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gdead · 05-12-2013, 12:08 PM

Howdy. I'm putting water in to my '13 interstate for the first time. I followed the santization instructions, and now I have a system full of slightly chlorinated water. I'm looking to drain the tank and want to make sure I'm not screwing anything up. There's a plug in the fore end of the water tank under the RV that I _think_ is the drain plug. It looks like it's 7/8" or so. But it also looks like there's some sort of tape (teflon tape?) or other adhesive wrapped around the threads?

Is that the drain plug? and if so, do folks use teflon tape or similar to get a good seal on the plug when they put it back in? Thanks all.

SStar · 05-12-2013, 12:21 PM

You could just pump it out with your water pump into the grey water tank then dump it. Put a few gallons back in the tank and pump it out again to flush the bottom.

idroba · 05-12-2013, 02:19 PM

Yes, the easiest thing to do is to simply pump the fresh water tank dry, fill it up with clear water and pump it dry again. Even three times is good. Then you will dilute the bleach enough so it will not taste it. That also gets it out of the pipes.

kaylorsan · 05-12-2013, 07:05 PM

And yes, that plug you mention is indeed the FW tank drain. Removing it will also work to drain the tank.

Protagonist · 05-13-2013, 05:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by idroba

Yes, the easiest thing to do is to simply pump the fresh water tank dry, fill it up with clear water and pump it dry again. Even three times is good. Then you will dilute the bleach enough so it will not taste it. That also gets it out of the pipes.

The chlorine will eventually evaporate out even if you don't drain the tank. Depends on how much you used as to how long it will take.

But pumping the water from the freshwater tank into your holding tanks is still a good idea. Doing this circulates the chlorinated water through all of your pipes, and the water heater, to disinfect the whole system and not just the fresh tank itself.

Plus, pumping chlorinated water out from your holding tanks through your macerator pump and discharge hose is the only way to really clean the discharge hose.

Only use the drain plug to drain the chlorinated water that your pump leaves behind. Less mess that way, too.

SteveSueMac · 05-13-2013, 06:06 AM

So a really dumb question - pumping chlorinated fresh water in to holding tanks - is this a matter of running all your faucets and an extended flush of the toilet or is there a system for this I should know about?

Protagonist · 05-13-2013, 06:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SteveSueMac

So a really dumb question - pumping chlorinated fresh water in to holding tanks - is this a matter of running all your faucets and an extended flush of the toilet or is there a system for this I should know about?

There are no dumb questions. Except for the questions I ask…

It really is as simple as opening the faucets, about halfway between the hot and cold settings, and letting them run as long as there's water to pump. Plus an extended flush. Or a couple of short flushes and then use the shower head to fill the toilet faster since you're running the shower anyway. (On edit— I noticed you have a Flying Cloud, not an Interstate, so you might not have a wet bath like we Interstate owners, and your shower hose might not reach the toilet.)

Note, you don't have to turn on the water heater to disinfect it. It disinfects with the heat switched off just as well as it does with the heat on, as long as chlorinated water flows through it.

The wastewater tanks on an Interstate are each about as big as the freshwater tank, so there should be no worries that either tank will overflow while you're pumping out the chlorinated water from the fresh tank. If you don't have an Interstate, tank sizes may vary, so you might want to monitor tank levels as you go.

SStar · 05-13-2013, 12:29 PM

I forgot the most important part of the procedure. After dumping the first tank full of water refill the tank about half way and drive around your neighborhood. This allows the water to slosh around and also gives the neighbors a good look at your new Interstate. Flashing the lights and honking the horn helps also. (nothing to do with the tank but greatly increases visibility). Anyway,congrats on your coach!

73shark · 05-13-2013, 03:12 PM

While I can see the benefits to pumping the freshwater thru the system, I'd worry a little about the wear on the pump as I doubt it's rated for continuous duty.

BrandonJenna · 05-13-2013, 03:41 PM

You'd be surprised. They are made to last.

Teamaron · 05-13-2013, 05:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 73shark

While I can see the benefits to pumping the freshwater thru the system, I'd worry a little about the wear on the pump as I doubt it's rated for continuous duty.

I agree with this. I ran our pump continuously to flush systems once and now I think pump doesn't operate the same.

To explain, before I did this I could leave pump switch on and it ran fine. After this procedure if the pump switch was on and no water running, you would hear pump do a small prime every few minutes. Something that did not happen before extended run time.

