Fresh water tank DRAIN

[Mr. B]

If such a thread is exist please refer me to it )))

Does a drain valve of fresh water tank have already been installed by factory in the AI, or I have to make one?

If it is there, where exactly?

If not there, which valve and where in the tank it is better to install?

Thanks everyone!

[Protagonist]

My Interstate has a fresh water drain plug, easily reachable when lying on your back alongside the van and reaching underneath, just slightly behind the position of the fresh water tank fill port. It has a hex head but is made of plastic so you have to be careful to avoid messing it up as you open it. This is the tool I found most effective for opening the drain without damaging it:

It's called a Knipex plier-wrench, and I bought mine at my local Sears store. Like a cross between an adjustable wrench and a pair of pliers.

[Mr. B]

Got it, Protagonist, I will drain it tomorrow, because it is probably already cooked under 100 degrees weather )))

[Boxster1971]

I added a brass NPT to Hose Bib adapter so I don't wear the plastic threads on the fresh water tank fitting. I close off the drain with a Hose Bib cap that is just a bit lower than the original plug. It has worked well for three years now and I normally empty the tank about five times each year. Here is photo.



- - Mike
2013 Interstate Lounge EXT on 2012 Sprinter

[VAtom]

Originally Posted by Protagonist

This is the tool I found most effective for opening the drain without damaging it:

It's called a Knipex plier-wrench, and I bought mine at my local Sears store. Like a cross between an adjustable wrench and a pair of pliers.

It was foolish to pay $14 for this uni-tasker socket, but it sure works great for the fresh water plug. And I guess I could use it to crack nuts.

https://goo.gl/wSPmrC

[Mr. B]

Originally Posted by VAtom

It was foolish to pay $14 for this uni-tasker socket, but it sure works great for the fresh water plug. And I guess I could use it to crack nuts.

https://goo.gl/wSPmrC

Yes sure I already thought about it, and I will use one from my set of deep chrom-vanadium impacts. Thank you for showing the size.

[Mr. B]

Originally Posted by Boxster1971

I added a brass NPT to Hose Bib adapter so I don't wear the plastic threads on the fresh water tank fitting. I close off the drain with a Hose Bib cap that is just a bit lower than the original plug. It has worked well for three years now and I normally empty the tank about five times each year. Here is photo.
Attachment 266827


- - Mike
2013 Interstate Lounge EXT on 2012 Sprinter

Will see.. maybe it's better to insert some on-off drain facet there, so if I'll do it I'll post pictures. Thank you for your effort to make for me a photo, Mike.

[cazual6]

What was your reason for draining it? I refill my fresh water whenever I get back from a trip and keep it full for my next trip. I don't use my fresh water tank to drink. I heard people drain it for winter, but I don't have to worry about snow in LA.

[Mr. B]

Originally Posted by cazual6

What was your reason for draining it? I refill my fresh water whenever I get back from a trip and keep it full for my next trip. I don't use my fresh water tank to drink. I heard people drain it for winter, but I don't have to worry about snow in LA.

I also not drink it, but it may sour staying at 100 degrees Florida heat outside. I open a galley faucet and the hot water comes )))

[Protagonist]

Originally Posted by Mr. B

I also not drink it, but it may sour staying at 100 degrees Florida heat outside. I open a galley faucet and the hot water comes )))

Clean fresh water will not stagnate. Only water containing organic material will stagnate.

Water can taste "flat" when it loses dissolved oxygen after a long period of storage, but driving around with a partially-full tank will agitate it and put oxygen back in. A flat taste is not the same as stagnation, and drinking flat water is not harmful.

Not much you can do about the water getting hot before you can use it if the weather is that hot, except maybe use that water to brew sun tea.

[73shark]

Someone here installed a valve in place of the plug which sticks down further than I'd want it since knocking it off would not only empty the tank but most likely destroy the tank fitting. Then how to replace that would be the next task.

I just use the correct size socket and ratchet. Don't even have to lie on my back, just reach under and do it by feel. I do put new thread tape on it each time which both seals it and protects the threads.

[Mr. B]

How about this one, Marc, it looks like it will be only half of an inch lower then the original plug

[Protagonist]

Originally Posted by Mr. B

How about this one, Marc, it looks like it will be only half of an inch lower then the original plug

You'd have to trim off the threads so that they don't stick up above the bottom of the tank, or else you'd never be able to completely drain the tank. That's one advantage of sticking with a removable plug instead of a valve.

[Mr. B]

Originally Posted by Protagonist

You'd have to trim off the threads so that they don't stick up above the bottom of the tank, or else you'd never be able to completely drain the tank. That's one advantage of sticking with a removable plug instead of a valve.

This valve is designed for 3/8 or 1/2 thread. Ours is the bigger one, a half-inch, so you just cut the unnessessary 3/8 portion, and it will fit even with the bottom of tank.

[Protagonist]

Originally Posted by Mr. B

This valve is designed for 3/8 or 1/2 thread. Ours is the bigger one, a half-inch, so you just cut the unnessessary 3/8 portion, and it will fit even with the bottom of tank.

You may also have to cut off a few of the 1/2 threads to get it flush with the tank bottom when screwed all the way in. Don't go by the original plug, which can stick up without affecting anything, go by the number of threads on the tank itself.

[73shark]

Originally Posted by Mr. B

How about this one, Marc, it looks like it will be only half of an inch lower then the original plug

Looks like it would work. Let us know how it turns out.

I'm sticking w/ the plug (KISS philosophy).

[VAtom]

Originally Posted by Mr. B

This valve is designed for 3/8 or 1/2 thread. Ours is the bigger one, a half-inch, so you just cut the unnessessary 3/8 portion, and it will fit even with the bottom of tank.

I have that valve and IIRC both sets of threads are too small for the fresh water plug.

[Boxster1971]

Originally Posted by cazual6

What was your reason for draining it? I refill my fresh water whenever I get back from a trip and keep it full for my next trip. I don't use my fresh water tank to drink. I heard people drain it for winter, but I don't have to worry about snow in LA.

Oh if only I again lived in that perfect climate of California. 😎

I have to drain it during the freezing winters here in Maryland and again when I return form our typical Florida trip in February to unthaw. If it sits full like now at 90-100 degF it tends to grow things so I shock it with bleach, drain and refill before the next trip.


- - Mike
2013 Lounge EXT on 2012 Sprinter

[Mr. B]

Originally Posted by Protagonist

You may also have to cut off a few of the 1/2 threads to get it flush with the tank bottom when screwed all the way in. Don't go by the original plug, which can stick up without affecting anything, go by the number of threads on the tank itself.

It was smart!

[Mr. B]

Originally Posted by Boxster1971

Oh if only I again lived in that perfect climate of California. ��

I have to drain it during the freezing winters here in Maryland and again when I return form our typical Florida trip in February to unthaw. If it sits full like now at 90-100 degF it tends to grow things so I shock it with bleach, drain and refill before the next trip.


- - Mike
2013 Lounge EXT on 2012 Sprinter

Chlorine smell is difficult to eliminate, and once you shock tank with bleach, it should stinks then?