Filling water tank-again.

[Bobbie54]

Service dept. suggested removing the green hose. It is very tight without the clamp- any suggestions on a safe way to do that? (Asking them, too.)

Before I do that I am going to untie the green hose from the hot water tubing so it goes down instead of going in level for awhile.

(Pic is upside down, light is from tank underneath)

[h2owmn]

This is off the wall, but if the hose is plastic and the tube it goes onto is more rigid, you maybe could heat the hose with a hairdryer. That will soften it a little but not damage it.

I'd wait until some of the more experienced heads around here weigh in on that suggestion before proceeding.

[Bobbie54]

"Freeing" the tube did nothing; it is too rigid to droop more. I am going to check tonight with the small tube passed through (to see if I can see it in the tank when illuminated from outside as I can't tell now. Thinking the trick may just be a longer hose going in.

[Brian B-P]

Originally Posted by Bobbie54

Service dept. suggested removing the green hose. It is very tight without the clamp- any suggestions on a safe way to do that?

I would try twisting the hose on the fitting to break it loose, just by hand, before trying to pull on it. I replaced a hose just like that on my trailer, but it was 15 years ago and I don't remember any specific tricks which worked for that one.

[Bobbie54]

Originally Posted by Brian B-P

I would try twisting the hose on the fitting to break it loose, just by hand, before trying to pull on it. I replaced a hose just like that on my trailer, but it was 15 years ago and I don't remember any specific tricks which worked for that one.

It doesn't budge or show any signs of budging. Does it go in to the fresh tank? Or fit around an inlet piece?

[Donna D.]

Maybe it's time to rent or borrow an inspection camera? I know I can rent one from my local Ace Hardware store. Four foot cable with the camera on the end and a 3 inch viewing screen, you should be able to fish it all the way down and see if there's a blockage. Heck you can even buy one for less than $50, time and aggravation is worth that much.

[Bobbie54]

Originally Posted by Donna D.

Maybe it's time to rent or borrow an inspection camera? I know I can rent one from my local Ace Hardware store. Four foot cable with the camera on the end and a 3 inch viewing screen, you should be able to fish it all the way down and see if there's a blockage. Heck you can even buy one for less than $50, time and aggravation is worth that much.

Good idea, But first I'm going to try the regular hose all the way in. It may be as simple as a slightly uphill run for the water.

[jcs]

Originally Posted by Bobbie54

So- anode back in the hot water tank, bypass unbypassed, I tried to fill tanks.

At first seemed like nothing happened. I noticed checking the level that the fresh tank had a drip from the valve so fixed that, it seemed to change something and I started getting water to go in. Hot water tank eventually filled, fresh showed two lights. (Which apparently is not much.)

Drove to campground. Flushed toilet 2x, no cold water now, shows empty. Hot ran with pump on a little but no cold. (Hot water faucet- I never turned the heater on.)

Borrowed water containers for the rest of the trip, two days.

The only other time I've tried to fill the tank I had the same problem, ended up with a friend's help filling from a 5 gallon jug using a siphon.

So what's the trick? Water just runs back out when I try to fill with a hose (not tons of pressure but running steadily.)

Also- pump on or off while filling? (I've heard both.)

Check the corrugated hose routed from the fill point outside leading to the freshwater tank, I have seen that hose being 3-4 inches too long, sloping back to the fill point causing issues when filling.

[Brian B-P]

Originally Posted by Bobbie54

It doesn't budge or show any signs of budging. Does it go in to the fresh tank? Or fit around an inlet piece?

The hose is definitely clamped around the outside of a piece of tube, and could be pulled off if not stuck. Pulling it off can be very difficult because the tube is likely barbed. What we can't see is whether that tube unscrew is part of an inlet fitting "welded" to the tank, or if it unscrews from another fitting attached to the tank, so I wouldn't risk trying to turn the tube.

If the hose had failed I would cut it off, but there's nothing known to be wrong with the hose so I wouldn't want to damage it.

[Bobbie54]

Originally Posted by jcs

Check the corrugated hose routed from the fill point outside leading to the freshwater tank, I have seen that hose being 3-4 inches too long, sloping back to the fill point causing issues when filling.

That's what I'm checking next-see how a longer hose does. It definitely slopes slightly but not sure that's the only problem.