Just saying. It could happen to you.

SteveSueMac · 05-13-2013, 09:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Teamaron

To explain, before I did this I could leave pump switch on and it ran fine. After this procedure if the pump switch was on and no water running, you would hear pump do a small prime every few minutes.

Teamaron - did you ever find a leak after the continuous run? I think (can't say for sure...) the pump only kicks in if there's a drop in water pressure. A leak is one thing that could explain the frequent priming...I'm definitely not a pro so take this with a grain of salt (or a salt lick?).

wayneskid · 05-13-2013, 10:55 PM

Teamaron, SteveSueMac is correct. When you hear the pump run, it isn't priming anything; it's just bringing the system up to pressure. The pump should ONLY come on when pressure in the system drops below a set value (45 PSI or so depending on the model of your pump). It should only do this when you draw water from something OR if you have a leak! I would be looking very carefully for a leak if I were you! If you don't find one, look again. Little leaks in hidden places can be very damaging! It could be something simple like a slow drip from a faucet. But if you have a slow leak in the hidden plumbing you need to find it pronto!

How often does it cycle when you aren't drawing any water?

Wayne

Skater · 05-14-2013, 05:49 AM

Either a leak in the system, or the pump itself is letting water seep back into the inlet pipe.

They are made to run continuously - and can even run dry - but it's not something I want to do. It seems like a lot of unnecessary wear and tear. For the original purpose, I'd run it for several minutes to flush the system, then drain the rest using the fitting underneath. Then repeat a couple times.

avanti · 05-14-2013, 06:10 AM

While I agree that flushing the wastewater system from time to time is a good idea, I am not sure it is wise to do so with chlorinated water. As I understand it, you DON'T want to sanitize the waste tank(s). Maintaining a healthy colony of bacteria in the tanks helps to keep them "clean" and keeps down the smell. Yes, you can use those enzyme chemicals, but if you just let nature takes it course there is no need.

Protagonist · 05-14-2013, 06:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by avanti

While I agree that flushing the wastewater system from time to time is a good idea, I am not sure it is wise to do so with chlorinated water. As I understand it, you DON'T want to sanitize the waste tank(s). Maintaining a healthy colony of bacteria in the tanks helps to keep them "clean" and keeps down the smell. Yes, you can use those enzyme chemicals, but if you just let nature takes it course there is no need.

Depends. If you're de-winterizing and the tanks have been empty for a few months anyway, no harm done. Besides, my holding tanks aren't large enough to camp more than a week without draining them, and that's not long enough to break down the waste through bacterial action anyway.

If it was a home septic system, that would be a different story.

wayneskid · 05-14-2013, 07:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Skater

Either a leak in the system, or the pump itself is letting water seep back into the inlet pipe.

Skater is correct; a bad check valve in the pump could cause the same symptom. If it were mine, I would have to replace the pump, or the check valve (they do sell service kits for SHURflo pumps which I assume includes a check valve). Otherwise every time the pump cycled for no apparent reason, I'd be worrying about a leak somewhere.

Wayne

73shark · 05-14-2013, 09:31 AM

I vote for a bad check valve.

gmillerok1 · 05-14-2013, 12:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gdead

Howdy. I'm putting water in to my '13 interstate for the first time. I followed the santization instructions, and now I have a system full of slightly chlorinated water. I'm looking to drain the tank and want to make sure I'm not screwing anything up. There's a plug in the fore end of the water tank under the RV that I _think_ is the drain plug. It looks like it's 7/8" or so. But it also looks like there's some sort of tape (teflon tape?) or other adhesive wrapped around the threads?

Is that the drain plug? and if so, do folks use teflon tape or similar to get a good seal on the plug when they put it back in? Thanks all.

Yes, that is the drain plug. I replaced it with a 90 degree pvc threaded adapter, and a valve, so I wouldn't have to unscrew it every time I sanitized the tanks. The threads on the tank are quite soft and easy to damage. Cured that problem in advance. The valve only extends down may 3/4" of an inch and is not low enough to cause any problem-or if it does, the genset will be ripped off as well as it's much higher than that. It's something they should have included. Roadtrek models do have a drain valve for the fresh water tank, and so should Airstream models in my opinion.

It's a very easy and cheap fix, though.
Gerald