Visit our Popular Forums

MissingLink5 · 08-16-2016, 05:19 PM

At $632 for the Seagull IV filter I think I will stay with my blue $15 Camco filter.

HiJoeSilver · 08-16-2016, 10:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cactusjk

Should I use a special hose end to fill the potable water tank on our 2015 FC 23? Some have recommended the Secure-fill adapters and others the Camco type extension.

Back to the original question, I use the camcorder it makes it easy to control and stop the fill as the tank gets close to full without having to go to the spigot.
Like filling a gas tank, don't leave it unattended when filling.

Quote:

Originally Posted by avionstream

Never used an attachment, just shove the hose in.

I don't recommend this, it's a great way to rupture the tank. If it fills the tank and enough water can't escape back out past the hose it can easily pressurize the tank. It doesn't take much pressure build up inside the tank to cause it to rupture. Your tank has about 1800 square inches of surface area, so at only 1psi that plastic will be trying to contain 1800 pounds of force. The tank won't win that battle. Others have ruptured their tanks and permanently deformed the support pan this way.

OTRA15 · 08-17-2016, 03:36 AM

If you use a hose end that lets air (and extra water) escape from the fill hole, and a medium water flow, and there is very little risk of tank rupture IMO. It is fine if it overflows and comes out the fill hole (in modern AS at least). Indeed, I believe our owner's manual even says so.

Yes -- On p. 38/114 of the following PDF, it says:

"The amount of water in the tank may be checked on the Monitor Panel, or you may fill the tank until water overflows out of the fill."

Pretty clear and simple stuff -- put hose in hole and fill until overflowing. Including our 1985 25' in the 90's, we have done this probably well over 100 times without incident.

https://www.airstream.com/wp-content...gcloud2014.pdf

The tank ruptures referred to are usually caused by other factors, including operator error. There may be considerations which apply to older Airstreams' water tank fill holes, of course, but for most modern AS -- no prob. IMO.

Using a too-large hose end, and jamming it in very tight, will of course introduce risks which Airstream did not intend.

xrvr · 08-17-2016, 06:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HiJoeSilver

Back to the original question, I use the camcorder it makes it easy to control and stop the fill as the tank gets close to full without having to go to the spigot.
Like filling a gas tank, don't leave it unattended when filling.

I don't recommend this, it's a great way to rupture the tank. If it fills the tank and enough water can't escape back out past the hose it can easily pressurize the tank. It doesn't take much pressure build up inside the tank to cause it to rupture. Your tank has about 1800 square inches of surface area, so at only 1psi that plastic will be trying to contain 1800 pounds of force. The tank won't win that battle. Others have ruptured their tanks and permanently deformed the support pan this way.

Common sense says stay at the filler and don't walk away while hose is installed and filling. I can hear when the tank is near full and pull the hose out. I figured I didn't need to tell someone that.

dkottum · 08-17-2016, 08:25 AM

What ever hose you use be sure there is plenty of space around it for air to escape as you fill the tank. We put our large garden hose nearly tight into the nozzle and turned it on. Pressure will multiply inside the tank as it fills. Ours did and the high pressure inside the tank cracked it.

We now fill it with a nozzle that allows all air to easily escape around it, the larger the nozzle the less water flow we allow.

HiJoeSilver · 08-17-2016, 07:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dkottum

What ever hose you use be sure there is plenty of space around it for air to escape as you fill the tank. We put our large garden hose nearly tight into the nozzle and turned it on. Pressure will multiply inside the tank as it fills. Ours did and the high pressure inside the tank cracked it.

We now fill it with a nozzle that allows all air to easily escape around it, the larger the nozzle the less water flow we allow.

Dkottum, sorry for your misfortune, I know what a pain replacing a tank can be and its not cheap either, but thanks for reinforcing my comment.

OTRA15 · 08-18-2016, 02:14 AM

Not to belabor the point, but just to be clear -- in the context of the owner's manual quote in Post # 23 -- placing a too-tight hose in the fill port, using excessive water pressure, and/or not monitoring the fill process, might be considered operator error, and not within Airstream's design parameters.

It is possible to break things if reasonable care is not taken . . .

HowieE · 08-18-2016, 08:19 AM

Sorry to say that is just one more evidence of the Cheapening Down of the Airstream. The older unit had a pressure relief tube in the water fill port.

Those of you without this relief tube don't ever fill up in Dawson City in the Yukon. The public filling system is very high pressure. You would blow the tank before you could react.

xrvr · 08-18-2016, 08:36 AM

I never put the hose in the tank without checking the pressure first, why would you?

HowieE · 08-18-2016, 08:45 AM

My comment about the relief tube, back when engineering drove design, covered the problem. Now they use a disclaimer in the manual to cover the problem. Statements are cheaper as production numbers increase.

AWCHIEF · 08-19-2016, 08:30 AM

My 2006 has the vent tube. What year did Airstream stop installing them?

jayseejay · 08-19-2016, 09:20 AM

My 2015 has a vent tube. Joe

HowieE · 08-19-2016, 09:50 AM

I guess that brings it down to operator trouble. May be one more thing they were never instructed to use.

dkottum · 08-19-2016, 11:21 AM

Ours has a vent tube as well, I've been filling the water tanks in our campers for 45 years. But this time I grabbed our big garden hose that barely fit, turned on our very high water pressure and volume "for only a couple of minutes" to get some rinse water in the tank. Got distracted and the next thing I knew the hose and water came flying out of the tank, and it was cracked and leaking.

I love that hose for watering the gardens but won't use it to fill the water tank again without a small nozzle.

Jackson Center replaced the tank for us and did a good job. The tank itself was not expensive, but it's a labor intensive task and the $125 per hour adds up.

HiJoeSilver · 08-19-2016, 03:54 PM

The tank has to have a vent otherwise it would get air bound.
It also allows the tank to overflow in the event that city water leaks back through the potable water pump, which can happen if the diaphragm fails or gets dirty.

Wingeezer · 08-19-2016, 04:12 PM

We just use a "white" drinking water hose + Camco in line water filter and any old hose end!

However even though we do this, and also regularly sanitise our fresh water we rarely use the water for drinking anyway!

We take a five gallon water contained from home that we fill from our kitchen drinking water filter setup, and generally use that for coffee, drinking water, veggie cooking, and if a refill is needed, we take the container to the supermarket to refill with RO water for a buck or two, so the water in our trailer tank is really just a back up supply.

Brian.