Leave water in fresh tank ?

The water heater has several types of by-pass valves, depending on your RV. Depending on how the bypass is set up on your RV you may be able to drain the water heater without draining the water tank. Mine has 3 valves, one from the water tank to the heater, another from the heater to the hot water line and a third bypassing the water heater connecting the water tank directly to the hot water line. You will have to locate the valve(s) and see how yours is set up. BTW, my RV is 12 years old so yours may or may not be the same???

I prefer to add the bleach (1/4 cup/15 gallons) through the fill hose, so it gets sanitized as well. Since we live in our RV full time though, it's rare that we have a need to do it.

Now here is something I was forced to invent. My new to me camper has a force feed to the fresh water tank. Not a gravity one. I bought a standard filter casing that would normally go to a washer. Small bucks. I also bought five feet of garden hose. When I want to sanitize in the spring I will fill that filter casing with bleach. Connect it to the fill port with the hose I bought. Purge the water hose and filter first. And then connect the same to the casing filled with bleach. When the water goes into the tank it will have enough bleach to kill the critters.

All ways keep the fresh water tank full in the summer in my opinion. No air = no critters in the water.

The hot water heater is a simple fix. Drain it from the outside. Squirt bleach into the drain hole several times with a kitchen baster. Screw the plug into the hole and turn on the pump to fill the hot water tank. Let sit for a day and then just use it till the chlorine smell goes away. Showers will be chlorine fresh for several days.

Ok so is there a quick easy way to drain JUST the waterheater then refill system with city water ?
I see the plug on the water heater but doesn't the water just our out of the WH compartment ??

luberhill wrote:
Ok why can’t I just add bleach to the 1/4 tank of water I now have instead of draining and filling ??
Couldnt I just add bleach then run the hot water till I smell bleach do the same to the cold water and then leave it overnight
Drain everything in the morning ??

If you are filling your water tank with city water it probably has chlorine in it and you should not have to add bleach.

luberhill wrote:
Ok why can’t I just add bleach to the 1/4 tank of water I now have instead of draining and filling ??
Couldnt I just add bleach then run the hot water till I smell bleach do the same to the cold water and then leave it overnight
Drain everything in the morning ??

There's lots of ways to do it, yours would work too. But here's some further info:

Troubled system (smells, algae): 0.13 oz of bleach * tank size. Ex: 7.8 oz per 60 gallons

PV (preventative or new to you system, or start of season): 1 oz bleach/60 gallons

Remove Smells: 1.5 cups vinegar/60 gallons

Sweeten water: 1/2 cup baking soda/60 gallons

Adjust amounts for your tank size. Note in these concentrations, you can still drink the water. No need to drain and refill. Some sensitive people will taste the Troubled System concentration but it's still drinkable. No need to waste it.

In general: Add bleach, fill tank, run water to & through every faucet and shower head. Best to leave bleach overnight, and some experts say 48 hours.

These concentrations come from a chemist who worked in city water management his entire career and was also a RV'er.

Assuming the water in the tank is chlorinated, as is most drinking water, it should keep fresh for months. I have a R/O filter that filters out the chlorine smell and taste for drinking.

Also to fill the water main tank after you hook up the hose and turn the valve to “fill” donyou just turn on the water hose or do you have to run the pump too ??
Thx guys for your patients

jplante4 wrote:

luberhill wrote:
I notice a smell from the hot ware side faucet

That's probably crud collecting in the bottom of the hot water heater. Next time you get home, drain and flush it with a wand like this.

While you're at it check the anode if you have one and replace it if the the internal metal rod shows.

Is there a good way to drain the water heater without draining everything ?
If I pull that plug it will just drain in the water heater compartment ??

Ok why can’t I just add bleach to the 1/4 tank of water I now have instead of draining and filling ??
Couldnt I just add bleach then run the hot water till I smell bleach do the same to the cold water and then leave it overnight
Drain everything in the morning ??