Do You Prime Your Water Hose

[rockymckee]

I only do it to flush the hose. I always drain all the water out when I put it away but I’m still going to run water through it before I hook it up.

[Trasher74]

I always run the water at the source until I am convinced it is clean. Then I attach the hose and run the water to flush the hose clean. Then I attach to the RV. My reason for this is not about air in the system, but more about having the cleanest water possible. One time I did not do this and I lost all water pressure. I found the problem to be a plugged hose washer with a screen. It was completely plugged with dead earwigs. They either came from the source plumbing (which is what I believe happened) or from inside the hose.

[nrkmann]

Yes every time for cleanliness/health reasons. My supply hose has too many parts (six) not to... pressure reducer, 90 degree connector, hose, short flex hose, filter, Y faucet connector.

First: I use a Camco inline filter. Watch closely and you will see some of the activated charcoal flow out when first turning on the water.

Second: It is hard to keep all of the connections off the ground and perfectly clean despite using caps when storing. So I want the line flushed out with chlorinated water to assure all the pathogens are killed (see CDC chlorine guidelines).

Third: I leave the outside shower on to prevent back pressure as I connect, and connect with the water bearly running to wash off the TT connection with the chlorinated water.

At home it all, except the filter, goes into a five gallon bucket of water with a teaspoon of chlorine bleach over night. If you have ever had dysentery you will be more than careful with your water connections and supply.

[Steve Harris]

I always turn the water on at the spigot and let it run a bit before I hook up my regulator and filter/ hose because I have been at camp sites where the water pipes or spigot is full of stuff like rust and gunk. Then I run the water through again to prime the hose before i hook up.

[jacques1543]

I have never done it but I just might start after hearing the reasoning from a few replies... makes sense!

[CincyGus]

Originally Posted by Steve Harris

I always turn the water on at the spigot and let it run a bit before I hook up my regulator and filter/ hose because I have been at camp sites where the water pipes or spigot is full of stuff like rust and gunk. Then I run the water through again to prime the hose before i hook up.

X2

I put one of the inline filters on but I ALWAYS run the spigot a few seconds to check the condition of the water coming out before I turn it off and hook up. Some of the stuff I've seen come out would surely have at a minimum clogged up the water filter and maybe worse, go into my water system and clogged up the aerators, valves or fixtures.

Safe than sorry for this guy.

[MF5270]

Yes always. I have a valve and pressure regulator at the end that attaches to the trailer.

Plus if it's been a while since the hose was used, I want the skunky water form the last place blown out.

[DiverDennis]

Originally Posted by 007matman

I always run a bit of water throu the hose prior to connecting to the camper to flush out any contaminated water or bugs that may have gotten in there.

X2

[cbcg710]

I do it everytime!!! Not only does it clear the hose of the air, it washes out the hose...and I'm always surprised at the color of the water when I first turn it on. YES!!! KEEP ON DOING IT!!!

[colretired]

Complete waste of time to prime the hose. Good idea to run some water through the hose before connecting to the TT to be sure it is clear as pointed out by 007matman. We have an inline filter so it would filter the debris but that would shorten the life of the filter. Once connected to TT open the faucets inside either the kitchen or bath and turn the water on. I usually deal with the kitchen sink first because of easy access and do the cold side first and then the hot side. Once the water is flowing through both the hot and cold side then go to the next sink and repeat. Cold side usually flows first as the hot water tank may take some time to fill depending on if it was empty or not. We also like to run fresh water through the system for a few minutes to flush out the old water and bring in fresh chlorinated water. The chlorine residual in city water will dissipate over time so the fresh water in the system will help clear out any bacteria.

On other thing We bought an adjustable water pressure connector so I can increase the water pressure inside the trailer. The standard units will drop the pressure to 40 PSI. This device has a gauge on it and a screw setting you can adjust to your desired pressure. We have found being able to increase it to 50 psi really improves the shower performance and the performance of the faucets. We checked with the TT manufacturer and were assured the trailer water system could handle more than 60 psi. When we get ready to disconnect i turn the pressure down so the next time we hook up I am sure the TT side pressure will not be too high in case the next site has really high water pressure at the supply.

[allegra3201]

I do it every time. When I break camp I empty all the water from fresh water hose, roll it up and connect the ends together to keep out contaminants. When hooking up again, I hook up to fresh water supply, flush the hose(es) connect to filter then to RV. Might be a little air, but this keeps dirt bugs etc that might have somehow made it into hose out of filter and RV piping.

[The Johnnys]

we do it everytime...........saves the hammering and also will flush out anything that might have gotten in the hose while in storage...(if we didn't screw together)....also might be water in the pipe leading up to the hose that hasn't been run for an extended period of time......no real extra effort to do this at all....

[aceinspp]

Originally Posted by allegra3201

I do it every time. When I break camp I empty all the water from fresh water hose, roll it up and connect the ends together to keep out contaminants. When hooking up again, I hook up to fresh water supply, flush the hose(es) connect to filter then to RV. Might be a little air, but this keeps dirt bugs etc that might have somehow made it into hose out of filter and RV piping.

X 2 plus when filling the hot water heater I open the relief valve to let the air out as tank filling gets rid of the air in the lines. Later RJD

[TitanMike]

Originally Posted by smgelsie

My husband and I are having a "disagreement "....when I connect the water hose to a park's water supply, I start at the source, turn the water on to fill the hose, and then connect the "primed" hose to our trailer. I don't like all of that air in my lines in the trailer! My honey says nobody does that! Can I get a vote???

I run the hose before I hook it up merely to make sure some insect family hasn't taken up residence in it. Even though I connect the ends when I store it after use I just do this as an old habit. Also clears any stale water that might have remained. Could care less about air is the system. It goes away quickly and fwiw, a little air in your hot water tank is NOT a bad thing. An air pocket helps cushion the expansion when water is heated and the faucets are all turned off. Check valves keep pressure from bleeding back into supply sustem and you can get some pretty high hydrostatic pressures if there's no expansion "cushion".

The air pocket in the heater isn't big but it does help.

[Dan258]

I like to flush line because you don’t know how long the site has been empty plus you prime the line right

[Franksontheroad]

In addition to priming the water line, I switch over to tank fill for 30 seconds so any air in the line gets blown into the tank and not the coach water lines.

[Wishbone]

Originally Posted by allegra3201

I do it every time. When I break camp I empty all the water from fresh water hose, roll it up and connect the ends together to keep out contaminants. When hooking up again, I hook up to fresh water supply, flush the hose(es) connect to filter then to RV. Might be a little air, but this keeps dirt bugs etc that might have somehow made it into hose out of filter and RV piping.

X3, I also empty the hose and connect the ends. When hooking up I run the hose on the ground for about a minute to rinse out whatever stale yuck might be in the hose.

[rlh1957]

WOW, I hope any new campers aren't scared by all the science, methods and traditions. We could really beat a horse if we started discussing the proper and improper ways to build a campfire!

[Springerdad]

Originally Posted by rlh1957

WOW, I hope any new campers aren't scared by all the science, methods and traditions. We could really beat a horse if we started discussing the proper and improper ways to build a campfire!

Don't go there. You'll get hurt.

[007matman]

100th post!! I did it!!