"Fresh" Water Tank

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A41Billy

A41Billy

Member
Joined
Jan 9, 2011
Posts
24
Location
Medford, Oregon
I have a question regarding the fresh water holding tank. At the beginning of this season I sanitized the tank and filled it 2/3 full. Since then we have only used the city water connection because the State Parks we camp in have it available. How long should I consider this water safe and sanitized? How often should it be drained and fresh added? Can I just add more bleach/water mixture to resanitize the water in the tank?  I keep it 2/3 full just in case.
 
Good question.  Most city water is chlorinated so that it will be good for 24 hours.  After that, the level of protection from bacteria will slowly decay.  There is no way to tell when it will be "unsafe" to drink except by testing it, which is impractical.  What we do is drink bottled water, and just use the tank water for showers and flushing the jon.  It's a slight additonal expense for bottled water, but it works for us.  We fill our tank when we de-winterize, and just re-fill as necessary throughout the season.  Sanitize once a year when we de-winterize.
 
We use our tank water for everything and have used 30 day old water with no problems.  That is about as long as I think I would go.  But we seldom leave water in it after a trip.  We prefer not to carry all the extra weight so would drain anything we were not going to need to get home, before we left the campground.  When we leave here we take along just what we will need until we get to the first place that has full hookups.  Usually quarter or half tank for enroute showers and coffee and dish cleaning water. 
 
If your tank started out sanitary and was filled from a chlorinated source, it's probably good for 6 months or more. Yes, I said 6 months - that's what gov't health  gurus say about storing water for emergencies. But there are many variables and a fresh water tank in an RV is an open system and thus could be contaminated by an outside source. Probably best to drain and refill well before that.

Yes, you could add chlorine (1/8 tsp per gallon) to perk up the chlorine content, but it's still best to drain and refill when you have the opportunity. I do it about every 2-3 months if I haven't been adding chlorinated water regularly in that interval.  And if you have been using any water from an unknown source (spring, stream or untested well), probably should re-sanitize as well.
 
But we seldom leave water in it after a trip.
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Most of us live in areas that have some kind of natural disasters, whether it is earthquakes or tornadoes or floods or fires.  You might want to rethink emptying your fresh water tank when at home.  We always have our fresh water tank full when stored because we know we can add chlorine to the tank or perhaps even boil the water, but we can't add water if it's really contaminated or pipes have broken and it's not available.  RVers have used their motorhomes many times in big emergencies such as earthquakes.  It's part of being prepared.

By the way, the fresh water tank gets emptied, sanitized, and refilled before the next trip.

ArdraF
 
Good point about leaving water in your RV to prepare for a possible disaster and need to be able to live out of the unit. 
 
We live in Southern CA and think of our 5th wheel as both an RV and a "life boat".  As mentioned, an earthquake or other major event can leave you in bad shape.  I try to ensure that we keep our propane, water, wet cell trailer batteries, full and ready.  We always keep canned goods aboard, and check the dates on the cans periodically for rotation.

Even if there is not a major catastrophic event, there may be cause for immediate evacuation due to wild fire etc. 

It doesn?t cost much of anything to keep the RV ready, and it may prove invaluable at some point.

Just my opinion.

John
;)
 
I haven't yet done much research on these products but it's possible that reverse osmosis filter systems such as http://www.freedrinkingwater.com/ro-45-detail.htm might give you clean enough water that you could fill up with water from just about anywhere.  Including streams in cattle country or countries where reliable water is a problem.

My first concern is that I don't know if these are good enough to ensure that water is clean enough to drink even if infested with bacteria.  Must you use the UV disinfection system?  Which I know the Edmonton, Alberta municipal water system uses.  Or is R/O good enough?

My second concern would be winterizing.  What needs to be done to ensure these filter systems can survive?
 
Tony_Alberta said:
My second concern would be winterizing.  What needs to be done to ensure these filter systems can survive?
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You would need to contact the manufacturer for that information. Common sense says flush, drain, seal, ect... but the manufacturer may have a specific set of requirements that would need to be followed.


I was involved when a R/O system was installed for a previous employer and a strict maintenance schedule was dictated by the manufacturer or the warranty was void. That system was bigger than your RV, but my point is that you could void the warranty if you don't follow their instructions to the letter.




Joe
 
In many parts of the country, cisterns are still used to store water underground,, water is delivered as needed by truck and sits for long periods with no ill effects.<<<Dan
 
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