Oh, that reminds me to go look with the spotlight...

OK, interesting, looked and the hose was not apparently in the tank. Pulled it out and reinserted and pushed a little when it hit something and voila! it went in and I could see it. So I think the entrance IS partially blocked, And also there is a slight uphill run before the tank. So I'll sacrifice the 10 foot hose and cut it's end off so I can use it to fill. I think as long as I can run it slowly it should be fine. (I needed a longer fresh-water hose at home, anyway.). So now I have a much clearer picture of what's going on with water filling.

[ChrisT]

I’m going to jump in on this.. I’ve had a 17ft casita for 14 years and always had trouble filling the fresh water tank. At about 1/2 full the water would begin coming back out the fill tube and vent tube. The problem is water gets in the vent tube. If you force water into the fill tube, the resulting build up or air pressure will force the water out of the vent tube and Nirvana will settle across the universe.

[flynfrfun]

In addition to what ChrisT said...what if the vent tube was mistakenly pushed all the way down to the bottom of the tank? It would not function as a vent and could possibly cause this problem?

[Bobbie54]

I decided not to remove the inside green hose that is tight and not leaking and potentially create a worse problem, so instead I cut off a water hose and inserted that in. It still backwashed. Went back inside the trailer and pushed the green tube into a slight change of configuration (I'd previously removed the ties holding it up) and heard water running into the tank. So I can fill the tank! Since some of my experimenting was with a garden hose I am now going to add bleach before draining the tank again. (But first I need bleach and a funnel.) I tied the green hose so it would stay down.

[Bobbie54]

OK, second time I've dewinterized and I'm still stuck. Got a great suggestion for replacing the anode (block the socket so it actually pushes in as you turn the wrench) and ran water into the fresh tank. Got water flow inside (with pump) also at hot water faucet.

But no pressure relief water at the hot water tank. I did not bypass the hot water tank- I blew it out. So it isn't still bypassed as it never was.

So how do I get the hot tank to fill? Do I need to run the pump while I'm filling? Leave the relief valve open? Leave it closed? Turn the hot water on??

[HABBERDABBER]

I am unclear on your situation and procedures, but FWIW, I engage the water pump when filling the water tank, like at a park entrance for initial use. I travel with empty tanks when possible. This first fills some of the fresh water tank, then the water heater, drawing water from the fresh water tank. I leave both faucets (H&C) opened a bit to relieve air pressure. When they flow solid, I know things are filled.

Triple check both valves to the water heater for proper position settings.

Not sure, but you may need heated water in that tank to get water out of the pressure relief valve. That valve must be actuated by flipping the toggle up to horizontal. (And down & vertical to reset to closed)

bon chance

[Bobbie54]

OK, so if I am getting water out of the hot water valve with the pump on- the tank should be full? Even if I don't see water pressure at the pressure relief valve? (It normally does not need to be hot to show pressure)?

Or do I have to connect to the city water connection to fill the hot tank? Or maybe just run the pump longer to see pressure? I just want to know I'm not starting out short that much water. But don't want to run a lot of water to find out. I'm only driving 30 minutes so going with a full fresh tank; normally I wouldn't do that.

[Bobbie54]

Well, I guess my memory is shot. The lower bypass valve was half off and I guess that stopped the water flow. Opened it up wide and ran the city water and filled the tank! I'll get the hang of this after awhile. I may have to write down whether I bypassed it or not!.
I distinctly remember blowing the tank out

[Mucram]

I’ve always been confused as to how to get the hot tank to fill when dewinterizing & filling tank for the 1st time. Sounds like the faucets should be open & pump on. Is that correct?

[Bobbie54]

City water- no pump. Water tank- use the pump when evacuating the lines. Not sure about hot water tank as I was on city water before I actually had it open.

Darn thing has given me trouble since the first trip. My fill valve runs uphill and it took awhile to figure out how to fill the tank (without Dustin's not-so-helpful suggestion of replumbing it all myself as they might have left crap at the bottom of the tub). Then first time I winterized I couldn't reinsert the anode. The good thing is that my gauges seem to work okay.

[HABBERDABBER]

My suggestion. I photocopied the by-pass diagram that was in the Escape manual. I taped a copy of that diagram near the controlling valves.
Forget using your memory. Document and display what you want & need. Label it.