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Old 03-19-2019, 09:21 AM   #1
Bouleyfamily
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Water Disappearing?

I recently went on a 4 day 3 night trip and on our 3rd day noticed that our water level was at 1/3. We had only done dishes once and at that point of our trip the gray and black tank levels were only at 1/3 each. I did leave my water pump and water heater on the first 2 days straight. I couldn't find and leaks anywhere under any of the sinks or showers which leads me to wonder if my leaving the water heater on possibly turned some of my water into vapor? Is this possible or does this have any chance of being a possible loss of water. My fresh tank has a 45 gallon capacity and that seems like alot of water to go through in only 2 days. Also I should've mentioned before that we used the camp grounds restrooms more often than not also. Thank you in advance for your inputs.
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Old 03-19-2019, 09:54 AM   #2
German Shepherd Guy
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Several thoughts. If it was leaking out on the inboard side of the water pump you would have heard the water pump cycling on and off nearly continuously. The gauges are notoriously faulty, are you really down to 1/3 tank? Do the gray water and black tanks show corresponding filling equal to 2/3 of your fresh water? The water has to go somewhere if it is on the inboard side of the pump. If they do not, and if you trust your fresh water gauge that means you should have/do notice a water puddle on the ground below the TT. Of course a lot of water can hide in the space between the covering/floor and ground. I once had a major leak after a winter (toilet flush valve) and yet saw very little water. Replaced the valve at the camp site, and was not until a month later I found where the water went ...........We store a lot of extra blankets under the bed in the open from the top compartment. You guessed it, the blankets absorbed all that water and held it for me to find when I did. Caused a lot of damage. Last thought, was your fresh water tank truly full? Did you rely on the gauge to tell you it was full or on the water back-filling and spilling out when you filled it. Hope it is an easy answer, you probably had already thought of all the things I mentioned but maybe one will help. Good luck, let us know what you find. Oak
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Old 03-19-2019, 09:54 AM   #3
KeithInUpstateNY
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Some times if the pressure relief valve isn't seated properly you will lose water through it when the water heater is left on. But you would see water dripping from the bottom of the front access panel off the water heater is that was the case.

The numbers add up right for having used the amount of water indicated by your monitors assuming your black and gray tank monitors are clean and don't always read 1/3 full. The fresh water tank measures from the top down. Once the water level falls below one sensor the panel reads one level lower. So if it is reading 1/3 you actually have from 1/3 to not quite 2/3 of a tank left. You said your tank is 45 gallons so that means you have used between 15 and 30 gallons and have between 15 and 30 gallons left. Your black and gray tanks are 38 gallons each so if they are reading 1/3 they each have at least 13 gallons in them for a total of 26 gallons.

One other piece of hopefully useful information for you. If you are using your fresh water tank and you have a water loss from a dripping pressure relief valve, faucet, etc you will hear the pump run for a few seconds from time to time as it brings the lines back up to pressure.
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Old 03-19-2019, 10:00 AM   #4
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Last thought, ......You DID use that much water. 45 gallons down 2/3 means 15 gallons per day. That's really not that much if you showered. And the Black tank up 1/3 and the grey up1/3 could easily account for 30 gallons between them. If you did not find water hiding in the trailer or on the ground......very well could be it. Remember what Sherlock Holmes said. If you boiled it off in the hot water heater what you have there on board is what would be called a steam bomb. I don't think that could be it.
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Old 03-19-2019, 12:36 PM   #5
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Did you verify that you were full when you arrived at your campsite?

I was reading another thread where the OP had water sloshing out of the fresh water fill spout during travel, to the point of it even starting a siphon. Could that be a possibility here? You might not be able to tell from the driver's seat of your tow vehicle while you're underway, might take someone in a chase vehicle to identify that for you.

Since tank fill sensors are barely a guideline at best, I actually purchased a garden hose water meter for $15 on Amazon.. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0058EOC5M..._TgvKCb8HE3B4S So I can see with 0.1gal precision how much water I've put into my fresh tank. This way I'm not relying on the gauge to tell me when my tank is full and I don't overfill it.

Of course that only does me so much good since I don't yet have a counter for all the water I've pumped OUT of my fresh tank during camping.
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Old 03-19-2019, 01:37 PM   #6
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Let's do some "simple math" using the known capacities of the tanks in the Passport 217EXP. The FW capacity is listed at 43 gallons. That's 6 gallons in the water heater and 37 gallons in the FW tank. The black tank is 38 gallons and the SINGLE gray tank is also 38 gallons.

If, (granted, an assumption) the OP arrived at the campground with a "full FW tank", then using 2/3 of his water, 1/3 going into the gray tank (consistent with his status indicator reading) and 1/3 going into the black tank (also consistent with the status indicator reading) would leave 1/3 in the FW tank (consistent with his status indicator reading).

To say, "We only washed dishes once" is probably "lack of recall" more than anything else. Washing hands before preparing lunch, brushing teeth, running water to fill a pot for cooking, letting the water run until it's warm before washing hands.... You can easily use 2/3 of a 37 gallon tank (20 gallons of water) in two days of "dry camping". (Remember, there's still 6 gallons in the water heater as it remains full until it's drained)

I'd say the trailer is functioning as designed and the realization of not conserving limited water was clearly demonstrated..... YMMV
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Old 03-24-2019, 10:09 AM   #7
Bouleyfamily
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Well now I feel a bit dumb. I didn't really do the math on that whole situation, your totally right. It seems to me that we need to be more cognizant on how much water we use. I'm sure we use too much water especially when doing dishes. We pretty much do them the same way in the TT as home. I'm kinda horrified when I think about when we are rinsing them how much water were dumping down into the gray tank. I'm pretty conservative when it come to toilet use to the point that if its pee we do waterless except to flush which rinses when that happens. To make draining easier I do wait till the trip is over and fill the black with whatever water we have left to dilute the previous waterless pees.
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Old 03-24-2019, 10:12 AM   #8
shermris
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Have you checked the fresh water tank drain plug for leaks?
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Old 03-24-2019, 10:22 AM   #9
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It also depends on where the level sensors are located and how tall the tank is. the indicator lights won't illuminate until the water level reaches that sensor. You could be just BELOW the 2/3 sensor and the panel will read 1/3. Only way to know for sure is to install a different sensor system, Not cheap but they read in 10ths.
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Old 03-24-2019, 10:47 AM   #10
KeithInUpstateNY
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Bouleyfamily View Post
I'm sure we use too much water especially when doing dishes. We pretty much do them the same way in the TT as home. I'm kinda horrified when I think about when we are rinsing them how much water were dumping down into the gray tank.
You can find a Sterlite plastic dishpan for about a dollar at Walmart that will fit most RV sinks. Stack your dishes in it, the dirtiest on the bottom. Start with an empty dishpan water wise and wash your glassware first, rinsing into the dishpan. I like to use a dish soap dispensing wand. Once the dirty dishes are covered with water you may need to take a break to let them soak for a few minutes. I can do a sink full of dishes using less water than fills the dish pan using this method.

I dump the dishpan in the toilet since I'm a single guy and I put way less liquid in the black tank, but dump it in whichever tank fills the slowest for you. Or if you use biodegradable soap you can safely dump it outside most places and not use any tank space, but check before you do that.
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