Sanitize & Draining Fresh water tank

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Mark-M

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Joined
Sep 24, 2016
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Maryland
Friends,

We?ve had our RV 6 months now and was going to sanitize the fresh water tank.  It?s parked at home and after sanitizing it, I wanted to just drain the fresh water tank & not empty it into the Gray tank necessitating a trip to a dump station (it?s just fresh water with a little bleach) but I can?t find a drain valve or plug.  Do all RVs have one for the fresh water tank?  I could just run the outside shower but it would seem there should be a drain.

We have a 2018 coachmen Leprechaun 31MB & the fresh tank is in the back under the bed inside the RV so the tank is not exposed underneath.

.\Mark
 
There is a cover about 8" x 12" at the base of the shower that's held on with four screws. Pull that cover off, and your freshwater tank drain and low point cold and hot water valves are there. They do not turn to operate. Pull up on the tabs to open the valves, and push them down to close. Don't get in a hurry to empty the freshwater tank, it's painfully slow draining.
 
Dumping gray water in the driveway wouldn't be a big deal either. It would still be just fresh water with a little bleach.
 
HA!!  You mean the panel right next to the "Low Point Drain" sign?  I can't believe I missed that.  I knew I'd seen a Low Point label somewhere but couldn't remember where.

Not the 1st time I've made myself look stupid!

...and Oh my God that drains slow.  I opened up all of the faucets to increase the vent flow but still really slow.  Think I'll turn on the pump and outside shower also so can get this done within the week.

Thanks!

.\Mark
 
Mark-M said:
and Oh my God that drains slow.  I opened up all of the faucets to increase the vent flow but still really slow.  Think I'll turn on the pump and outside shower also so can get this done within the week.
Click to expand...

Opening the faucets for the tank to drain faster shouldn't help.  The tank is vented. You may try to carefully insert a piece of coat hanger up into the pipe if it's a straight shot to see if there is a piece of foreign material blocking the drain line. Do it carefully so you don't damage the internals to the drain valve. I would also round off the tip of the wire with sand paper to remove any burrs.
The faucets do need to be opened at the same time that you open the low point drains for the system to drain faster. What I use to do the last time we camped, I would open the tank drain valve and both low point drains. I just thought the water sloshing around in the pipes would eventually get to the drains.
 
Mark, yep, that's the one ;D

Rene, there isn't any foreign material there, it's just the design.
 
Yup.  It's is just the design.  I even backed it up the drive a little so the low point drain was definitely lower that the tank (with all 4 wheels chocked). To speed it up, I also ran the outside shower until it got down a little past 1/3 tank then just used the low point drain.  Didn't want the pump running without any water in there.

All is close to done.  Just filled the tank with the chlorine bleach solution and let it set until later today.  Then I'll empty the thing again.  I also ran all of the faucets & shower inside the RV to get the bleach solution in all of the faucets & lines and the HW tank.  I'll probably just open the low point drain later and let it drain overnight.  Dang thing is really slow.

Thanks for all the advice!

.\Mark
 
kdbgoat said:
Rene, there isn't any foreign material there, it's just the design.
Click to expand...

It was just a thought. The OP said:  and Oh my God that drains slow.  I opened up all of the faucets to increase the vent flow but still really slow.
We don't know if the drain rate was 1 Qt. per hour or 10 gallons per hour.
 
Hmmm it's a 50 gal tank, started to drain (was close to full-full) at about 11:30am, it's now 4:45pm and has about a 3rd remaining, so... 33gal in 5 hours = 6.6/gal hr.

In my mind that's real slow.  But this is the only RV I've owned so I don't know what the typical rate would be.

.\Mark
 
Mark-M said:
Hmmm it's a 50 gal tank, started to drain (was close to full-full) at about 11:30am, it's now 4:45pm and has about a 3rd remaining, so... 33gal in 5 hours = 6.6/gal hr.

In my mind that's real slow.  But this is the only RV I've owned so I don't know what the typical rate would be.

.\Mark
Click to expand...

That doesn't sound right to me. I think it should be draining allot faster than that
 
Rene T said:
That doesn't sound right to me. I think it should be draining allot faster than that
Click to expand...

One would think that, but they really do drain pretty slow. It drops out behind the inside right dually, and it's just a dribble. It's 1/2" pex with what I'm sure is a pretty restrictive valve. If it was something that got used often, I would investigate replacing with something larger, but will deal with it as it is. It only gets used a couple of times a year.
 
kdbgoat -- agree, same configuration as mine.  While I really would like it to drain within an hour, it's just not that big a deal.  Not a feature I anticipate using but couple times a year.

.\Mark
 
Wow...my Winnebago sightseer has a large ball valve on the side of the tank (which is under the bed) It drains 75 gallons of water in a matter of minutes.
 
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