Don't look in your Fresh water tank! Ignorance really is bliss.

[Jetjockey6]

Hmmm. I installed an access port exactly like the one in the picture. So far, 🤔🤔,
I have had an immaculate water tank, 5.5 years after purchase new, with no screens over the vent or overflow pipe. The access port allows me to remove,with a wet/dry shop vac on wet, any remaining water if I am going to be on city water for a long time. I then spray the inside of the tank with Clorox Cleanup, hose it down with city water to rinse then wipe the entire inside of the tank with a sterile towel and leave it. I used a water test kit once just to check water quality after the above and after filling the tank 3/4. Results were excellent and drinkable.
As said previously, perhaps there is another issue?

Jim
2015 Dynamax Force 37BH

[FleckDreher]

1) A piece of doubled-up fiberglass screen wrapped around the vent or drain line and secured with a tie-wrap works well as a bug screen in this situation, and fits anywhere.

2) It's not the bugs you can easily see that can kill you, it's the invisible ones that can be deadly.

3) Personally, I have never seen bugs in a water tank, only mildew.

[markb422]

When our MH was new I noticed the pex overflow lines went through the floor and where wide open so anything could crawl up in them and into the tank. So I installed rubber, duck bill checks on both of them. They seal up very well but still seem to let enough air in when the pump is on so the tank doesn't collapse with the suction.

[TitanMike]

Originally Posted by Chuckinca

All City Water Lines are full of mud and other nasty stuff but are chlorinated and usually safe to drink.


.

Not sure what city that kind of water is distributed in but where I live the water is filtered before it leaves it's mountain source. Public works also regularly flushes the mains to prevent any "mud and other nasty stuff" from accumulating. I get an annual water report that shows the level of "turbidity" and our water has little or none.

Now I have heard stories about cities along the Mississippi. They say that cities near the mouth of the Mississippi are distributing water that has been through several digestive tracts upstream

I think the OP's problem was un-screened overflow/vent lines. A 1/2" ID pipe is literally a "bug freeway".

[NavyLCDR]

You should look inside the pipes of your home plumbing.....

[johndjmix]

How do you access that area where the tank is on the DX3? Under the TV of course, but is there an easy way to do it without hacking anything up?

—john

[TitanMike]

Originally Posted by NavyLCDR

You should look inside the pipes of your home plumbing.....

Several years ago when I replaced the regulator I found nothing in the lines.

Years ago our water utility constructed a huge water filtration plant and from there water is all transported or stored in closed pipe and enclosed tanks. No open reservoirs like many cities.

In fact our water is clean enough a huge water bottling plant wanted to locate here.

[Cypressloser]

No matter the water source, mould spores enter the water tank through the air vents. There is nothing that I know of to prevent this except keeping the inside of the tank bone dry, proper sanitizing with bleach is the best method I know of. The trouble is, once the mould bites into the plastic it is nearly impossible to get it out.

[TitanMike]

Originally Posted by Cypressloser

No matter the water source, mould spores enter the water tank through the air vents. There is nothing that I know of to prevent this except keeping the inside of the tank bone dry, proper sanitizing with bleach is the best method I know of. The trouble is, once the mould bites into the plastic it is nearly impossible to get it out.

Agreed. I prefer to do a "continuous sanitizing" with my tank. Rather than a once per year shock treatment of chlorine, I add chlorine (Clorox) at the rate of 1/2 tsp per 5-6 gallons. When tank is empty I add 3.5 tsp of Clorox and fill.

This is what Clorox recommends for emergency treatment of "clear" water. It then sits in the tank while traveling and when I draw the water from the tank it's filtered through the onboard filter and tastes exactly like the water from my refrigerator's filtered water dispenser.

Good luck to any mold that shows up in my tank although I have a gravity fill and the vent is pretty well protected.

[E T F]

I don't know if I should worry or not.

I've never put water in the tank of any RV that I've owned in 15 years of traveling. We drink and use bottled water when camping. We always stay at campgrounds with water hook-up and it is always filtered at the source, sometimes twice. We also use a filter pitcher. We never boondock so I don't see the need to fill, sterilize, empty the water tank and lines.

[vasnipe]

My fresh water tank has a large screw in plug in the top that I remove to inspect the tank every now and then. Haven't found any surprises, yet.

Originally Posted by emm-dee

If you think the first pictures are bad then don’t ever look inside the water tanks used on passenger aircraft. I’ve seen some where the gook on the bottom and sides could be scooped out with a spoon.

