Potable Water Tank filling connection

rodneyranger · 06-29-2016, 01:58 PM

I posted a couple days ago about problems getting the bleach solution into my fresh water tank. The outside connection on the TT has a check-valve installed, which does not allow me to just add bleach solution by pouring it into the connection. I tried adding the bleach solution through the fresh water hose and connecting it to the house spigot to "push" the bleach soln into the. tank. The hose will only hold about 2 cups of water, so this solution is not r rally working for me. Question #1: can I just remove the check valve from the potable water connection? An RV repair service man told me that he had not seen a check-valve ever installed in the potable water connection. So, would it hurt to remove the check-valve? Question #2: If removing the check-valve is not an option, can I drill a 3/4" hole in the top of the water tank (which is under the bed) and then install a seat and plug for closing it off? The tank is polypropylene so I am not sure what will work to seal the seat for the plug. Ii was thinking that a plastic welder would work, but not sure. Any help is appreciated, as I am trying to. get the TT ready for a two-week trip to Toe River here in NC. Thanks.....

**Mr. Dan** · 06-29-2016, 02:15 PM

So... you're saying you don't have an open gravity feed opening as rockfordroo posted in your other thread.

Quote:

Originally Posted by rockfordroo

MOST RV's come with a gravity fill connection, which is basically a hole with a cap connected to a fill hose. See pic below. The tank vent hose also attaches to the side, so you'll see a small screened hole next to the main fill hole (lower right side in the pic below, about 4 o'clock). This is probably what your RV'er figured you had. Newer RV's (usually larger ones, it seems like) are starting to come with a fill connection that you can screw a hose to OR have a line and a valve from the city water connection. These hose connections usually have the check valve that you discovered.

An easy way to add the bleach is to pour it into your fill hose, then screw your fill hose to the tank fill connection and let'er rip.

rodneyranger · 06-29-2016, 02:51 PM

Mr.Dan...Nope, no other fitting except for the two hose connections—one for city water and one for potable water filling. There was no photo attached to rockfordroo's posting showing a gravity fill. I believe it would be like the one I had on a tent trailer I owned 20 years ago, where you just screw a small hose onto the water hose and stick it into the opening too fill up the potable water tank. But, like my friend the RV repair man stated there should be no check valve behind the screen in the potable water fill connection, so you can add bleach solution and fill the tank. Thanks for the response.....

5picker · 06-29-2016, 02:59 PM

I am guessing the check valve it there because the fill port is possibly low enough that going down the road, the water in the tank could slosh out through the hose/fill port (even though it may have some sort of a snap on cap) and possibly siphon the water back out of the tank.

You could remove it for the sake of sanitizing your system but I'd likely be putting it back afterwards.

rodneyranger · 06-29-2016, 03:01 PM

Just to add to this problem is my confusion at the last trailer we owned, which had the same two water connections—separate connections_one for potable tank and one for city water. The city water connection had a check-valve, but the potable water tank hose connection did not have a check-valve and the dealer provided me with a short piece of vinyl tubing on a screw-on hose connector that I was told to stick into the fill port and turn on the water. This was also the way that I sanitized the tank, but funneling the bleach solution into this gravity fill/hose connection port.

**Mr. Dan** · 06-29-2016, 03:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rodneyranger

Mr.Dan...Nope, no other fitting except for the two hose connections—one for city water and one for potable water filling. There was no photo attached to rockfordroo's posting showing a gravity fill. I believe it would be like the one I had on a tent trailer I owned 20 years ago, where you just screw a small hose onto the water hose and stick it into the opening too fill up the potable water tank. But, like my friend the RV repair man stated there should be no check valve behind the screen in the potable water fill connection, so you can add bleach solution and fill the tank. Thanks for the response.....

