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Post by JohnV on Apr 15, 2020 8:04:08 GMT
I have to admit, that when I began my plans for 'Ellis', I DID look at the filtration systems briefly... the idea was good but at the time, the cost and power drain would have been too high. When you are in the planning stage, your brain is constantly wanting to improve on what already exists.... once you get the boat, it clicks in to "why re-invent the wheel" sort of approach... Given we KNOW already the water we take out of a tap has already passed through god knows how many peoples bodies, god knows how many times, I'd not worry about drinking properly filtered and uv de-bugged water... it's already happening by the water companies with filthy water anyway - we just dont see it. That said, filling up from a tap is not great shakes - AND at the moment, "moving to get water" is the only thing we can do without being demonized for breaking the "request not to move" by CRT... the fact the nearest tap might be 3 miles away and involve a couple more miles to get to a winding hole , is surely a positive. would agree with that totally. If I was on the canals I wouldn't be even considering the problem. My situation is slightly different, the waterway that I am on has no navigation authority, no license fee to pay but no facilities either. |
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Post by Deleted on Apr 15, 2020 8:18:16 GMT
Rog and Quaysider, I think you do have a genuine point here. I am still only in the planning stages and it'll be 3 months before I even have the readies in hand, and in those situations there is a tendency to consider all sorts of detail and potential issues that might never actually occur to me when finally living aboard.
Its more than likely I'll be more than occupied just by getting used to whats there already, and making it all carry on working.
And other things might occur to me that I never expected.
Who's to say I won't develop an irrational fear of whistling kettles, or ducks...
Or that I won't suddenly decide that what I need more than anything else is a tiny hydraulic lift to get me down into the cabin, instead of those ugly and primitive step things.
Unfortunately I am spectacularly impractical and daft, so the most unfeasible ideas will be the ones that fire up my enthusiasm.
This is the video- I still think its worth a look out of interest, and it'll be at the back of my mind for the next while, but it wont make my to-do list for a long time yet, I would think.
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Post by Jim on Apr 15, 2020 8:22:57 GMT
We have a 750ltr tank, lasts ages, never run out yet. Mostly stand up sink washes and then shower every 3 days or so.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 15, 2020 8:27:39 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Apr 15, 2020 8:43:00 GMT
I've posted this topic in that Other Forum... Out of boredom I had a look. Seems you've been pondering living on a boat for well over 7 years now. Don't you think it's time to just get on and try it? It's the only way to really see what it's like. I'm not sure of your finances but it may not even be a terminal decision. Maybe you can try it for a year (all 4 seasons), if you don't like it you can sell the boat and maybe(?) go back to whatever you were doing. Talking about it is less risky and cheaper though....  |
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Post by Deleted on Apr 15, 2020 9:05:39 GMT
I've posted this topic in that Other Forum... Out of boredom I had a look. Seems you've been pondering living on a boat for well over 7 years now. Don't you think it's time to just get on and try it? It's the only way to really see what it's like. I'm not sure of your finances but it may not even be a terminal decision. Maybe you can try it for a year (all 4 seasons), if you don't like it you can sell the boat and maybe(?) go back to whatever you were doing. Talking about it is less risky and cheaper though.... Its a long story is this.... When I first met my ex-partner I mentioned the idea of boat living, and she was in favour of it, but as a post-retirement lifestyle. But a single boating holiday was enough to put her off the idea (and some changed family circumstances, to be fair), although that change of heart wasn't immediately obvious- she still considered the idea of widebeams and the like, for a while. But as time went by, it became clear that she just wasn't in favour of it. Plus there were family/dependency reasons why she needed to stay based in Newcastle for 75% of her time, so I thought fair enough- its a lot to ask, and I got used to the idea. Ultimately, people are more important even than boats, and its not for everyone. Anyway, very sadly we split up two years ago, and since then the idea of living aboard has bounced back onto my radar. I never would've gone that way by choice, but when the option was available again, I thought why not? Its still something that really appeals to me. I had to postpone the early retirement idea for a few years and get the mortgage paid off (almost), so its all taken a lot longer than I originally hoped. But I'm on the last lap, I think. I handed in my notice a few weeks ago and am formally off on 31 July (returning for a month or two to train/cover my successor, because recruitment is all frozen at the mo), but by mid-August I'll have enough to complete a sale on what I hope will be a nice boat. I might as well stay put in Newcastle until I actually get the boat. The great thing about boats is that you dont lose too much money on them, and nice ones do tend to sell easily, so I dont have to worry about losing tens of thousands if I pack it in- and you have to be realistic, it just might not be as great as I think it will. Fingers crossed big time  |
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Post by Deleted on Apr 15, 2020 9:28:19 GMT
Out of boredom I had a look. Seems you've been pondering living on a boat for well over 7 years now. Don't you think it's time to just get on and try it? It's the only way to really see what it's like. I'm not sure of your finances but it may not even be a terminal decision. Maybe you can try it for a year (all 4 seasons), if you don't like it you can sell the boat and maybe(?) go back to whatever you were doing. Talking about it is less risky and cheaper though.... Its a long story is this.... When I first met my ex-partner I mentioned the idea of boat living, and she was in favour of it, but as a post-retirement lifestyle. But a single boating holiday was enough to put her off the idea (and some changed family circumstances, to be fair), although that change of heart wasn't immediately obvious- she still considered the idea of widebeams and the like, for a while. But as time went by, it became clear that she just wasn't in favour of it. Plus there were family/dependency reasons why she needed to stay based in Newcastle for 75% of her time, so I thought fair enough- its a lot to ask, and I got used to the idea. Ultimately, people are more important even than boats, and its not for everyone. Anyway, very