Leaking fresh water tank '05 Safari 25

[sls25]

Hi all, the fresh water tank on my '05 Safari 25' is leaking from two holes/indentations? in the bottom of the tank near the freeze plug. These holes are manufactured into the tank. There are identical holes in the grey and black water tanks but they are not leaking. One of the holes drips slowly and the other drips fast. When I stop the slow hole with my finger for a few seconds and then let go, nothing changes, it goes back to a slow drip but when I do the same thing to the fast drip hole the water come out in a stream for a while before returning to a fast drip. Anyone out there able to tell me what's going on with my tank and how I can fix it? I'm attaching some photos of the holes, you can see mineral deposits around the holes/indentations.

[CRH]

Marine Tex would be my first choice followed by QuickSteel.

[dbj216]

Hello sls25. Welcome to Air Forums. Always fun to meet another Minnesota Airstreamer. But having a leaky tank isn't so fun. Just another challenge.

The photos you intented to post didn't come through. It took me a little while to figure out how the "manage attachments" all works. But it does work. It automatically resizes photos down to 250k or so. This can take some time. I have noticed that i phone photos don't post as well, but people do it somehow.

Chances are good your fresh water tank is a rotomolded tank made from polyethylene. Maybe there is a HDPE symbol on the tank that you can see. Polyethylene is a thermoplastic material. It can be welded. I worked in a rotomolding shop for several years making all kinds of different tanks. We fixed leaky tanks every day. The process is similar to brazing, but with a soldering iron instead of a torch. You do need a stick of polyethylene to melt into the base material forming the weld.

I am not aware of an adhesive that will adhere to polyethylene. There probably is one, but I am not aware of one.

I thought my fresh water tank was leaking. There was water dripping on the ground out of the fresh water tank drain port. But it turned out my leak was from the plumbing lines laying on top of the tank. Sometimes leaks are deceiving.

Try to post the picture again.

David

[sls25]

Hi David, I'm going to try attaching those photos again. Now I'm wondering if what I'm looking at under the trailer is a pan and not the tank, it would answer a couple of questions. Thanks for any help.

[CRH]

Experienced similar myself last week. I saw a leak at the trap door that covers the fresh water drain plug. I pulled the trap door and used a mirror and flashlight to look upwards. I saw water dripping from higher up. A little detective work found a leak at the charcoal filter for the drinking water from the filter being loose.

[dbj216]

Hi sls25, Thanks for the photos.

I believe you are looking at the tank covers. Mine is metal, but maybe in 05 Airstream made them out of plastic. The purpose of the tank cover is to hold the tanks in position, and to hold heat for the tanks so they don't freeze in cold weather camping.

So seeing water coming out of these holes does not necessarily mean your tank is leaking. Heck, with the rains we have had lately, it could just be rain water. Airstream belly pans are known for getting water in them. This explains why you can put your finger over the hole, and when you release it you get a stream of water. It is pooling in the pan.

So run a test. First, disconnect city water and turn off your water pump. Then drain your fresh water tank and let the trailer sit for a few days until there is no water dripping on the ground. Check it again after a rain storm. If you see water, then you know it is rain water.

Next fill the fresh water tank through the fill port. Let her sit and see if you are getting any water dripping. If no, then you don't likely have a hole in your tank.

Lastly, now hook up city water to your trailer and pressurize it. Don't run any more water in any faucet in the trailer except to get the air out of the lines. Let her sit a day or too. If you see dripping, you know you have a leak in your fresh water plumbing, likely somewhere over the fresh water tank. If still no water, then disconnect city water and pressurize your system with the 12v pump. Maybe there is a leak associated with the little bit of plumbing distinct with the 12v pump.

See what you can figure out concerning this leak.

David

[CRH]

I would put food coloring in the fresh water tank and check drip. If no colored water, I would use a long hose and compressor to push colored water into the city port and check the water underneath again for color.

[sls25]

I'm not in Minnesota, I've been in the southwest and west so it was easy to eliminate rain water as the culprit. I had drained the tank previously so I just started to fill it while keeping an eye on the area where the pan dripped. Nothing happened until the tank started overflowing and at that point the pan started to drip and continued dripping for several hours before it finally slowed to a stop. It didn't leak a significant amount of water. I'm assuming it came from a fitting high on the tank and I'm trying to decide if it's worth doing something about it. I assume that it involves dropping the tank. Does anyone know if there is a less invasive way to fix something like this?
Thanks, Paul

[dbj216]

Hello sls25. Well, after a long drive, you eliminated storm water as a source! I have overflowed my fresh water tank numerous times. I don't expect to get water in the fresh water pan by overfilling the tank. I usually just get wet pants.

So you don't get leaking when filling your tank half full. And maybe none when the tank is 3/4 full. I think you are saying the tank leaks when it's completely full.

I assume there is no water pressure anywhere else in the system. No city water, no 12v pump.

You tank has two lines to it. One is about a 2" diameter flex hose from the fill port to the top of the tank. Mine is secured on both ends with a hose clamp. I can not see the clamps to tighten them. The other line is a 1/2 inch diameter tube that acts to vent the tank while you are filling it. If the tank is full to the brim, the vent line will be full too.

On my Airstream, repairing leaks from the fill hoses would be a bear. I'm am not sure how to do it. Maybe you can remove the screws from the fill port from the exterior of the trailer and gain access that way. I can see a little bit of my fill hoses from the curb side wardrobe on my trailer. See the little bit of green in the photo below, that is my fresh water fill hose going through the subfloor.

Or, you can use the bottom 3/4 of your fresh water tank for a while and leave it at that.

David