Nasty, slimy, gooey stuff.
I had the dubious pleasure of being a QA inspector on an aircraft carrier when one of the fresh water tanks was opened for cleaning and inspection.
Yeah, scoop up with a teaspoon?
Try having to use grain shovels and dust pans. When we first opened it up the slime was a good 2 inches deep.
I promptly suppressed that memory, until now...

And I will try to not think about the aircraft water tanks on my next flight.

[emm-dee]

Originally Posted by vasnipe

My fresh water tank has a large screw in plug in the top that I remove to inspect the tank every now and then. Haven't found any surprises, yet.






Nasty, slimy, gooey stuff.
I had the dubious pleasure of being a QA inspector on an aircraft carrier when one of the fresh water tanks was opened for cleaning and inspection.
Yeah, scoop up with a teaspoon?
Try having to use grain shovels and dust pans. When we first opened it up the slime was a good 2 inches deep.
I promptly suppressed that memory, until now...

And I will try to not think about the aircraft water tanks on my next flight.

Before retiring I had to get on an airline flight 5-6 times a month, sometimes more. I NEVER drank anything or consumed any food unless I had personally brought it on board. One of the best pleasures of being retired is not having to get on an airplane or have to deal with anyone associated with commercial air travel.

[Iwannacamp]

Originally Posted by E T F

I don't know if I should worry or not.



I've never put water in the tank of any RV that I've owned in 15 years of traveling. We drink and use bottled water when camping. We always stay at campgrounds with water hook-up and it is always filtered at the source, sometimes twice. We also use a filter pitcher. We never boondock so I don't see the need to fill, sterilize, empty the water tank and lines.

Did you ever try to drain it?
I never put water in mine either, but every time I pull the handle it has a few gallons in it.

[B and B]

I run a pre filter, then water softener. My pre filter is double carbon filters on less than ideal sources. Most provincial parks are on city supplied water that is well treated. My trailer has a built in high capacity filter that the tank or city water runs through depending on Anderson valve position. In spring I add some straight up city water and flush item system. Never had a problem with any trailer in 12 years doing this.

[AWF1945]

I've used this stainless pot scrubber/ brillo pad in the overfill/vent hose. No problem this far. The tank drain on mine is a pex tube just in front of left rear dual tires. It has a open/close ball valve, so if closed nothing is getting in.

[MoJoe1003]

Anyone have a source for the house water filter on a DX3 or XL. I’ve changed it before but I cannot find the record of my purchase. It’s time to replace it. I’ve seen on the forum, but when I tried to search for it nothicame up.

[dbutton]

I have been using Calcium Hypochlorite, which is a pool cleaner, but if you read up on Clorox as a disinfectant, it has a shelf life, deminishing quickly even though it smells like Clorox.
The granulated Calcium Hypochlorite lasts much longer & is recommended for potable water sanitation & sanitizing.
Research is your friend. There are dangers but look it up & it works with less smell & taste.

[Tahoe John]

What a great thread. Thank you RANCHER ROB for sharing your story and leaving a solution. Another winter project for me.

A comment on water. I camp near West Yellowstone each year for 4-5 weeks while fly fishing. The water is still a light "pee" yellow after filtering it twice through carbon filters at a full hook up campsite. Thus I do not drink, cook, make ice, nor brush my teeth with it. I use Zero Water filtration, the filter is good for 27 gallons and I count how much I have used through a filter. West Yellowstone is 5 miles via a gravel road, and 6 miles of paved road and everything is more expensive (Bear, Bug spray, water bottles) so bottle water is not always one's best choice.

[Rancher Rob]

Mojo,

Here is the stock filter our rigs use on amazon.

But it is actually cheaper to order it through dynamax. Just much less convenient and slower.

Calcium HypoChlorite is great stuff! I think 2-4 little asprin tablets would sterilize the whole tank. Gotta be careful with it as it is an industrial oxidizer and it will destroy most anything in the general vicinity of where it is stored. Even seems to affect wood, plastics, and cardboard. Stainless steel and chrome don't have a chance.

Also, the stuff I have at least, looks like candy to little kids. I set the bag on the counter for a minute while I looked for my coat and hat to take it out to the well site. Next thing I know, my 5 year old little girl got into it. It was terrifying for an hour or so with all the emergency responders around and my little girl choking, coughing, and crying. Luckily she didn't fully ingest any of it and she is fine. I don't know how she even got past the noxious fumes of opening the bag. I was lucky that day.

[Smittty]

While we are all talking about the FWT. I have never been able to totally drain mine. I removed the access panel so I can see the tank and even after draining it is about 1/3 full. I have tried driving while valve is open, opening other valves to give air flow, tipping MH a and nothing seems to work. Even tried writing to Coachman and they suggested angling MH towards drain. That did not help.