water system prep for storage

[Frank]

Not sure what others do when they leave their boats in storage. I'm sure there are better systems, but here's mine.

*Add bleach to remaining water in tank
*Use all faucets so bleach goes through all waterlines
*Run tank dry
*Open tank access, leave lid off and tape screen over it
*When returning....I run about 5 gallons of water through the entire system again with a bit of bleach until empty before filling to use.

Right or wrong, I feel this allows the tank to dry out and have less chance of mould growing both in the lines and the tank. The bigger access lid allows a bleach wipe out as well.
I hate the thought of the tank and lines becoming "science projects" ....

Being Canadian....think "the Red Green show"...note the use of duck tape    :D

[Godot]

Sounds pretty good to me. I understand that bleach can have some negative affects on certain plastics that might be in a water system (I wish I had this info handy), so perhaps it is not wise to leave a bleach heavy water solution in the tanks and lines for more than a few hours; but by pumping dry and leaving the access port open I would think any left overs would evaporate out pretty quickly. Good ventilation might retard growth.

I mostly prep for winter. Similar process. Bleach the tank. Sail if possible for a couple hours to stir it up. Drain. Flush the whole thing with fresh water. Drain. Put in enough antifreeze (the safe kind) to pump through the lines and pump. Leave it be. I don't open the tank access as a rule for storage as I tend to spend a lot of time aboard even in the winter. If hauled for the cold months, though, I think I'll do that in the future.