Refilling fresh water tank

caheaton

caheaton

Senior Member
Joined
Jan 28, 2021
Messages
182
Location
SW Ohio
Just curious what people are using to refill their fresh water tank while camped. On our recent maiden voyage, I had to refill the fresh water tank using water jugs and it was quite a pain....when pouring water into the tank from my jug, at least 2/3 (maybe more) of the water would pour right back out onto the ground. Didn't matter if I poured slowly or fast...the water would back up in the filling port and dribble down the side of the camper. Yet, there is no problem at all filling from a garden hose. I found this to be strange, as I had no such problems with our previous camper.

Here's the jug I was using to fill the camper:
https://www.igloocoolers.com/produc...bhh8EdzfRprt7sZzR5Hah0Vf0jrBCkdJRAD0lUFEfFDMK

Any suggestions? I've read here that others are using similar jugs without issue...has something changed? A check valve perhaps? (though I didn't see one when I looked from underneath, unless it's built into the filler port).
 
I have had to use jugs a lot in areas that don't have a potable water tap available and I need to buy jugs of filtered water. I just get my wife to hold a funnel and it goes quite well. On our trip south including the Baja I was able to keep good clean water in the trailer system. We drink from ours all the time a I sterilize at least once a year, twice if I see lots of days of travel.

I carry one or two of these jugs with me. I often have one handy at the table as the tap/spout are great for supplying water if away from our outside taps on the trailer. CLICK
 
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There's a discussion on that aspect in the "What would you like......." thread.

I use a jug like this. Zero spillage. A twenty liter size is perfect. With two of them you can can a reasonable amount of water just walking to a hose bib.

Mine aren't available locally but there is a 20 liter can that looks good in the other thread. Unfortunately it doesn't appear to have a suitable spout.

Ron
 

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CAHeaton, you might take a look at the fill hose inside the camper as it goes from the fill port to the tank. It’s possible that the hose arcs up a bit before going down into the tank. If that’s the case you can refit the fill hose or put an extension piece of hose on a funnel that reaches in beyond the arch. Just a thought.
 
I did look underneath and there didn't appear to be an arc, but I could check again. At the time I was just checking to make sure that inserting the jug's spout deeply wasn't causing any damage. It's strange as others have reported here they're just using normal jugs without a problem. The jug I use has a long spout and it didn't matter if I just barely inserted the spout or if I jammed it as far as it could go into the filler opening, the water backs up and runs out. Adding 2 complete jugs full of water (roughly 10 ~ 12 gallons) is only yielding me about a 1 to 2 inch rise in water level on the fresh water tank since most of it is running back out and onto the ground. When you remove the jug, the water continued to run out of the filling port for a time until it stops with some water still sitting in the filler port. As I type this, it does seem to lend credence to there being an arc somewhere....

I'm considering using a pump to emulate the pressure one would get from a garden hose and using that to fill from water jugs to see if that helps.
 
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I try not to push the funnel or system into the hole and leave a little air so the systems can "burp".

This came the other day, and seems like it's going to work without leaking on my initial test fit/fill. I'll attach my already owned, Camco Filler to it for quick shutoff and to get a bit deeper into the filling system.
 
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I haven't checked the vent, but it seems to vent properly when filling from a garden hose. The tank fills normally without issue until it's full, only then does water run out (when using the garden hose from a tap). It's difficult to look at it properly as the fill line running from the tank to the port disappears into a ball of spray foam that was applied where the filler hose meets the filler port.
 
BravoDeltaRomeo said:
I try not to push the funnel or system into the hole and leave a little air so the systems can "burp".
Click to expand...

The tank has an air vent. It shouldn't need to burp.

Selkirk said:
I routinely fill my tank using standard Scepter 20L potable water containers.

https://www.princessauto.com/en/20-litre-water-can/product/PA0008570798


Is the vent for the fill line/fresh water tank plugged or not properly attached?
Click to expand...

That looks like a great size and the spout looks suitable. If mine, that are pretty old now, end up cracking I'll get a couple of those. One for each hand. :)

Ron
 
I put my water jug on a portable table next to the fill port so I don’t have to hold it and use this jiggle or shaker syphon to transfer the water. A few shakes of the hose and the water flows well.
Amazon.com
Here is a video showing how to use it.
 
Ron in BC said:
The tank has an air vent. It shouldn't need to burp.

Ron
Click to expand...

I figured it doesn't hurt. If I leave a gap, I can also tell by sound when it's going to start getting full, so will pull back the jug to not loose water or get splash back. It also allows me to not use the air vent on the jug, which is independent of the spout on my military can and a bugger to unscrew sometimes as it's small.

At least that's what I tell myself to justify my "set in my ways" mentality.
 
We use a garden hose to fill the fresh water and we carry drinking water separately. I will say that as a kid, I was known to drink from a garden hose and then ride my bike without a helmet. Oh my! If we need to add water while camping, we use the basic, blue 6 gallon jug we carry for situations like that.
 
I use a shaker syphon and it works great when we need to add water from a bucket/container and faucet/hydrant/hose bib isn't available.

Sometimes the inflow of water at the filler eclipses the smaller diameter fresh water tank's vent tube's capacity and causes it to reverse flow/burp lest I need to slow down the flow of water. So, I set my fresh water drain valve up so I could much more quickly fill the tank from a hose from the bottom up; works better for my 15A.
 
I use a jug like yours all the time to add water and once I get the spout into the filler it all goes in the tank. It sounds like a problem with your filler hose installation.

I'm guessing the hose is a bit too long and so there is bit of a rise in the hose inside the trailer and using a garden hose it shoots right over the hump it but pouring water in with a jug it can't make it over.
 
Air vents for tanks are small an only intended to allow air INTO the tank as the pump draws it out. Filling the tank with a hose, or something large that does not leave part of the fill port open, blocks air from exiting the tank and with a garden hose, can create enough pressure to blow the filler neck hose off the fittings or swell the tank until the mount brackets break or become bent. One Bigfoot owner did this and it proved to be a huge amount of work to replace the tank supports that were bent. For garden hoses I recommend using the Camco fill tube that goes a foot or so down in the gravity fill port and allows air to escape.

Charles
 
I don't treat my fresh water tank as drinkable, its just wash water. So I fill it from whatever local water, and carry drinkable water in separate 5G water jugs.
 
I have always used my trailer tank for drinking, cooking and cleaning. It is real easy to sterilize and so handy to use so why not. It is basically a large drink bottle. :) I have never had an issue. We do have good quality water here in Calgary but when going elsewhere I do take caution in what I use. Most folks I camp with do the same.
 
I sanitize the fresh water tank and use it for everything, OTHER than water for my morning coffee. THAT I want to taste exactly the same every. single. day. So, it's quality bottled water for that. There's some things it's just worth being OCD about and how I start my day is one of them. YMMV.
 
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