Stinky Water

[RGrew176]

My new to me 3007 Aft Cabin carries 93 gallons of water in her tanks plus another 12 when full in the water heater. I noticed upon filling the tanks that after a couple of days the water started to smell. Taste was OK but the smell left a lot to be desired.

I do not know when the water system was last sanitized. I was kind of hoping that I could hold off until next season. On Wednesday I decided to do it now. I could not wait. I bought 4 gallons of chlorine bleach. I poured the bleach into the tanks. I waited for the tanks to level out then I slowly filled them. Once they were full and water was coming out of the vent lines I ran about 13 gallons of water through the water heater and then flushed all lines until I could smell the chlorine.

I work Friday so the chlorine will set in the tanks and lines until Saturday afternoon sometime when I will be back at the boat. I will flush all the bleach/water from the system and then refill. I hope this takes care of the stinky water for the near future.

BTW, of all the boats I have owned throughout the years this is the first time I have had a freshwater system "problem".

[Viper]

Considering a tablespoon of bleach is usually enough to keep a typical size tank fresh, 4 gallons of bleach seems like an awful lot IMO. My concern would be leaving certain items immersed in something as harsh and corrosive as bleach in that concentration for that much time. I'd be worried about anything rubber in the system such as faucet seals and o-rings, and especially the fresh water pump bellows/diaphram, o-rings, check valves, etc. There are products on the market specifically designed for this purpose and they are not as harsh. A little goes a long way. After you do your flush, activate the hot water tank pressure relief valve a few times to ensure it will still operate for safety reasons. If it starts leaking when it's closed, replace it. Hope it all works out for you.

[Lyndon670]

JESUS....4 gallons?????

You are going to be flushing all weekend. I can't imagine the amount of water you are going to need.

As Viper said, a tablespoon is all that is needed. If you are shocking a tank, the suggested amount is 250mls followed be a spoonful each year.

[RGrew176]

JESUS....4 gallons?????

You are going to be flushing all weekend. I can't imagine the amount of water you are going to need.

As Viper said, a tablespoon is all that is needed. If you are shocking a tank, the suggested amount is 250mls followed be a spoonful each year.

It, she smell of the water, was pretty bad. I have no idea when the water system was last sanitized. So, yeah, it may have been a bit of overkill. I want to make sure that any and all bacteria or other stuff in the tanks was killed off. I let it sit for about 32 hours or so. I drained and flushed the tank twice. There is still a bit of a chlorine smell in the water but that is the only smell I have now. Refilling the tanks (93) gallons will probably last me the rest of the season. When I winterize I expect that next spring my water will be OK.

The water did smell foul even though it tasted OK I chose to purge the system not knowing what may be in it. The smell made the water unpleasant.

[CYO Admin]

Coming from a bit of experience... If your going to use the on board water system, use it. By that I mean, when your at the dock don't use the city water hook up. Do the dishes with it, shower, flush, etc. That along with the occasional shot glass of bleach will keep the system pretty clean.

The smell your getting now I would consider normal and not harmful.

[RGrew176]

Coming from a bit of experience... If your going to use the on board water system, use it. By that I mean, when your at the dock don't use the city water hook up. Do the dishes with it, shower, flush, etc. That along with the occasional shot glass of bleach will keep the system pretty clean.

The smell your getting now I would consider normal and not harmful.

I agree. It smelled bad but still tasted OK, not great bu OK. I fully intend to utilize the onboard fresh water system. I carry 93 gallons when full and I see no need to use the city water hookup although the boat does have that available.

[RGrew176]

Coming from a bit of experience... If your going to use the on board water system, use it. By that I mean, when your at the dock don't use the city water hook up. Do the dishes with it, shower, flush, etc. That along with the occasional shot glass of bleach will keep the system pretty clean.

The smell your getting now I would consider normal and not harmful.

I am in agreement with your assessment. The water after a couple of days in the tank started to smell. It smelled bad but tasted OK, not great but OK. To drink it you had to get it past your nose. I did the sanitization and I used just under 4 gallons of bleach for the 93 gallon tank. I filled the tank flushed it through all the lines and let it set for about 39 hours. I drained the tank and refilled with fresh water. There was still a decent bleach/chlorine smell in the water after. I went home and will be headed back to the boat tonight after I get off work. I am hoping that the chlorine/bleach smell will be less strong. If it is I will flush the tanks again and refill. But after setting for a few days, Saturday to Wednesday I expect that some of the chlorine will have leached out.

Like I said earlier I have no idea when the tanks were last sanitized so I went for a bit of an overkill. I expect no further problems with stinky water after this.

[RGrew176]

Finally turned on the water and the chlorine bleach smell has gone away. The water now smells and tastes as it should. Hopefully I will not need to "shock" the system again. From now on I should only have to maintain the system as suggested above just a shot of bleach now and then. The system is now clean.

[RGrew176]

3 weeks later and the water still tastes great. I think I killed of the little buggers that were causing the stink. Almost done with this season so I will see how it holds up next season.