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Old 05-10-2013, 05:50 AM   #1
Barry
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general question on water storage

OK, we got the camper and the dealer filled up the fresh water tank before delivery. My question is, how long is that water good for? I mean, water is good for a long time in the right conditions. But, just sitting there in a tank, little less than ideal. Any thoughts or ideas??
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Old 05-10-2013, 06:01 AM   #2
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If our unit sits for more than a couple weeks we drain the tank and refill. If much longer than that I clorinate the system too.

But......we rarely have more water in the tank than it takes to reach our destination. Every lb of weight counts.

We nearly always use bottled water for drinking on camping trips. We always use distilled water for coffee.

Never know what kind of water system the parks have.
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Old 05-10-2013, 06:15 AM   #3
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Barry View Post
OK, we got the camper and the dealer filled up the fresh water tank before delivery. My question is, how long is that water good for? I mean, water is good for a long time in the right conditions. But, just sitting there in a tank, little less than ideal. Any thoughts or ideas??
We camp in NYS parks that don't have hookups so we rely on our fresh water tank a lot. I partially drain the tank before heading home and the fully drain it when I put the trailer away between trips. The tank gets chlorinated several times a year to make sure there's no problems in there.

Like Paul, we use bottled water exclusively for drinking.
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Old 05-10-2013, 06:30 AM   #4
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I generally do not use the tank as we usually have hook ups, actually filled the tank last week just to flush it out as well as the pump. I would think a week or so and if unused you would change it. No different that the coffee pot at home, if it is not used for a week or so we usually domp the water and refill. Other than weight, this is probably another reason people wait until they get to where they are going to fill if available. We too drink bottled water while camping. We have small bottles for drinking and gallons for coffee and cooking.
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Old 05-10-2013, 07:05 PM   #5
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Wife is always right. Wife says water tastes bad if it sits for over a week. That INCLUDES water heater. So I drain them if it will be unused for over a week.
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Old 05-11-2013, 03:22 AM   #6
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I already drained the tank. It was about a week old, and just figures better safe than sorry. Didn't want any funk growing in there. Somebody mentioned chlorinating the tank? Forgive me but I'm new to the RV world, but what is that?
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Old 05-11-2013, 04:48 AM   #7
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Chlorinating kills bacteria that grows in the fresh water system that does not fully dry. A small amount of bleach (1/4 cup) added to the fresh water tank then filled up with water to mix. Run the pump to all faucets and water heater. allow to sit. Drain tank, water heater, and open low point drains. Flush system with fresh water. This is a condensed version and others will have opinions. Any chlorine/bleach left in the system after rinsing is harmless. A little chlorine goes a long way. JMHO.
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Old 05-11-2013, 05:16 AM   #8
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Quote:
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I already drained the tank. It was about a week old, and just figures better safe than sorry. Didn't want any funk growing in there. Somebody mentioned chlorinating the tank? Forgive me but I'm new to the RV world, but what is that?
KenBob described the procedure to a T. It's a must in the spring when dewinterizing as the tank has been empty for several months. Most anything evil could be growing in there. It also removes any residual taste from the RV antifreeze. (Point of contention here: some folks swear that the taste or odor lingers even after flushing while others will say that it's totally gone after an adequate flush. If you chlorinate the tank and then flush the plumbing with the contents of the tank, you swat both flies with a single swing.)

If you download the very generic owners manual from Keystone's website, it contains basic winterizing and dewinterizing instructions along with the chlorination procedure. Additional tips, hints, ideas, etc. for winterizing and dewinterizing can be found in any number of previous threads using the search function. There are also lots and lots of write-ups on this to be found out on the net with any search engine.
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Old 05-11-2013, 07:15 AM   #9
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Howdy All;

As a Full timer I keep my tank about 1/2 full, to me it's like a cistern;
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cistern
When ever there may be a problem with the Park's system or they do
maintenance I just turn the pump on until they're finished. Amazing how
you can go all day without turning the water on until the system is disabled
then you have to have some fresh water for something...
It's there when I need it and I only do the bleach thing once a year ...
no problems so far... now into 3rd year with this RV.

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Old 05-11-2013, 05:33 PM   #10
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OK, thanks for the tips everybody!!
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Old 05-11-2013, 08:53 PM   #11
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Just to make sure there is a little different opinion--we leave water in the tank for two or three months at a time with absolutely no ill effect. You may dispute this, but if the tank has been sanitized correctly (once a year or so) and you put chlorinated water it, no bugs or gunk grows. And we use that water for everything--no bottled water.

That said, we don't travel with a full tank just to keep the weight down, unless we are heading for dry camping.
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Old 05-12-2013, 03:34 AM   #12
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We do the same

Quote:
Originally Posted by theeyres View Post
Just to make sure there is a little different opinion--we leave water in the tank for two or three months at a time with absolutely no ill effect. You may dispute this, but if the tank has been sanitized correctly (once a year or so) and you put chlorinated water it, no bugs or gunk grows. And we use that water for everything--no bottled water.

That said, we don't travel with a full tank just to keep the weight down, unless we are heading for dry camping.
We have filled our tank in april and kept it till july before. We also have added 10 gallon or so of water (clornated city water from home) every two weeks and kept our water all summer. We only use our tank water for cooking and drinking. We use Camp water for everything else
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Old 05-12-2013, 03:41 AM   #13
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OK, since we are talking about water and water storage, I got another question. Our camper is set up on a lake lot, we are not planning on traveling with it, it just sits there for a weekend place. We are going to have a well dug for water. We are also going to have an inground holding tank for black and grey water. Problem is, funds are running low. With getting the camper, and the lots, and the toys, and the electric, and everything else, well, Im sure you know how it goes.... Anyway, we are thinking we can do either the holding tank or the well this year, and the other one next year. We have decided we would rather haul fresh water in than bad water out! So, this year the holding tank, next year the well.

