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Old 08-07-2016, 03:30 PM   #1
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BlackJeep22's Concord 300 DS Newbee Questions

OK, as mentioned on a couple of other threads, our Concord 300DS is our VERY FIRST mobile traveling vehicle of ANY type. We just picked it up in Mid-July and the only manuals that came with it were for the TVs/DVD players. Until the dealership can get the various manuals to me, I'm going to posting some real rookie type questions. We plan to test everything out before leaving the driveway instead of waiting until we get somewhere and try to hook things up. Below is the beginning of my rookie questions, thanks in advance:
Potable Water questions:
    1. Do any of you head out with any water in your holding tank? If so, how full?
    2. If heading out empty, and if planning connecting to city water, is there any need to fill or partially fill the holding tank?
    3. If there is one, where is the bypass valve located?
    4. Is there an opening/closing valve(s) sequence?
Propane questions:
  1. Can I hook my propane camp stove directly to the "on board" propane tank instead of dragging along one or two 5 gallon tanks?
Refrigerator questions:
  1. Not really sure how this works. I know it runs both propane and electricity, but not sure what takes priority. If I'm plugged in at home and loading things into the fridge, can I simply run if off my house 110 with the adapter and power converter? I guess it has no choice but to run electricity if the propane is turned off, but what if it's turned on, what takes priority?
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Old 08-07-2016, 04:31 PM   #2
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I think you are calling your FW tank a holding tank which is not correct the holding tanks are for gray or black water.
1. I always start out with about 1/4 FW in the tank just in case I need to use it if going to a stop over that has potable water if not I fill her up.

Propane. If you have the connection (installed) for it from you rig there is no reason not to use it, with that said if your camp stove has a regulator you will more then likely have to remove that for the stove to work.

Fridge If your fridge is in auto it will default to electricity when 110V is available. If you select gas it will run on propane as long as 12V is present. Or is in auto and loose 110V it will shift to propane. There is normally no reason to turn the propane off unless you are filling the tank.
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Old 08-07-2016, 07:36 PM   #3
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I am with SeaDog. We run with some water in the freshwater tank... maybe 15 gallons or so, up to full if we think we need it. Problem is that is over 400# if it is full.

There is a blue "switch" where you hook the water hose up, you want it on "city" if you are planning on using the city water, you switch to "tank fill/Winterize" if you want to put water in your tank. The drain down valve for the fresh water tank is behind the furnace air intake under the stove, slow to drain down too. I learned a long time ago to ALWAYS keep some water in the tank. I was at a campground near Charleston, SC when a storm came through and knocked out the power for several hours. The campground was on well water, within an hour they no longer had water pressure. Those of us that had the foresight to have water in our tanks could take showers, flush toilets, etc.

You will need to add a port of some sort if you want to use your portable stove, where you put it will determine what you need to do to your stove. I haven't bothered to delve in to it yet. I know that if you go off tank pressure (if front of the regulator) you will need to leave a regulator on the stove, go behind the regulator and you will need some sort of adapter to replace the regulator on the stove. Right now I just haul a 20# cylinder in a milk crate in my rear rack. Eventually I want a smaller FRP cylinder. I also keep a couple of the 1# cylinders as back up.

The fridge defaults to ac power if available, if not it will run on LP as long as you have 12v power available for the control board. You can over ride the fridge so it will run on gas if you need your electrical amps for something else.

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Old 08-09-2016, 01:46 PM   #4
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Hmmmm I maybe wrong. But if you run fridge on auto. It will look for 110v first if no 110v it will run off inverter. To run on propane u shut auto off and hit gas button. Lol. Pretty sure that's how ours work
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Old 08-09-2016, 04:58 PM   #5
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Hmmmm I maybe wrong. But if you run fridge on auto. It will look for 110v first if no 110v it will run off inverter. To run on propane u shut auto off and hit gas button. Lol. Pretty sure that's how ours work
Our units don't come with inverters...
Converters yes. The fridge is 120v/LP. So it are going to be one or the other. You can override the default and put it on gas, which I do on occasion.

If it were running on inverter it would be sucking down the batteries.

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Old 08-09-2016, 05:27 PM   #6
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Thanks Aaron & JJ. 👍
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Old 08-09-2016, 06:20 PM   #7
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So... I finally sat down to see just exactly what manuals I DO have. I still don't have the generic Coachman manual or the Ford chassis manual (yet) but I DO have these:
  • Furnace
  • Fridge
  • Water heater
  • Carbon monoxide
  • Microwave
  • Fuse panel
  • Range
  • Bigfoot
  • TVs & DVDs
We have nothing about the gray tanks, and the Concord apparently has 2. Does anyone know what drains into gray tank 1 and gray tank 2?

