Date: Sat, 13 Jul 2002 20:28:57 -0400
Reply-To: Ed Carroll <ecarroll@MAINE.RR.COM>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Ed Carroll <ecarroll@MAINE.RR.COM>
Subject: Re: No real VC, water tank question
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Well, to continue the NVC nature of the question, let me tell you what we
just did to the well at our weekend cottage. And I'll temper it with my
experience from homebrewing. Apply this as you may to the camper
circumstance.
The water test at our cottage showed coliform bacteria beyond the acceptable
limits. We had never experienced any ill effects, we (my wife) were just
curious what was in our well water. According to our state DEP (Maine), I
figured how to get about 2 quarts of household bleach down the well hole,
intended to cure the problem for about 50 feet of water in the well depth.
We let the bleach sit by opening all the taps til we could smell bleach,
then leaving it a while; in our case three weeks til we were there again.
Then we let the water run through all openings until we could not smell
bleach. Then you let it run so there's no slippery feeling on your fingers,
then you snuff the water in your cupped hands until there's no bleachy
smell, then you taste the water til there's no taste you didn't know before.
Some time before that, you can use the water for everything but drinking.
And that is how we got rid of choliform bacteria in our well.
And now for something more specific, perhaps. When I sterilize bottles,
tubing and glassware for brewing, I add approx. 1 tablespoon of bleach per
gallon of water, then soak everything that will touch the beer or wine in
that, and then I simply rinse it in fresh water before I use it. That ratio
should provide the littlest "slimy" feeling asssociated with the baseness of
bleach, while providing full antibacterial function.
If I had the internal piping of a full Westy (I don't, since we have a
Weekender), I think I would start and finish every trip with a weak ratio of
bleach in the tanks, then flush it til it was clean to be sure the tanks
were always cool..
Yet, to challenge the list to things as yet unknown ....I'd love to hear of
people who got sick from their water supplies.
Ed Carroll
87 Weekender
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