overfilled water tank

[sadiek]

I should never volunteer to do the jobs better left to my husband...but I was just trying to be helpful. I put the fresh water hose into the fresh water tank to fill it and walked away for just a few minutes (really). Previously,when I watched my husband fill the tank the hose would pop out once the water pressure built up in the tank. It didn't do that this time. When I went back to the trailer I pulled the hose out of the fill spout and water shot out of it like a fire hydrant. I was stunned. I walked around to look inside and the floor of trail is bulged up about 4" high in a ridge that travels across the floor from the door to the kitchen. It seems the tank is balooned, but not leaking. There is one leak that I can see coming out of a low valve under the trailer. What do we do? The flooring is not broken or cracked, but I imagine we will have to replace it? What about the tank? PLEASE HELP!!!!!

[ScottW]

The thought of getting really drunk and having a good cry comes to mind, but I'm sure you want/need a more mature input to your question. Help, someone!

[CanoeStream]

Yee-ouch! I use a Camco E-Z Fill for my fresh water. The tank filler on my '06 won't let me thread a hose into it. Does yours? How else could you build up so much pressure?

[gparker]

Open the grey water drain and turn thr water on. Let it run for several minutes until the over-fill situation is resolved. I don't understand how the tank does not "vent "itself through the filler spout though.

Greg

[FreshAir]

Sounds like something that would have happened to Lucy.......or even Robin Williams. Sorry.

Neil and Lynn

[Inland RV Center, In]

Originally Posted by sadiek

I should never volunteer to do the jobs better left to my husband...but I was just trying to be helpful. I put the fresh water hose into the fresh water tank to fill it and walked away for just a few minutes (really). Previously,when I watched my husband fill the tank the hose would pop out once the water pressure built up in the tank. It didn't do that this time. When I went back to the trailer I pulled the hose out of the fill spout and water shot out of it like a fire hydrant. I was stunned. I walked around to look inside and the floor of trail is bulged up about 4" high in a ridge that travels across the floor from the door to the kitchen. It seems the tank is balooned, but not leaking. There is one leak that I can see coming out of a low valve under the trailer. What do we do? The flooring is not broken or cracked, but I imagine we will have to replace it? What about the tank? PLEASE HELP!!!!!

An over filled water tank that is mounted underneath the floor can and will place tremendous pressure if it expands beyond it's original design or within an enclosed cover or box.

You will need to remove the tank and inspect the underbelly area. More than likely a frame cross member has become bent, holding the pushed up floor in place.

The framing will have to be fixed before you can correct the floor.

Andy

[FreshAir]

I am so sorry to poke fun of your mishap in my post 'Lucy'. After what Andy posted I did not 'think' there may be such consequences other than a relief valve replacement. Hopefully your husband realizes that it could have been him forgetting the water. Obviously there is a serious defect somewhere that would not be evident until your awful experience. May your repair be not as serious as it sounds. Again, my appologies for my conduct and for what happened. Please stay with the Forums. That will be the best thing that happened to you today.

Neil and Lynn.

[JK3500]

Hi. This is the husband. Just got home and looked at it. I would say the water tank is definitely gone. It is severely bulged out below and above, where it has pushed up the floor.

The floor is cracked and will eventually have to be replaced. The more immediate concern is the water tank, which definitely will need to be replaced. Can comeone give me an idea how difficult this is? Initially it does not look too difficult, but looks can often be deceiving. Also, what else do I need to look for?

Finally, are these tanks proprietary or is there some kind of standard? The Airstream dealer is closed right now so I was not able to get a price quote but I know most anything Airstream is going to be expensive....

I have about a month to get this fixed as I will be departing on a work related trip and living in it. Any help would be much appreciated! Thanks, jk

[Inland RV Center, In]

Originally Posted by JK3500

Hi. This is the husband. Just got home and looked at it. I would say the water tank is definitely gone. It is severely bulged out below and above, where it has pushed up the floor.

The floor is cracked and will eventually have to be replaced. The more immediate concern is the water tank, which definitely will need to be replaced. Can comeone give me an idea how difficult this is? Initially it does not look too difficult, but looks can often be deceiving. Also, what else do I need to look for?

Finally, are these tanks proprietary or is there some kind of standard? The Airstream dealer is closed right now so I was not able to get a price quote but I know most anything Airstream is going to be expensive....

I have about a month to get this fixed as I will be departing on a work related trip and living in it. Any help would be much appreciated! Thanks, jk

All recent vintage Airstream tanks are special for Airstream.

The water tank costs a little over $100.00 plus shipping. If you need the tank pan, it costs almost $150.00 plus shipping.

It it wise to remove the pan and tank, so that you can get a first hand view of all the damage.

You may not need a water tank, but you certainly will need some steel chassis parts.

Andy

[JK3500]

Originally Posted by Inland RV Center, In

All recent vintage Airstream tanks are special for Airstream.

The water tank costs a little over $100.00 plus shipping. If you need the tank pan, it costs almost $150.00 plus shipping.

It it wise to remove the pan and tank, so that you can get a first hand view of all the damage.

You may not need a water tank, but you certainly will need some steel chassis parts.

Andy

thanks for the info andy. the tank does not look hard to remove. i was able to push the floor dow to where it is now almost level, with only a slight bulge. the wood underneath the linoleum is obviously cracked.

however, we were planning on taking a short trip this weekend. right now thinking about still taking the trip (to crested butte), just without water, and surveying the damage when we return. question is, did the trailer likely sustain any structural damage from the tank bowing out or should I be ok for a short trip?

also talked to my insurance company and they are sending an appraiser out to determine if it is a claimable loss. hopefully so, as i am sure replacing the floor will be pretty extensive (and expensive). we'll see... jk

[Silvertwinkie]

One suggestion moving forward is that you fill the tank very slowly. The fact that you said it took only minutes concerns me. My 39 gallon tank takes about 15-20 minutes to fill...sometimes a bit more, sometimes a bit less. The vent hole if you look at it, is far smaller than a garden hose. If the faucet is on full or more half, more water gets into the tank than air can get out leading to the tank pressure building.

