fresh water

[AFTER TAXES]

fresh tank is empty......what the best thing to put in the tank to
freshen it ?

[CRH]

My owners manual says to put bleach in a tank full of water and let it sit for I believe 4 hours before draining....I do it each spring.

[azflycaster]

1/4 cup per 15 gallons is a recommended mixture.

[A W Warn]

Originally Posted by AFTER TAXES

fresh tank is empty......what the best thing to put in the tank to
freshen it ?

There is a section in the owners manual for your trailer that gives instructions for sanitizing the fresh water tank.
If you do not have a manual, you can download one here>
https://www.airstream.com/wp-content...0110i.arc_.pdf

[polarlyse]

When we are traveling I wait until the last day and on the way home I add bleach to a partial tank. It will slosh around on the drive that last day and when I get home I run water through the sink faucets and then drain the tank. I try to do this several times a year but don't always. We drink our tank water and have never had any problems with it.

[AFTER TAXES]

Originally Posted by polarlyse

When we are traveling I wait until the last day and on the way home I add bleach to a partial tank. It will slosh around on the drive that last day and when I get home I run water through the sink faucets and then drain the tank. I try to do this several times a year but don't always. We drink our tank water and have never had any problems with it.

thx will try that......

[OTRA15]

FYI the new search function in the blue box above works great. Here are the results for "water tank bleach" which will reveal a host of other posts and threads:

https://www.google.com/search?q=wate...=airforums.com

. . . many of them in this sub-forum:

http://www.airforums.com/forums/f443/

. . . including this recent one:

http://www.airforums.com/forums/f443...er-174109.html

Your AS is 25 years old, so you might want to verify/confirm that the water tank is in OK condition. If the the trailer is new to you, and the tank has been empty for a while, there may be other issues with bugs, rodents and so forth. This may not apply to you, but needs to be mentioned IMO, in the interest of good health. If you let us know the history of the unit, you may get better more specific advice.

Good luck!

Peter

FYI and FWIW

[r carl]

I just use city water whenever I can because it has chlorine in it.

[polarlyse]

I forgot to add a comment to my earlier posting. When at a campground I always taste the water before putting into my tank. I've found some pretty nasty tasting water and wouldn't want to put it into my tank even if it's drinking safe. Many don't drink their tank water but for those that do this is a good practice.

See ya'll on the road sometime.

[OTRA15]

Great suggestion! Do you next filter the water through one of those inline Camco hose filters as part of the taste test? Curious whether you could taste the difference.

Thanks,

Peter

[A W Warn]

Originally Posted by OTRA15

Great suggestion! Do you next filter the water through one of those inline Camco hose filters as part of the taste test? Curious whether you could taste the difference.

Thanks,

Peter

I use one (I got a single cartridge whole house residential filter from Lowes) that uses replaceable charcoal filters. I can tell a difference when the filter is new. I camp often in Florida and northward along the east cost where the "normal" drinking water has a rotten egg smell. This filter helps, but does not remove all of the odor.

add edit: I sanitize the filter housing, hoses, and replace the cartridge each time I sanitize the FW tank.

[TheGreatleys]

Originally Posted by A W Warn

I use one (I got a single cartridge whole house residential filter from Lowes) that uses replaceable charcoal filters. I can tell a difference when the filter is new. I camp often in Florida and northward along the east cost where the "normal" drinking water has a rotten egg smell. This filter helps, but does not remove all of the odor.

add edit: I sanitize the filter housing, hoses, and replace the cartridge each time I sanitize the FW tank.

Rotten egg odor is hydrogen sulfide. Carbon will help temporarily, but doesn't do a great job by itself.

Add chlorine to your water and the hydrogen sulfide will oxidize to elemental sulfur, which has no odor and is easily filtered out. It's easiest to do this by adding household bleach to your tank and filling it up.

Filter through carbon (immediately after the pump) to remove the chlorine and any disinfection byproducts you may have created. This procedure will also prevent bacteria from growing in your plumbing system. If the carbon filter you choose is a 0.5 micron carbon block, that will also protect you from protozoan diseases.

Water containing hydrogen sulfide is going to be well water, which is likely to also have iron. Adding chlorine to iron bearing water will turn it orange and create sediment in your tanks. Softening your water before adding it to your tank will remove iron, and prevent orange water, sediment, and stained fixtures. It'll also make your soap lather better, and save your water heater from building up lime scale.

So, in short, soften your water before adding to your tank, chlorinate your tank at each fill, and add a carbon block after your pump, and you'll solve most water problems you encounter. I like to purify my drinking water as well, just to be safe.

[Hans627]

Originally Posted by r carl

I just use city water whenever I can because it has chlorine in it.

How long does chlorine last in city water? Or how long can fresh water be held in the fresh water tank?

Thanks!

[TheGreatleys]

Originally Posted by Hans627

How long does chlorine last in city water? Or how long can fresh water be held in the fresh water tank?

Thanks!

Big "it depends." Original concentration, temperature you're storing at, how well the tank is vented, whether they used chlorine or chloramine, whether there was already anything in the tank to neutralize the chlorine.

My personal opinion would be to store chlorinated water in an atmospheric tank up to a few months. If you have any doubts, test for a chlorine residual before using it. A chlorine test kit is cheap and readily available at your local hardware store by the pool supplies. If there is no chlorine left, shock chlorinate the tank, dump, and refill before using.

This is probably overkill in most cases, but it doesn't cost much and it will keep both your water and tank clean.

[AFTER TAXES]

Originally Posted by TheGreatleys

Big "it depends." Original concentration, temperature you're storing at, how well the tank is vented, whether they used chlorine or chloramine, whether there was already anything in the tank to neutralize the chlorine.

My personal opinion would be to store chlorinated water in an atmospheric tank up to a few months. If you have any doubts, test for a chlorine residual before using it. A chlorine test kit is cheap and readily available at your local hardware store by the pool supplies. If there is no chlorine left, shock chlorinate the tank, dump, and refill before using.

This is probably overkill in most cases, but it doesn't cost much and it will keep both your water and tank clean.

thx.....we use HAPPY CAMPER now, great product

[Hans627]

Originally Posted by AFTER TAXES

thx.....we use HAPPY CAMPER now, great product

Do they make a Happy Camper product for fresh water tanks?