Cleaning water heater with vinegar

[NY_Dutch]

Like Rene, we use our on board tank for all of our water needs when hookups are not available. I don't see any value in buying lots of expensive little plastic "tanks" of water from unknown sources versus using my own big plastic tank that I can fill for free from known sources.

 

[Foto-n-T]

I guess it's a matter of geography. I lived in Arizona for 35+ years and if you drink the water there you won't be able to get through an airport metal detector for about six months. I'm afraid most of the places we stayed in Texas had just about the same or worse water and that's where we were when I installed the RO system. On the other hand here in Wyoming our water basically comes right out of Yellowstone and is excellent. Unfortunately I don't use the rig up here at all anymore.

 

[grashley]

Very interesting reading!

I have installed a 2 cartridge water filter system, and both shore water and water from the pump (fresh water tank) go through these filters.  Yes, I did remove them before the cleaning.  The filtered water actually tastes pretty good!

In retrospect, I sanitized the system about 2 months ago, but since the camper has been in the back yard, and to save a little money, the water heater has been full, but not hot, with very little flow.  Is this why it went skanky on me?  Should I keep it drained and bypassed unless I intend to use it?  Cold water is used routinely for drinking and toilet flushing.

 

[NY_Dutch]

Back when our RV's used to sit alongside the house for long periods, we made it a point to draw drinking and wash water from the hot faucet even though the heater was turned off, just to keep the water in the heater tank and pipes circulated and fresh. The cold side got used for flushing of course.

 

[Foto-n-T]

I neglected to mention that I too have a water filtration system, it's a five micron high flow single carbon filter but it does the job.  The main reason I did that was for filling the fresh tank believe it or not.  On our old rig I got a piece of grit in one of the poppet valves of the pump and had to disassemble the pump to get it running again.  When I fill the fresh tank I simply plug into the cold low point drain and fill off of that so the water is filtered.

I'm not sure what kind of critters make the hot water smell funky, there's no light in the hot water tank so I'm assuming that algae can't grow so it must be some sort of bacteria that likes dark places.

 

[elliott-maine]

Always mix the bleach with water before putting it into your tank.