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

[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.

 

[Ddmo]

I put Camco Tastepure in 1/2 filled tank then fill it to 100% before storing. I add it to the whole house filter then fill.

When I take it out of storage, I drain then refill with fresh water.

Left it in storage 3-4 months this way without issues.

Amazon.com

 

[CaptainGizmo]

Made this today, filled it up with bleach and connected it to my supply hose. Worked like a charm and cost about $20.

 

[Jabber Jaw]

I always travel full fresh and empty black/gray in case of an unfortunate situation sidelining me. I leave it full in storage, cycle it and/or sterilize it prior to or on the first stop of the next trip using bottled water until ready.

Same here. However, I sanitized it with bleach about once every six months, then drain & refill. When sitting, water was always in the tank, and for 5 years, never had an issue.

 

[DKRITTER]

Some of y'all like complicated.

First off we do not consume the water from a RV Park. One of the first trips we took was to a small town in Wyoming. The guy next to us suggested rinsing out our hose. It was rust brown for almost a minute. We went to town and bought bottled water to consume and still do this today.

We always carry some water to use along the way as needed almost never full. At the RV Park I fill up the tank to supplement the shower and water pump.

I almost always drain all the water in the MH when we get home, then add fresh before we go next time.

 

[CaptainGizmo]

Just to be clear, we only use water from our purifier or bottled and haven’t sanitized our tank for at least the 5 years we’ve had it, and never drain the tank on purpose.

I always have used my 3-Stage filter and Softener system that filters down to .5 micron, which is good for almost all bacteria.

What I CAN TELL you, however, is that I’ve known of one coach owner who had a horrific stinch throughout his coach that they couldn’t kill despite how many waste tank treatments. FINALLY, they sanitized their fresh tank and…yup…problem solved!

So, whether or not your DRINK from your fresh tank is despite the problem of getting bacteria in there and having it set up shop. So, I’m a believer in filtration before any water gets into your tank if, for nothing else, smell.

And, one last consideration…DON’T FORGET ABOUT YOUR CLOTHES WASHER AND DISHWASHER needing clean water to use!

 

[dave54]

We always travel with at least a third of a tank, for using the toilet and washing enroute. Fill the tank at the FHU park. Then it is no problem if the water system is shut down for maintenance while we are there. Like the earlier poster said -- let the faucet run for several minutes before hooking up.
Also periodically sanitize the housing for the filters. Many people change the filters but never clean the inside of the filter housing.
Upon return, we drain and rinse the tank with city water. Even if we will be home only a few days.

 

[Neemer]

https://www.rvtravel.com/how-long-can-you-keep-fresh-water-in-your-tank-rvdt-2014/

 

[jfskeet]

Fresh to start each trip, Empty when we return. Only ride with 1/3 tank full. enought for dishes a shower if we don't get water hook up.

 

[Headhunter]

https://www.rvtravel.com/how-long-can-you-keep-fresh-water-in-your-tank-rvdt-2014/

Good article straight and to the point.

HH