Smelly fresh water system

[iamunique127]

FYI I use the 3 oz. treatment too and it got rid of the chlorine taste we’d had for years.

I only use it in the spring and it’s working great.

 

[LRL]

How many people actually drink the water from the fresh water tank? We have camped for many years across many US states and up through Canada and never had a problem drinking water from a campground faucet.

We’ve been drinking water from our freshwater tank since getting our first trailer in 2017. I use a good filter and rinse out the tank periodically… bleach once a year or so. Have never had a problem and don’t anticipate having one. I mean: most of our drinking water sits in pipes that are often several decades old, and never gets sterilized. None of us drink sterile water anywhere else (unless we’re drinking water “flavored” with microplastics… and even that isn’t necessarily sterile) so why should we attempt to do so when using our trailers? I’m a physician and have a fair bit of experience with travel medicine and water related illness. Not an epidemiologist for sure, but I am speaking based upon a bit more than my personal drinking experience.

 

[Mike Lewis]

I have the dead algae in the water tank problem, having presumably killed it with the standard tank decontamination procedure. But the water from the tank still looks dirty so I don't drink it. As a stopgap measure I put a Pur screw-on water filter on my kitchen faucet and use it to brush my teeth. Can anyone recommend a "whole house" water filter that I can put near the water pump that won't constrict the water flow excessively?

 

[JohnP-ESC]

We inspected the fresh water tank with an endoscope camera. The tank itself looks perfectly clean. However, the camera shows at the transition from the fill hose to the tank lots of white sealant. When I pulled out the camera the black cable was covered in white sealant. Is that normal? When we first noticed the problem (see above - trying to sanitize the FW system), when we first turned on the taps white coloured water came out for a few seconds.

Help

 

[Thrak]

I did a sanitation when we first got the trailer - just a couple of months ago - which was 5 years old. I had a hard time even detecting the bleach smell. I read up on the procedure and decided that my bleach was "old" so I bought fresh bleach and did it again with a slightly stronger solution. This time I had no issue smelling the bleach at all outlets. I let it sit overnight and then drained the tank, refilled it, ran water through all the taps, drained it again, and then refilled it. The water smelled and tasted fine. A few days ago we stayed in an RV park and hooked up to their water. I used the standard precautions - pressure regulator and water filter - and the water tasted "funky". We used a bunch of it to fill up the black tank to facilitate a good flushing but, as drinking water, it was not great. The water from home in our fresh water tank was vastly better. We will have no issue drinking water from the fresh tank in the future.

 

[iamunique127]

We inspected the fresh water tank with an endoscope camera. The tank itself looks perfectly clean. However, the camera shows at the transition from the fill hose to the tank lots of white sealant. When I pulled out the camera the black cable was covered in white sealant. Is that normal? When we first noticed the problem (see above - trying to sanitize the FW system), when we first turned on the taps white coloured water came out for a few seconds.

Help

White sealant on your camera cable! Unbelievable.

You don't mention the age of your trailer but if it's new I'd be contacting ETI immediately.

I wonder about 2 things:
1) was the wrong sealant used for the application, or
2) did all that bleach soften the sealant

 

[Chamberman]

We inspected the fresh water tank with an endoscope camera. The tank itself looks perfectly clean. However, the camera shows at the transition from the fill hose to the tank lots of white sealant. When I pulled out the camera the black cable was covered in white sealant. Is that normal? When we first noticed the problem (see above - trying to sanitize the FW system), when we first turned on the taps white coloured water came out for a few seconds.

Help

Are you sure that's sealant and not biofilm residue? It looks more like the type of residue you'd get from the biofilm buildup that's on the surfaces in the tank. Most sealants will not wear off easily if at all, especially on a smooth jacketed camera cable.

 

[Jim Bennett]

We use bleach to sanitize tank and water system. We also flush the system and then use tank water for everything.

We do too, and are healthy and alive.

I do often take along a large container of water to keep at the table outside for convenience more than anything. I take two on long trips where there is no potable water available and I need to get my water from filtering stations, a great way to add to my water tank.

We have great water quality here in Calgary and fine most, but not all, campground potable water to be fine.

 

[Perry Butler]

Been brushing my teeth with tank water since 1977. It hasn't got me yet.

Ron

Same here and about the same time period. However, we carry 5 one gallon jugs for cooking and water bottles, so brushing only. We also use a On The Go water softener for our fresh water.

Enjoy,

Perry

 

[GinoandLinda]

We inspected the fresh water tank with an endoscope camera. The tank itself looks perfectly clean. However, the camera shows at the transition from the fill hose to the tank lots of white sealant. When I pulled out the camera the black cable was covered in white sealant.

Help

I would not consider it normal. If it were me, I would pull the fresh water inlet all the way to from the city water and water inlet to the tank.

 

[Thane-ESC]

JohnP, does your tank have spray-on insulation?

 

[Ron in BC]

However, the camera shows at the transition from the fill hose to the tank lots of white sealant. When I pulled out the camera the black cable was covered in white sealant.

That reminds me of a situation that I had years ago when I kept my boat in Turkey. The water tanks had large, 12"x 18" removable inspection ports. I cleaned the tanks and bought some sealant which I was assured was suitable. After some sailing and sloshing about the tank started to leak. The sealant had started to soften and almost dissolve. I can't imagine that any sealant used now would do that but it is a question to be asked.

As an aside, the tanks were gelcoated f.g. on the inside. You could stick your head inside to see all surfaces. You wouldn't believe what can form in the air space above the water. Sometimes the top of the tank would have "stuff" dripping from it. Probably the saving grace that we have is that most of us are putting treated water into our tanks and that probably goes a long way towards reducing stuff growing in them.

Let us know if you do any follow up and what the result is.

Ron

 

[fudge_brownie]

Your issue seems to be the tank. Related item is the hose connector to the tank. Several years ago, I did a visual inspection of the hose and could see some type of accumulation where the hose connected to the tank. It was an easy removal of the hose and a soft bristle brush cleaned out an accumulation of organic matter. It is worth removing to inspect.

 

[JohnP-ESC]

White sealant on your camera cable! Unbelievable.

You don't mention the age of your trailer but if it's new I'd be contacting ETI immediately.

I wonder about 2 things:
1) was the wrong sealant used for the application, or
2) did all that bleach soften the sealant

It's a 2020 21C with spray foam.

 

[JohnP-ESC]

Yes

JohnP, does your tank have spray-on insulation

 

[JohnP-ESC]

Your issue seems to be the tank. Related item is the hose connector to the tank. Several years ago, I did a visual inspection of the hose and could see some type of accumulation where the hose connected to the tank. It was an easy removal of the hose and a soft bristle brush cleaned out an accumulation of organic matter. It is worth removing to inspect.

Any thoughts on how to remove the fill hose from the tank? We have spray foam installed. Thanks

 

[SRS]

Any thoughts on how to remove the fill hose from the tank? We have spray foam installed. Thanks

On my trailer the connections for the filler hose are all on the inside of DS bench so very accessible. Don't know about the clamps or other models.