How long do you leave water in your fresh water tank?

[Jim]

Hi Guys:
Thanks for the answers. I to am on a well so the water I use in my holding tank is untreated. When sanitizing people say to use a bit of chlorine? How much is a bit for an 80 gallon tank? Is there other products to us to sanitize it? Not to keen on chlorine?

HH

At one time (and I don't remember when that was) I was told to use 1/4 cup of unscented household bleach per 15 gallons of water.

So for 80 gallons:

• 80 ÷ 15 = 5.33
• 5.33 × ¼ cup = 1⅓ cups of bleach

But please HH, this is something that I was told, and at the time, it seemed correct. But you may want to verify this with someone smarter than myself before you start pouring the stuff into your tank!

 

[DennisT]

At one time (and I don't remember when that was) I was told to use 1/4 cup of unscented household bleach per 15 gallons of water.

So for 80 gallons:

• 80 ÷ 15 = 5.33
• 5.33 × ¼ cup = 1⅓ cups of bleach

But please HH, this is something that I was told, and at the time, it seemed correct. But you may want to verify this with someone smarter than myself before you start pouring the stuff into your tank!

Same volume that is in the manual for our Superstar with regard to sanitizing.

So ours is 150 gallons which works out to 2 1/2 cups.

 

[Neal]

I pour probably 3/4 bottle into my house filter and fill the 110 gal tank, then flush twice. I don't care as much, hopefully it shocks it, but I'll cycle the water until I don't smell the chlorine.

 

[redbaron]

I pour probably 3/4 bottle into my house filter and fill the 110 gal tank, then flush twice. I don't care as much, hopefully it shocks it, but I'll cycle the water until I don't smell the chlorine.

Filling the tank with vinegar after chlorine rids smell quickly.

 

[Neal]

Filling the tank with vinegar after chlorine rids smell quickly.

That would be the final trick to trigger a projectile vomit

 

[Neemer]

That would be the final trick to trigger a projectile vomit

Those are the best.

 

[redbaron]

That would be the final trick to trigger a projectile vomit

I did say fill---I meant add the same ratio as you do chlorine --- no taste should exist.

I used apple cider vinegar.

 

[Neal]

Good tip!

 

[Boat Bum]

How are folks introducing the bleach in a closed system?

 

[Neal]

How are folks introducing the bleach in a closed system?

I put it in both of my house filter canisters so they get sanitized. I also pour some into the fresh water hose prior to filling from city water to also expose that line to the chlorine. Remove house "filters" during this process as at this time new ones go in.

 

[MemoriesByTheMile]

I put it in both of my house filter canisters so they get sanitized. I also pour some into the fresh water hose prior to filling from city water to also expose that line to the chlorine. Remove house "filters" during this process as at this time new ones go in.

We do something similar, but we have a loose filter housing that we attach at the end of the hose away from the coach. This accomplishes the same purpose of having the bleach go through everything: the hose, canister housings, fresh water tank and into the coach water lines.

 

[CaptainGizmo]

You guys don't wanna know how long it's been since sterilizing our Newell's tank...but I'll give you a hint:
I was told, by service, "huh? why do you need to do that...no one does that."

Um. OK. I get it...we don't drink the water but what about your ice-maker, and those who take hot (aka steamy) showers? Yes, there are studies that show you inhale in the shower. Man, I still don't know how I made it to 65yo, living the way I did as a kid, and then spending a career as a firefighter. Now...here I am worried about my 143 gallons of water sitting in my RV.

FYI: that's on my short list this season, and yes...the "bleach" proportions above are straight out of the AQUAHOT service manual. I'm still not a fan of this, since ya gotta yank those on-board filters. And, I've seen SOME who recommend bypassing your heater system.

 

[J&JD]

I spent 40 years selling industrial detergents & disinfectants to the food processing industry. A standard USDA rule was that bleach (sodium hypochlorite) could be used as a no rinse sanitizer at up to 200ppm. Household bleach is usually manufactured at somewhere in the range of 7% sodium hypochlorite. The longer it sits around it will slowly degrade to around 5.25%. So, using 6% as an average, you would need 2 teaspoons/gal of water to make up a no rinse sanitizer solution. That would work out to 160tsp in 80gal of water or a little over 3 cups. Bear in mind you can still get satisfactory sanitizing effect with much less concentration depending on contact time, water hardness, temperature etc.
I personally use about a cup in my 100 gallon tank (usually with 80 or so gallons) and let the solution sit for an hour or so and drain & refill the tank. I only do this once or twice a year. For 20 years we have been drinking the water and using the ice from tanks treated this way with no ill effects. And by the way, I’ve been in many water bottling plants and their practices aren’t much different.

 

[Crazydog]

We never travel with a full tank of water (unless we will be boondocking). To me that is just a waste of fuel. We travel with under a half tank We do this just in case our next site doesn't have good water. (We test the water at each new site before we will attach a hose to it.) If we are at a park, we will not hook up to "city" water until our tank is near empty. That way we keep the freshest possible in our tank and don't waste any.

You test the water every time you get someplace new? How do you test it and what are you testing for?

 

[Rollin Ollen]

You test the water every time you get someplace new? How do you test it and what are you testing for?

We are testing for color. clarity, smell and taste. It's not very scientific but in all the years we have been RVing it has saved us a few times. We open the city water tap and let it run until it turns cold or 10 to 15 seconds. We fill a large glass tumbler and let it sit for a minute or so. If its is crystal clear, no sediment and it passed the "sniff" test then if moves on to the taste. If it passes the taste then we pass it thru our filters and into the tank.