[sadiek]

Originally Posted by CanoeStream

Yee-ouch! I use a Camco E-Z Fill for my fresh water. The tank filler on my '06 won't let me thread a hose into it. Does yours? How else could you build up so much pressure?

actually, i still can't believe that so much pressure did build up. no, the filler spout is not threaded, but the hose fit snug. like i said, in the past the hose would just flop out once the tank was full, but this time it just stuck there and the tank filled like a baloon. still don't know how much damage was done, but please use this as a cautionary tale- DO NOT WALK AWAY FROM THE HOSE WHEN FILLING YOUR TANK!!!

[Silvertwinkie]

It's ok to walk away when filling. It's important to not jam the hose into the tank fill as it can nearly seal the fill hole and not allow air to escape, particularly if you fill it too fast. Yes the filler Bob mentioned will help and also let some air out from the fill area in conjuction with the vent hole as it looks smaller than a garden hose.

Don't feel bad, we've all be there in some capacity and as frustrating as it may seem, no sense in trying to stop a bomb once it's already gone off. Live learn, die and forget!

Bottom line, fill very slowly (not drips, just slowly) and you won't have any further problems.

[ROBERTSUNRUS]

Hi, I don't know know how you did this, but from my experience, I have to hold the water hose in place by hand and I do not turn it on full blast. When my tank is full, water shoots out of the vent tube inside of the same door where the filler is. So what I am saying, you either have a tremendous amount of water pressure, or your vent tube is, pinched, restricted, or blocked in a way not allowing it to do it's job. If by chance you are still under warranty, and your vent is a factory defect, I would contact Airstream; Otherwise try your insurance company. By all means, don't just fix the damaged parts. Find and fix the cause of it all. I'm placeing my bets on the vent tube not doing it's job; With the vent working you would have to have a tremendous amount of water pressure and volumn to cause this to happen.
Good Luck and keep us updated on your results.

[Fyrzowt]

I'm sorry this happened to you, especially just before you need it.

As far as the how...the vent tube is much smaller than the inlet tube. Then it becomes a matter of physics.
Multiply the width of the tank by the length, then multiply that by the pressure that the water exerted in pounds - it adds up quick. This is the same principle that allows us to lift a heavy truck with a rescue airbag using 120 pounds of air.
Example: a 24" X 24" airbag will lift almost 70,000 pounds with 120 pounds of air pressure. (69,120 pounds)

We obviously don't know exactly how much pressure there was, and I guess it really doesn't matter. It is a reminder to all of us, it's just too bad it had to happen to you. I'm sorry.
Dave

[overlander63]

Originally Posted by Fyrzowt

i
Example: a 24" X 24" airbag will lift almost 70,000 pounds with 120 pounds of air pressure. (69,120 pounds)

"Normal" water pressure is about 35psi, I've seen it as high as 60. 35psi, and a surface size of about 30" square, will generate over 4000 pounds of force, more than enough to buckle the floor and some steel frame members.

[Silvertwinkie]

Originally Posted by overlander63

"Normal" water pressure is about 35psi, I've seen it as high as 60. 35psi, and a surface size of about 30" square, will generate over 4000 pounds of force, more than enough to buckle the floor and some steel frame members.

WOW, I didn't realize it was that much...I was thinking around 15psi.

[markdoane]

Originally Posted by overlander63

"Normal" water pressure is about 35psi, I've seen it as high as 60. 35psi, and a surface size of about 30" square, will generate over 4000 pounds of force, more than enough to buckle the floor and some steel frame members.

Terry,

Where did you get those numbers?
Check the math.

[JK3500]

Appreciate all your input on filling fresh water tanks and hopefully this will help prevent others from having something like this happen. In our case, from reading some previous threads concerning difficult tank filling, though I have not yet removed the filler tube I believe there may be a kink in it as it has always been difficult to fill as the water typically ran right back out of the filler neck unless the hose was inserted well into the filler tube, requiring the water to be "forced" in. Obviously in this case the water was "forced"in too fast and when the hose was not removed once the tank was full the continued pressure bowed the tank, cracking the floor and blowing out the bottom drain valve.

honestly, what we are really looking for now is ideas for how to fix. I know the water tank will likely need to be replaced, along with the tank cover and brackets, as they also are severely bowed. That seems to be fairly straightforward and I am sure when I remove the tank I will find other pieces that need to be replaced.

My larger concern is the floor, which is cracked and will need to be replaced. Can only the section of floor that is cracked be replaced or will I need to replace the entire floor? In other words, is there a way to fix this without gutting the entire trailer and replacing the entire floor. I guess the plus side is we could take the opportunity to replace the vinyl flooring with cork or wood....

Hopefully the insurance will cover this, as we do not have the time or $ right now to fix the floor. If not, we will just replace the tank and associated pieces and look at repairing/replacing the floor sometime down the road.

Right now though, we are going to pack up and head to the mountains for the weekend and deal with all this next week. Being long time dry campers with tents and then a small pop-up, we know that indoor plumbing and toilets are not a prerequisite for an enjoyable camping trip. Looking forward to an enjoyable weekend as I am sure when we get back the water tank will still be broke. jk

[jcanavera]

I use a varient of this device to fill my tank. It fits into the fill inlet but does not block the entire inlet so air or excess water can escape.

Camco E-Z Fill Water Tank Fillers - Camping World

Jack