We have also seen those big white plastic 275 gallon totes. So, now we are thinking about a set up like that for fresh water till next year. We can get free water from the camp ground. Thinking about getting one of those, strapping it to a small trailer, filling it with water, and pumping it in to the camper. So the real question is, after all of this, what kind of pump should we get?

I went to my favorite toy/parts store and found this one: http://www.northerntool.com/shop/too...9074_200249074

Then somebody said try the place where we got the camper from. So, then I found this one from them:http://www.mwrvcenter.com/rvparts/ch...er-Pump-868298

Now, they both do basicly the same job, but one has a lot higher GPM rating. Im thinking more gallons per minute would be better, but though I would run it by the experts here first. Or does anybody have any better ideas? Or thoughts?

Also, sorry for the long post, I know some people dont like that. I just feel like the more you know about what Im doing/thinking, the better it is for you to understand/help me.
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Old 05-12-2013, 03:51 AM   #14
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Barry, that set up will work just fine. Go with the higher GPM pump though. After a severe draught, we had an elderly neighbors well that had run dry. We used that exact same set up to get her water and it worked just fine for a few months until she could get water.
However, I transported the full tank back and forth on a forklift.


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Old 05-12-2013, 04:02 AM   #15
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Quote:
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We have also seen those big white plastic 275 gallon totes. So, now we are thinking about a set up like that for fresh water till next year. We can get free water from the camp ground. Thinking about getting one of those, strapping it to a small trailer, filling it with water, and pumping it in to the camper.
Not a bad plan, but you're going to need more than a "small" trailer for that tank. 275 gallons = approx. 2,285 pounds so you are going to need a utility trailer with around 3K# capacity. That is not going to be a Northern Products $300 special. You might find a single axle one that will work, but more likely you should have a small tandem rig. And a trailer that heavy is going to need trailer brakes so you'll have to have a controller installed in your car or truck. If you were planning on towing it with a small passenger car, check the owners manual for towing weight limits.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Barry View Post
I went to my favorite toy/parts store and found this one: http://www.northerntool.com/shop/too...9074_200249074

Then somebody said try the place where we got the camper from. So, then I found this one from them:http://www.mwrvcenter.com/rvparts/ch...er-Pump-868298

Now, they both do basicly the same job, but one has a lot higher GPM rating. Im thinking more gallons per minute would be better, but though I would run it by the experts here first. Or does anybody have any better ideas? Or thoughts?
Since you'd be just filling the trailer's fresh water tank (40 gallons or so) at a time, either pump would be adequate. I'd lean towards the ShurFlow because the Cheng USA name is unknown to me.

One other thought is that you might consider a 12vdc pump if 110vac is much of an issue. But either would do what you need.

Since you are talking pumps, I am guessing that there is no possibility of a gravity feed.

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Also, sorry for the long post, I know some people dont like that. I just feel like the more you know about what Im doing/thinking, the better it is for you to understand/help me.
Better a long post that explains the situation well than short one that we then have to ask a dozen questions before we understand the situation well enough to offer good advice. Your logic is correct.
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Old 05-12-2013, 04:07 AM   #16
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Been using this onehttp://www.tractorsupply.com/en/stor...y-pump-1-12-hp for over a year and works great and fast they make the same one in a 12volt to.
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Old 05-12-2013, 04:35 AM   #17
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Another thought here. I was thinking of running the fresh water through the pump and into the "city water" connection. Is that a fesiable option? Or is it better to just fill the fresh water holding tank on the camper?

And not to worried about the power supply. With in about the next week or so, I should be 100% on shore power. So I will have plenty of 110 or 12 volt power.

And, good point on the trailer. I will probably just fill it half way up. Even at halfway, its still 137.5 gallons.
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Old 05-12-2013, 04:54 AM   #18
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Quote:
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Another thought here. I was thinking of running the fresh water through the pump and into the "city water" connection. Is that a fesiable option? Or is it better to just fill the fresh water holding tank on the camper?

And not to worried about the power supply. With in about the next week or so, I should be 100% on shore power. So I will have plenty of 110 or 12 volt power.

And, good point on the trailer. I will probably just fill it half way up. Even at halfway, its still 137.5 gallons.
Fill the trailer's tank and let the onboard pump do its normal job. If the pump noise gets to be too much, consider an accumulator. I don't think either of those pumps will generate enough additional pressure to make it behave like true city water. And they'd cycle on and off just like the trailer's pump.

Since I have a pickup truck, I've thought about getting a couple of food grade 55 gallon drums to just toss in the back of the truck and haul fresh water in for boondocking. Plumbing fittings are readily available to fit the openings on the drums and the truck bed is usually high enough to gravity feed the trailer's fresh water tank. When empty they are light enough to move around as needed, too.
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Old 08-01-2013, 11:42 AM   #19
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Hey drop the Bleach and use a antibacterial mouthwash instead. Works as well as bleach and flushes a lot easier. If you do not happen to get it all out the water has a fresh minty taste lol.
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Old 08-01-2013, 12:39 PM   #20
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Hey drop the Bleach and use a antibacterial mouthwash instead. Works as well as bleach and flushes a lot easier. If you do not happen to get it all out the water has a fresh minty taste lol.
I certainly hope you're suggesting this "tongue in cheek." We discussed, cussed and refuted this practice about 4 months ago. It simply won't work and we don't recommend anyone believe it's a better way. Using mouthwash to sanitize and purify water in an RV could leave you and your family open to some pretty serious health issues. I'd strongly discourage this practice. There's a reason municipal water supplies use chlorine instead of Dr Tichner's.
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