Bulletguy Posted November 12, 2012 Share Posted November 12, 2012 Looking around for a 15mtr flat hose (packs better than round!), couldn't help but notice the wild prices which appear to be down to if the hose is "food grade" or not. Considering any water from my tank is boiled if making a 'cuppa', and the only other use is for showering or washing up......I wonder as to the benefits or necessity of paying what seems a lot of money for "food grade" hose. A used one has just sold on ebay for a staggering £23!! Yet TowSure sell a 15mtr hose (admittedly isn't described as "food grade") for just £13. Big difference! http://www.towsure.com/product/Hose_Cassette_15_Metres Anyone any views on "food grade" hose or plain and simple hose? Looks to me to be a bit of a rip off con job. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flicka Posted November 13, 2012 Share Posted November 13, 2012 Hi Bulletguy This subject comes up on a fairly regular basis & it really depends on what you use your fresh water for. But whichever hose you go for, consider the cheaper the "garden hose" the more potential for impuratives. I posted this on a thread a couple of years ago:- "If using your Tank for drinking water purposes, it is sensible to use Food Grade Hose. At least before entering the Motorhome Tank it will not be contaminated w by PVC leechate. (the "plastic" taste) Their are stringent UK & European Regulations, as there are elsewhere globally, regarding the specification of Hoses suitable for the Food Inductry, similarly seperate Regulations for Hoses suitable for Medical use. e.g. Food & Drink Hose Regulations Conforms to Statutory Instrument 3145 The Plastic Materials and Articles in Contact with Food Regulations 1992. A typical specification of a Food Grade Hose resistant to a wide range of chemicals. • Good flexibility. • Silicone free. • Abrasive resistance - good. • Kink resistance - good. • Mirror smooth inner for improved flow. • Braided with polyester fibre. • Extruded with brilliant white finish. • Will not support microbiological growth. • Temperature Range: -40°:C to +70°:C. WRAS Approved material - Approval No's 9912053 / 9912054. Standard Length: 30 metre. Construction : Lining : WRAS Approved Polyester Elastomer. Cover : Food Quality White PVC. WRAS = Water Regulations Advisory Service Regulations are not put in place just to enable a manufacturer to charge a higher price for a product. They are to safeguard end users. Main reason for the increases are due to the cost filtering through to the Propylene/PVC / Polymer derivatives market from Crude Oil prices. (Usually this is slower than the impact on Fuel prices) To see the full thread - http://www.outandaboutlive.co.uk/forums/forums/thread-view.asp?tid=20736&start=1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bulletguy Posted November 13, 2012 Author Share Posted November 13, 2012 flicka - 2012-11-13 12:20 AM Hi Bulletguy This subject comes up on a fairly regular basis & it really depends on what you use your fresh water for. But whichever hose you go for, consider the cheaper the "garden hose" the more potential for impuratives. Blimey Flick! Actually i've got a short length (5m) of plastic tube from local Caravan Dealer which is what they sell to fill tanks. This is ok as long as a tap is accessible within that range......and 5mtr isn't much! Just thought it may prove useful to have an extra length which doesn't take up much space. It's not that often I make a brew and when on tour earlier this year I bought bottles of Ice Tea as 1) it's far more refreshing than a hot drink and 2) it's mega cheap! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest pelmetman Posted November 13, 2012 Share Posted November 13, 2012 I bought a new one a couple of months ago....£41 8-) 8-).............I still kept the old hose for when we're a long way from a tap, but in truth its more sprinkler than hose (lol) (lol) One bonus though they put to much hose on the reel so the first time I used it I couldn't wind the last 6 foot back in *-)........so I cut that bit off and now have a very useful short bit of hose for when I can get close to the tap B-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crinklystarfish Posted November 13, 2012 Share Posted November 13, 2012 Consider what the water has already run through before it enters it's final few metres consisting of an expensive bit of 'food grade' hose. It kind of gives perspective. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snitrats Posted November 13, 2012 Share Posted November 13, 2012 We bought a food grade hose a couple of years ago. Never used it yet ! to much of a pain, bare in mind when your 10' from the tap you have to unroll 50' of hosepipe to fill up,so we just keep an ordinary hosepipe on board not much bigger to store & lighter too Reminds me must put it on Ebay ! :-D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ninian Posted November 13, 2012 Share Posted November 13, 2012 Hi, Would not consider buying a food grade hose as we don't drink or cook with the water we put in the tank. We just use it for washing at the sink or showering. We use bottle water for everything making tea and cooking. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fairweather camper Posted November 13, 2012 Share Posted November 13, 2012 We just use a normal hose and have an inline filter fitted, simples. