What water to the fresh water tank?

Dougbb

Dougbb

New Member
Mar 17, 2008
27
Gig Harbor, WA
Boat Info
1995 260 Sundancer
Camper canvass added incl. radar arch.
Engines
350 Mercruiser Mag MPI
Hey guys....I am about due to add fresh water to my 260DA Sundancer for the first time.

My boat is in a marina, and they supply a water supply I use with a hose for washing the boat down. Do you think it is alright to use that water to fill my fresh water holding system, or do you have other suggestiions?
 
Dougbb said:
Hey guys....I am about due to add fresh water to my 260DA Sundancer for the first time.

My boat is in a marina, and they supply a water supply I use with a hose for washing the boat down. Do you think it is alright to use that water to fill my fresh water holding system, or do you have other suggestiions?
Click to expand...

That's what I do, and it works fine. On the suggestion of one of the other guys here, I went to WalMart and got a filter that goes between the nozzle on the pulpit and the hose itself. It's blue, and I think it says it's intended for RV's, but it doesn't really matter - a hose is a hose.

I also installed one of those same filters between the onboard tank and water pump - just to clean it once more.

Those two filters (about $15 each), has really improved the water quality onboard.
 
Doug, since you and I probably get our water from the same city/well water system, you are probably OK. I bought an additive from West Marine that I put in each time I fill (an once for 20 gallons or so. Don't have the bottle with me at the moment, so don't hold me to it). We rarely "drink" the water straight out of the faucet, however. Not becasue it's unsafe, but because we have bottled water in the fridge. I do like the suggestion of the water filter for the hose - posted above.
 
Make sure they are not pumping your water out of the marina basin.
 
Filter not a bad idea but a hose is not a hose. Ever wonder why marine hoses are white? That's because they are for potable water where a green hose is made of "PVC's" and with hot summer sun transfere the chemicals into the water. Check the type of hose and compare one is safer to drink from than the other. Also no mater how new the boat you are going to have to treat the fresh water tank. They sell tabletes, or even common bleach (it's the chorine you need to keep the take free of alge). I use both. But I do agree I don't drink the water .
 
Definitely use the white marine garden hose to fill up your tank. It will not add any of that plastic chemical "flavor" to your water. Also never filter your water before it goes in the tank. If you do want to filter the water, do so after it leaves the tank, as in between the tank and water fixture. Removing the chlorine greatly reduces the "shelf life" of the water and will actually contribute to marine growth and bacteria in your water tank.
 
We clean it in the spring and use it heavily throughout the season. We just fill with regular city water and we drink it all the time. If it's cleaned and sanitized and you use it, it's not any different than drinking tap water. We don't use bottled water. On Sunday we empty the tank and then refill on Thursday night or Friday morning before heading to the launch. We do have an RV hose for filling the tank. We shock the hose with bleach periodically during the season too as well as letting it run for a long period of time to get rid of any critters that might be growing in the hose.
 
First we sanitize the tank before the beginning of the season. Then, through out the season we fill our tank with city water at our marina. We don't use any filters, but we don't drink this water. We always carry a gallon or two for coffee/tee and nuber of buttles as an additional refreshment to cold drinks. This works fine for us.

Alex.
 
We don't drink the water from boat holding tanks either. We clean them with bleach and flush them often. Bottled water and beer are the drinks of choice for the grown-ups. Kool-aide and juice for the little ones.
 
Ok guys, I got it. Clean the hose, get a filter, treat the tank....but in the end, drink the beer! Dang, I knew it was simple!! Thanks!
 
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