We also have nothing for the King TV antenna. Is there some way to know what the correct direction is supposed to be?
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Old 08-09-2016, 07:59 PM   #8
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On mine it appears that the shower and kitchen sink drain into one tank and the bathroom sink the other one. Not an ideal set up. Shower and kitchen sink are the two biggest offenders when it comes to filling up the gray tank. I am thinking that a "balance" hose between the two tanks might be a good idea. A lot of the places we camp don't have sewer hookups... but they have thirsty raccoons.

For the antenna there is no one perfect spot, you have to rotate it to get the stations to come in clearer. Remember the old house antennas with the rotater? (we still have one ) I use the DTV Antennas app to find the direction of the closest stations.

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Old 08-09-2016, 08:24 PM   #9
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Yes your right about fridge. I thought it would run on converter but glad to know what it does. I run propane most time. To cut back on amps. It's still hot in our part of world. But we just got back from our 10 day trip the longest yet and it was perfect. Really had a great time. Went over to Raton NEw Mex for the NRA shooting comp had a blast. Took jeep on over to eagles nest and angle fire. Went up to Trinidad CO. Even had lunch in an old 1800's house of ill repute. Lol. I still haven't done the math on tv amps. Sorry bout that. No more than 3. But I'll figure it out
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Old 08-09-2016, 08:25 PM   #10
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That safe t plus. Worked great.
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Old 08-10-2016, 04:56 AM   #11
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Forgot to mention about the gray tanks...

On mine the indicators (which are suspect) for the Aux tank is the shower and kitchen sink, the one marked Gray is for the bathroom sink. Still trying to figure that one out. On my mod/do list is to upgrade the sensors/indicator system to something more accurate. Either SeeLevel or iSeries. Both seem to be decent systems. One thing I like about the iSeries is that you can set warnings for low tank or high tank conditions.

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Old 08-10-2016, 09:13 AM   #12
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Thanks Aaron. I was pushing on those indicator lights yesterday and found that my fresh water tank is 3/4 full. I have no idea when that was filled, so need to look around and see how to drain it. I suspect that my 300DS made it to several RV shows. I emailed my dealership again yesterday to see about the status of my missing manuals. Is it pretty straight forward to drain the fresh water?
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Old 08-10-2016, 11:47 AM   #13
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Sewer tank/hose flushing gizmo

Any of you veterans have any comments on this unit:

Camco Dual Flush Adapter for Rinsing RV Holding Tanks and Sewer Hoses Camco Plumbing CAM39072
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Old 08-10-2016, 04:15 PM   #14
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The Flush King from Valtera is better.

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Old 08-10-2016, 04:32 PM   #15
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Thanks Aaron. I was pushing on those indicator lights yesterday and found that my fresh water tank is 3/4 full. I have no idea when that was filled, so need to look around and see how to drain it. I suspect that my 300DS made it to several RV shows. I emailed my dealership again yesterday to see about the status of my missing manuals. Is it pretty straight forward to drain the fresh water?
Two ways to drain water: turn the pump on and let it run into the gray tank via the kitchen or bathroom sink, then dump the gray tank.

The other method is to pull the access under the fridge and pull the drain valve up. Neither one is particularly quick. I plan to put an electric actuated valve on my drain down points...eventually.

First picture is the piece you have to remove, second one is the valves. I am pretty sure on mine it is the valve on the left (closest to the front of the unit), won't hurt to pull all three, just drains down the whole system. They don't move very far when you pull them, 1/2" or so.

Currently the grate is held in with 4 screws, eventually I am going to use magnets, velcro or a ball catch... again on my list.

Aaron



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Old 08-10-2016, 04:55 PM   #16
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Thanks Aaron. In any case... It all drains into the gray tanks, then through the black tank and stinky slinky?
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Old 08-10-2016, 05:15 PM   #17
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Lightbulb

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Thanks Aaron. In any case... It all drains into the gray tanks, then through the black tank and stinky slinky?
The drain down valves go straight out on the ground. My drain down outlet points are just above the frame behind the axle on the right hand side.

If you put water in the gray tank you can drain it via the main drain which also is the one the black tank uses. You don't have to pull the black tank valve to drain the gray tanks, they can be done independently. I live in the country so I can drain gray tanks on the ground, typically I water the garden with them.

