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Old 09-10-2020, 01:50 PM   #1
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Fresh water tank not filling ?

I have my 17b (new to me) parked at home. I wanted to sanitize the fresh water tank with the bleach/water method. Bleach water is in and now am filling tank. The tank does not want to fill ? When I turn the 12 v pump on, I hear noise from the little water tank but it does not seem to fill. I don't hear it filling on city water without the pump running. I have the normal water pressure reducer which worked fine on the RV park two days ago.
Any ideas ?
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Old 09-10-2020, 02:00 PM   #2
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Which water fill opening are you using? do NOT use the one that you can screw a hose to, use the one that you have to push a cut off hose into. No pump needed till you want to run the water through the piping to the toilet/faucets.

You're not mixing up the hot water tank with the fresh water tank, right? Your write up is a little confusing.
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Old 09-10-2020, 02:16 PM   #3
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Fresh water tank not filling.

Thank you for the advice. So, I filled the tank with the other opening meant for a hose with no metal on the end. So, the tank is being sanitized.

But help me understand something. I sold a large motorhome which KEPT the fresh water tank full when you were parked and hooked up to city water. Does the Escape trailer not do that ?

I drained the fresh water tank and assumed the tank would fill by connecting to home water just like at an RV park ! Wrong assumption on my part ? If so, then each time I fill the tank, I have to fill it through the funnel opening ? That does not sound right either.
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Old 09-10-2020, 02:32 PM   #4
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Thank you for the advice. So, I filled the tank with the other opening meant for a hose with no metal on the end. So, the tank is being sanitized.

But help me understand something. I sold a large motorhome which KEPT the fresh water tank full when you were parked and hooked up to city water. Does the Escape trailer not do that ?

Only if the check valve in the 12v pump fails, and once full, the fresh water tank will overflow.

I drained the fresh water tank and assumed the tank would fill by connecting to home water just like at an RV park ! Wrong assumption on my part ? If so, then each time I fill the tank, I have to fill it through the funnel opening ? That does not sound right either.
It may not sound correct but that is how it works .
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Old 09-10-2020, 02:41 PM   #5
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OK. I will take your word for it. Guess I was used to more technology in the coach. I dont mind. Just need to understand all the differences. Thanks much.

Jim
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Old 09-10-2020, 02:45 PM   #6
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OK. I will take your word for it. Guess I was used to more technology in the coach. I dont mind. Just need to understand all the differences. Thanks much.

Jim

It's why you have two filler ports, for two different purposes.
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Old 09-10-2020, 02:50 PM   #7
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So when you are hooked up to water in an RV Park, there is no water going into the fresh water tank ? Just bypassing it ? If so, then when I pull out of the RV park and go to the woods where there is no water, I need to fill the tank with a hose with no fitting ?
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Old 09-10-2020, 03:02 PM   #8
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It's why you have two filler ports, for two different purposes.
So how does my hot water tank fill ?
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Old 09-10-2020, 03:11 PM   #9
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When you run out of fresh water, shove a hose in the port ( you don't need to remove the metal end ). If you don't turn the pressure up too much it will hang in there.
To fill my water heater tank, I connect to city water port and turn on the water. I open the pressure relief valve until water flows from it, but some just open a hot water tap. Make sure the water heater is not in bypass. Water from the fresh water tank will replace the hot water you have used.
Pix are of pressure relief valve ( top centre ) and same open.
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Old 09-10-2020, 03:14 PM   #10
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I fill the HW tank while the fresh is filling, just turn on the pump and open a hot water spigot till the water comes out. It takes 6 gallons so it's good to do it either like Glen says or while you can refill the fresh tank.
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Old 09-10-2020, 03:25 PM   #11
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I fill the HW tank while the fresh is filling, just turn on the pump and open a hot water spigot till the water comes out. It takes 6 gallons so it's good to do it either like Glen says or while you can refill the fresh tank.
Very confused now. When you say the tank is filling...How is it filling ? Are you putting water in the opening for a funnel ? And then you turn on a hot water spigot with pump running and let it run until water runs out of the spigot ?
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Old 09-10-2020, 03:51 PM   #12
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There are 2 ports for water. The threaded one is called "city Water" and is where you connect the campground water faucet (with a pressure regulator between the faucet & hose). Pressure for the water system is supplied by the campground water faucet, just like the plumbing you have at home. No water flows from the city water connection to the fresh water tank unless something is broken. This is different from the systems used in larger trailers & motorhomes.

The second port (the one with the larger plastic cap) is used to fill the fresh water tank. The water pump is located between the fresh water tank and the rest of the trailer water system. As long as you have put water in the fresh water tank, (the pump) supplies the pressure to move water from the tank to the trailer system. It is not necessary (or a good idea) to run the pump if you are connected to city water.

Either source can be used to make the initial fill of the water heater tank. During the initial fill, a hot water faucet should be left open so the air in the tank can be displaced by the water filling it. One full, when you turn on a hot water faucet, the hot water flowing out into the trailer is replaced by water from the city water connection (if you are connected to a campground faucet) or, the pump pulls water out of the fresh water tank & provides the pressure to pump water into the water heater to replace what you take out.

