Water Purification On Boats

[Seeratlas]

Well, you've sold me on the idea. Added that to my "to do list" on the new boat

seer

Originally Posted by JeanneP

David, we've done it both ways. The diameter of the hoses are a bit smaller than dock hoses, so it's not that much slower than going from hose directly into the tanks. But it also works quite well when siphoning from jerry jugs, which was our usual means of getting fresh water to the boat - I don't think that it slows the water flow down much, if at all.

[Flywest]

I run a Citor brand reverse osmosis desalinator on the island for all our freshwater needs.

We pump about 6000 - 12000 litres of seawater a day and produce about 240 - 480 litres (~60 - 120 US Gallons) of freshwater from that amount of seawater.

There are two recommended cleaning methods.

If it has been shut off for weeks at a time and had the opportunity to grow algae etc then sodium metabisulphate is the treatement to use.

If it is just a periodic cleaning of the membranes every 2 - 3 weeks - then citric acid is the recommended cleaning agent.

Never heard of this other stuff.

Supposedly colloidal silver is good for you in small doses......but then so is arsenic!

Good luck whatever you choose. Middle of the oceans a bad place to run out of fresh water.

Cheers

[Charlie Jones]

Bleach for clothes and Chlorine to put in swimming pools is the same stuff- just a different concentration. Sodium Hypochlorite.

In the bleach for clothes concentration it's 6% SH to 94% inert ingredients- probably water.

In urban water treatment plants they use gaseous chlorine, which is BAD stuff.

Ionization has been touted as a way to not need chlorine in swimming pools in the past, but has generally been found to only be partly successful- they have reverted to a mix- ionization AND chlorination

I'm with JeanneP- we do almost exactly as she does, and have for quite a while. Just don't over do the bleach when treating the tanks, except when "Shocking" them. It 's effective and safe. Our only difference is that our under counter filter is a stainless steel housing and filtration system that came off a commercial airliner, rather than a house hold unit. Nice to have relatives in the airline industry

[Auzzee]

Hi Charlie, nice to hear from you again. Is your filter the SeagullIV. I have been looking at these and wonder if the increased cost over the domestic unit is justified. They certainly come well credentialled.

Cheers

David.

[Tony]

I received an email from the manufacturing chemist in reply to the question regarding aluminium tanks, as follows:

1) I do not recommend the use of aluminium for keeping water. The reason is that it is believed that aluminium ions are toxic to humans over a long period, and promotes conditions such as Alzheimer's.

2) AQUA SALVEO will not corrode aluminium tanks as the ionic contents are very low. Oxidization of aluminium would be faster with normal oxygen in the air at the air-water interface.

[MMNETSEA]

Hi Tony,

Unfortunately many boats have Aluminium storage water tanks - certainly many Aluminium boats also have integral tanks made of Aluminium.

In the filtration stage of the purification of water Aluminium in the form of

Sulphate: the common form being Al2(SO4)3•18H2O. Aluminium sulphate is mainly used in water treatment , being widely applied as a coagulant for clarification of water for industrial and drinking purposes. What it does is to flocculate the solid small particles into larger lumps in order that these may be trapped in the initial filter stage - prior to disinfecting and taste removal stages.

This web site provides information of the question of drinking water that has been treated with Aluminium Sulphate :-

http://www.csiro.au/news/mediarel/mr1998/mr98258.html

It is almost impossible to avoid ingesting aluminium which is bioavailable all around us - aluminium is the Earth's third most common element and occurs naturally in food and water. Most of the aluminium we consume in our food and drinking water is not absorbed and goes straight through our bodies to be excreted in faeces.

By the way the jury is still out on Alzheimer and Aluminium being a contributer to the affliction.

As an aside - Yachties should keep a supply of Aluminium Sulphate powder in their medical kit - for treating stings from jellyfish venom : add the powder to water in a ratio of about one to one in volume -- apply to the affected area -- wash off after 1/2 hour or so -- apply again if necessary. A good scientific paper on treating the stings :- http://www.mja.com.au/public/issues/184_07...ot11135_fm.html

Regards

Richard

[AquaSalveo]

Aqua Salveo will soon be available in Australia. aquasalveoau@gmail.com Thanks

[Steady Hand]

A product that promises so much should have easily found proof such as verifiable testing from independent and reputable testing labs. And I mean independent.

I searched the web and found nothing more than business promotion or marketing statements about ISO certification (which has nothing to do with efficacy of product). ISO certification and approval by some business marketing boards does not prove efficacy.

Aside from anecdotal statements, and positive blurbs, where is the proof that the solution is effective?
-----------

On the other hand, chlorine is readily available, relatively cheap, and proven highly effective. And chlorine is found everywhere and from many sources, not just a single manufacturer.

I will stick to chlorine, until I see independent lab results or rigorous testing by independent health organizations that prove that the new solution is better.