Refilling fresh water tank

[Ron in BC]

I sanitize the fresh water tank and use it for everything, OTHER than water for my morning coffee.

I think that it's worse for tea. God awful in fact. Don't know why water that's good for everything else could make tea that tastes foul. :nonono: So, for me, it's bottled water for making tea. Morning instant coffee, no problem. Of course some of you high end coffee drinkers would say that instant coffee isn't real coffee.

Ron

 

[GinoandLinda]

Morning instant coffee, no problem….

Ron

Sorry, Ron. We can’t be friends anymore.

 

[Centex]

Not too surprising to read the many different ways folks choose to use or not use their onboard water storage.

I happen to be in the camp that uses mine for all potable water needs.

So yes, I taste-test first, and no, I don't fill my tank from sources I judge unsuitable for those purposes.:nonono:

 

[alanmalk]

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.

Have to chuckle...
Camping water gets so complicated sometimes.

When we host in desert campgrounds the local pressure water is frequently corrosive and packed with compounds that would make a chemistry set blush. So we pack big jugs and a couple of times per month take a trip to the nearest spring water and fill with the good stuff. (A note to Big Bend visitors - the Chisos Basin and CG are supplied by Oak Spring - best water in the Park.)

On the other hand, if camping in the Colorado high country we fill the tank with campground water that mostly comes from springtime snowmelt and tastes like blue skies and fresh mountain air. Makes great coffee when paired with African freshly ground beans.

 

[Telescopist]

Snip... We drink from ours all the time a I sterilize at least once a year, twice if I see lots of days of travel.

What is your method for sterilizing the fresh water tank?

 

[Elowen]

Fresh Water Tank Funnel

Yes, the Igloo is the best jug (dual handles!):
https://www.igloocoolers.com/product...JRAD0lUFEfFDMK

BUT, check out this cool funnel:
https://youtu.be/KiykvltpLEA?si=Hj83vRyKTgJPA-q7

https://freshwatertankfunnel.com/

...keep your tank sanitized, only add "good" water and you'll be able to conveniently DRINK right from your faucet (instead of buying, hauling and consuming unnecessary plastic!).

 

[John in Santa Cruz]

....keep your tank sanitized, only add "good" water and you'll be able to conveniently DRINK right from your faucet (instead of buying, hauling and consuming unnecessary plastic!).

I use a refillable 5 gallon water cooler style jug, that I refill with purified water at 'water stores' which you can find most anywhere. I don't even drink the city tap water where I live, it tastes too chlorinated for me. The 5 G jug lives in the back of the SUV, I have a 2 gallon counter-top water dispenser container inside.

 

[joebuoy]

I have the same issue in on our 2023 E19. Water from a hose with reasonable water pressure, I have no back flow. Low pressure or gravity feed containers, water back flows out of the fill hole. When I use a water container, I tape a 2 ft. long 1/4 inch water line to the funnel.


I checked under the bed today, the water line from the outside fill is about 1/2" to an 1" higher (where it arches toward the floor) than the outside fill hole. The tubing is too stiff to adjust the arch.

 

[John in Santa Cruz]

I have the same issue in on our 2023 E19. Water from a hose with reasonable water pressure, I have no back flow. Low pressure or gravity feed containers, water back flows out of the fill hole. When I use a water container, I tape a 2 ft. long 1/4 inch water line to the funnel.


I checked under the bed today, the water line from the outside fill is about 1/2" to an 1" higher (where it arches toward the floor) than the outside fill hole. The tubing is too stiff to adjust the arch.

sounds like you need to disconnect one end, and trim an inch or so off it so that it is an all downhill run. My 21, I can pour simple gravity feed water into a short funnel and it flows into the tank. I took a cheap funnel like this,

and cut it off a little above the lower bend, so it fits snugly in the fresh water fill inlet and have used that when I've needed to refill the tank via water jugs.

 

[John in Santa Cruz]

What is your method for sterilizing the fresh water tank?

