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GlueGuy View Drop Down
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Posts: 2630 		Direct Link To This Post Topic: Fresh water Holding tank ????
    Posted: 19 Feb 2019 at 11:42am
Originally posted by TheBum

Maybe they put larger drains on the 2017s. Ours is a 2016.
I don't know. The VIN on ours says it's a 2017, but it's green, and looks just like a 2016. That said, there is only 30 gallons in that tank, and it seems to flow faster than a gallon a minute. Maybe sometime I will measure it.

UPDATE: I did have chlorinated water in the FWT, about 15-20 gallons (that's an estimate). So I decided to time how long it took to drain it. Total time from pulling the plug to empty was 11 minutes. The last half gallon or so took almost 2 minutes, but the first xx gallons went pretty quickly. For sure, it's at least a gallon/minute. FWIW, the drain plug is a 3/4" (OD) NPT.
bp
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Posts: 1407 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 19 Feb 2019 at 11:16am
Maybe they put larger drains on the 2017s. Ours is a 2016.
Alan
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Posts: 2630 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 18 Feb 2019 at 7:55pm
Originally posted by TheBum

The problem with the factory fresh water tank drain is the orifice is so small that it takes hours to drain a full tank. If I knew how, I'd consider putting in a larger diameter drain.
When we drain our fresh water tank, it doesn't seem to take that long. All I've done is open it up and walk away. I think I've come back within a half hour or so, and it's done draining. Certainly not hours.
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lostagain View Drop Down
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Posts: 2587 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 18 Feb 2019 at 6:17pm
Is it the orifice on the petcock valve or the hole for the threaded fitting that holds the petcock valve in place?  I can see where the petcock valve orifice is small enough, based on the earlier posted foto, to allow adequate water flow, but the other hole seems to be about 3/4ths of an inch. If you pull the whole valve off are you still having flow issues?

I only have a plug for that hole and when I take it out, the water drains quite quickly, indeed, faster than the flow rate for the 12v pump.
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Posts: 1407 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 18 Feb 2019 at 5:32pm
The problem with the factory fresh water tank drain is the orifice is so small that it takes hours to drain a full tank. If I knew how, I'd consider putting in a larger diameter drain.
Alan
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Posts: 2587 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 18 Feb 2019 at 2:58pm
If you want to drain the fresh water tank, why would you pump the water out?  That puts a lot of use cycles on your fresh water pump and will likely shorten its life.  Why not just open the drain on the bottom of the water tank?  It is either a petcock valve or a simple plug.  Once you open the hole in the bottom of the tank, gravity does all the work for you.  

When we "sanitize" or fresh water tank each spring, I fill it with a hose and add the bleach solution, pump some into the plumbing lines, then leave it overnight to soak away the viruses and bacteria lurking in the system.  The next day, I take out the plug in the bottom of the tank and let'er flow unrestricted until the tank is empty.  Then I refill it for a rinse, run some rinse water through the lines,  and drain it from the bottom again. 

In so far as the black and gray water tanks are concerned, there's really no point in trying to "sanitize" them since they hold dirty water and will grow a whole new eco system of bugs in about 48 hours anyway.  Besides, many of the deodorant digester products contain live bacteria specifically chosen to eat the nasty stuff.  Why would you want to hurt these friends?  
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Posts: 1407 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 18 Feb 2019 at 1:32pm
A quicker way to drain the fresh water tank is to remove the anode rod from the water heater and run the water pump. The water will drain through the water heater. The anode rod hole will pass water more quickly than the sink and shower combined, and you don't fill up the gray tank in the process.
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StephenH View Drop Down
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Posts: 6288 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 17 Feb 2019 at 10:57pm
Originally posted by TearlessTom

Ok, thanks I guess I misunderstood how the system worked. 

    I thought the city water inlet filled the water tank first and then the water was pumped through the system from the tank.  What you are saying is the water comes directly from the city source and bypasses the tank and pump when the pump is off.  If the pump is on it pumps from the tank.

So the only way to fill the fresh water tank is by the fill port by hand or by putting the hose in the port.?

Correct! That is the way it is supposed to work if there is water in the tank. If the tank is empty, the pump will draw only air. There is also the winterizing valve and hose stub used for getting RV antifreeze through the pump and lines. If the valve is set wrong, you will only get air also.

Regarding RV antifreeze, don't put RV antifreeze in your fresh water tank. Drain it first. Also, the water heater needs to be bypassed if you are using RV antifreeze. It can chew up the anode rod and waste RV antifreeze since the water heater takes 6 gallons to fill. Bypass the water heater (drain  it by removing the anode rod after making sure there is no pressure in the system) so the RV antifreeze goes directly through the water lines to get to the various water valves. There are other message topics with more details and also YouTube videos to watch if you have questions. Also  there are YouTube videos to show you how to sanitize and flush your fresh water tank.

It is  a rather steep learning curve at first. It gets easier as you gain more experience. Hang in there. Smile
StephenH
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Posts: 85 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 17 Feb 2019 at 9:30pm
Originally posted by StephenH

Are you saying that the fresh water tank is filling when you have city water connected and faucets are open, but very slowly when faucets are turned off? If that is the case, you still have an issue. There is a check valve in the pump that is supposed to close when the pump is turned off and city water is connected. That is to keep the city water from filling the tank. The only way water should be in the fresh water tank is if you fill it by way of the fill inlet.

There is likely a small piece of material in the check valve preventing it from fully closing. The general advice is to add water to your fresh tank. Disconnect your city water. Then cycle the pump by turning faucets on and off, using the tank's water and pump. If all goes well, the piece of debris should then be flushed out of the check valve.

Test by turning the pump off and reconnecting the city water and turn it on. There should not be any water flowing into the fresh water tank. If there is, repeat the process. If that still does not work, get the pump checked out.

Ok, thanks I guess I misunderstood how the system worked. 

    I thought the city water inlet filled the water tank first and then the water was pumped through the system from the tank.  What you are saying is the water comes directly from the city source and bypasses the tank and pump when the pump is off.  If the pump is on it pumps from the tank.

So the only way to fill the fresh water tank is by the fill port by hand or by putting the hose in the port.?
Tearless Tom
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StephenH View Drop Down
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Posts: 6288 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 17 Feb 2019 at 9:13pm
Are you saying that the fresh water tank is filling when you have city water connected and faucets are open, but very slowly when faucets are turned off? If that is the case, you still have an issue. There is a check valve in the pump that is supposed to close when the pump is turned off and city water is connected. That is to keep the city water from filling the tank. The only way water should be in the fresh water tank is if you fill it by way of the fill inlet.

There is likely a small piece of material in the check valve preventing it from fully closing. The general advice is to add water to your fresh tank. Disconnect your city water. Then cycle the pump by turning faucets on and off, using the tank's water and pump. If all goes well, the piece of debris should then be flushed out of the check valve.

Test by turning the pump off and reconnecting the city water and turn it on. There should not be any water flowing into the fresh water tank. If there is, repeat the process. If that still does not work, get the pump checked out.
StephenH
Happy is the man that findeth wisdom,...

ouR escaPOD mods
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