How do you keep your fresh water fresh?

[Cosmo]

I don't own a trailer at this point but I am wrestling with the idea of a sink and tank vs. a water jug can (many nice models available) and a wash tub.

Many people say a sink and internal tank and faucet are a convenience and at the same time indicate they drink bottled water because water in fresh water tank starts to get funky pretty quickly.

How do you keep your fresh water fresh?

Thanks
Cosmo

[48Rob]

Cosmo,

A non camper water system, such as the one for your house and work consists of water pipes that deliver fresh, sanitized water to the tap.
The water company stores, and delivers the water to you.
Because the water is sanitized, and flows quite regularly through your pipes, it keeps the pipes more or less sanitized.

In a self contained camper system, you supply the water, and it runs through the pipes in your system, but not generally daily.
When you go camping, and return home, sometimes the water tank is drained, sometimes not. Almost never do owners drain all the pipes.
The little bit of water left in the tank, with a lot of air, tends to allow growth of undesirable things.
Some public water systems, that supply the water you fill your camper tank with, have water so heavily treated that you probably don't need to sanitize your system, just filling the tank and running water through the pipes for a minute or two is enough...but who wants to take a chance getting sick while on vacation...
So, a lot of people just use bottled water to drink.

It is pretty easy to keep a self contained system clean and sanitized, but it requires extra effort, that most people just don't want to expend at the end of a camping trip, or at the beginning...

If the camper is going to sit empty for more than a month, it is wise to sanitize the tank and lines before using it again.
Some people get around all this effort by using a 5-7 gallon jug that the fresh water is pumped out of, or poured out of...but it too should be sanitized regularly.

Rob
PS. It should go without saying, but much caution should be used when filling a storage tank, to keep contaminants out by never leaving the fill cap off if you aren't standing there with the hose in it, and making sure your hose/hose end is clean and sanitized...not using the one that lays in the yard that the dog pees on...

[bobhenry]

I am going off grid soon and will be storing 50 - 75 gallons of tap water transfered from elsewhere. I have been looking into whole house filters and charcoal type filters as well as the correct quantity of bleach to add and still be consumable. Yes you can drink bleach water (just in very small proportions) Here is a good link although british in origin it offers a great deal of info......

http://www.xor.org.uk/silkroute/equipment/purewater.htm

I also found this when investigating.........

The American Red Cross and the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency recommend the following procedure for treating water for storage:

Add six drops (1/8 teaspoon) of unscented bleach per gallon of water.
Stir and let stand for 30 minutes.
If the water does not taste and smell of chlorine after 30 minutes, add another dose of 1/8 teaspoon and let stand another 15 minutes.
Seal the containers and label with contents and date of preparation

[Shadow Catcher]

We have a 10 gallon water tank and a 6 gallon water heater. All of the water going into the tank goes through two or three water filters (three if it if coming from a lake or stream) the first filter is a ceramic carbon filter, the second is a finer filter and also has carbon, the third filer is rated for NBC nuclear, biological, chemical which goes down to the bacteria and virus level. The first two protect the system from city water type problems and protects the third from the gross stuff.
The tank is drained after every trip, ever month it gets chlorinated, I use dry chlorine bleach (keeps for a decade), flush the entire system drain the water heater and flush with clean water, final step is to use bicarbonate of soda to kill the taste and finish cleaning, which also helps cleaning.
This may sound like a lot of work but it takes an hour and I know it is safe and a lot cheaper than bottled water.
And before any one asks yes I am just a wee bit paranoid and I do have a system at home.

[citylights]

Classic question.

Simple answer: no on board water system, buy bottled water, use it and dispose of the containers. Your choice, big or small bottles, they all work.

Complex answer, build an on board water system. Tank, water lines, pump, tap, then maintain it. You can buy additives to keep the water in the system clean. Iodine tablets or chlorine bleach are the two most common. Additional filters optional. Most people don't like the taste of the additives, so they are back to bottled water...

My favorite system is a one or two gallon disposable bottle of water with a pour spout on a top shelf.

[PKCSPT]

I reuse my water bottles, freeze them and as they thaw I have fresh water. Usually good for several days.

[Junkboy999]

For drinking water jugs, get the dark blue one. clear or white jugs let in more light and light helps the growth of any bad stuff in the water. I clean and bleach my water jugs before each trip. I fill 2 or 3 of my 3.5 gallon (water brick) at my house with a charcoal water filter. These I use just for drinking, tea, and food prep.


My next camper will get a 23 gallon tank freshwater tank for showering and cleaning up but I will still carry my water bricks for drinking. flushing out tanks in a camper is ok but you never get to every corner up top in the tank to get it clean unless you have access to it. If you tank is mounted to where you can’t take it out and clean it really good every two years, you might need an access port or inspection hatch.

I seen a company on Youtube selling inspection ports for water tanks, and of course they had the worse looking tanks they could find for showing you that you need there product. Now I can't find those videos.

[48Rob]

flushing out tanks in a camper is ok but you never get to every corner up top in the tank to get it clean unless you have access to it.

Terry,

If you fill your storage tank 2/3rds or so full with the water/sanitizing solution and drive it around the block a couple times, the solution will make contact with all areas of the tank.
Hopefully one will never need to actually wash, as in rub and scrub the interior of a tank, but if you do, the above procedure with a few bags of ice cubes will do a good job.

Rob

[bc toys]

I use a couple of caps of bleach in my fresh water tanks and in the Gray and Black water I use the ice but I only fill mine up about Half way and keep the fresh sent sanitation crystals after every flush with about a gallon of water thats with a 35 gallon holding tank

[Breytie]

I store our emergency and camping water in 5l (1 gallon) dark plastic jugs. If one goes off, you lose only a small portion of the stockpile and smaller jugs are easier to handle and store.
The water first pass through a decent filter (0.4micron, ion exchange, activated carbon, UV) then into the jugs, filling to at least the bottom of the neck. Unscented bleach is added with the dose-check-dose method. I add another dose after the jug pass the smell test, just to make sure there is enough residual chlorine to handle the chunkier contaminants and off gassing through the plastic. I spot check the jugs every month or so, I try to replace the contents at least every 12 months.
If the smell/taste is a bit strong when time comes to use the water, decant it in a thin splashing stream or leave the container open but covered with a clean cloth for an hour or two.
I treat all water of uncertain quality the same way.
I sanitize water containers with a stronger solution (10% bleach) before filling or or empty storing it.

[GerryS]

For sanitizing the containers, home brewers have a solution that does an awesome job of sanitizing as well...no chlorine at all...only downside is it's a little bubbly...foamy.

Make sure you bottles are food safe...

[Weirdnerd]

If you are concerned you can use silver iodide tablets, that is what I used in South America to purify water, down there even tap water is treated, it is still dubious. I used it many times while hiking the Andes, just fill your canteen from a stream, add tablet, wait for an hour and it is safe to drink.

http://www.potableaqua.com/