Fresh water tank vs drinking water ?

[Russtj60]

Originally Posted by harryn

Hi, my BS is in chemical engineering and I do have substantial experience with purifying and treating water.

For people who have good access to fresh water, such as an RV campground, this will not make any sense to think about. For people who camp more "off grid" and in desert conditions, this might be interesting.

Just for accuracy, Navy surface ships use Evaporative Distilling Plants or Reverse Osmosis Units and brominate the water. The Navy looked at VCD plants and, in fact, installed some on Surface Ships, but they were a huge maintenance problem. RO is now widely used. In the "old" days we used Calcium Hypochlorite to sanitize the tanks and it was dangerous stuff requiring special handling. We still use it if we have special tank sanitization issues. IMHO, I would look at Reverse Osmosis equipment if I wanted absolutely safe water. If I was ever thinking about reusing grey water RO is the first thing I would consider. That said, I sanitize my tank once a year and treat it as potable water. I have a inline carbon filter that I use for "peace of mind".

[twogypsies]

Originally Posted by harryn

For people who have good access to fresh water, such as an RV campground, this will not make any sense to think about. For people who camp more "off grid" and in desert conditions, this might be interesting.

Hmmm..we've full-timed "off grid" hundreds of times...perhaps thousands during our 16 years of full-timing ... in the deserts, mountains and all states, including Alaska and into Yukon and Canada..all the way across.

Absolutely no issues with getting safe water and drank from our tanks. We filtered the water going in with a good filter. We didn't have to set up a water treatment plant.

[Ted Lambert]

I have a Nephew who owns a bottled water company. He has taken me through the process of what Is done in the process. First off he has 1000 sq ft dedicated to his equipment. With that said he told me all about filtering systems used under the sink.
I can't get into specifics as I would have a hard time repeating the the scientific terms he used to explain the process to me.
All I can say is since using bottled water for just the taste alone never mind the other issues.
I only use tap water for cooking or or washing.
We only drink bottled water regardless where we are. We buy it in returnable 5 gal plastic jugs.
It's to each and everyone's choice !

[CountryFit]

i am in the camp of buying drinking water. pretty sure it won't hurt drinking water from the fresh tank, but i just feel safer to drink (and cook with) water from commercial vendors like walmart, safeway, etc. i installed a 5 stage ro system in our b&s home so i know the differences between 5 stage purified water and city water.

i keep two 5 gallon water jugs on rv and fill them as needed. 10 gallons will last for about 7-10 days. walmart and most major grocery stores sell refills for about $.40 per gallon.

recommend one of these jugs:

[UTTransplant]

Assuming the water your darter drank was truly potable water, designed for drinking, you had a public facilities fail. It could happen at your house too, but the fact that it didnt says more about how rare it is than anything else. Note that not all water at campgrounds is designated as potable; some needs additional purification prior to drinking.

We have been camping for 35+ years, and we always use campground water if it is labeled potable. Call me an old crunchy hippie, but the amount of waste generated from disposable water bottles just kills me! If you do decide to use purchased water, please use large refillable containers.

[twogypsies]

At Grand Canyon Nat'l Park they do not sell bottles of water anymore. Bring your own refillable bottle and they have many water stations available to refill it.

Bottled water is a huge environmental issue in this country and it's not necessary.

Here's the park's take on it:

https://www.nps.gov/grca/planyourvis...g_stations.htm

[ByeTheWay]

I have a 100gallon FW tank, which when boondocking can last 2+ weeks. And I treat my FW tank w/ Chlorine annual. Plus I use the following filter system.
Going into the FW tank, I use: a 5 Micron Sediment filter (Model: RV-SED5) to catch dirt, sand, mineral or metal particles followed by a Pentair CFB-PB10, which reduces lead, cysts, sediment, chlorine and bad taste. The sediment filter is in a clear canister so that I can tell when it needs to be changed.

At the kitchen tap I use: Omnipure K5667
A 25 micron filter disc to remove sediment, granular carbon for taste-and-odor
improvement, and it includes KDF to make it bacteriostatic to prevent stagnation during storage.

If I were to winterize the coach, I’d remove these filters first.

I get these at: RV Water Filter Store: Standard Filter Canisters for Whole RV There may be cheaper vendors, but this vendor has given me good free advice, which I find worth the extra money. And using this system I have never had a problem.

[Atom Ant]

Wow, that's incredible duration on that 100 gal. I don't think I could do it.

[twogypsies]

Originally Posted by Atom Ant

Wow, that's incredible duration on that 100 gal. I don't think I could do it.

We did exactly that, also. We could boondock for two weeks and our grey/black tanks would fill before using up the fresh water. We don't dump on the ground. It's called conservation. It CAN be done. We use the fresh water tank for drinking and cooking.

[Atom Ant]

Originally Posted by twogypsies

We did exactly that, also. We could boondock for two weeks and our grey/black tanks would fill before using up the fresh water. We don't dump on the ground. It's called conservation. It CAN be done. We use the fresh water tank for drinking and cooking.

Well, I'd have to add a shower or two in there over two weeks. why not just bottled water for drinking and cooking, and the tank for flushing and shower?

[twogypsies]

Originally Posted by Atom Ant

Well, I'd have to add a shower or two in there over two weeks. why not just bottled water for drinking and cooking, and the tank for flushing and shower?

We showered every other day and sponged bathed inbetween. Bottled water for 16 years of full-timing for drinking and cooking? That's 5,840 days of hauling water, paying for it and dealing with the empties. Not us. The tank water is just fine and readily available.

[Sehc]

I'm a retired Licensed Water Treatment Operator. Municipal water systems have full time operators. The system is inspected and water is tested daily, if not more often. Camp Ground systems are inspected and tested monthly if that often. I know of some that are only required to test at the beginning of the season. There is a Public Water System near my home base that serves a manufactured home community. They tested monthly, and now have a boil water requirement for the last 6 months.

[Atom Ant]

Originally Posted by twogypsies

We showered every other day and sponged bathed inbetween. Bottled water for 16 years of full-timing for drinking and cooking? That's 5,840 days of hauling water, paying for it and dealing with the empties. Not us. The tank water is just fine and readily available.

Well before we get an a conservation rant - by bottled water it could even mean 5-6 gallon jugs of tap water. It just seemed easier to me when you described it to pour water from a jug or bottle for cooking and save tank water for shower and flushing because its hard to shower and flush with bottled or jug water. But, the extent of me ever worrying about it is 7 days maybe. I have no desire to live that life for 16 years, or 16 days.

[gemert]

Originally Posted by sdennislee

Drink from our FW tank all the time.

I sanitize it once a year with chlorine. I'm not 100% convinced it's necessary but makes DW feel better.

We have a whole house water filter that I change out annually.

Never had water go bad.

I do you use bottled water for making coffee, only because I'm down to one cup a day and I don't want to risk my only cup tasting bad, superstition mostly.

A Navy Vet only drinking one cup of coffee a day??? I bet you could stick a spoon in the middle and have it stick straight up! I've cut down to 6 cups a day now myself.
Another Navy Vet!!