01/20/2008 10:03:39 AM
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SouthernCross
Member
Posts: 36
Joined: 12/30/2007
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We currently have water holding tanks on board (300 gal. I think). We use our boat extensively during the off season as a getaway floating cabin. The dock water we use to fill the tanks gets shut off in early Nov. and doesn't get turned on again until about mid March. We go on strict water rations.
I am contemplating modifying our system to pull water directly from the lake(Inexhaustable supply! Dale Hollow Lake in Tennesse) and use it by installing a system called "The Water Fixer" that can be viewed at www.sealandsanitation.com This uses a 3 stage system; 2 filters and UV purification.
I have numerous questions but will save them until I see if anyone has any experience with this system or ones like it. There are a couple of boats at the dock that use this but I thought I would see what everyone else has to say.
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16 X 80 1996 Summerset on Dale Hollow
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01/20/2008 11:44:34 AM
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peghall
Admiral
Posts: 404
Joined: 10/20/2002
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I went to the website and looked at it. If the system actually does
everything it claims to do, it seems to be the solution to your
water problem...but, if used in the slip, would prob'ly require a
LOT of maintenance..'cuz marinas are close to shore, heavily
impacted by runoff--and then there's all the water fowl poop...and
all those bilge pumps on other boats that automatically come on to
discharge water all over the marina that's almost always at least a
little oily. If the water in the marina is relatively
shallow--<50'--bottom vegetation and various pollutants that end
up the water...all of which make marinas considerably more polluted
than the waters away from 'em...<20' and silt could be a
problem. So if you use it in the slip, you're gonna be cleaning or
replacing filters and other parts almost continuously.
But if you always leave slip and get into clean DEEP water every
time you need to refill or top off your tanks, it looks like
it should work for you--IF it actually performs as advertised.
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Peggie Hall, Moderator
Specializing in marine sanitation since 1987, Author: "Get Rid of Boat Odors--A Guide to Marine Sanitation Systems and Other Sources of Aggravation and Odor."
[L=http://shop.sailboatowners.com/books/detail-books.htm?sku=66438&cat=1304[/L]
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01/20/2008 08:31:43 PM
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alreadygone
Admiral
Posts: 792
Joined: 02/07/2004
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Used a home made system last year that sounds similar. Standard G.E. brand water filter housing with a 5 micron element pre-filter, then into UV light chanber, then through a .5 (1/2) micron final filter. Used it to fill from lake on several different occasions last winter. Drank water, made coffee, etc. no one even mildly affected in any form. Planned to use it this weekend to fill tanks, but while disassembling for first of year purification (saturate the whole mess in bleach and install new filter cartridges) I managed to break the crystal bulb shield,,,,so now I've got to locate another one of these. Hopefully by next weekend.
Bob
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I carry a gun because it's too tiring carrying a cop.
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01/21/2008 06:42:36 AM
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stmbtwle
Admiral
Posts: 2142
Joined: 04/22/2003
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Now if I could just figure out a way to do that with SALT water....
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Willie She's a tired old barge but she's paid for! http://s71.photobucket.com/alb...p;current=ef324993.pbw
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01/21/2008 07:08:13 AM
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peghall
Admiral
Posts: 404
Joined: 10/20/2002
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Apparently you've never heard of watermakers.
Reverse osmosis water makers are common today on sailboats,
trawlers etc that cruise the oceans.
You'll find a zillion of 'em if you Google "marine watermakers."
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Peggie Hall, Moderator
Specializing in marine sanitation since 1987, Author: "Get Rid of Boat Odors--A Guide to Marine Sanitation Systems and Other Sources of Aggravation and Odor."
[L=http://shop.sailboatowners.com/books/detail-books.htm?sku=66438&cat=1304[/L]
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01/21/2008 08:26:50 AM
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stmbtwle
Admiral
Posts: 2142
Joined: 04/22/2003
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Yes I have... but I don't need one bad enough to pay that kind of money. They make a lot of sense though on long-range cruisers.
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Willie She's a tired old barge but she's paid for! http://s71.photobucket.com/alb...p;current=ef324993.pbw
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01/21/2008 09:47:30 AM
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peghall
Admiral
Posts: 404
Joined: 10/20/2002
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The prices for RO water makers have come down a lot in the last few
years. The big high capacity systems for large yachts are still
pricy...but smaller ones are actually pretty reasonable
now....reasonable enough that even owners of 30' sailboats will
spend the money for 'em.
The big question is whether you can use one in coastal waters
without a cost to maintain that becomes prohibitive. Sea water in
open ocean is clean...but coastal waters aren't.
