What size water hose to buy?

[bonginator]

Hi there - I am ordering basic equipment for my new 08 Safari SE 23FB.

I was looking at water hoses and pressure reducers. What size diameter water hose do I need and any brands you recommend? Are the self-coiling ones good?

Also - would love a recommendation on a decent pressure reducer to go with it if anyone can point me to ones they like.

Thanks much!

[thecatsandi]

Originally Posted by bonginator

Hi there - I am ordering basic equipment for my new 08 Safari SE 23FB.

I was looking at water hoses and pressure reducers. What size diameter water hose do I need and any brands you recommend? Are the self-coiling ones good?

Also - would love a recommendation on a decent pressure reducer to go with it if anyone can point me to ones they like.

Thanks much!

White drinking water grade hose 50 ft 5/8 to 3/4. White for water, brown/grey for flushing tanks. Those self curling hoses have a small inside diameter and they are a trip hazard. As far a a pressure reducer, you may already have one. The Classics come with the inlet standard with a built in pressure reducer.

[DreamStreamr]

We always use 5/8" diameter hoses for rallies, so we don't reduce volume as much as 1/2" hoses would. Matters at rallies because other RVs may be downstream from your hoses.

All our hoses are white drinking water quality except one 6' green scrap of hose for the rare allowance of grey watering, or connecting to the black tank tornado rinser.

We bought two 5/8" X 25' hoses. Cut one of the 25's into a 10' and 15'. One of these almost always is sufficiently long to reach the water hydrant at campgrounds. The pair work together nicely on either side of a water filter cartridge. The long 25' one helps reach but we very rarely need.

We also carry a 1/2" X 25' hose. Again, rarely need. But occasionally we have a long pull and can reach "up the hill".

Our house (2005 CCD 25) is equipped with a built-in water pressure reducer. Doesn't protect the hoses, but our braided drinking water hoses have had no problem with all kinds of pressure all over the gauge and in ambient temperatures in excess of 106F (the ground seemed quite a bit hotter -- melted our sewer hose completely). No problems for the hoses. So we don't protect them from pressure. We carry a small brass pressure reducer from one of the Airstream dealers, looks pretty generic. Don't use it.

One couple uses water pressure reducer at the hydrant to further restrict the flow to their trailer. Works great, they say, to reduce the volume of water the teenagers can use. Therefore the holding tanks go longer between dumps. Pretty clever, we think, if you have to have teenagers.

Best of luck,
Jim

[moosetags]

We use a 3/8" coiled water supply hose that extends out 25'. For your drinking water supply, you must use a hose that is certified for drinking water. A regular garden hose can put chemicals into your drinking water.

These hose and an RV water pressure reducer are available at Wal-Mart in the RV supply section. They also carry brass quick connects in the RV section that make hooking up a lot easier.

Brian

[Inland RV Center, In]

Originally Posted by bonginator

Hi there - I am ordering basic equipment for my new 08 Safari SE 23FB.

I was looking at water hoses and pressure reducers. What size diameter water hose do I need and any brands you recommend? Are the self-coiling ones good?

Also - would love a recommendation on a decent pressure reducer to go with it if anyone can point me to ones they like.

Thanks much!

Two 5/8 inch hoses work great.

One is 25 feet and the other is 50 feet.

Now you have the choice of 25, 50 or 75 feet.

All depends on where the water supply may be located.

Andy

[Inland RV Center, In]

Oops.

Always use the white "drinking water" hoses, no exceptions.

Andy

[Gene]

We put a pressure reducer on the hydrant because sometimes the pressure is so high it can blow out a hose.

Do not buy a hose with steel ends at Walmart. They rust and the hose will only last a short time before it splits (before the steel gets a chance to rust). Get ones with brass connections. We are very careful about what we get at Walmart because many things are very poor quality.

Two 25' hoses have always been long enough though sometimes they are maxed out so far as distance goes. Remember if it's going to freeze during the night, to disconnect the hoses and drain them so you can use them in the morning. Leave the hydrant dripping slightly so it doesn't freeze.

Gene

[ROBERTSUNRUS]

Hi, most of the time I use my 10' hose, but once in a while I have to use my 25' hose. You never know if something might happen to one of your hoses; I carry one 10' hose and two 25' hoses. I have had my hose freeze a few times, so I plan to buy a heated hose for camping in really cold weather.

[moosetags]

We have found that the 'coiled' hoses work very well for use. They keep your hook-ups neat, and they are much easier to store than other hoses.

We always put the pressure reducer directly on the water supply faucet. We then use a valved 'Y' connector to accommodate our Sewer Solution supply hose which does double duty as the supply hose for the sewer flush system. The garden hose quick connects make the system work flawlessly.

