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Old 08-08-2012, 03:20 PM   #1
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Do you store with fresh water or not?

I've just completed the sanitization process of my fresh water system. Now that everything is clean I'm wondering if I should leave it empty until I need to use it or keep it full. I don't have city water at the house. We have a pumped well that we've been drinking out of for 20 years. No chlorine in our well water obviously. I was thinking of leaving the system empty and then filling with the filtered well water just before we need it.
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Old 08-08-2012, 03:26 PM   #2
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We have unchlorinated well water also, and for that reason, I do not leave it in the tank for long periods of time. I will, however, leave water from a park that is supplied by a city with chlorination in the tank for long periods.
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Old 08-08-2012, 03:35 PM   #3
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If you are concerned, you can add a little bleach as a disinfectant. Not sure how much to add (it's not much), but I'm sure Google will turn up the correct ratio. This would make your well water the same as chlorinated city water.

Assuming your water source has no hazardous contaminants, your fresh water tank should be OK for several months. However, we use bottled water when traveling to avoid Montezuma's revenge, and only use the contents of the fresh water tank for hand washing, showers, toilet flushing, etc. I'm not concerned about a mouthful when brushing teeth, but we don't drink directly from the tap.

Just an opinion...
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Old 08-08-2012, 03:36 PM   #4
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We always drain the fresh water tank when we get home, and then fill it when we get ready to hit the road again. Haven't had an issue for 25+ years.
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Old 08-08-2012, 03:38 PM   #5
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FWIW. I leave the tank full of well water (with a little household bleach) in the summer just due to frequent power outages. At least that gives me 50 gallons to "boondock" for a week or so at the house. But I drain and re-fill with fresh before a trip. Sal.
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Old 08-08-2012, 04:10 PM   #6
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Minno
We always drain the fresh water tank when we get home, and then fill it when we get ready to hit the road again. Haven't had an issue for 25+ years.
Yep, that's us as well.

We sanitize it the beginning of every year, when we take it out of storage.

We also use it up, once filled, even if we have a hookup with water. Just seems to make sense not to let it sit in there for long periods.



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Old 08-08-2012, 04:14 PM   #7
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We always drain the fresh water tank when we get home, and then fill it when we get ready to hit the road again. Haven't had an issue for 25+ years.
Ditto

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Old 08-08-2012, 04:26 PM   #8
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We don't carry much water, never travel with a full tank.
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Old 08-08-2012, 04:46 PM   #9
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We always travel with a full fresh water tank and an extra portable seven gallon tank in the tow vehicle. However, we live in the desert where extra water could mean the difference between an interesting/amusing breakdown story and tragedy.

With a 2.5 ton floor jack, an air compressor and generator, and extra gas and water, hopefully we are prepared for about anything.
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Old 08-08-2012, 05:26 PM   #10
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I sanitize at the beginning of the season. I travel with about a 1/2 full tank of fresh water just in case. I drain and refill before each trip.
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Old 08-08-2012, 06:03 PM   #11
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I keep water in the tank all season. drain it for winterizing. I hate fooling with that drain. Every once in a while I will drain it and re fill it if I am really bored. Like to have water on the road when we travel. Hot water to wash at lunch, etc.
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Old 08-08-2012, 06:12 PM   #12
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Phoenix
We always travel with a full fresh water tank and an extra portable seven gallon tank in the tow vehicle. However, we live in the desert where extra water could mean the difference between an interesting/amusing breakdown story and tragedy.

With a 2.5 ton floor jack, an air compressor and generator, and extra gas and water, hopefully we are prepared for about anything.
That sounds just like me when I travel anywhere!
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Old 08-08-2012, 06:21 PM   #13
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We usually travel with a full tank. We store our Bambi at the house and keep the tank full there, too, just in case... We are out camping frequently enough that the water never sits in the tank for very long. When we are filling it from an "unknown" water source we add a little bleach solution to help keep it fresh. Recently we've started a new routine.... at campgrounds that have water hookups, we fill the fresh water tank and using that instead of a direct water hookup. Mostly because we have better water pressure using the pump and the water gets used and replaced more often that way.
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Old 08-09-2012, 12:14 AM   #14
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We sanitize in the spring and fill the fresh water tank with city water and top off again every time we do a sani dump or soon after.
That way we have an idea how long the tank capacities will last. The gauges are not very accurate, so if in doubt, I will take a visual of the fresh tank volume, (flashlight to side of tank) and that tells me how close we are to filling the gray tank. The gray is always more prone to overfill than the black tank which can be eyeballed down the hole.

If I don't follow this routine, we have had occassion where we end up with gray water backed up into the tub.

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Old 08-09-2012, 01:24 AM   #15
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Splish-Splash

I don't carry half full white tank - it's 125 lbs sloshing around. Add a big semi passing too closely? Whoa!

It's either almost empty (flush toilet only) or full to the rim! I sanitize once or twice a year. I often fill my white tank and use the water pump even in campgrounds - the water pressure is better especially when showering.

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Old 08-09-2012, 02:51 AM   #16
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Bacteria like dark and damp places and the water tank, full or empty, is a good place to hide. An external filter (2 micron) will solve most of the problem. I usually leave any water in the tank when we get homer in it for short periods (week or two), or drain it otherwise. I usually drain and fill the tank before we leave for anywhere and sanitize the system twice a year. My wife (trained in microbiology) brings gallon jugs of distilled water from the supermarket for drinking. Or water I use for tea gets boiled anyway and goes through secondary filtration from the undersink filter.

Waterborne diseases can be very nasty and we want to be as careful as we want our water company to be. I probably wouldn't have been as careful if I hadn't married someone who knows about this stuff.

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Old 08-09-2012, 05:51 AM   #17
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Full to the brim during hurricane season, when I might have to bug out on short notice, along with half the Gulf Coast, and not knowing whether there will be potable water available where I have to stop.

The water is always filtered as it goes in the tank, and there is another filter on the galley faucet to filter as it comes out. Combined with judicious applications of chlorine to kill any microorganisms, I'm not worried about water quality.

Since most of my longer scheduled camping trips are also during hurricane season, I try to make sure I use up the water already in the tank and then refill before leaving the campground, so the water doesn't have as much time to get stale before the next excursion.
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Old 08-09-2012, 07:41 AM   #18
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The water is always filtered as it goes in the tank, and there is another filter on the galley faucet to filter as it comes out.
What kind of filters are you using for the fill and for the galley faucet?

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Old 08-09-2012, 08:18 AM   #19
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I just ordered a replacement filter for the Everpure QC2 filter under the sink. The one I ordered was an Omnipure ELF filter that is supposed to fit the QC2 but provide more flow and a longer life then the Everpure. I'll let you know when it arrives. Cost was $39 + shipping so it was a little pricey.

Everything from our well gets filtered through a two-stage filter before it goes into the house.
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Old 08-09-2012, 08:24 AM   #20
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What kind of filters are you using for the fill and for the galley faucet?

Thanks,
Wayne
Granular Activated Carbon (GAC) filters. Don't remember the brand of the one on my fill hose, but the one on the faucet is a small Britta canister filter. If I remove the filter canister but leave the filter base in place on the faucet, I can still fold the faucet down so that I can lower the hinged sink cover.
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