I'd do some research to find out what's out there before ruling the
idea out...you might be pleasantly surprised.
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Peggie Hall, Moderator
Specializing in marine sanitation since 1987, Author: "Get Rid of Boat Odors--A Guide to Marine Sanitation Systems and Other Sources of Aggravation and Odor."
[L=http://shop.sailboatowners.com/books/detail-books.htm?sku=66438&cat=1304[/L]
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01/21/2008 10:25:04 AM
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campo5474
Member
Posts: 184
Joined: 05/09/2007
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I have installed "the water fixer" on my boat. Let me be real honest. Its a good system and it does everything it claims. Now let me tell you what they dont tell you. My boat is in south Louisiana, as a result we have"muddy water" The filters are somewhat pricey and have to be replace every two-three days. I went down to Home-Depot and bought the large Filter "whole house" filter cans and filters. Now I can get about 2 weeks out of a $70.00 worth of filters. This is for a total system of 4 filters. One large filter can is just a 50 micron paper filter, the second is a 30 micron carbon filter (for taste, odor, chlorine, etc.) then it feeds the water fixer unit which already has two filters. If this unit operates in shallow water and sucks in mud, After a few days it will stink pretty bad. Now after saying all that, I like my system once I added the extra filters and it works great but it is high maintenance with changing water filters and I dont have to worry about filling water tanks and rationing water.
If you are boating in relatively clean water, then you may not need to make any modifications.
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Sincerely,
Jason
Miss Sandi
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01/21/2008 11:20:36 AM
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Skallywag
Member
Posts: 154
Joined: 09/22/2003
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OK....couple of questions. Could someone give me a range of gallons as opposed to 'days' of operation? A point I'm trying to ascertain is; does it become less 'high' maintenance, if the boat is taken to the center of the lake when utilizing the water unit? How much more usage would one glean from this procedure?
Thanks,
Skally
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Chance Favors The Prepared Mind!
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01/21/2008 01:19:14 PM
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peghall
Admiral
Posts: 404
Joined: 10/20/2002
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The deeper and cleaner the water, the less the filters will have to
trap...so the less often they'll require cleaning or
replacement.
I would NOT use it as a replacement for an endless supply of dock
water...I'd only use it--in deep clean water--to refill or top off
the water tanks. That will give you water at the dock and away from
the dock.
If you follow that advice, you would need to know the the GPH in
order to know how long it
takes to replace the water in your tanks.
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Peggie Hall, Moderator
Specializing in marine sanitation since 1987, Author: "Get Rid of Boat Odors--A Guide to Marine Sanitation Systems and Other Sources of Aggravation and Odor."
[L=http://shop.sailboatowners.com/books/detail-books.htm?sku=66438&cat=1304[/L]
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01/21/2008 02:47:02 PM
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Skallywag
Member
Posts: 154
Joined: 09/22/2003
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Got all that Peg, but, the residential 'whole house' filters list a general usage in gallons before required changing of the filters. I'm liking to know if this 'Water Fixer' makes that info available.
Skally
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Chance Favors The Prepared Mind!
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01/21/2008 03:37:37 PM
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peghall
Admiral
Posts: 404
Joined: 10/20/2002
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I suggest you ask the vendor. Southern Cross (who started this
thread) included their website address in his post...and
there's a toll free # on their home page.
-------------------------
Peggie Hall, Moderator
Specializing in marine sanitation since 1987, Author: "Get Rid of Boat Odors--A Guide to Marine Sanitation Systems and Other Sources of Aggravation and Odor."
[L=http://shop.sailboatowners.com/books/detail-books.htm?sku=66438&cat=1304[/L]
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01/21/2008 04:33:30 PM
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Skallywag
Member
Posts: 154
Joined: 09/22/2003
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I'm pretty sure the site says 1.4 to 4.0 depending the model. At least I think that is what I read on their site.
Someone has already installed the chingadero and I was interested in "Actual" usage rather than the sales propaganda at their web-site.
I didn't think I was out of line in asking, but from now on I'll simply exhaust every possible means prior to bothering any of you here. This forum can serve as a last ditch effort for me in the future.
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Chance Favors The Prepared Mind!
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01/21/2008 06:19:53 PM
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campo5474
Member
Posts: 184
Joined: 05/09/2007
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The number of gallons to be treated will always be directly related to the water source. The whole house filters that I bought have a battery operated indicator light that tells you when it time to change them. What area are you boating in?
