69 Overlander Potable tank

[Lee Pace]

I sure hope someone has an answer for me. Our Overlander has the water tank in the nose of our trailer. This last week I decided to turn on the central heat (checking it out), anyway, the water in the tank being cold started sweating and the next thing I knew, the carpet in front of the tank was wet! My husband says this is normal, but I can't believe Airstream would design it to do that!

Am I missing something or is this going to happen everytime I use it in winter?

Thanks for any help,

Gloria
69 Overlander
WBCCI 7287

[j54mark]

A tank full of cold water in a heated space is going to sweat, at least until it reaches room temperature. I can't think of any solution that does not involve removing the tank from the interior.

Mark

[Lee Pace]

Thanks Mark,

That's exactly what my husband said. Guess we'll be moving a tank.

Gloria
69 Overlander
WBCCI 7287

[john hd]

why not just insulate it?

just like the cold water pipes in your basement of your home, to keep them from sweating.

john

[john hd]

oops!

just saw you are from texas, bet you don't have a basement!

john

you can still insulate!

[Lee Pace]

Good idea John,

Didn't think of that. What would you use?

Gloria
69 Overlander
WBCCI 7287

[john hd]

fiberglass pipe insulation??? the kind that comes 4" wide and includes a plastic vapor barrier. you could wrap the whole tank with over lapping layers, then cover with the plastic.

or some kind of closed cell foam. perhaps a trip to home depot is in order. look around and see what they have.

is the tank square or round?

if it is square you could build a styrofoam box around it glueing it on with an adheasive.

john

[garry]

You could put a catch basin under it sort of like the one under a hot water tank in a home. The sweating only last a short time. You could get real fancy and have a small fan to dry the pan like your home fridg. OR drain it to the outside but that would require a small hole in the floor.

Garry

[j54mark]

I'm really just guessing here, but when did that ever stop any of us?

I thought about insulation, of course, but it seemed to me (emphasis on the word "seemed") that either condensation would still form on the tank, under the insulation where it would be very slow to dry, creating a better chance of rotting the floor; or, if well enough insulated, would be kept from gaining heat from the coach interior, possibly allowing it to freeze through the unheated floor. Maybe.

The idea of a drain pan and drain also occurred to me, but the drain would freeze in cold weather. Perhaps you don't use it when the outside temperatures are that cold, though.

Mark