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quickweh Posted November 13, 2012 Share Posted November 13, 2012 Bought some "cheap" food grade hose from Towsure, made a good sprinkler system for the lawn it was so full of holes at one end. Cut it off and the water pressure needed to inflate the hose means that it takes forever to fill the tank. Being lay flat I am not sure if it dries out thoroughly. Bought a reel of food grade round hose at the NEC recently complete with couplings for about £15, takes a little more room but air can circulate. Checked my garden hose last year by cutting a piece off and opening up, the Algae deposit was significant. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr Dave Posted November 13, 2012 Share Posted November 13, 2012 Because of the short time that the water stays in the hose when filling up we use a normal hose but i do allow the water to run for a few mins to clean it out first. And if you see the build up in normal domestic pipes which feed your drinking water tap you would never bother about a hose pipe being suitable or not. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maggyd Posted November 13, 2012 Share Posted November 13, 2012 Have you ever been stuck behind someone at the Service area reeling in one of these fold flat hoses ?? (lol) not funny if you have a long journey in front of you and they don't move away before they start the operation!! What a palaver :-S Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BGD Posted November 13, 2012 Share Posted November 13, 2012 We've only ever just used ordinary garden hose to fill our freshwater tank. But we use bottled water for cooking/drinks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike B. Posted November 13, 2012 Share Posted November 13, 2012 I have one of these self coiled hoses which stretches to 50ft to fill the tank and we always drink bottled water when away. It stores very easily and doubles up if you want to wash the windsreen off etc while you're away. Have a look at this as it is much cheaper than Towsure-with free delivery Mike http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/50FT-RECOILING-GARDEN-COIL-HOSE-PIPE-SPRAY-GUN-15M-KINK-RESISTANT-HOSEPIPE-/330740618194?pt=UK_Home_Garden_GardenEquipment_HandTools_SM&hash=item4d01ad53d2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kelly58 Posted November 13, 2012 Share Posted November 13, 2012 BGD - 2012-11-13 1:40 PMWe've only ever just used ordinary garden hose to fill our freshwater tank.But we use bottled water for cooking/drinks." Ditto " Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mel B Posted November 13, 2012 Share Posted November 13, 2012 It depends how 'fussy' and to some extent how 'paranoid' you are! :-D We have always used a normal garden hose but not a real cheap one as this type are a pain as they kink easily. We got our last hose on offer I think from B&Q and it's a yellow one which is anti-kink. We have always used normal hose and we drink etc from our water tank and use it to wash salad, cook, brush teeth, shower ... you name it, the only thing I don't really do is drink it straight from the tap, not because I am 'frightened' to, but because I don't like just 'water' to drink ... much prefer a tea-bag in it!!!! :D We always run the water through the hose first to ensure it is well flushed out before filling the water tank, and make sure that we get out as much remaining water out at the end of the fill. At home we use the camper's hose to fill it, not the one we have stuck outside all the time for garden duties. I am not a fan of lay-flat hoses, there are 2 types, the first is the type which is one large tube which is 'squished' flat, the second 'multi-mini hose' is made of 3 or 4 smaller tubes laid alongside each other which are not flattened (imaging a strip of Plastacine). The first type has to be unrolled totally to use it which is an absolute pain although it will generally allow a greater water flow through the hose, the second can be used with some of the hose still rolled up but due to the smaller diameter of the hoses (despite there being more) they can be quite a bit slower when filling a tank. As for the spiral type of hose - these appear to be 'good' but can be a pain in use as they can easily tangle, you will struggle to be able to stretch the hose to it's full length even if you have someone at each end holding it taught (which isn't that easy), they also are cheapishly made and often leak especially when extended over a distance! I've had a 'bath' from one of these once when it suddenly sprung out of the water filler ... not fun (stop laughing!!!!). They also make the job of filling much longer due to the smaller bore of the hose. Also, the spiral and multi-mini-hoses are not ideal on an aire where you pay for your water by the minute - we have come across these and once only managed to get 50 litres in to the tank instead of 100 litres due to the stupid hose we had. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest pelmetman Posted November 13, 2012 Share Posted November 13, 2012 PS don't forget to clean out your water tank ;-)......................we do ours every few years whether it needs it or not :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WildBill Posted November 13, 2012 Share Posted November 13, 2012 Top up with ordinary garden hose which I let the water run through for a minute or so before sticking in the filler hole. Could get paranoid about these things but at the end of the day all hoses will have a small amount of water left in them once wound up. If left for a while, bacteria may grow in the stagnant water. For this reason, I always keep the water in the tank quite fresh. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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