Using City Water Inlet to Fill Fresh Tank?

[GinRose]

From what I have been able to glean from perusing this forum there is no valve to divert water from the city inlet to fill the fresh water tank on a 2017 26U Flying Cloud. Is this a correct assumption?
Newbie Airstream Owner and lovin' it!!
Eric

[dznf0g]

You are correct, and I don't think AS ever did that from the factory. It can be done relatively easily....BUT...it would also be really easy to expand the tank and split it by overfilling with 50- 60 psi high volume filling if you're not really careful and paying attention.

[HowieE]

Back when Airstream made a quality trailer they had Auto Fill on the control board. That function allowed city water to fill the fresh water tank.

It was nothing more than a 12 volt electric valve off the pressurized side of the system and a 1/4 in. line going to the tank. You can make it for $20.00 or so.

[TG Twinkie]

There is no valve. You fill the water tank through a separate fill port located close to the water tank.
Why would you want to fill from the city water connection? How would you know when the tank is full?

[r carl]

Originally Posted by TG Twinkie

There is no valve. You fill the water tank through a separate fill port located close to the water tank.
Why would you want to fill from the city water connection? How would you know when the tank is full?

It would run out of the separate fill port.

[dznf0g]

Originally Posted by r carl

It would run out of the separate fill port.

Problem is, it may not run out fast enough to overcome a pressure buildup. Just a 1/2psi pressure in the tank creates a lot of stress on the tank sides when you consider .5psi X ? sq. in. of surface area. I never considered a very small diameter pump bypass, like mentioned above. That would probably allow for much better pressure equalization through the fill port, assuming you took off the fill cap. But it would take forever to fill the tank.

[dznf0g]

Originally Posted by TG Twinkie

There is no valve. You fill the water tank through a separate fill port located close to the water tank.
Why would you want to fill from the city water connection? How would you know when the tank is full?

I have considered this, and see the value. Many times my trips are a combination of park camping and dry camping. It would be nice, the evening before moving to boondocking or dry camping, to just flip a valve and fill the tank, instead of removing the hose, moving around the trailer, filling the tank and then reconnecting the city water.

[GinRose]

I have learned from this forum and gathered from reading the manual that this forum will be much better than the manual. Although better than the manual for my last trailer (a Rockwood) it is still generalized and not specific to each model. Thank God I'm handy!
Again, thank you everybody for confirming my suspicions.
Maybe in the future I will add a bypass valve to fill the tank as I to will be doing a combination of dry camping and using city water.

[Mollysdad]

Correct. I don't think any travel trailer does, or even small fifth wheels.
My MH did, and I turned a lever and the water diverted into the fresh water tank, you could see the translucent tank from the controls and just watched the level rise. There was a pressure regulator on the inlet so it never rose above 45psi. I don't know if that's enough to split a tank. I never kept much in the tank because I didn't want to lug 800 pounds of water up the mountains, just enough for a few showers and dish washing.

[HowieE]

This is a picture of the Auto Fill

[Jacob D]

Originally Posted by GinRose

From what I have been able to glean from perusing this forum there is no valve to divert water from the city inlet to fill the fresh water tank on a 2017 26U Flying Cloud. Is this a correct assumption?
Newbie Airstream Owner and lovin' it!!
Eric

My vintage trailer has a bypass and a sight glass to enable seeing the level of water in the tank from inside the trailer, though both are a little awkward to get to. I am pretty sure the valve is original since there is a round hole in the side of the couch frame through which it is reached while lying flat on my belly on the floor. I am also pretty sure the sight glass is something my uncle (the PO) added. It is not glass but Tygon tubing patched in with radiator hose clamps. The only time I use the outside fill port is when I am sanitizing the system to pour in the Clorox. That is also the only time I completely fill the tank and I fill it until water spills out the port. With the breather cap off the port there is no way to pressurize the tank.

[hmhRV]

Howie E... replacing PB plumbing with PEX. Came across the solenoid for the fresh water auto refill. It is disconnected and the 12v line from the monitor is just laying there. It is hot when the monitor panel switch is turned on. However, the solenoid is 125 volt and in your comment you said it was 12 volt.

Does your 12v system work well for autofill?