There are 3 gray tank valves and two gray tanks on our Concords. One tank is on the right hand side (curb side), it has a valve right in front of the tank on the curb side, lines up with the rear awning arm. That one needs to be closed in the winter if you are camping in below freezing weather, otherwise I just leave it open. The other gray tank is on the left side in front of the black tank somewhere. There are two cable operated gray valves in the dump door area. One is for the left side gray tank the other for the pipe that leads to the right side gray tank. And like everything else I plan to upgrade the right side valve at the tank and the left side tank valve to electric and eliminate that extra valve.... eventually.

Hope that makes it as clear as mud, I can get pictures later if you need them.

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Old 08-10-2016, 06:55 PM   #18
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The drain down valves go straight out on the ground. My drain down outlet points are just above the frame behind the axle on the right hand side.

If you put water in the gray tank you can drain it via the main drain which also is the one the black tank uses. You don't have to pull the black tank valve to drain the gray tanks, they can be done independently. I live in the country so I can drain gray tanks on the ground, typically I water the garden with them.

There are 3 gray tank valves and two gray tanks on our Concords. One tank is on the right hand side (curb side), it has a valve right in front of the tank on the curb side, lines up with the rear awning arm. That one needs to be closed in the winter if you are camping in below freezing weather, otherwise I just leave it open. The other gray tank is on the left side in front of the black tank somewhere. There are two cable operated gray valves in the dump door area. One is for the left side gray tank the other for the pipe that leads to the right side gray tank. And like everything else I plan to upgrade the right side valve at the tank and the left side tank valve to electric and eliminate that extra valve.... eventually.

Hope that makes it as clear as mud, I can get pictures later if you need them.

Aaron
I was aware that we had 2 gray tanks and 2 gray tank valves on the driver's side, in the dump door area, but was not aware of the third valve on the passenger's side. I also was not aware that 3 3 values under the fridge dumped straight down on the ground. I've got mine parked (on the side) in my driveway on NEW white concrete. I'll probably just let it run through the sinks and into the gray tanks. You say I don't need to pull the black tank valve to dump the gray tanks? How are the gray tanks dumped? I thought they just automatically emptied into the black tank?
Thanks for all your help. I'm sure once I actually do it, it will make more sense. Just sort of running blind here without the manuals and this being our first ever RV. 👍🍻
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Old 08-10-2016, 07:24 PM   #19
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The drain lines from the gray tanks and black tank come down to the same outlet, where the big cap screws on. As you pull each valve handle it allows the tank to empty into the larger pipe. On a typical dump you do the black tank first, then the gray tanks to rinse the pipe and the stinky slinky. You can dump one tank at a time without having to dump any of the other tanks. We camp in remote campgrounds without sewer hookups, we can dump gray water on the ground as long as we don't put it on the roadways or walk ways. I use a cap with the small garden hose outlet on it and a 12' hose to lead the gray water off into the brush away from walking areas. I do the same thing at home, but drain it off into my gardens.

None of this stuff is in the manuals, the dealer SHOULD have explained all of this during the walk through, but not all of them are created equal. I learned a lot of what I know from an older gentleman that I used to work for and introduced me to RV's. The rest has been by trial and error.

The water out of the fresh water tank is just water, shouldn't stain your concrete or anything.

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Old 08-10-2016, 09:44 PM   #20
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The drain lines from the gray tanks and black tank come down to the same outlet, where the big cap screws on. As you pull each valve handle it allows the tank to empty into the larger pipe. On a typical dump you do the black tank first, then the gray tanks to rinse the pipe and the stinky slinky. You can dump one tank at a time without having to dump any of the other tanks. We camp in remote campgrounds without sewer hookups, we can dump gray water on the ground as long as we don't put it on the roadways or walk ways. I use a cap with the small garden hose outlet on it and a 12' hose to lead the gray water off into the brush away from walking areas. I do the same thing at home, but drain it off into my gardens.

None of this stuff is in the manuals, the dealer SHOULD have explained all of this during the walk through, but not all of them are created equal. I learned a lot of what I know from an older gentleman that I used to work for and introduced me to RV's. The rest has been by trial and error.

The water out of the fresh water tank is just water, shouldn't stain your concrete or anything.

Aaron
Muchas Gracias Aaron. There's a COLD beer in it for you if we ever pull off the 300DS get together next year. 👍🍻
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