My name is Jim Worden and I own a small business called Cove Systems, Inc. in Sevierville Tennessee. We manufacture and sell water filtration systems for recreational vehicles, marine, aviation and home use. This little business grew out of our camping experiences over the past 25 years. My wife and I are avid RV owners and spend as much time as we can in our motor home, enjoying the vagabond lifestyle. We started camping as a way to have quality time with our kids when they were young. Although our children are grown and gone now, RVing is still a big part of our life.
Along the way, I became interested in the subject of good, clean water. There were times that the water available at various parks and campgrounds was not very good. We handled the problem by purchasing and using bottled water. Then I found out that bottled water was maybe not as good as we had assumed. This created a dilemma and set me on the path to find a way of processing our own water. After many years of research and finally getting a better understanding of what I was facing, we developed a system that really works. The same technology was then incorporated in systems for marine, aviation and home use. The following articles were written with a view toward recreational vehicles but they also apply to our other systems because we use the same filter media for all of our filters.
I will be posting a series of articles on fresh water issues on this blog. My hope is that you will find these articles interesting and helpful. The series will consist of four articles.
Article 1. What is water and why is it important?
Article 2. Bottled water. What’s all the hype?
Article 3. Water contaminants – brief discussion and overview.
Article 4. Different methods and suggestions for cleaning water.
Let’s start out with “Who The Heck Is Jim Worden and what makes him Think he is so smart”. Thank You; Thank You…That’s a good question. I have been studying water issues for several years now, primarily for my own purposes. I love to tinker with things and am always looking for a better mousetrap. Our first full-size motor home was a Winnebago we bought in 1983. Up until then we tent camped or used our conversion van. I didn’t have a clue about the problems and dangers of careless management of the fresh water system. We relied on bottled water until the Winnebago came along. When we started using the on-board tank water, our headaches began. Algae, bacteria, iron and other contaminants turned us back to bottled water. Since then I have learned a lot. Today, the water in our RV is excellent, thanks to our filtration system and a small amount of water system maintenance using procedures we developed.
My mind has a natural tendency to drift to the technical side of about any problem I encounter. I have a technical background so I like to look at the “nuts and bolts” of how things work. I originally thought the process to remove harmful contaminants and keep the RV water supply system clean had to be simple. Boy, was I ever wrong! As I found out the hard way, keeping the RV water system clean and safe does require a certain level of care. I also came to realize that as we traveled around the country the quality of available water we encountered varied a lot. There is an amazing amount of science and technology available that directly relates to this subject. Unfortunately, not much of it has found its way into the RV field. My goal is to educate those that have an interest and concern for clean, safe water.
Over the years I have had the good fortune to meet some very smart people. Many of them are scientists in such fields as microbiology and chemistry. I have never hesitated in picking their brain on fresh water issues. From this has come a fairly significant knowledge base for addressing the very real issues you and I face every day in our RV’s.
So, over the course of the next few articles we are going to talk about water, your RV and how to keep you safe. Keep in mind that the information presented is based on my own experience, research and views. There may be other and possibly better ways to do things. What I present to you comes from many years of study and trial and error. The first article will examine water, what it is, where it comes from and the current condition of our water here in the United States. From there we will discuss in the following articles what contaminants you might encounter and various methods to remove or control these contaminants. We will also post methods and procedures for cleaning and maintaining the fresh water system found on most RV’s.
The postings to follow are going to be brief and to the point. I invite you to submit comments or questions as we proceed. I can be contacted at rvwater@aol.com. I always enjoy hearing from fellow RVers. You may want to cruise through our website, located at http://www.covesystemsinc.com/.
Showing posts with label camping water. Show all posts
Showing posts with label camping water. Show all posts
Thursday, January 24, 2008
Sunday, January 20, 2008
WATER - THE BASICS
Hi and welcome to the first article for our blog. We are happy that you have taken the time to visit with us. The focus of this blog is to offer you a small amount of knowledge related to handling and processing water for your RV. There are close to 9 million RV’s in use in the United States today. Obviously, we are a people that enjoy camping and the Great Outdoors. Some folks enjoy camping with their families in a small pop-up or trailer while others may enjoy camping in the air-conditioned comfort of a large motor home. The common factor is our fun and enjoyment of spending time with family and friends while campfire smoke blows in our face and bugs dive-bomb us. We must be nuts! But, there we are, having a ball.
