Water Filter Question (for our pressure water system)

[Loren Beach]

Looking for experiences with a compact filter housing and what filter will least impede the water while still filtering out the tiny green plant bits that form in the tank after a month. Considering a filter like this one: https://www.discountfilterstore.com/water-filtration-system-undersink-american-plumber-w385-pr.html

Even this one will require some imaginative plumbing to fit it in,
And --- should this be mounted on the suction side or the pressure side of the pump?
Thanks!

 

[Marlin Prowell]

We have a 3M water filter installed under the galley sink that came with the boat. The filter is tall and the replacement cartridges are expensive, but it has a 2.5 GPU flow rate and there is no plastic tank taste or chlorine or any other taste to the filtered water.

The model you referenced does not list a flow rate, so be wary. You wouldn’t want to install a filter that restricts flow to a drinking fountain trickle.

 

[Loren Beach]

Yes, we are concerned about how much back pressure might be produced. Most of these may/might be rated for household water systems that vary from 35 to 70 psi, and some filter pressure is not a problem.
Thanks for the input.

 

[Hagar2sail]

Loren, we don't have a filter so can't help you there, but we have had issues in the past with growth in the system. We found using brewers cleaner to clean the stainless tank was the way to go, it also cleans all the lines out. Once you get them running clean, a little bleach at every fill-up keeps the little green critters at bay. This is the chart we use: https://ndep.nv.gov/uploads/water-drinking-consumers-wells-docs/disinfect_drinking_water.pdf

 

[Loren Beach]

little green critters

Well now, that's a disturbing mental image!!

Seriously, since your chart only references bleach, is "brewers cleaner" a different chemical?

 

[bsangs]

Loren, do you need a full-on filter, or would a strainer suffice? I use these on our boat: Shurflo Strainer

They work great. Catch all sorts of "stuff" ahead of the manifold and water pump. I remove it and clean it any time we change water tanks. The caveat being, we don't drink our water. Maybe the occasional toothbrush or mouth rinse, but we bring Waterbricks on board for our drinking water. So it might not be the perfect solution for drinking water.

 

[Hagar2sail]

Well now, that's a disturbing mental image!!

Seriously, since your chart only references bleach, is "brewers cleaner" a different chemical?

Haha, yes it is different. The chart is to make drinking water safe, but high levels of chlorine can cause embrittlement and corrosion of some stainless steels, so you don’t want to just dump several cups in a tank and then let it sit to clean and disinfect it, the tank could quickly corrode. The low levels in that chart should stay in solution and would be similar or probably lower than the amount in most city water systems.

Instead you need a disinfecting cleaner meant for stainless, and luckily the brewing community had to solve this a long time ago. So you need “PBW” or powdered brewers wash. We bought 4 lb containers of it from a brand called five star when we had our run in with green in our tanks.

Put the PBW into the tank, fill to create the right concentration , run everything so it gets in all the lines and then just wait. You can try and scrub the big tank through an inspection port if possible. Then just drain, fill and drain. I think the manufacturers instructions were fairly easy to follow, it’s been years since we did it.

 

[Loren Beach]

Loren, do you need a full-on filter, or would a strainer suffice? I use these on our boat: Shurflo Strainer

They work great. Catch all sorts of "stuff" ahead of the manifold and water pump. I remove it and clean it any time we change water tanks. The caveat being, we don't drink our water. Maybe the occasional toothbrush or mouth rinse, but we bring Waterbricks on board for our drinking water. So it might not be the perfect solution for drinking water.

Now that info is a reason for the helpful input of this site! I had focused on the word filter, and that led down a path that was different from the "screen" path. I note that the "strainer" is shown in an installation diagram mounted at the inlet side of the ShurFlo pump.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09G6TN1V2/ref=sspa_dk_detail_0?psc=1&pd_rd_i=B09G6TN1V2&pd_rd_w=3bahW&content-id=amzn1.sym.eb7c1ac5-7c51-4df5-ba34-ca810f1f119a&pf_rd_p=eb7c1ac5-7c51-4df5-ba34-ca810f1f119a&pf_rd_r=3VH2Q7FA2KT08EH3AGBC&pd_rd_wg=EskaF&pd_rd_r=64970ace-2ba1-4e8b-a034-79c4097fd2fa&s=automotive&sp_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9kZXRhaWw

That answers the other question about amount of "filtering". They show a "50 mesh" SS screen. More research now needed to establish if there are other choices for mesh -- probably a conflict of filter size vs reduced flow, and we already have a rather low flow in these small-diameter-tubing boat systems.
I should have thought of this also because I have had to clean out the little aerator in the galley faucet once in a while, and it's a fine SS screen. Since the little micro "plants" that grow in the tank have never been shown to be dangerous, just eliminating them might be sufficient.
More..... research ... will be... needed.
Thanks!