Tank Water - Drinking Quality

[Bob38S]

Something for the new tank owners/users - I am considering a retrofit for mine.

Just came across this advert from our cousins across the ditch.

www.waterboy.co.nz/ourProduct.cfm

It was shown in the latest copy of Farmer Direct p 20 - for new tank owners $189 NZD +$25 NZD P&P seems a small price to pay considering the cost of the tank, pump, pipes etc.

BTW I'm neither a farmer nor associated with the product but I have been on tanks for 25 + years and have periodically "desludged" my tanks with an old pool pump, pool pole, hose and a sweeping attachment made out of PVC. You do lose some water and need to move the head around slowly to avoid stirring it up too much DAMHIK.

I don't wish to frighten the newcomers to tanks but if you look into your tank - say after 12 months - you may have an unpleasant surprise - if your tank is properly sealed you shouldn't have frogs, tadpoles, mosquitoes etc BUT you will have sludge/mud in the bottom - there will probably be a very nice clean "V" which apexes where the water take off is at the bottom .

This product appears to overcome the sludge contamination of what you drink but will not stop the problem happening.

Regards,
Bob

[silentC]

Hmm, not a bad idea. I'd have to put on the aqualung to retrofit one to my tank though. Wish I'd known about it a year ago...

We were originally going to install one of those steel tanks with the plastic liner. They usually come standard with a flush out valve - there's a sump in the middle of the tank floor with a line out to the side of the tank and a valve. Periodically you open the valve and it flushes out the crap.

For some reason they don't fit something similar to concrete tanks. The outlets are about 4" off the tank floor but there is another that is level with the bottom, so to get rid of the sludge, we just have to open it. Problem is, we neglected to put a valve on it - still has the original bung - so it could be an exciting event when we do it.

[Bob38S]

I hear what you are saying re the scuba gear - with regards the bung removal in yours - be sure to have the camera charged and take lotsa pix

- mine are 2 x 5000 gal concrete, flat floor with the take off point about 100mm off the floor in each - a perfect sediment trap.

My thoughts at the moment are to isolate and use one down to "empty" - clean out and fit the "Waterboy" - then open the remaining tank and allow them to level at 50% each. I can use each tank joined or individually but normally have them isolated in case of a catastrophic failure of one - over the years there have been a few do so in the area.

[Bleedin Thumb]

Silent could you get access into your tank enough to force a plastic bag down near the bung with a stick so when you open it the plastic, may, probably, hopefully stop the eruption?

[silentC]

Mine is a single 24,000 gal. I thought along similar lines to you with regard to spreading the risk. In the end, we decided that when we can afford it, we'll put in another big one. In the meantime, I've got 5,000 gallons in an aquaplate tank off the shed for emergencies.

The manhole is on the same side but not directly over the outlets. I had contemplated trying to block it from the inside with a plate or something on a pole. If I could get it in the right place and then open the bung, the pressure would hold it there while I fit a valve. That's the theory. In practice, I think it's going to be a deep dark dive for someone. Not a cheering thought...

EDIT: The tank is 2.6 metres deep and presently full!

[Barry_White]

My two 5000 gal concrete tanks have been in place for 28 years and have never been cleaned or emptied. I have been drinking the water for that long also except for 6 years when I was on the coast.

Now I am still alive and my family or myself have never suffered any stomach complaints in that time and sometimes I think it is a furfy in what these people tell you to sell a product or to get you to clean your tanks out.

Now I may be wrong but a guy from the local council told me that water that is sealed from light kept in large quantities will purify itself.

My father in law who lived to 86 lived on tank water all his life and never ever had a tank cleaned out along with his father and mother who lived to their 90's.

Even if I saw scientific evidence that it would shorten your life I think I wouldn't still bother.

On the point of putting a valve in a full tank of water is simple. You have a valve of the right thread of course with thread tape wrapped on it. You fully open the valve remove the bung slowly from the tank and then slip the valve into the hole allowing the water to flow out of the valve until you have a couple of the threads done up and then turn the valve off and finish tightening up.

You will lose maybe 20 to 30 litres of water and you will get very wet but it does work because I have done it a couple of times to put extra valves on my tanks,

[watson]

Well,
All our tanks have crud in them.
Frogs, live & dead. Birds, mostly dead. The odd Squirrel Glider possum in various states of decay.
All tanks are sealed as good as can be, without forming a vacuum when you pump out of them.
Don't know how the beasties get in there....but here's our go.
We cook...vegies/pasta....wash.....bodies & clothes......all with tank water.
The only thing we don't do is make coffee with it.......tastes cruddy.
We buy 10 litres of bottled water every fortnight for exclusive coffee use.

I have had a test on the tank water........no baddies...so now I don't worry about it.

Regards,
Noel

[Wood Butcher]

The old man recently had his tanks (4 x 5000gal) cleaned out after 15 years in service. There was less than 15mm of sediment in the bottom of the tanks.

If you keep your roof and gutters clean then the amount of "sludge" that ends up in your tanks will be minimal.

[Grunt]

That's the trick. The rental property that I'm living in has a concrete tank. The house has plenty of oak trees around and the gutters were full of leaves when we moved in. The water that comes out of the tank has plenty of floaties and is a little dirty.

The water that is on the block coming off the shed is clean and tasty. No trees. No crap in the water.

[silentC]

On the point of putting a valve in a full tank of water is simple

Having replaced a tap body in the stop cock on the mains side of a water meter, I know all about this. It is very exciting. Although in that case the water shoots straight up in the air and it doesn't help to have the tap fully open.

If there was an easy way of blocking the flow from the inside, then I would do it. Plan B is as you describe it.

As for the quality of the water, as you say it's not really that big an issue. However we have filters on the outlet side and it would be good to keep any sludge out of them. The person who put them there is my old man. He was born and bred on tank water.

[Barry_White]

Having replaced a tap body in the stop cock on the mains side of a water meter, I know all about this. It is very exciting. Although in that case the water shoots straight up in the air and it doesn't help to have the tap fully open.

If there was an easy way of blocking the flow from the inside, then I would do it. Plan B is as you describe it.

As for the quality of the water, as you say it's not really that big an issue. However we have filters on the outlet side and it would be good to keep any sludge out of them. The person who put them there is my old man. He was born and bred on tank water.

I agree that it is much more exciting dealing with mains pressure especially when it is pointing up in the air. I've seen this done by a plumber in Sydney using a hessian bag to spread the the water sideways whilst doing it.

When doing it with a tank it isn't quite as bad because the pressure is not as bad as mains pressure, it is on the side of the tank and you are straddling the outlet and it is pouring out between your legs, but you still get wet and your boots full of water.

[silentC]

I've seen this done by a plumber in Sydney using a hessian bag to spread the the water sideways whilst doing it

I held a plastic baby bath over the jet while my Dad frantically tried to screw the new tap body in. A good job to do in summer

[bsrlee]

Of course, if there is a bit of pipe sticking out, you could get some dry ice pellets from the local BOC or whatever, pile them around the pipe & freeze the water in the pipe, off bung & on tap before the water re-liquifies.

The 'Pro's' use liquid nitrogen and can weld or solder downstream from the ice plug.

DO NOT put dry ice in your fridge or freezer, it b*&&^%'s up the thermostat - use an Esky or old, dead fridge for storage.