See post #5 in this: http://www.forestriverforums.com/for...ml#post1240012 I see a pic on my laptop.

rodneyranger · 06-29-2016, 03:05 PM

Well, the hose connection for the potable water tank is about 4-feet off the ground and the tank itself is located on the floor under the foot of the bed and is flat, like 6" tall by 2' wide by 4' long. I would not think that water would slosh out while traveling, since the tank is lower than the fill port. Hmmmm....

rodneyranger · 06-29-2016, 03:08 PM

OOK, Mr.Dan, I see that gravity fill port now and, no, mine has nothing like this on it—just the two hose connections. Can I add a gravity-fill port to my trailer easily? Thanks.....

5picker · 06-29-2016, 03:09 PM

The city water connection has to have one because otherwise when you used the on-board pump, it would just spew water out the city water connection.

If you don't believe you need the one in the fresh fill... take it out. Hmmmm....

rodneyranger · 06-29-2016, 03:25 PM

So, I am on my way out to the TT and will attempt to remove the check-valve from the potable tank fill port. I guess if I find that water sloshes out of the tank when traveling, I can put it back in. Thanks for the help....

rodneyranger · 06-29-2016, 04:26 PM

Well, removing the check-valve on the potable fill port does not work. There is a 1/2" hose connected to the check-valve via a screw-on PVC fitting. Something else would have to take the place of the check-valve. Besides, a 1/2" hose is not going to large enough for a 1/2" fill-tube for the gravity fill, since the tube has to fit inside of the connection. It seems like a good solution would be a bladder or chamber that could be filled with the bleach solution, and that would fit inline with the hose and the fill connection. Then the water could push the bleach solution into the water tank as the water goes through the bladder/chamber. This is one ridiculous non-feature of a travel trailer that I have ever seen. I am thinking that drilling a 3/4" hole into the potable water tank from the top of it is a better solution. I will search for ways of sealing the plug online. Thanks....

NCBBA11043 · 06-30-2016, 01:29 PM

As mentioned in several other posts, here's an easier, non-destructive method. Get a cheap whole house filter (home depot / lowes) and a couple of pipe to garden hose adapters and a short length of hose. Put the bleach/water solution in the filter housing (take out the filter!), and hook it up to the camper with the short hose. Hook up you water source to the other end of the filter housing and fill the tank. I usually refill the housing 3 times so I get enough bleach in without making the solution too strong.

grumpyoldman · 06-30-2016, 03:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by NCBBA11043

As mentioned in several other posts, here's an easier, non-destructive method. Get a cheap whole house filter (home depot / lowes) and a couple of pipe to garden hose adapters and a short length of hose. Put the bleach/water solution in the filter housing (take out the filter!), and hook it up to the camper with the short hose. Hook up you water source to the other end of the filter housing and fill the tank. I usually refill the housing 3 times so I get enough bleach in without making the solution too strong.

I like this idea which I also had seen in another post. My question is why can't you put straight bleach into the filter housing? It will get diluted when it gets into the 50 gallon (+/-) fresh water tank.

markb422 · 06-30-2016, 08:26 PM

I have the same set of inlets on my mh. I fill a 4 foot length of white hose with bleach and then connect it to the supply hose, turn it on and it pushes the bleach into the tank. The white hose holds about 8 ounces of bleach which should be enough unless you have a very large tank and if you do, do it twice. My potable water tank is under the bed also and has two overflows on top. If you tee into one of those you could add bleach that way also.

NCBBA11043 · 07-01-2016, 08:03 AM

I can't remember where, but I thought I saw something to the effect of not using "uncut" bleach. I've been doing this for over 20 years so maybe it had to do with materials used back then.

SailorSam20500 · 07-02-2016, 12:12 PM

Have you considered using a fertilizer injector? To sanitize, you want a bleach concentration of <200 ppm. Using a partially diluted supply of bleach, you should be able to quickly fill the tank. If you decide to use more than 200PPM, do a good rinse of the tank with clean water.
Here is a $15 injector, you can probably find others:
Grow More Siphon Mixer Injector
Sanitizing with bleach guide:
http://ucfoodsafety.ucdavis.edu/files/26437.pdf

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