One subject common to all that RV is water. We can find water in just about all of the camping places we visit. We need water to drink, bathe, clean and cook. Many folks rely on bottled water for consumption as an alternative to using on-board water or available campsite water.
As you read these articles, my hope is that you gain a good working knowledge of the subject and will be better advised to safeguard yourself from water-borne contaminants. Where possible I will provide you with web links to further explore the subject matter in more detail. While it is true that I am in the business of manufacturing water filter systems for RV use, my focus is and will continue to be educating my fellow RVers.
Water is the cornerstone of life. Without water, there would be no life as we know it on our little blue marble. Although I have invested many years in studying water, I find that the more I learn, the less I seem to know. On the surface, water would appear to be a simple chemical compound, not worthy of more than a passing glance. People tend to take water for granted, until something goes wrong. We folks that have the good fortune to live in the United States are blessed with generally good water. Other parts of the world are not so fortunate.
So, let’s start right from the beginning. What is water and why is it important to us? Water is basically composed of just two elements – hydrogen and oxygen. It is the only chemical compound that can be found in three forms - liquid, solid (ice) and gaseous. This simple and yet complex substance is the singular most important element on earth other than the air we breathe. Water is the giver of life, without which we would not be here. We can survive for many days without food but only hours without water.
http://www.waterwarning.com/ states, “We now know the fluids that flow through our body are what create our level of well being. The human body is a water machine, designed to run primarily on water and minerals. By weight our body is about 72% water, another 8% is a combination of chemical compounds and the remaining 20% is bone and solid tissue. From the most basic standpoint it is a common sense equation, if we are made up of 72% plain water, then naturally the quality of the water we consume will have a very dramatic impact on our overall state of health. Every healing and life giving process that happens in our body happens through Water!”
The amount of water that exists on earth today is the same amount that was here when our planet was formed, over 4 billion years ago. Various estimates for total water on this planet range up to 344 million cubic miles. Only one percent of this water is available for us to consume. Put another way, if all the water on earth was represented by one gallon, we would have just one tablespoonful to drink.
We live in a closed eco-system on our little planet. Our water is recycled over and over again. There is no “new” water and a dinosaur could have last consumed the water you drink today. This reclaiming process functions as a huge filter that removes many of the contaminants and returns water to its basic chemical composition, H2O…. that is, for the most part. Today there are so many different contaminants, many of which are man made, our eco-system is really stressed in trying to remove them. When water arrives at your tap, it can contain some foul and even harmful constituents. Our body, being the amazing organism it is, then becomes a water filter. Dependant on ones immune system and general physical health, the consumed contaminants may pass through our bodies unnoticed or possibly make us sick.
Some contaminants actually collect in our body without notice, until they reach a lethal level. This includes metals such as lead, mercury and arsenic. One nasty chemical we all are exposed to is chlorine. It is in all of our municipal water, mandated by the federal government. Yes, it is important because chlorine kills many biological contaminants. BUT, it should also be noted that many in the scientific community have identified chlorine as a cancer-causing element along with having a negative effect on our general health. Take a look at this article published by DR. Zolton Rona, MD - http://www.selene.com/healthlink/chlor.html
So, what we have to do to minimize the danger lurking in our water is remove the contaminants including chlorine. This is a formidable task. It is even more difficult for the RVer because every time we hook up to a new water supply, we may face a new combination of contaminants. For those of you that think you are “beating the system” by using bottled water, you are in for a big surprise. We will cover that issue in the next article. In the third article we will discuss the different types of contaminants and where they come from. The article after that will concentrate on how we can process water to render it as safe and palatable as possible. Allow me to leave you with just one thought to ponder. You need to take charge of the water you use, whether at home or on the road. Do not rely on the existing assumption that all water is safe. That is simply not true. Every year there are millions of cases of illness due to contaminated water reported in this country. It is safe to assume that an even larger number goes unreported (ever had the “Outhouse Trots” or upset stomach and didn’t know why?)
In future issues I also want to devote some time to the maintenance and use of the RV fresh water system. We will be covering a lot of ground on this blog, all focused on keeping you as safe as possible. In the mean time, I invite you to cruise through our website at http://www.covesystemsinc.com/. There you will find a lot of good information and technical data relating to RV water issues. Feel free to email me at rvwater@aol.com if you have questions or need further information. See you in the next issue.
Cheers and Happy Trails.
