T&T: Drinking water

[Ken Bloomfield]

Hello Chuck and Susan,

I have spent some pleasant time on your website and your postings, and 
normally agree fully with everything I see.  As regards your advice on 
drinking water however, I would like to make one cautionary note.  If 
one assumes that normally our fellow cruisers are filling their tanks at 
marinas that supply water from the local domestic source (i.e. city 
water), then it likely has been chlorinated, and for good reason.  
Filtering water to remove particulates at any point is fine, but 
filtering water with charcoal filter may remove chlorine and thus you 
are putting a potential problem into your water tanks.  You may end up 
with nasty critters growing therein.

On our boat, I too wanted the water to taste better, and I achieved this 
by installing an under-sink main faucet filtration system that filters 
particulates and has charcoal filtration as well.  This I plumbed into 
the galley sink cold water tape, and this is where we get drinking water 
on the boat.  It has made a major difference, and the water taste is 
good.  I also did put an in-line filter (refrigerator type) in line with 
the water feed to the ice-maker to provide ice-cubes with no bad taste 
as well.  Can't be polluting one's George Dickle now, can we?

Ken Bloomfield
M/V Tellico Lady, 50' Marine Trader Walkaround
Maryville, TN

Chuck and Susan wrote:
> Here is a set up for filtering and softening the water that goes into our
> tanks. We have been using this set up for over a year now and took on water
> along the way from Houston to South Carolina and the difference it has made is
> amazing.
> http://trawler-beach-house.blogspot.com/2008/12/still-hard-at-it.html
> It is a combination of a charcoal filter found at any hardware store and a
> rechargeable water softener.
> Chuck
>
> To follow our adventures, go to
>
> http://trawler-beach-house.blogspot.com/
>
> http://sea-trek.blogspot.com/
>
> --- On Fri, 4/3/09, pchapes at aol.com <pchapes at aol.com> wrote:
>
>  
>
> We're looking forward to starting the Loop in May and the Admiral is wondering
> about the quality of drinking water along the way. I've tried to assure her
> it's not a problem but she wants to hear it from you the experts. Thanks in
> advance.
> Peter & Didi Chapin