Brian

[bonginator]

Thanks for the advice on the drinking water hoses.

Silly newbie question - Does the gray water hose connect to a separate outlet from the black water tank so you needed a gray water hose separate from your black water slinky or other drain hose?

Does the gray water hose need to flow into the slinky so it can drain into the sewer hookup at the site if you are there for several days?

Sandy

[moosetags]

Both the gray and the black tank drain from the same sewer outlet through the same slinky or other disposal hose into the sewer drop.

You would usually drain the black tank first so that you would then have gray water to rinse the hose.

Brian

[Gene]

There are several items available (Flush King is one) that enable you to backflush the tanks. For that you connect a regular garden hose to the item and to the CG water source. Don't use a white potable water hose for that as there is a possibility of contamination with black water.

There are a number of items for draining the black/grey water tank. A slinky is one version and they come in cheapo ones where you have to thread on the ends every time you use it, to ones with the ends permanently attached. The better one is called, I think, Revolution, and is available at Walmart and elsewhere. You can get one with 2 10' parts that can be used together or just one depending on how far the sewer connection is. I bought a third 10' piece via Amazon because sometimes it's more than 20' to a drain.

Then you need something to make sure the water flows downhill. That is important because it's a pain to work the water through the slinky when it's cold outside and you're half asleep in the morning. There's a product that opens and closes like an accordion and has gradually declining supports. And some pieces of scrap wood—2 x4 and 2x6 are good. They help support parts when the ground is uneven, or the accordion is not long enough, or to put under the jacks when that doesn't work out the way it's supposed to (mushy ground for ex.). Some long pieces of 2x10 can go under a wheel to lift the other one up on a tandem trailer if you have a flat or need to change a tire—it generally takes 2 on top of each other. Bevel the ends to look pretty and make it easier on the tires when it's time to climb up. You can also use these when the ground is very, very unlevel.

If you join Camping World's President's Club you get a discount for a year. In that year you will probably buy $200 worth of stuff and more—that covers the fee to join, sometimes you can get it cheaper though. Then you let the membership lapse.

Gene

[DreamStreamr]

Ditto to Camping World President's Club membership. We have made back three years in a row the membership fee, despite being careful shoppers who have no room for new stuff.

Our CCD's bumper has enough room for the most-used 10' section of sewer hose ensconced in a length of corrugated plastic drain pipe. We also keep the end fittings and the short length of green hose and one of those 3-piece slidey things that support the sewer hose. The corrugated plastic drain pipe provides great support for the sewer hose, takes up virtually no space, protects the sewer hose from direct sunlight. A very cheap solution for 5-8' reaches to the sewer.

We keep the other 2 10' sections of sewer hose in the under-belly storage tube and haven't pulled either one out in almost two years. Hmm, might need to pull them out and turn them so they'll wear on another side.

[towagaon]

What Sewage Disposal System is out on the market that you would recommend? It looked like you have a '****-grinder' hooked up to your Airstream and I wanted to Start off using my trailer 150% DRAMA-FREE if I can afford that.... Appreciate the advice....

[towagaon]

Originally Posted by moosetags

We have found that the 'coiled' hoses work very well for use. They keep your hook-ups neat, and they are much easier to store than other hoses.

We always put the pressure reducer directly on the water supply faucet. We then use a valved 'Y' connector to accommodate our Sewer Solution supply hose which does double duty as the supply hose for the sewer flush system. The garden hose quick connects make the system work flawlessly.

Brian

We were wondering if you Permanently attached your sewage stem to your airstream or if you take it apart and reattach it every move/usage???

Thanks...

Thomas

[TerraYacht]

I'm a relative newbie so my observations are generally from that perspective, except for the important issue of water supply: you are drinking the stuff so make sure you get/use hose that is made for drinking water. I don't know if the coiled hose is "drinking water safe." It could leach plasticizers, BPA, or other chemicals. My drinking water hose does have stainless fittings (from my local Ace Hdwe) but it is food grade stainless.

I use a Sewer Solutions, got tired of the usual large sewer hose: most brands are corrugated, so the "crap" tends to stick in the corrugations. I suggest a smooth-hose for disposal.

If you stay traditional, before you dump the black tank, do a short flush with grey water: the water and soap will help reduce some of the residue in the hose.

I have always been a user/buyer of quality products so I don't buy critical need products at Wal Mart: my local rv/trailer supply store knows more than everyone at WalMart combined, including their buyers. Make friends with local vendors and it will pay off in the short and long run.

[toastie]

Has anybody tryed this type of water hose........toastie