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Fresh water tank

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Jimmyb

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Being new to a boat with a fresh water tank for the sink, I am wondering if/how this needs to be treated. Does anyone have this option and can advise as to how you maintain this? I read up on people explaining how to sanitize at the beginning of the season. I am more interested in knowing if there is some additive that needs to be added with each fill? I know we should not be drinking it but still don't want this water getting nasty in there. I also assume some type of RV antifreeze during the winter as I saw there was a lot of purple fluid in the tank when I bought it.
 
I turn on the faucet and run it dry after each outing. Then leave the fill cap loose for a bit of airflow. In the off season I flush the tank out once or twice with a very small amount of bleach added to a few gallons of water and slosh it around. Then rinse with a tankful of fresh water. Never had a problem.
 
Jim, I’ve had my Benny less than two years but so far all I’ve done is simply empty the tank of as much water as the pump will pump out and that’s it. Putting fresh water in it with each use that’s all I’ve done. However in Florida we have no off-season so the fill and empty is fairly frequent.
 
Jimmyb said:
Being new to a boat with a fresh water tank for the sink, I am wondering if/how this needs to be treated. Does anyone have this option and can advise as to how you maintain this? I read up on people explaining how to sanitize at the beginning of the season. I am more interested in knowing if there is some additive that needs to be added with each fill? I know we should not be drinking it but still don't want this water getting nasty in there. I also assume some type of RV antifreeze during the winter as I saw there was a lot of purple fluid in the tank when I bought it.
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Good afternoon, we are purchasing a boat with the sink and faucet setup as well. Curious to see how you are maintaining and winterizing? Thanks in advance!
 
Up here in Michigan, I fill the water tank as needed throughout the summer and haven’t had any issues with the water turning “bad”. Of course, we don’t drink it but wash dishes, hands, etc. In the fall I run a small amount of RV antifreeze through the whole system.
 
I removed that tank and just added a hose to fill from the lake water, this provided way more needed storage space in that cabinet and supplies an endless amount of washdown water. I wouldn't drink it anyway, so it didn't make sense for me to keep it as it would be difficult to refill out on camping trips of more than a weekend. Unless I was primarily in saltwater, I wasn't going to need it. But in my sprinter van and motorhome freshwater tanks, I just drain every trip. I only went through the sanitizing process when they were both new, but after that, I've never sanitized them or added anything to the water when filling.

Like noted above, I do open the cap on the small sprinter van tank, to let it dry out, but on the motorhome, there's no way to do that. Some folks use a water filter to fill their water tanks which can remove the chlorine from regular tap water. I've never done that as I want the chlorine in there to do its job. I've used that tank water for everything aside from drinking and cooking and never had any issues.
 
Like above, the tank in ours, which was what, maybe a whopping 6-8 gallons or so, not sure, was removed, along with the tiny water pump they supply. What was installed then was 5.0 GPM Sureflo RV water pump and screen. Then there was an intake hose routed under the floor and to the left and rear. It comes out and runs vertically straight down the back of the left pontoon and right down into the underwater lighting sconce. Inside that sconce is a pickup. Then, the plumbing from that water pump was routed under the floor and over to the cabinet/sink cabinet. There it emerged from the floor and entered the sink faucet.

But, since that pump is waaaaaaay overboard for just a sink faucet, the plumbing/tubing from that pump is teed off and goes in two different directions. One is to the rear seatback area of the back seats and, enters a "wash down" system mounted vertically behind and inside the seatback. The second direction of that tubing from the pump goes all the way forward, under the floor, and upto the inside of the very front left seat cabinet, right next to the front gate. A large hole was cut in the bottom face of that seat cabinet and a front wash down system was installed there.

I now have an endless water supply for the sink and two different wash downs. Both of those washdowns are in a 6" tube with a cap on them. Remove the cap and out comes a curly cue hose and a nozzle for each wash down. That pump will supply both hoses running if needed (which is never) and it will also supply the kitchen sink for washing whatever with endless water. Now does any of this help the OP and his question, not a clue. But it does provide for alternative means for water and also, no water tank issues from stagnant water.
 
FIRE UP said:
Like above, the tank in ours, which was what, maybe a whopping 6-8 gallons or so, not sure, was removed, along with the tiny water pump they supply. What was installed then was 5.0 GPM Sureflo RV water pump and screen. Then there was an intake hose routed under the floor and to the left and rear. It comes out and runs vertically straight down the back of the left pontoon and right down into the underwater lighting sconce. Inside that sconce is a pickup. Then, the plumbing from that water pump was routed under the floor and over to the cabinet/sink cabinet. There it emerged from the floor and entered the sink faucet.

But, since that pump is waaaaaaay overboard for just a sink faucet, the plumbing/tubing from that pump is teed off and goes in two different directions. One is to the rear seatback area of the back seats and, enters a "wash down" system mounted vertically behind and inside the seatback. The second direction of that tubing from the pump goes all the way forward, under the floor, and upto the inside of the very front left seat cabinet, right next to the front gate. A large hole was cut in the bottom face of that seat cabinet and a front wash down system was installed there.

I now have an endless water supply for the sink and two different wash downs. Both of those washdowns are in a 6" tube with a cap on them. Remove the cap and out comes a curly cue hose and a nozzle for each wash down. That pump will supply both hoses running if needed (which is never) and it will also supply the kitchen sink for washing whatever with endless water. Now does any of this help the OP and his question, not a clue. But it does provide for alternative means for water and also, no water tank issues from stagnant water.
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Great details! Is your washdown sprayer a typical hose nozzle or powerwash spray wand that produces a "finer mist"?
 
One of the wash-down hoses is equipped with one of those small, twistable brass nozzles that you can twist to a stream about the size of a sewing needle or you can get a pretty serious flow from it.
The other one is equipped with one that’s some form of a push button shower nozzle type thing. The one in the front is way more valuable due to being able to wash sandy-muddy feet off when climbing back on the bow.
 
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