metal tanks as thats what i have.
Cheers Angelo

let the containers dry out when not in use!
keep dust etc out while this is going on
rinse before use
and fill up

or take bottled water for drinking and refillable container for cooking and washing etc etc

hi blue,my understanding is that you need light for bacteria to grow, so if all your lines and tank is black.what happened when we all had water tanks.i just keep filling up each time we go away and so far no problem(6 trips per year).

cheers rob

Keep em full I was told - change with fresh rainwater (or best you have) just before you go on a trip. Drain and fill with fresh tap water when you get home (the chlorine levels here in SA are designed to kill bugs while in the tap lines - about 30 ppm I think -ideal for a tank sitting idle for a few weeks ! About to start using my new 120 L ss tank so will soon find out. The only issue I can forsee is the disappointment of having to top up good water with inferior water en route. Would be nice to have 2 x 60 instead of the 1 x 120 !

Hi All,
Try this link: http://www.fcs.uga.edu/pubs/current/FDNS-E-34-3.html

My Mum & Dad live on an aluminium boat (it's quite large not a 12' tinnie), Their water tanks are integral ie built into the hull and of the same material as the rest of the boat, nmarine grade aluminium.

Every couple of years they have to drain the tanks and give them a thorough scrub. Initially this was because the alunimium was breaking down. So they lined the tanks with a paint on epoxy (designed for the purpose) This too started to break down and taste the water. They now use a bladder similar to the wine cartons and this seems to work quite well.

I carry water in plastic jerry cans which I use for drinkking when I get home. In Broken Hill most of us buy bottled water for drinking anyway. Jerrys are stored with lids on loosly when not in use.

Never had a problem.

Other advantages with jerry cans is that if you get a leak you only lose one jerry and not all of your water storage. Tey are also easy to fill and you can go on a day trip away from your camp and carry water with you easily.

Duncs.

G'day Blue

I use a 65 litre stainless fixed tank. There are a variety of products available from WHITWORTHS MARINE, in Melbourne 556 Elizabeth St phone 03 93476511 boaties have had these problems for years and are far more advanced in this area than us. I use 'Tank Clean' twice a year and the water is fine. No problems in the past 3 years

regards jeff ,sydney

Well this might seem strange to some but here goes, i use pink stain it is a beer fermenter sterilizer, put it in by mixing it in a 5ltr jug pour it in then top with water leave it for a day then flush, the good thing about this stuff is it get rid of build up on the walls of the tank too.

Baz.

Blue,

There are a two issues to consider here. 1) presence of algae and bacteria and 2) contamination from chemicals which taint water supply.

Firstly, you need to look at the water tanks and associated fittings. The best water tanks are those that don't let in light such as stainless steel or black plastic. These materials also suffer minimal, if any, deterioration over time and hence there is minimal, if any, chemical contamination of your drinking water. Have a look caravan water tanks...these days they're all made from black plastic. Then there's the hoses to and from the tank. Hoses also suffer deterioration over time and can contaminate your water. Once again, caravans and good quality campertrailers etc use a food grade hose. That's the clear hosing usually reinforced with the mesh banding similar to garden hoses...health dept. also require it's use in commercial kitchen and the like. Even food grade hose gradually deteriorates (most manufacturers provide a 5 yr warranty against this) but is much, much better than your standard garden hose.

Which brings me to my next point...you should avoid filling your water tanks with the garden hose as this is notorious for causing your water to become tainted. Just look at the state of a garden hose that's been left outside for any length of time - you can clearly see the deterioration. There's a light blue coloured hose out now that is recommended for this purpose and is what most of the caravanners seem to be using now. It's easy to get at Bunnings and other hardwares and not overly expensive.

Next there's the fittings; these days most commonly used are plastic fittings although brass is probably better but a lot more expensive.

The point of all this is that whilst a non-light permitting tank is used to eliminate as far as possible algal growth, food grade hose (if used, which it should be) is clear so over time you will get a bit of algae growth in the hoses. And, even if you use food grade hose and don't fill up with your garden hose etc, some chemcial contamination (however minute) will occur.

So in summary, it is good hygienic practise to flush out your water tank and hoses on a semi-regular basis. We do ours before our main trip every year. It isn't necessary to go to the trouble to disconnect hoses, just make sure that you flush out the whole system and pump at least some of the sterilising mix through to the tap (a few pumps will do).

As to what you use to sterilise the system, there are plenty of choices. As said above you can buy special solutions from marine supplies, some caravan places and even commercial cleaning suppliers who carrying it for kitchen/bar purposes. Alternately you can try the following home remedies which are also widely used - bi-carb, vinegar or bleach. We've used all three of these but bleach is the best IMHO.

Our method is to make up a strong solution in a bucket (say 1 part bleach in 10 parts water) and pour this in through the filler and pump some up to the tap. We leave it in the tank for a day or two then fill up the tank with water, leave it another day or two, then drain the whole system, and flush it out with clean water before filling the tank for use.

Hope my comments have been of some help.

:o) Melissa