Water Purification for Large Water Storage Tanks on Domestic and Commercial Vehicles

Water purification tablets are utilised for a number of different uses including emergency water purification in developing countries, military operations and for travellers unsure of the cleanliness of unfamiliar water supplies. For many though, water purification tablets are essential to keep their vehicle water storage tanks clean and free of bacteria. This refers to both commercial vehicles such as ships and trains as well domestic vehicles like motor homes and narrow boats.

Maintaining a clean water tank is essential for both commercial and domestic vehicles. Owners of caravans and canal boats will want to make sure that their water tanks are purified for the health of their family and guests. Commercial vehicle companies have a duty of care to their customers and must provide and manage a clean water tank as part of their service.

There are several different types of water purification tablets out there which all offer different levels of purification / disinfection depending on which amount of available chlorine is in each particular tablet. The amount of available chlorine in each tablet usually depends on the weight / size of each tablet.

There are several different types / brands of water purification tablets on the market with Oasis water purification tablets and Aquatabs being the most popular. For the purpose of this article, I will focus on how the range of Oasis tablets can be used to benefit those with vehicle water storage tanks.

For the purification of large, commercial water tanks Oasis 3000 tablets are probably best suited. Oasis 3000 tablets are available in tubs of 100 and each tablet weighs 9.7gms. The available chlorine in each of these tablets is very large compared to other effervescent chlorine tablets. The available chlorine (parts per million) in one litre of water when using one Oasis 3000 tablet is 3000 (you only need 10 available chlorine, parts per million for purification of a standard tank).

Oasis water purification tablets help to eliminate dangerous pathogenic bacteria as well as a number of diseases such as cholera, dysentery, typhoid and polio. These tablets rid the water of bacteria which commercial vehicles would be well advised to purify such as spores, fungi, viruses, cysts and algae.

Vehicle water tanks require regular purification and disinfection. For standard tank purification, the user will require a tablet with 10 parts per million available chlorine (when dissolved in 1 litre of water). The tablet will need to be in the water for ten minutes to fully purify. Tank disinfection requires a stronger concentration of chlorine (50 parts per million) and should be carried out occasionally to ensure a fully clean tank.

The amount of tablets that you need to use is dependent on the size of the tank which you have. For smaller tanks such as 500 litre tanks, you will require just 1.6 Oasis 3000 tablets to purify the tank. For a larger tank, like an 8000 litre tank, you will require 26.6 of these tablets to purify the water.

There are other ranges of tablets that are specifically used as disinfection tablets such as Oasis Plus tablets and others which are for small, personal use like standard Oasis tablets.

For the purification of a vehicle water tank, you may also want to try other effervescent chlorine tablets that are suitable for use with large tanks and bacteria and legionella test kits.