To answer your question, waiting to turn it on in the middle of the lake will make it last longer. Here is the deal though, if you dont use it for a long time, algae and microscopic little things will start to grow in your filters. Of course the light will supposedly kill them, i just figure i dont need the extra protein, lol. I put a tee in my so when I get back to the dock I can hook up city water to flush it out. About once a year I put Clorox bleach in the system to purify it, then I use a small swimming pool test kit ($5) to be sure the chlorine level is back to a usage level before I use it again.
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Sincerely,
Jason
Miss Sandi
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01/21/2008 06:48:56 PM
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alreadygone
Admiral
Posts: 792
Joined: 02/07/2004
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As I mentioned, this same system can be "engineered" at home for a fraction of the cost. Mine is based on a "Sunlight Systems" UV chamber that water passes through. Before UV treatment I filter it through a (5) five micron home type filter in a standard GE housing. Then UV. Then into a standard housing with a (.5) 1/2 micron filter. 5 micron collects large particles that might "hide" living organisms from the UV, then UV kills EVERYTHING living. 1/2 micron filter removes their dead bodies! This whole homemade system cost under $500.00 including first years filter cartridges. Am using my lake water washdown system (which has a 10 micron cartridge in line by the way) to supply water to UV/filtration system. Due to my ham fisted, moronic inattention to detail I broke the quartz glass tube that keeps UV bulb from actually getting wet this past Saturday. Now I've got to wait till another arrives from NJ, hopefully by this weekend.
My primary 5 micron filter gets restricted after 2-3 hundred gallons, but at $6. at HD who gives a $h!+ . Change the 1/2 micron yearly, because there's no practical way to keep it sterile.
Bob
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I carry a gun because it's too tiring carrying a cop.
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01/22/2008 09:54:27 AM
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Skallywag
Member
Posts: 154
Joined: 09/22/2003
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Thanks Campo...I'm in central CA at a 1M af reservoir. Currently there is NO well/city water at the marina or on the docks. We have amenities on the boat we can't use, like the shower for one, and we boil water to do dishes, and carry on bottled water for coffee and drinking. We have 150 gallon storage for fresh water and we are looking into possibilities other than a water maker system.
I have a used well pump I thought about fixing to a 50 foot hose and pumping from 40 feet below the surface in the middle of the lake and running through a filter then into the tank. I could test that water and see what needs to happen from there.
Thanks again Campo....
Peg, If I ruffled your hackles, I'm sorry. I was brought up to exhaust my resources prior to asking for help from others. You can pretty much be assured I have done so before I post for assistance here. Again, I apologize if I upset you.
Skally
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Chance Favors The Prepared Mind!
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01/22/2008 10:18:22 AM
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campo5474
Member
Posts: 184
Joined: 05/09/2007
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Skally,
I lived in Los Angeles for quite a few years, I long to see the crystal clear water you guys have over there again. I would think in that enviroment the water fixer would be perfect for you. Our water here is really a dark brown caused by lots and lots of mud. Just an fyi, when I bought my unit I had a problem with my u/v light and the guy from the water fixer was very helpful so far as to send me a new unit no questions ask. I was impressed with the service.
My opinion, I dont think you will be disappointed with it.
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Sincerely,
Jason
Miss Sandi
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01/22/2008 10:54:21 AM
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Skallywag
Member
Posts: 154
Joined: 09/22/2003
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Thanks Campo, we're looking into it now.
Skally
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Chance Favors The Prepared Mind!
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01/22/2008 08:40:47 PM
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peghall
Admiral
Posts: 404
Joined: 10/20/2002
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You didn't ruffle my feathers, but I was surprised by your reaction
to my suggestion that you talk to the mfr...not just read
their promotional literature, but TALK to them--tell them YOUR
needs and ask the questions to find out whether the product will
meet them...'cuz mfrs don't want to generate negative word of mouth
from owners by talking people into buying product that doesn't meet
their needs, so unless they're really stupid, they'll give you
honest answers that are likely to be a LOT more useful than the
experiences of other owners who may or may not have needs that
totally different from yours or who use it in completely different
conditions.
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Peggie Hall, Moderator
Specializing in marine sanitation since 1987, Author: "Get Rid of Boat Odors--A Guide to Marine Sanitation Systems and Other Sources of Aggravation and Odor."
[L=http://shop.sailboatowners.com/books/detail-books.htm?sku=66438&cat=1304[/L]
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01/23/2008 09:15:45 AM
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Skallywag
Member
Posts: 154
Joined: 09/22/2003
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Thanks Peg. I still like the water makers more. This would be long term, even if we trade up, so I'm really leaning that way. Thinking after 5 years, money wise, it's a push.
Thanks again,
Skally
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Chance Favors The Prepared Mind!
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