Fresh Water Tank Capacity - really ticked

[Camper1b]

In my specific case, I think I have eliminated the possibility of a kink in the vent or fill hose because I am able to blast in the first 20 gallons as fast as I can without any spitting of any kind and the air is cranking out the vent. However, I DO think it's possible that one or both of them get blocked as the water level rises. If the tank is OK, my money is on the fill tube. It somewhere could have a riser that gets filled when the tank gets to 26.

Given the above, here's the question for you guys: what if I make a tight fitting between my filling hose and fill connection. That forces in the water past any possible rise in the fill hose. I would do this until water came out the vent tube. As long as I can feel air coming out the vent tube, I should be OK. Right?

[ProfChuck]

Originally Posted by OldBob

Here is what I have done to solve the problem: I've mated a very small diameter hose (it's 1/4 inch or less, one of those clear hoses - bought at Lowes) to our regular fill hose. I snake the small diameter hose down to the bottom of the tank and fill slowly. This way fills the tank from the bottom up and allows the air to escape from the fill port. It takes a while to fill but I always get a full tank this way. I've been doing this for years with several different trailers and it always seems to work.

I was thinking of doing that myself, if the "blasto-stream" didn't work. However, my problem has been how to hook the small hose up to a 5 gal. potable tank used to fill when we are camping in place and run out of water. As soon as I can figure out an adaptor to the spout, I'm going to try it. I know I can make it work with a regular water hose because you can get adaptors to go to the small hose, but, trying to make those pour spouts work from the buckets (tanks) has been a challenge. But, your idea is a good one.

[ProfChuck]

Originally Posted by Camper1b

In my specific case, I think I have eliminated the possibility of a kink in the vent or fill hose because I am able to blast in the first 20 gallons as fast as I can without any spitting of any kind and the air is cranking out the vent. However, I DO think it's possible that one or both of them get blocked as the water level rises. If the tank is OK, my money is on the fill tube. It somewhere could have a riser that gets filled when the tank gets to 26.

Given the above, here's the question for you guys: what if I make a tight fitting between my filling hose and fill connection. That forces in the water past any possible rise in the fill hose. I would do this until water came out the vent tube. As long as I can feel air coming out the vent tube, I should be OK. Right?

For me, with a gravity fill, the vent tube seemed to get blocked (filled with water) and then, adding more water pushed out the water in the vent tube until air came out again. Not sure why it would clear again, but, it did. The next time water came out the vent, the tank was full. Be careful you don't force the hose off its fitting or cause the tank to burst from too much pressure.

[jeff64]

Originally Posted by Camper1b

In my specific case, I think I have eliminated the possibility of a kink in the vent or fill hose because I am able to blast in the first 20 gallons as fast as I can without any spitting of any kind and the air is cranking out the vent. However, I DO think it's possible that one or both of them get blocked as the water level rises. If the tank is OK, my money is on the fill tube. It somewhere could have a riser that gets filled when the tank gets to 26.

Given the above, here's the question for you guys: what if I make a tight fitting between my filling hose and fill connection. That forces in the water past any possible rise in the fill hose. I would do this until water came out the vent tube. As long as I can feel air coming out the vent tube, I should be OK. Right?

You can give this a shot. It works for me for all the same reasons. Camco Water Bandit, double female GHT connector. cost you <$10.

Seals to i.d. of gravity fill port. Once it gets about 1/2 full or so it spits out the adjacent vent port then has a good air flow, fills the rest of the way. Once full, the water comes out the vent like you'd expect. Hasn't caused me any issues for the past couple years. Maybe your solution too

[Camper1b]

So I took my Flagstaff back to the dealer (first time) for warrantee work and the first thing on my list was this frustrating fresh water tank capacity. They checked it out. The answer is that on this and many other Forest River campers, the fresh water inlet hose enters the tank on the side of the tank, not the top. This results in (you guessed it) a back pressure around the 26 gallon mark. The solution is to force in the water like others have said until it's flowing out of the vent tube. At least now I know! Thanks to all for your comments and suggestions.