Pumping Bleach into the Fresh Water Tank on the Berkshire

[MartyQ]

From an expired thread.....
You can use the on board pump to put bleach into your fresh water tank with a few mod using the external shower. Need to adapt external shower hose to garden hose, then connect garden hose to fresh water fill. Put anti-freeze (winterizing) suction line into bleach container and draw using on board pump into water system, out through external shower into fresh water tank.

This method works. You can get a 1/2" male pipe thread to male garden hose adapter at Lowes. Part #877061. Unscrew the shower head from its hose. (Don't lose the rubber washer!) Attach the adapter and attach the adapter to the fresh water fill inlet. Open the cold shower water valve. Use the winterizing inlet on the installed water pump to suck the diluted bleach solution from your gallon jug. Pumps the bleach solution into the fresh water tank.

[Dbrote]

Not usually on this forum as I have a Sunseeker 2400R but do the same thing to pump fresh water from a water can into the fresh water tank when not near a fresh water faucet. At least that’s my plan! I’ve tried it at home as a proof of concept and it works fine.

[billpherigo]

I would like to point out most PEX pipes, like the ones in our RVs, are rated for a maximum of 4 Parts Per Million of chlorine for 50 years at 73 Degrees F. In my case, I use bleach containing 8.25% sodium hypochlorite. If I add .5 oz of bleach to 80 gallons of water, that comes really close to 4 PPM. I may use a full ounce of bleach for short periods of time if I suspect that the water has issues.
To get the bleach into the tank, I:
1) Attach a garden hose to a water supply spigot and flush the hose for one minute.
2) Attach the male end of house to the "talk fill" port of RV
3) Run hose for about 10 seconds to get all the air out of the system.
4) Disconnect the female end of hose from the spigot, and shake water out of it for about 10 seconds.
5) Carefully pour .5 to 1 ounces of Bleach into the female end of the hose.
6) Without letting the bleach escape from the hose, screw it back onto the spigot.
7) Run water, with bleach, through the hose, into your fresh water tank for about 1 minute.
8) disconnect everything.

[dan-nickie]

I just disconnect the spigot end of the hose. And use a funnel to put my 1 and 1/4 cups of bleach in the hose. Then reconnect to this spigot and turn on the water and push the bleach into the tank.

[Cypressloser]

Originally Posted by dan-nickie

I just disconnect the spigot end of the hose. And use a funnel to put my 1 and 1/4 cups of bleach in the hose. Then reconnect to this spigot and turn on the water and push the bleach into the tank.

I do the same, just watch your clothes when it starts burping

[jeff64]

Might I suggest going to the local automotive department and getting a transmission funnel with the flexible neck. Make it way easier to put the bleach in the tank or in the hose whichever way you want to go.

[MartyQ]

Originally Posted by MartyQ

From an expired thread.....
You can use the on board pump to put bleach into your fresh water tank with a few mod using the external shower. Need to adapt external shower hose to garden hose, then connect garden hose to fresh water fill. Put anti-freeze (winterizing) suction line into bleach container and draw using on board pump into water system, out through external shower into fresh water tank.

This method works. You can get a 1/2" male pipe thread to male garden hose adapter at Lowes. Part #877061. Unscrew the shower head from its hose. (Don't lose the rubber washer!) Attach the adapter and attach the adapter to the fresh water fill inlet. Open the cold shower water valve. Use the winterizing inlet on the installed water pump to suck the diluted bleach solution from your gallon jug. Pumps the bleach solution into the fresh water tank.

This method also works if you would like to pump water from 5 or 10 gal jugs or large bladder into the fresh water tank when dry camping.

[dreamin533]

I have often wondered why forest river never put in a gravity fill like most of the other manufacturers. I have thought about doing that myself, but I am not sure where the best place to put one. I thought about putting a "T" in the fresh water vent line and adding a piece of pipe. Has anyone thought of other ideas?

[gordonsick]

I have an external Camco filter that fits on may hose. It has a removable cartridge. I put the bleach in the filter housing and use it to pressure flush the lines and fill the tank. Then I flush it all out.

BTW, I do remove the filter from the builtin filter housing.

Yes, I'm one who double filters water.

–Gordon

[Igave]

We use one of the (only for this) common garden in-line-liquid sprayer. Ten bucks or so from any garden or hardware store and easy to handle. Hook the garden hose to the supply side, fill the jar with the liquid I want to run in there either the bleach or tank freshener mix, screw on a smaller hose I use for the rv anyway, and turn it on. You can dial in the mix. And we mark the heck out of that so we don’t accidentally run something we shouldn’t thru it. Lots of great ideas on here.

