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Old 10-12-2007, 06:21 PM   #1
1 Rivet Member
 
1976 31' Sovereign
1976 25' Caravanner
horse shoe , North Carolina
Join Date: Jun 2007
Posts: 15
Draining Fresh Water Tank

I am attempting to drain the fresh water tank on a 1976 international caravanner. Control panel indicates tank is about 3/4 full. I opened several faucets and turned on water pump located under range. I can hear a gurgling noise through kitchen faucet but no water is being discharged. I can hear the pump running. I have the two valves open in the rear compartment so I don't know if that has anything to do with it. Also where is the main drain plug located on the model. Is there an access panel some where that allows a plug to be unscrewed so I can flush out tank instead of using the electric pump to purge. Thanks for your help.
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Old 10-12-2007, 07:43 PM   #2
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Join Date: Mar 2004
Posts: 411
My '76 25' Caravanner had no outside tank drain on the fresh water tank. It had to be emptied by using the pump. There is a square panel on the underside of the tank (aluminum over 1" plywood that holds the tank in place) but there is no drain there either. My guess is that the tank is empty but the control panel still shows 3/4 full. The sensors on the side of the tank get corroded or coated with minerals and fool the gauge. Try putting a little water in the tank and try the pump again. I found that a good cleaning of the tank with bleach solution re-activiatd the sensors enough to last a couple of fillings. Same with the grey and black sensors and guages. Of course, there's always the possibility that the diaphrams in the pump have been damaged by freezing or are just plain worn out. Darol
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Old 10-15-2007, 07:37 PM   #3
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1972 25' Tradewind
Madison , Wisconsin
Join Date: Apr 2005
Posts: 396
Try a Siphon

Quote:
Originally Posted by psundstrom
I am attempting to drain the fresh water tank on a 1976 international caravanner. Control panel indicates tank is about 3/4 full. I opened several faucets and turned on water pump located under range. I can hear a gurgling noise through kitchen faucet but no water is being discharged. I can hear the pump running. I have the two valves open in the rear compartment so I don't know if that has anything to do with it. Also where is the main drain plug located on the model. Is there an access panel some where that allows a plug to be unscrewed so I can flush out tank instead of using the electric pump to purge. Thanks for your help.
Before I started to replace plumbing I had a problem draining the tank. I used a siphon. It took most of the water out. It does not hurt the tank to have a little water in it, though I would recomend you put some bleach and water into the tank prior to emptying it. That way you will have some residual chlorine in the tank if it is to be left for awhile.

I now have a gravity drain on my feed line so I can gravity drain the tank or use the pump. I will be fitting a direct discharge line from the pump (via two way valve) to the outside. Unfortunately fitting a gravity drain after the fact means pulling the tank and re-plumbing. some AS are equiped with gravity drains. John HD did a nice article about replacing the valves. Read his post on the valves, it mentions access for the valves.
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