I add about 1/2 cup bleach to a gallon of water, pour it into the tank, then fill the tank, drive around for a bit, run both the hot water for several gallons, and the cold, to flush the chlorinated water into the hot water heater, and the pipes, let it sit a day or two, then drain, and refill with fresh water, flush the water lines and hot water heater.

edit, oh, I shut off the hot water heater before I do this.

 

[GinoandLinda]

I know I'm going to sound like a freaking save-the-planet-Birkenstock-wearing-wheat-germist, but man, that is a lot of water to waste to sanitize the water system on a camper when a fraction of it will be used for drinking. Again, I grew up in the desert, so I have the "desert rat" gene in my DNA.

 

[John in Santa Cruz]

I know I'm going to sound like a freaking save-the-planet-Birkenstock-wearing-wheat-germist, but man, that is a lot of water to waste to sanitize the water system on a camper when a fraction of it will be used for drinking. Again, I grew up in the desert, so I have the "desert rat" gene in my DNA.

toilet, washing, showering, we go through most of a water tank in a week. I sanitize maybe once a year.

 

[Telescopist]

I add about 1/2 cup bleach to a gallon of water, pour it into the tank, then fill the tank, drive around for a bit, run both the hot water for several gallons, and the cold, to flush the chlorinated water into the hot water heater, and the pipes, let it sit a day or two, then drain, and refill with fresh water, flush the water lines and hot water heater.

edit, oh, I shut off the hot water heater before I do this.

Hot tip of the month. Thanks.

 

[Mary F]

Use a funnel for filling the tank

Here’s my funnel for filling the fresh water tank when we’re camping without hookup. I store it in a ziplock inside the red nylon drawstring bag.

There are several good ideas on this topic over at FiberglassRV.com.

simple for filling fresh water tank

 

[occer]

I checked under the bed today, the water line from the outside fill is about 1/2" to an 1" higher (where it arches toward the floor) than the outside fill hole. The tubing is too stiff to adjust the arch.

You could try a heat gun on low or hair dryer on high. Keep moving the heat gun all around not holding it in any one spot. Be careful to not get the plastic pipe to hot.
Once the pipe starts to get a little soft move it to the left, right or out causing it to have a down hill slope. Hold it for a few minutes there till it cools.
If it's not low enough the first time, repeat the process.

 

[sumac.rhus (2017 17B)]

Just curious what people are using to refill their fresh water tank while camped...

Sorry for your frustration!
I use the same jug with my 2017 Escape17 without difficulty. in case its useful: I DO make sure the venting plug on the jug is unplugged, stick the spout in as far as able, and after the first few gallons go in, I found it filled more smoothly (less glug glug glugging) turning the jug on its side... It IS a small venting hole.

Best wishes

 

[Carmel Clown]

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.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00P9WW2Y6/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Here is a video showing how to use it.

But the jug has to be higher than the fill port since it works by gravity and some of us old ladies can’t lift that high.

 

[hugh]

FWIW, I slightly modified the pump plumbing (added a ball valve and an extra "tee") and now I can use the water pump to pump water from the "antifreeze hose" directly into the fresh water tank. The same setup also allows filling the water tank directly from the city water inlet, if I'm hooked up.


It's nice to be able to able to fill the tank just by turning a valve or two.

 

[BobCS]

With my old Casita I used a kitchen funnel and a 6-inch elbow pipe (actually an old shower head arm). This doesn't work with the new E23 because the flex hose goes up a bit before it goes down, so I cut a 2-foot piece of an old white fill hose. My funnel just fits into it and that gets the water past the rise.

 

[Nindy]

My trailer is at my personal campground full time now for the last stages of building my house next door and I live there through the week and back to my rental house two hours away on weekends. I fill my tank every week with 7 gallon jugs. Used to dump them with a funnel taped to the side of the trailer but now am using a trick I learned from Eric T. Little pump attached to a cordless drill! Got mine from Lowes but they’re available several places. Quick and easier than heavy jugs.

Not enough signal for my photo but maybe a link will work:
https://www.lowes.com/pd/RotoPump-R...6e08cd7450cbbdddc64c6cf2e8891f6d48747c6d56d2c