[Royston]

I just pour bleach into the empty water hoes before connecting to the supply, once the water is connected it flushes the bleach into the tank (and disinfects the hose too)

[Bobbyj]

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00ZTRKNT2...a-308190922454

See the link. Then buy an $8 drill pump and mix your solution into a clean 5 gallon bucket. Purchase a couple of 4' hoses by Camco (Amazon) and you are good to go. Just put water into the hoses to prime the pump and it will fill your fresh tank in about 1 minute or less. Just place the trailing end of the hose-pump-hose assembly into the 5 gallon bleach solution. Done! Nothing simpler or safer and you can get the exact concentration you need to properly sanitize the tank. The key is contact time of the chlorine molecules to the plastic tank and piping in your RV. Follow the concentration/time intervals. Lower concentration and longer time is always safer for the equipment.

BobbyJ
State College Pa.
2018 Berk XL 40C

[jcowles3]

Thanks for the info!

[Mch5jdm]

Alternative to bleach. https://adyawater.com/collections/ad...fying-solution

[Thurman]

I totally agree with what "billpherigo" stated about PEX tubing and "Clorox/Hydorchloric Acid". At least that is what I was taught years ago. I have read often of people putting large amounts, in excess of one (1) ounce of Clorox into their fresh water tanks. Yes it will disinfect very well. But as stated the large amounts of Clorox/HCA will do damage to PEX tubing. How much? That would depend on how often on would run water through the water piping system and the strength of the solution. The PEX tubing will be damaged from the inside and in the early stages will look as if someone has roughened up the inside of the PEX tubing. I like "billpherigo" statement as to using approximately 1/2 ounce of Clorox to the fresh water tank. Yes someone could do the math as to the ratio of Clorox to their fresh water tanks capacity and it would be miniscule varying between fresh water tank capacities.

[Bobbyj]

Hey guys, Be careful with the Adya product: You might want to read this about a product that does "everything". There are pH (lowers the pH forming acidic water ) issues with this product and it contains aluminum. Never injest aluminum as it is linked to alzheimers. Also, I should point out that adding sodium hypochlorite (bleach) to water forms hypochlorous acid (weak acid) that is consumed by the disinfection process leaving behind sodium hydroxide (strong base) that actually increases the pH of water (making it alkaline)...a good thing. Sodium Hypochlorite works to disinfect, and has for 100 years. Stick to the good stuff and be safe.

Anyway here it is:

IMPORTANT UPDATE – DO NOT CONSUME ADYA CLARITY (Oct.28/11)
Mike Adams (The Health Ranger) on his mega-site, Natural News.com, just posted the worrying results of his conversation with the owner and importer of Adya Clarity (Matt Bakos) along with his detailed investigation into the ingredients of Adya Clarity. You simply must read Adams’ article: NaturalNews issues consumer alert about Adya Clarity, imported as battery acid and sold for internal consumption, if you are considering buying or ingesting Adya Clarity.
In his article, Adams details how Adya Clarity is imported as ‘battery acid,’ does not disclose on the label the very high (1200 ppm) aluminum content of the product, and finally answers a point raised many times in the comments section of this blog about the mechanism behind the miraculous way Adya Clarity pulls all the orangey-colored stuff out of the water to the bottom of the glass. Adams also raises valid points about the high iron content in the product.
From my side, I don’t trust the labeling on this product at all now. I would still like to see someone (with enough cash to do it – Adams? Mercola?) get an independent lab assay done on this product to see what ELSE it contains and whether the amounts stated on the label are even correct? Also, is there a substantial variance in levels and ingredients from batch to batch?
I will also have to go on record and agree with Mike Adams – in my opinion, this does not look like a safe, nor beneficial product to ingest. And I sure wouldn’t take it myself!
As many people have pointed out in the hundreds of excellent comments following this blog post, there are many other tried and tested ways to cure what ails you – kidney stones, decalcification, detox, arthritis, etc. – with a long history of use and some solid, independent science to back them up.
For me, as someone who has worked in holistic health for over a decade, and who also formulates health care products, this kind of mis-labeling, junk science and scamming of desperate people is very upsetting. This is the kind of product the FDA points to when it wants to justify making it harder and more expensive for supplement companies to provide you with non-drug solutions. So Bakos is not just harming himself by this kind of con-job, he is harming everyone else in the natural health industry; from the consumer to the manufacturer.
After first posting this inquiry, I was contacted by someone who wanted to talk to me privately about Adya Clarity. Apparently, he was one of the first people approached to sell/distribute Adya Clarity. But, like Mike Adams, when he started asking too many questions, the owner got upset and dropped him cold.

