Suggestions for Water Tank additive?
- Thread starter Cruzzor
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- additive suggestions tank
Rob Hessenius
Inactive Member
Lots of Products
Steve- There are plenty of products, i.e, Sweetwater, Aquabon, Aqua Tabs. Aqua Clean by Starbright is what I use in my tank. I use my H20 just like how you plan on. You should find all of the above in WM or maybe WalMart in the RV section. Rob Hessenius
Steve- There are plenty of products, i.e, Sweetwater, Aquabon, Aqua Tabs. Aqua Clean by Starbright is what I use in my tank. I use my H20 just like how you plan on. You should find all of the above in WM or maybe WalMart in the RV section. Rob Hessenius
Chris Miller
Sustaining Member
We had a thread about bleaching a while back... should come up in a search. Then regular use of any of the usual products (I use the tabs) should keep it pretty fresh. One thing I have found is using vodka rather than anti-freeze in the tanks when winterizing really helps keep them fresher in the spring.
I also pump the bleaching water in the head & holding tank to avoid environmental damage.
Chris
I also pump the bleaching water in the head & holding tank to avoid environmental damage.
Chris
tenders
Innocent Bystander
Vodka -- Ha! I was just thinking about doing the same thing.
I already know what kind. Nothing less than Grey Goose in MY tank, thank you very much. (not)
But...how much vodka?
And with all the sturm und drang about what ethanol in fuel is doing to marine engines, is there any cause for concern that it will damage freshwater systems?
I already know what kind. Nothing less than Grey Goose in MY tank, thank you very much. (not)
But...how much vodka?
And with all the sturm und drang about what ethanol in fuel is doing to marine engines, is there any cause for concern that it will damage freshwater systems?
Chris Miller
Sustaining Member
it's been used as water tank antifreeze for a long time by boaters- I wouldn't ever use it to winterize the diesel. I use about 2-3 of the "handle" size jugs and find it plenty to get a little through the pumps and fixtures. Then I use regular pink stuff for the head & engine & misc...
It used to take me days of bleaching and rinsing to get the pink stuff taste out, now it's just a single rinse. If I didn't have a low "ewwww" tollerance, I'd have a party and make cocktails in the spring.
Chris
It used to take me days of bleaching and rinsing to get the pink stuff taste out, now it's just a single rinse. If I didn't have a low "ewwww" tollerance, I'd have a party and make cocktails in the spring.
Chris
u079721
Contributing Partner
I would suggest just using the recommended amount of sodium hypochlorite (Clorox bleach to you non chemists, or Javex to you Canucks) in the tank. As Chris said you can find the details for the exact level (I forget) using the search function.
But more importantly, be sure to USE the water system. By that I mean that anything you put in the tank (like clorox) will not help the entire system unless you pump that treated water throughout ALL the pipes frequently. Water standing in the pipes looses its chlorination treatment quite quickly, and only by pumping fresh water through will you keep the system sweet.
A side note. Each spring I would commission the water system by pumping out the antifreeze (which never bothered me by the way) and filling the tanks and water heater with fresh city water in May. But then the water in the hot water tank would sit, hot from all the engine use, til August when I would go on my cruise. We didn't sleep aboard at the club, so we never used the hot water till then. By then it had developed the sulfur odor that showed the city chlorination was no longer effective, and bacteria were growing in the tank. It is a simple - but NOT easy - process to shock the tank with bleach to get rid of the odor, but what a pain.
So for a couple of years I made point each weekend when I went for a daysail to be sure to pump some water from the hot water system at the end of each day, just to get fresh still-chlorinated water from the main tank into the water heater. That did the trick and stopped the sulfur odor from developing, but was also a royal pain to do.
So the last few years I just didn't fill the water tank until right before the cruise. The manual says to NEVER use the engine without water in the tank, but near as I could tell it didn't make any difference. YMMV.
But more importantly, be sure to USE the water system. By that I mean that anything you put in the tank (like clorox) will not help the entire system unless you pump that treated water throughout ALL the pipes frequently. Water standing in the pipes looses its chlorination treatment quite quickly, and only by pumping fresh water through will you keep the system sweet.
A side note. Each spring I would commission the water system by pumping out the antifreeze (which never bothered me by the way) and filling the tanks and water heater with fresh city water in May. But then the water in the hot water tank would sit, hot from all the engine use, til August when I would go on my cruise. We didn't sleep aboard at the club, so we never used the hot water till then. By then it had developed the sulfur odor that showed the city chlorination was no longer effective, and bacteria were growing in the tank. It is a simple - but NOT easy - process to shock the tank with bleach to get rid of the odor, but what a pain.
So for a couple of years I made point each weekend when I went for a daysail to be sure to pump some water from the hot water system at the end of each day, just to get fresh still-chlorinated water from the main tank into the water heater. That did the trick and stopped the sulfur odor from developing, but was also a royal pain to do.
So the last few years I just didn't fill the water tank until right before the cruise. The manual says to NEVER use the engine without water in the tank, but near as I could tell it didn't make any difference. YMMV.
Tom Metzger
Sustaining Partner
Steve - The warning is not about the engine coolant loop; it's is for using the electric heater element. Running the electric heater without water in the tank will overheat the element and burn it out.
u079721
Contributing Partner
What my manual says in the plumbing section is:
CAUTION: DO NOT TURN ON THE 110 V0LT POWER TO THE TANK OR RUN THE ENGINE UNTIL IT HAS BEEN FILLED. THE HEATING ELEMENT WILL BURN OUT AND THE ENGINE WILL OVERHEAT IF THE TANK IS DRY.
Now of course I get the part about not running the 110 V heating element with the tank emtpy (and in fact I would disable mine at the tank just to be sure I didn't do something stupid). But it also clearly suggests the engine will overheat too, which makes no sense to me. And in fact it did not make any difference, with the engine usually running at about 160°F under light load regardless of whether there was water in the water heater tank. Go figure.
Tom Metzger
Sustaining Partner
The E-32, E-34, and E-35, manuals all say:
"CAUTION: DO NOT TURN ON THE 110 VOLT POWER TO THE TANK UNTIL IT HAS BEEN FILLED. THE HEATING ELEMENT WILL BURN OUT IF THE TANK IS DRY. [snip]"
This is not surprising as they are all dated 6/84. Long before the introduction of the E-34. Probably cut and paste.
"CAUTION: DO NOT TURN ON THE 110 VOLT POWER TO THE TANK UNTIL IT HAS BEEN FILLED. THE HEATING ELEMENT WILL BURN OUT IF THE TANK IS DRY. [snip]"
This is not surprising as they are all dated 6/84. Long before the introduction of the E-34. Probably cut and paste.