Jim Worden
One subject common to all that RV is water. We can find water in just about all of the camping places we visit. We need water to drink, bathe, clean and cook. Many folks rely on bottled water for consumption as an alternative to using on-board water or available campsite water.
As you read these articles, my hope is that you gain a good working knowledge of the subject and will be better advised to safeguard yourself from water-borne contaminants. Where possible I will provide you with web links to further explore the subject matter in more detail. While it is true that I am in the business of manufacturing water filter systems for RV use, my focus is and will continue to be educating my fellow RVers.
Water is the cornerstone of life. Without water, there would be no life as we know it on our little blue marble. Although I have invested many years in studying water, I find that the more I learn, the less I seem to know. On the surface, water would appear to be a simple chemical compound, not worthy of more than a passing glance. People tend to take water for granted, until something goes wrong. We folks that have the good fortune to live in the United States are blessed with generally good water. Other parts of the world are not so fortunate.
So, let’s start right from the beginning. What is water and why is it important to us? Water is basically composed of just two elements – hydrogen and oxygen. It is the only chemical compound that can be found in three forms - liquid, solid (ice) and gaseous. This simple and yet complex substance is the singular most important element on earth other than the air we breathe. Water is the giver of life, without which we would not be here. We can survive for many days without food but only hours without water.
http://www.waterwarning.com/ states, “We now know the fluids that flow through our body are what create our level of well being. The human body is a water machine, designed to run primarily on water and minerals. By weight our body is about 72% water, another 8% is a combination of chemical compounds and the remaining 20% is bone and solid tissue. From the most basic standpoint it is a common sense equation, if we are made up of 72% plain water, then naturally the quality of the water we consume will have a very dramatic impact on our overall state of health. Every healing and life giving process that happens in our body happens through Water!”
The amount of water that exists on earth today is the same amount that was here when our planet was formed, over 4 billion years ago. Various estimates for total water on this planet range up to 344 million cubic miles. Only one percent of this water is available for us to consume. Put another way, if all the water on earth was represented by one gallon, we would have just one tablespoonful to drink.
We live in a closed eco-system on our little planet. Our water is recycled over and over again. There is no “new” water and a dinosaur could have last consumed the water you drink today. This reclaiming process functions as a huge filter that removes many of the contaminants and returns water to its basic chemical composition, H2O…. that is, for the most part. Today there are so many different contaminants, many of which are man made, our eco-system is really stressed in trying to remove them. When water arrives at your tap, it can contain some foul and even harmful constituents. Our body, being the amazing organism it is, then becomes a water filter. Dependant on ones immune system and general physical health, the consumed contaminants may pass through our bodies unnoticed or possibly make us sick.
Some contaminants actually collect in our body without notice, until they reach a lethal level. This includes metals such as lead, mercury and arsenic. One nasty chemical we all are exposed to is chlorine. It is in all of our municipal water, mandated by the federal government. Yes, it is important because chlorine kills many biological contaminants. BUT, it should also be noted that many in the scientific community have identified chlorine as a cancer-causing element along with having a negative effect on our general health. Take a look at this article published by DR. Zolton Rona, MD - http://www.selene.com/healthlink/chlor.html
So, what we have to do to minimize the danger lurking in our water is remove the contaminants including chlorine. This is a formidable task. It is even more difficult for the RVer because every time we hook up to a new water supply, we may face a new combination of contaminants. For those of you that think you are “beating the system” by using bottled water, you are in for a big surprise. We will cover that issue in the next article. In the third article we will discuss the different types of contaminants and where they come from. The article after that will concentrate on how we can process water to render it as safe and palatable as possible. Allow me to leave you with just one thought to ponder. You need to take charge of the water you use, whether at home or on the road. Do not rely on the existing assumption that all water is safe. That is simply not true. Every year there are millions of cases of illness due to contaminated water reported in this country. It is safe to assume that an even larger number goes unreported (ever had the “Outhouse Trots” or upset stomach and didn’t know why?)
In future issues I also want to devote some time to the maintenance and use of the RV fresh water system. We will be covering a lot of ground on this blog, all focused on keeping you as safe as possible. In the mean time, I invite you to cruise through our website at http://www.covesystemsinc.com/. There you will find a lot of good information and technical data relating to RV water issues. Feel free to email me at rvwater@aol.com if you have questions or need further information. See you in the next issue.
Cheers and Happy Trails.
Jim Worden
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