sadly we split up two years ago, and since then the idea of living aboard has bounced back onto my radar. I never would've gone that way by choice, but when the option was available again, I thought why not? Its still something that really appeals to me. I had to postpone the early retirement idea for a few years and get the mortgage paid off (almost), so its all taken a lot longer than I originally hoped. But I'm on the last lap, I think. I handed in my notice a few weeks ago and am formally off on 31 July (returning for a month or two to train/cover my successor, because recruitment is all frozen at the mo), but by mid-August I'll have enough to complete a sale on what I hope will be a nice boat. I might as well stay put in Newcastle until I actually get the boat. The great thing about boats is that you dont lose too much money on them, and nice ones do tend to sell easily, so I dont have to worry about losing tens of thousands if I pack it in- and you have to be realistic, it just might not be as great as I think it will. Fingers crossed big time I nearlly lived aboard in my early 20s but ended up meeting a very attractive blonde! I had worked out then I could have survived just with my small income from playing in covers bands. Instead I got married, had 2.4 kids, got a mortgage and a ‘proper’ job to pay for it all. Don’t get me wrong, it was all worth it, but the living on a boat thing was always bubbling away in the background. Nearlly 8 years ago after retiring and my wife refusing to retire with me I went into a severe depression after getting tinnitus and then a heart issue. Basically I knew I’d be happier living on a boat but she wanted to move to a more expensive area. Buying my live aboard pretty much saved my life. It was difficult at first but month by month my life got better. I rarely notice the tinnitus now and my heart issue seems to have cleared up. I’ve got a very small pension and am using half of the proceeds of the house to subsidise the rest of my lifestyle until I get my state pension (if there is such a thing in the future  ) One thing I would say is that the running costs for a live aboard aren’t really much different from a house. However you do have some more control over the costs. |
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Post by patty on Apr 15, 2020 9:50:03 GMT
This thread is proving a very interesting read....
When son walked across Borneo they were provided with those portable filtration kits and posted a picture of them drinking water from a disgusting water source....obviously I sent 'words'
I just couldn't ..the knowledge of whats in canals etc I couldn't...
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Post by Telemachus on Apr 15, 2020 10:06:22 GMT
My concern is about the different types of pollutant. Stuff that makes the water opaque such as silt, mud etc, can easily be filtered out because even the smallest particles are still particles. Decomposing fish, cow, heron etc poo and dead bodies, can easily be filtered out or neutralised (broken up by UV) because they are large molecules.
My concern would be about such things as dissolved acids and heavy metals. Although admittedly it was many years ago (1970s), I recall getting something on the prop in Smethwick (Birmingham). The water was crystal clear. 5 mins spent with my bare arm in the water resulted, an hour later, in my skin peeling off as if I had sunburn. I afterwards noticed that the adjacent canal arm was called “Chemical Arm” and it transpired it had been used to service a factory that made phosphoric acid. Clearly there was still plenty in the cut and the reason for the completely clear water was that nothing could live in it. I don’t think your filtration system can filter out dissolved chemicals, only stuff that is in suspension.
The Wednesbury old canal is effectively closed to navigation because the silt is laced with heavy metals such as arsenic and mercury. Again, not something that can be filtered out.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 15, 2020 10:30:54 GMT
The 6 stage one on the East Midlands Water site.  Filtering canal water seems a bit of a worry to me though. I think I would rather lose all the amoebic cysts. Even one of those sounds rather displeasing. |
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Post by Gone on Apr 15, 2020 11:24:10 GMT
An interesting test is the question “would you swim in it prior to extraction?” So would I swim in the Thames- yes I would, in fact I did a few years ago, would I swim in a canal? No and definitely not in the K&A near Bath............
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Post by Deleted on Apr 15, 2020 11:37:15 GMT
This thread is proving a very interesting read.... When son walked across Borneo they were provided with those portable filtration kits and posted a picture of them drinking water from a disgusting water source....obviously I sent 'words' I just couldn't ..the knowledge of whats in canals etc I couldn't... I once had a summer job at a filtration plant. Every Friday there was delivery from something resembling a water bowser of all the blood and guts from all the local hospitals. The ponds were turned red and the flies went bananas.  |
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Post by naughtyfox on Apr 15, 2020 18:55:11 GMT
We have a short 40-foot narrowboat with an in-built water tank at the front. Steel walls, of course. Painted with water tank potable paint (once every 4 years for painting is OK - maybe longer). We counted it contains around 850 litres of water. The two of us have had showers every day for a week, that's 14 showers, without the water running out. I'm in the shower for about 10 minutes. We have counted the time it takes for the water tank to empty (from full) with one kitchen tap fully open - 1 hour 38 minutes. We don't drink the water from the tank - we drink bottled water and then re-fill those bottles from drinking water taps. This equates to 14 showers of 7 min duration (at kitchen tap rate) plus no other water use for the week.
Just to put some perspective on things.....
The shower head is not the kitchen tap. Have another think. |
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Post by Jim on Apr 15, 2020 21:27:18 GMT
This equates to 14 showers of 7 min duration (at kitchen tap rate) plus no other water use for the week.
Just to put some perspective on things.....
The shower head is not the kitchen tap. Have another think. Can you share your spreadsheet so we can work it out from the different recorded flow rates. Did you record the temperature, that can make a big difference. Ta. |
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Post by naughtyfox on Apr 16, 2020 6:25:45 GMT
The shower head is not the kitchen tap. Have another think. Can you share your spreadsheet so we can work it out from the different recorded flow rates. Did you record the temperature, that can make a big difference. Ta. I have never recorded how much water comes out of our shower head per minute. Should I do that next time we're over? |
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