Fresh water tank

[Cant Wait]

On our last 2 TT's we never used the fresh water tank so it always stayed empty. With our coach we used it last weekend and the water smelt funny so I drained it and sanitized the system. Question being is it better to leave the tank empty until you need it, or keep water in it all the time, maybe about 1/4?

 

[Tom]

We always keep water in our tank when not in use. If it's going to be a long time, I'll add some bleach, but not as much as I would if I was about to sanitize the system.

 

[Gary RV_Wizard]

Ours is seldom ever without water.

 

[Larry N.]

We empty the tank when winterizing, but otherwise keep it full.

 

[weewun]

I keep water in mine and, as Tom says, I add a little bleach before storing.  What I do differently is add bleach, if it has sat over 3 weeks,  before driving to campsite then drain and fill when I arrive.  This way the sloshing while driving provides tank sidewall cleaning. I do have the advantage of both a Gravity fill and City Water fill so it is no hassle to add bleach.

What I found is that the FW Tank Drain Valve would drip very slowly if I let the FW Tank set dry for any length of time, so I keep water in it.  While I am not an expert on Ball Valves, I am assuming that the internal seal shrinks with the absence of water .

 

[Mopar1973Man]

From April to October (summer time) mine remains full of water and ready to use. Then from October to April (winter time) the system is blown out with compressed air and left dry. No anti-freeze or chemicals use in the water system. Then next spring I use a bleach solution to sanitize the system then fill and good to go for the summer.