Fresh water tank fill

[Hoobiedoobie]

I have looked in the manual with no success. 1987 sovereign. It has not been used until a couple of weeks ago for about 6/7 years. So here are a bunch of questions:
*with the city water hooked up the water smells and taste awful. Hot water is frothy! Have run and run, may be a bit better but not much
*the aux holding tank filled up quick with just cleaning and running some water it was so full the shower would not drain
*main tank empty! is that just for the potty?
*how do I fill up the fresh water holding tank? Then how do I drain it. After all these years I'm sure it needs cleaning

Fire away brilliant people!

Deb

[Protagonist]

Originally Posted by Hoobiedoobie

*with the city water hooked up the water smells and taste awful. Hot water is frothy! Have run and run, may be a bit better but not much

Frothy might indicate that there may be RV antifreeze still in the system. Run through a winterizing process, starting from draining the fresh tank and water heater, up to and including blowing out the lines, to clear any residual antifreeze.

*the aux holding tank filled up quick with just cleaning and running some water it was so full the shower would not drain
*main tank empty! is that just for the potty?

These is no such thing as main and auxiliary holding tanks. Graywater tank carries runoff from sinks and shower, blackwater tank carries runoff from toilet only. They're not connected to each other. From the description your graywater tank is full to overflowing.

*how do I fill up the fresh water holding tank? Then how do I drain it. After all these years I'm sure it needs cleaning

There is a freshwater tank fill port on the street side. It's the fitting that's too big to screw a hose onto it; the end of the hose just goes inside, and it's full when water runs out the fill port. Drains through a removable plug on the bottom. After all these years it needs disinfecting more than anything else. Add chlorine according to the owner's manual instructions, flush, and refill.

[Bill M.]

Drain the hot water heater with the drain plug on the outside. Refill and let it heat. Then do it again. It will take a long time to completely clear the froth. take a lot of showers when you have a dump connection.
The grey water tank does fill up quick. Maybe it was not empty when you started.
The fill for the aux holding tank is usually behind a little door on the curb side. There should be a key for the fill door.
If it is a center bath the drain for the freshwater is in the worst place you can imagine. Under the tank which is under the floor and right between the wheels. Lie down in front of the wheels and look back with a flashlight. Drain should be mounted on the edge of the big galvanized cover under the holding tanks. You can almost reach it if you put your face in the dirt and have long arms. And the valves break easily.
If you are going to do a lot of flushing you can open the grey water dump valve and flush to the driveway or where ever you are parked. Not a good idea in a campground.
Yes, main tank has only potty into it.
Some people use diluted vinegar to help flush the "fresh" water tank. You can also pump it though the plumbing lines with the pump.

[mandolindave]

If you don't know what has been done with your fresh water tank, you should start from scratch. Drain out every drop you can, then drive it up and down hills with fresh water tank, hot and cold, water heater drains open. Also, open all faucets. Then put about a pint ( more isn't better, it's unhealthy ) of bleach in the fresh tank. then fill the fresh tank with water. Drive around again. Then run all faucets until you are out of water. That will disinfect your tank and lines.
Repeat a few more times without adding bleach. Some people do this every year, especially if you plan to drink ( I don't, I use bottle water ) from your tap.

[rwnash]

Deb,

Above advice is good, just a little additional perspective:

RV antifreeze has a very strong effect; I used it once and never again. Just keep running water through the tank/system as required.

On my trailer the freshwater fill is on the curb side, the tank drain is below it behind the wheels. The pipe from the fill to the tank was not smooth and went uphill a little bit - took forever to fill before I corrected it.

My drain was a cheap plastic elbow petcock that finally broke this spring. I replaced it with a garden hose cap by adapting the threaded tank connection; can't remember exactly how but it was one of those fussy jobs I don't look forward to.

Good Luck

Whit Nash

[dznf0g]

Actually, mine are labeled Main and Auxiliary.
Main = Black
Auxiliary = Gray

[Hoobiedoobie]

My buttons call them that so that was why I said it that way! We will be looking all all tanks and doing some water line cleaning soon. Our pig has a busy weekend so it may be Monday!