Respectfully submitted,

BobbyJ
2018 Berkshire XL 40C

[Mch5jdm]

Originally Posted by Bobbyj

Hey guys, Be careful with the Adya product: You might want to read this about a product that does "everything". There are pH (lowers the pH forming acidic water ) issues with this product and it contains aluminum. Never injest aluminum as it is linked to alzheimers. Also, I should point out that adding sodium hypochlorite (bleach) to water forms hypochlorous acid (weak acid) that is consumed by the disinfection process leaving behind sodium hydroxide (strong base) that actually increases the pH of water (making it alkaline)...a good thing. Sodium Hypochlorite works to disinfect, and has for 100 years. Stick to the good stuff and be safe.



Anyway here it is:



IMPORTANT UPDATE – DO NOT CONSUME ADYA CLARITY (Oct.28/11)

Mike Adams (The Health Ranger) on his mega-site, Natural News.com, just posted the worrying results of his conversation with the owner and importer of Adya Clarity (Matt Bakos) along with his detailed investigation into the ingredients of Adya Clarity. You simply must read Adams’ article: NaturalNews issues consumer alert about Adya Clarity, imported as battery acid and sold for internal consumption, if you are considering buying or ingesting Adya Clarity.

In his article, Adams details how Adya Clarity is imported as ‘battery acid,’ does not disclose on the label the very high (1200 ppm) aluminum content of the product, and finally answers a point raised many times in the comments section of this blog about the mechanism behind the miraculous way Adya Clarity pulls all the orangey-colored stuff out of the water to the bottom of the glass. Adams also raises valid points about the high iron content in the product.

From my side, I don’t trust the labeling on this product at all now. I would still like to see someone (with enough cash to do it – Adams? Mercola?) get an independent lab assay done on this product to see what ELSE it contains and whether the amounts stated on the label are even correct? Also, is there a substantial variance in levels and ingredients from batch to batch?

I will also have to go on record and agree with Mike Adams – in my opinion, this does not look like a safe, nor beneficial product to ingest. And I sure wouldn’t take it myself!

As many people have pointed out in the hundreds of excellent comments following this blog post, there are many other tried and tested ways to cure what ails you – kidney stones, decalcification, detox, arthritis, etc. – with a long history of use and some solid, independent science to back them up.

For me, as someone who has worked in holistic health for over a decade, and who also formulates health care products, this kind of mis-labeling, junk science and scamming of desperate people is very upsetting. This is the kind of product the FDA points to when it wants to justify making it harder and more expensive for supplement companies to provide you with non-drug solutions. So Bakos is not just harming himself by this kind of con-job, he is harming everyone else in the natural health industry; from the consumer to the manufacturer.

After first posting this inquiry, I was contacted by someone who wanted to talk to me privately about Adya Clarity. Apparently, he was one of the first people approached to sell/distribute Adya Clarity. But, like Mike Adams, when he started asking too many questions, the owner got upset and dropped him cold.



Respectfully submitted,



BobbyJ

2018 Berkshire XL 40C

Thanks for the great research. I’ve used it before with my last camper after seeing other people suggest it as an alternative. No hearing this Info is highly concerning.

[AquaMan]

Originally Posted by Thurman

I totally agree with what "billpherigo" stated about PEX tubing and "Clorox/Hydorchloric Acid". At least that is what I was taught years ago. I have read often of people putting large amounts, in excess of one (1) ounce of Clorox into their fresh water tanks. Yes it will disinfect very well. But as stated the large amounts of Clorox/HCA will do damage to PEX tubing. How much? That would depend on how often on would run water through the water piping system and the strength of the solution. The PEX tubing will be damaged from the inside and in the early stages will look as if someone has roughened up the inside of the PEX tubing. I like "billpherigo" statement as to using approximately 1/2 ounce of Clorox to the fresh water tank. Yes someone could do the math as to the ratio of Clorox to their fresh water tanks capacity and it would be miniscule varying between fresh water tank capacities.

I disagree. At 4ppm you're not sanitizing anything. City water typically has chlorine levels around half that. Besides, there is no way you can use the formula of .5 oz per fresh tank. A 30 gallon tank and an 80 gallon tank will result in different ratios by over half. The effectiveness of the sanitizing solution decreases as it becomes "dirty". At 4ppm I would simply run tap water through it and call it a day. The chlorine ratings for PEX are for standing water over the lifetime of the line. In other words, don't leave your solution in there for 50yrs. If I'm going to sanitize, a teaspoon per gallon will give about 65ppm. (.5oz/gal is 200ppm) The key is to sanitize and flush, don't leave the solution in the lines. Five minutes should be sufficient. 1 cup per tank (50gal) for 5 minutes is what I would do, and have done.