Fresh water tank flush out

[MiniVistaCruiserJack]

Hi everyone,
I recently bought a pre owned Gulf Stream Mini Vista Cruiser 2009
I’d like to flush out the fresh water tank. I noticed when the water ran out, the last few cups of water that came out had a light tan color and some sediments. I’m wondering if there’s a drain plug so I can flush out the old stuff and start new.
Thanks!

 

[John&Andrea]

There will be a drain on the fresh tank. On your rig I am not sure where that drain will be.

How much bleach do you use to sanitize an RV freshwater tank?

You'll need about a 1/4 cup of bleach for every 16 gallons of water your fresh water tank holds. Another helpful ratio for your calculator is to use one ounce of bleach for every eight gallons of freshwater. Measure the appropriate amount of bleach for your RV based on these ratios.

 

[MiniVistaCruiserJack]

Thanks for the reply. I’ll watch some YouTube tutorials on flushing RV tanks.

 

[Kevin D Pem]

Thanks for the reply. I’ll watch some YouTube tutorials on flushing RV tanks.

You have a problem not easy to cure. Think of a pond fed by a stream. During the floods sediment makes it into the pond. You wanting the sediment out of your pond 1) open the outlet gate. 2)get a small dredge and start the long process of dredging the pond.

One of the two processes have you feeling good, but you have done nothing to regain capacity. The other process does in fact lead to higher capacity. Want to guess the method that works?

So you can use a small head that fits in the fill port and vacuum the sediment, or remove the tank and agitate it while filling it. Last option would be to never fill the tank again without using a sediment filter, and accept that sand is setting on the bottom of your tank that a sediment screen will catch before the pump, so will not mess with the pump valves.

To me the answer is a no brainer!!! I don't drink what is in that tank, and with every road trip some of the sediment finds it's way into the sediment filter.

 

[Joe Hogan]

You might be amazed how much sediment is even in city water.
Our house is on city water, the whole house sediment filter is changed quarterly. The filter is the color of mud when changed from bright white, there is sediment on the bottom of the filter housing.
This is only the first filter on the house system as well as a softener system. I was stunned at the amount of sediment in the water.
Previous owners had no filter at all.

 

[MiniVistaCruiserJack]

Great info. I’ll do the sanitation with bleach first then find a hose that will fit into the fill port and just let the water run through the tank for about 5 minutes.
That should be good enough for me. Thanks!

 

[alex556]

For the drain plug, look at the freshwater tank's bottom. Usually, you can open a valve or plug to allow the water out. A straightforward twist valve or a screw-style plug could serve as the drain plug. Open the drain stopper to let the water run out after emptying the tank into a suitable container below the drain.

Empty the tank. You can flush the tank by adding fresh water and then draining it again after removing the old water. Repeat this a couple of times. Keep an eye on the water pouring out of the tank as you flush it. Consider utilizing a tank cleaner solution to assist in removing the sediments if you spot any sludge. Then fill up again with fresh water.

 

[MiniVistaCruiserJack]

Thanks for the suggestion. What’s a good tank cleaning solution you recommend? There’s most likely sediments there I’d like to remove.

 

[Kevin D Pem]

After my response I remembered something in my past and made a new thread that may interest you!

Thread 'Access ports!' Access ports!