profdant139 wrote:
Some more great tips -- thanks! JBarca, by jam nuts, do you mean nylon core nuts??
So here is another question -- if I seal the bottom with coroplast, what happens if there is condensation from the outside of the water tank? Won't it puddle up on top of the plastic??
The jam nut can be a nylock nut if you want it. But just using a normal full nut will work. They do make jam nuts, they are a little thinner but it doesn't really add much. If you want bulletproof, add a lock washer under the head of the nut. The nylock nut you do not need a lock washer.
See here for more. In your case, the threaded hole in the clamp is one nut and the extra nut is the jam nut.
http://www.boltscience.com/pages/twonuts.htmMy enclosed tanks has foam board insulated sides, a reflectix bottom insulation and a chloroplast bottom. I used gorilla tape around the perimeter of the chloroplast to seal the flutes so road water splash while towing does not get in the flutes.
As far as condensation, it has not happened to mine. Since the tanks are inside an insulated compartment, there are not large fast temperature changes between cold and hot or hot and cold surfaces. In the dead of winter when the camper is in storage the insulated area stays dry as inside the tank compartment is not exposed to damp air. Yes everything in the camper is at zero degrees stored outside, but when it warms up during the day above freezing, it is very slow due to the insulation. The entire camper can be sweating from a rapid sun heat rise to create condensation on cold objects but the tank compartment it not as there is no fast temperature rises or damp air.
During the summer, I do not have tank sweat either from putting water in the fresh tank. Again the insulated compartment keeps the moist air away outside from condensing on the tank. Or the cold water in the tank away from the very hot moist air.
Think of a plastic ice water bottle, in the summer if the plastic is exposed to the air, the bottle sweats due the cold water/plastic being directly exposed to warm air. Take that same water bottle, put an insulating sleeve over it and fill it with ice water. Due to the insulation, no condensation forms unless there is a hole in the insulation. Then the air can get to the bottle through the hole and the sweat is only at the hole area.
I may not be explaining it exactly right, but due to the insulated compartment, the conditions just are not right for condensation to form.
Hope this helps.
John
