How long can you keep water in tank?

I'll be putting this to a test in a week or two when I winterize my rig. I filled up the FW tank last April, and other than monthly upkeep (check appliances, use toilet), it is still full. I'm tempted to see about sending a sample to a water analysis lab to see exactly what is growing in it.

Triker33 wrote:
Last time my fresh water tank was completely drained, was around 10 to 11 years ago.
I have never cleaned and sanitized the tank. Some new water is added every 12 days(maybe 5-15 gal) when I empty the Black & Gray(2 days worth) tanks.

I like to have available water when the power outage's happen.
Or use my 65 PSI pump for showers at low pressure places.

X2

The water I put in my tank is the same water used by municipalities.
My tank is just a large bottle of water.

Last time my fresh water tank was completely drained, was around 10 to 11 years ago.
I have never cleaned and sanitized the tank. Some new water is added every 12 days(maybe 5-15 gal) when I empty the Black & Gray(2 days worth) tanks.

I like to have available water when the power outage's happen.
Or use my 65 PSI pump for showers at low pressure places.

For those using bottled water instead of using public water hook-up for drinking, cooking, etc. I checked on the label of some of the water sold in the stores and it was from a city water source. No difference.

A few years back there was a report on TV by a investigating source that stated that out of six most popular brands of bottle water only three were equal to public tap water and the other three were not as pure as tap water.

I dump EVERYTHING if it is not on the road in 2 weeks. This also goes for the water in the HWT.

We sanitize annually but never use tank water for ice, drinking or cooking. We always take drinking water along until we can hook up to a water system we trust.

Chlorinated city water should stay fresh enough for general purpose use for quite a while but I could not say what the bacteria level would be. In hot weather it might obviously go bad earlier.

I'd be a bit worried about keeping well water fresh too long. A little chlorine can always be added to kill bacteria.

I've never sanitized mine except when I bought it from the PO but I usually drain at least once a year and put in fresh water. Our city water is purified (bromine I think) and is some of the best anywhere. Plus, I use an under-counter filter with separate spigot for drinking. I think that there is enough turnover in our tank that it stays pretty pure. It's not as though it sits for a year with no usage.

qwerty11 wrote:
What is the process for sanitizing the water system?

Here is a link from the FAQ on this topic.

Sanitizing H2O

qwerty11 wrote:
What is the process for sanitizing the water system?

This website gives some good information on this subject and several others. (click)

I'm sure there are a lot of formulas for sanitizing the fresh water tank. I dissolve 1 teaspoon of the spa sanitizer, Sodium Dichloro-s-Triazinetrione, in some water, pour it in the hose and then use the hose to fill the water tank. Run the chlorinated water through all the faucets. I let it sit for several hours then drain and refill the tank until the taste is gone.

Most people use household chlorine bleach, about a quarter cup for each 15 gallons of tank capacity. Different people recommend different amounts of chlorine and different lengths of time.