Hope this helps explain the two water systems...
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Old 09-10-2020, 05:47 PM   #13
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I found this schematic to be helpful when we first got our rig in 2016. Not shown is the Hot Water heater bypass.
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Old 09-10-2020, 06:08 PM   #14
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Thanks. Couldn't form a picture in my mind.
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Old 09-10-2020, 07:56 PM   #15
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When you run out of fresh water, shove a hose in the port ( you don't need to remove the metal end ). If you don't turn the pressure up too much it will hang in there.
That works. Many of us use a fitting (adapter, filler, whatever you want to call it) screwed on the end of the hose which fits in the port better, isn't as likely to fall out, eliminates bending on the hose if you use an angled one, and can have a shutoff valve for convenience.
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Old 09-11-2020, 07:45 AM   #16
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Have you ever noticed that when an individual gets a wrong assumption in their brain how difficult it is to remove that wrong assumption ?
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Old 09-11-2020, 08:12 AM   #17
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Agreement?

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Have you ever noticed that when an individual gets a wrong assumption in their brain how difficult it is to remove that wrong assumption ?
Hi: steve dunham... Here we are in agreement. There are members here that will go to great lengths to erase those assumptions. I'm sure you know what the Urban Dictionary definition of assume is!!! Alf
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Old 09-11-2020, 08:20 AM   #18
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I've never heard of an RV which maintains the fresh water tank level from the pressurized water ("city water") inlet. Many motorhomes (but very few trailers) fill the fresh water tank from the pressurized water inlet by turning a valve; the valve is left in the other position to use water directly from the inlet, leaving the water in the tank.
That's what I have seen as well. I really like Olivers setup with three connections: traditional city water to pressurize onboard plumbing, freshwater fill hose connection (requires pressurized source to fill tank), and a "boondocking" rear inlet that uses the onboard pump to fill the fresh tank from a container with a short cut off hose you provide on the exterior. Valves need to be flipped inside first to operate the rear inlet. This is also where one can draw antifreeze into the system for winterizing. I would love to come up with a way to replicate the boondocking inlet because I dislike holding a container or hooking up an external pump to fill the fresh tank. The current EZ winterizing tee is pulling from the right location but I need that connection outside and figure out a way to divert the water to the tank. I don't really want to put a tee in the large diameter corrugated tank fill tube that Escape uses.
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Old 09-13-2020, 01:43 PM   #19
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Hi: steve dunham... Here we are in agreement. There are members here that will go to great lengths to erase those assumptions. I'm sure you know what the Urban Dictionary definition of assume is!!! Alf
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Yes. A lot of times it's because they keep themselves around people who agree with them. And that assumption keeps being reinforced.
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Old 09-14-2020, 12:40 AM   #20
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I really like Olivers setup with three connections: traditional city water to pressurize onboard plumbing, freshwater fill hose connection (requires pressurized source to fill tank), and a "boondocking" rear inlet that uses the onboard pump to fill the fresh tank from a container with a short cut off hose you provide on the exterior.
I have heard about this before, and I agree it would be great functionality. Just to be clear for the confused: this is not typical RV functionality - it may be unique to Oliver and some custom installations.

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Valves need to be flipped inside first to operate the rear inlet. This is also where one can draw antifreeze into the system for winterizing. I would love to come up with a way to replicate the boondocking inlet because I dislike holding a container or hooking up an external pump to fill the fresh tank. The current EZ winterizing tee is pulling from the right location but I need that connection outside and figure out a way to divert the water to the tank.
Whether it duplicates the Oliver design or not, matching the functionality in an Escape seems largely straightforward. An Escape already has a gravity fill, so to enable filling from the other sources just requires moving the winterizing inlet line to an extra city water style inlet, and a tee into the fresh water line (anywhere it has pressure) for a line to the tank with a manual "fill" valve.
  • If the fill valve is opened while on city water, the city water would fill the tank.
  • If the fill valve is opened while the pump is running and the winterizing valve is in normal position, the pump would just recirculate water out of and back into the tank (pointless for filling, but might be a good way to mix in bleach for sanitizing).
  • If the fill valve is opened while the pump is running and the winterizing valve is in winterizing position, the pump would fill the tank from whatever container the winterizing (now the boondocking) inlet.
Unlike the setup in my motorhome, using this added fill valve wouldn't interrupt service to the faucets in the trailer, whether using city water or filling from the new inlet with the pump (until your boondocking container empties).

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I don't really want to put a tee in the large diameter corrugated tank fill tube that Escape uses.
A tee in the fill hose would work, but a separate fitting on the tank would be better; for one thing, the fill hose would act as a very effective breather. Is there enough exposure of the tank to the trailer interior (though the existing hole in the floor or an enlargement or a second hole) to get another fitting in? The extra filling would presumably be done as spin-welded, but there are other types of fitting - it would be on the top of the tank so the seal isn't critical. It would presumably be necessary to drop the tank to make another hole in the floor.
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