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Old 02-13-2016, 10:12 AM   #21
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Bob - thanks, I was hoping someone with work experience like that would speak up. Being a homebrewer has made me very cautious about sanitation. I bleach sanitize our trailer water system when I put it away for the winter and again in spring when I dewinterize. During the year when we are using it more regularly, I use a peroxide based no-rinse homebrew sanitizer pumped thru the lines when we return home, after draining the system. I use that same sanitizer on our 2 -5 gallon plastic water jugs and our water hose as soon as we get home. I also try to make sure that they are completely dry before storing them.

We try to never put water into the trailer without running it thru an RV carbon water filter and all the water we drink we run thru a Pur pitcher first, but I know neither of those can remove all organic impurities.

I've seen those biofilms you speak of in clear plastic tubing I use to transfer brews between carboys when I have not sanitized and dried them well enough - they are tough to get out even with bleach.
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Old 02-13-2016, 10:49 AM   #22
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I was thinking of buying 15 gallons of bourbon and filling my tank, if the alcohol does not kill what is there, after drinking I'll not care....
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Old 02-13-2016, 10:57 AM   #23
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sanatizing tank and lines

Yes, once you get biofilms they can protect bacteria from even the strongest sanitization solutions used by professionals and sluff off bacteria into the water that runs by. I remember getting cultures with almost 10 times the drinking water limit in Colony Forming Units per milliliter. Clearly this wasn't laboratory grade water. We abandoned the circulating system some DUFOUS designed and went to individual point-of-use units at multiple locations. You have a very sound approach to sanitization with your Escape. I would drink from your tap!

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Old 02-13-2016, 11:01 AM   #24
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On reflection I would prefer to drink from Jim's tap!
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Old 02-13-2016, 11:06 AM   #25
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On reflection I would prefer to drink from Jim's tap!
Me too!!
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Old 02-13-2016, 12:11 PM   #26
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We plan to sanitize at least yearly and thought when we dewinterize would be a good time. Somebody had a good point about a low risk of contamination after cold weather but I think we will still do it.
I should have just looked at the manual in the first place[emoji9]
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Old 02-13-2016, 01:14 PM   #27
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Boy am I dumb!!!

After I picked up our pre-owned 17B in Calgary last August I discovered there was water in the fresh water tank. Not knowing how long it had been there I checked the manual regarding sanitizing the system. The instructions read: "Prepare a chlorine bleach solution of ¼ cup to one gallon of water for every 15 gallons of tank capacity." I read the "¼ cup to one gallon of water" multiplied by 20 gallons and added 5 cups of bleach through the filler hole to the tank. Then I filled the tank with fresh water and let it sit. Also pumped it through the faucets. Well... based on that concentration it should have killed every bug and perhaps eaten through the tank! No wonder I couldn't get rid of the chlorine smell and taste! Soooooo next time I'll reduce the concentration!

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Old 02-13-2016, 01:33 PM   #28
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Fred - well at least you most likely killed whatever was in there.

Baking soda can help get rid of the bleach taste and odor if you ever make that mistake again!
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Old 02-13-2016, 01:40 PM   #29
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I used the Star San to clean the tanks. Took forever to get the foam out of the lines. But they were clean.
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Old 02-13-2016, 01:43 PM   #30
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THANK YOU ... Eric for that tid bit of info.

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Old 02-13-2016, 02:29 PM   #31
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Fred, I could start most of my threads with "boy am I dumb"
thanks for your post. I'm going to be trying to keep out tanks nice and clean also. I'll remember your mistake. Thanks

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Old 02-13-2016, 03:22 PM   #32
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Between the foam and the 5 cups of bleach this thread turned out more interesting then expected.
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Old 02-13-2016, 03:29 PM   #33
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And, don't forget dissing Michigan State University.
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Old 02-13-2016, 04:43 PM   #34
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So how are you putting the bleach in.Thru the water fill[side of trailer],or are you pumping it in.Once in do you drive around with the trailer sloshing it about,or are you turning on the pump,there by circulating.new at this.Tried pouring into side fill,didn't rinse it out very well.Was sick for 2 days ...thanks
You dilute the beach in a gallon of water. Might want to put a few gallons of water in the tank first, then the gallon with the bleach, yes into fill hole, then fill the rest of the tank and that will disperse the bleach. Then run it through the lines. Wear your worst clothes because bleach will ruin anything.
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Old 02-13-2016, 05:03 PM   #35
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You dilute the beach in a gallon of water. Might want to put a few gallons of water in the tank first, then the gallon with the bleach, yes into fill hole, then fill the rest of the tank and that will disperse the bleach. Then run it through the lines. Wear your worst clothes because bleach will ruin anything.

A large plastic funnel with the small end pushed into a piece of corresponding size soft clear plastic hose makes this a lot easier process.
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Old 02-13-2016, 05:45 PM   #36
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Or, use a turkey baster to add required bleach, followed by water.
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Old 02-13-2016, 06:06 PM   #37
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A large plastic funnel with the small end pushed into a piece of corresponding size soft clear plastic hose makes this a lot easier process.
Yes, forgot the funnel. We use one into a gallon container and into the fill hole. Will have to try the tube.
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Old 02-13-2016, 06:12 PM   #38
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Or, use a turkey baster to add required bleach, followed by water.
Works good on the turkey too, if you prefer white meat.
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Old 02-13-2016, 07:18 PM   #39
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ETI's recommendation for sanitizing tanks according to my math works out to be 1 mL of bleach for every 1 litre of water. This is twice the amount that the Center of Disease Control & WHO recommends to disinfect water; however, it is 1/5th of what CDC and the WHO recommends to sanitize a container that holds water (5 mLs of bleach for every 1 litre of water).Cleaning & Preparing Personal Water Storage Containers | Water, Sanitation, & Hygiene-related Emergencies & and Outbreaks | Healthy Water | CDC

Containers/tanks take much greater amounts of bleach to sanitize because of the potential for biomass adhering to the walls of the container. An empty tank more likely to contain contaminants after winter storage than when in use and one reason why sanitizing the tank prior to use in the new year is a good habit to get into.

Perhaps I am overly cautious but I use 5 mLs of bleach per litre of water and ensure the tank is full, run through taps, and perform two flushes of the tanks and system afterwards.
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Old 02-14-2016, 02:44 AM   #40
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ETI's recommendation is based on a 4 hour treatment, while the CDC container treatment is for 30 seconds with the stronger solution of bleach. Personally, I think if we were drinking from my system I might use twice ETI's amount and then after rinsing, neutralize the residual bleach with vinegar. This is because residual water sits at the bottom of our tank for over 6 months, making it vulnerable to biofilms.
People who use their Escapes year round probably don't need to sanitize their water system.

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