Ozone to clean fresh water tanks

It's my experience that simply draining the water heater, and leaving it drained for a bit periodically, eliminates that particular stinky vermin that can grow in it. The rest of the water system can go much longer with no problems.

steved28 wrote:
I was wondering if anyone else use O3 to clean their fresh water tanks/lines. After numerous complaints from the DW about our water smelling like chlorine or bleach, I now use a venturi when filling my tank which injects ozone from a small ozone generator. No more smell, and the O3 removes more nasties than chlorine.
We seldom drink from our tank, but we do brush our teeth, clean dishes, and obviously use it for showering.

Steved28, I have been recently researching water treatment for my off grid camp and rain water collection and ozone injection. I like your idea of injecting the ozone as you fill your RV tank. I also believe the active ozone will sanitize the tank and lines to a degree as well, and you are injecting a good amount (several times over the recommended amount for an RV size tank) of ozone into your system, so it should be effective. I plan on installing a liquid gas mixer (LGM) inline downstream from the venturi to insure good mixing in the water and maximize the process. My only question is possible effects to the water heater as it is metal. The ozone removes iron from water, so how will it affect or corrode the metal parts in the water system. I use a So Clean system, which is an ozone injector for my cpap, And it does a wonderful job of disinfecting my medical equipment, so I know the ozone is an effective disinfectant. Maybe the answer is just to not run the recently charged water through the hot water system during the initial period to avoid active ozone in the metal water heater tank.

StirCrazy wrote:
wow, cant believe how many people are telling you to do somthing else when you already have a fantastic setup, you can disinfect every fill up, no chemicles or after taste at all. do you have more info on your set up? ie. what is the output of the generator etc? the only down side to O3 is that it might be hard on some of the plastices in the rv plumbing, if one were to replace the fixtures with metal ones then this would be come a non issue, or if you let it sit in your tank for a few hours then the o3 should be dissapated by the time you use it.

Steve

Thanks, I thought the same. This is the unit I use. Although there are many on the market. And this is the venturi. ANd yes, I just let the ozonated water sit in the tank. Unless I want to get some into the hot water tank, then I pump it through the HW system immediately.

Are you aware that ozone has a half life of about 30 minutes?

Yes, and I think that's the idea. After that the ozone has just turned to 02 and it has done its job as a disinfectant.

steved28 wrote:
I now use a venturi when filling my tank which injects ozone from a small ozone generator. No more smell, and the O3 removes more nasties than chlorine.

You are using this guy, right? The AZ2 manual is pretty straight forward and says you can treat up to a 500 gallon spa. Pretty impressive for under $100.

However, treating with ozone depends on water pH and dwell time. Ozone levels should be adjusted for different water pH levels and how long the the ozone contacts the water. I'm guessing the AZ2 isn't sophisticated enough to do all that.

Also, make sure to remove all filter cartridges ahead of your AZ2 as ozone will destroy these. Finally, since ozone is such a strong oxidizer is also can destroy natural rubber, some plastics, and synthetic rubber -- like gaskets.

Finally, your water may smell better, but there's a good chance the water isn't actually being disinfected and probably not your water tank and system either.

I suggest a UV system instead. None of the ozone side effects and UV does essentially the same thing as ozone.

steved28 wrote:
I was wondering if anyone else use O3 to clean their fresh water tanks/lines. After numerous complaints from the DW about our water smelling like chlorine or bleach, I now use a venturi when filling my tank which injects ozone from a small ozone generator. No more smell, and the O3 removes more nasties than chlorine.
We seldom drink from our tank, but we do brush our teeth, clean dishes, and obviously use it for showering.

Are you aware that ozone has a half life of about 30 minutes?

wow, cant believe how many people are telling you to do somthing else when you already have a fantastic setup, you can disinfect every fill up, no chemicles or after taste at all. do you have more info on your set up? ie. what is the output of the generator etc? the only down side to O3 is that it might be hard on some of the plastices in the rv plumbing, if one were to replace the fixtures with metal ones then this would be come a non issue, or if you let it sit in your tank for a few hours then the o3 should be dissapated by the time you use it.

Steve

steved28 wrote:

2oldman wrote:
Perhaps you're overdoing the chlorine. In 15 years I've done that exactly once, and I doubt it was even needed then.

Do mean sanitize the FW system? I hope not. Most articles I have read state to clean the tank at least every 3-4 weeks. More in hot weather if the water (or RV) has sat without use. I can tell immediately if mine has gone south of cheese. It usually starts with foul smelling water from the hot water tank.

I'm guessing you're not starting with good water. 3-4 weeks? Not for me. 3-4 years maybe.

Bill.Satellite wrote:
Since I full time, I also have not sanitized my fresh water tank in 20 years. There is more than enough chlorine in city water connections to keep the tanks clean day after day after day.

They key is USING THE WATER UP and replacing it in a timely manner. Chlorine dissipates over time, as it works. Similar to a swimming pool which constantly needs fresh chlorine, (mostly due to sun exposure) your fresh water tank needs new FRESH chlorinated water REGULARLY to stay bacteria free. Once the bacteria gets established, it takes a larger dose of chlorine to knock it out. Ozone works too and it also depletes over time.

Chum lee

ksg5000 wrote:

ScottG wrote:
Pour 1/4 cup of hydrogenperoxide in your fresh water tank. Totally safe and it will KILL all traces of bleach instantly.

x2. Also - some people are particularly sensitive to chlorine/chloramine - if your wife is one of those consider using an inexpensive water filter (charcoal based) when re-filling the FW tank. Charcoal removes chlorine.

Our RV does have a built-in charcoal based filter system. But it is after the tank.