Filling water holding tank

Thanks for the responses everyone. Taking off today for our first camping weekend of the summer. We'll be at a State Park so no water hookup, just the community water spigot that I'll use to fill my tank when I get there. I'll make sure I have water in the Hot Water Tank before firing it up. I just wasn't sure how the water got to the tank. Happy Camping everyone!

Your hot water will be full of air so you need to open a hot water facuet and let the air escape Do Not turn on the waterheater until it's full of water. A water heater element out of water lasts about 20 seconds

RobWNY wrote:
..the water pump is turned on and water gets drawn into the hot water tank?

Yes, but the water is pushed.

Your hot water tank will not fill automatically. You can fill it from pressurized city water or from your holding tank. Either way make sure your hot water tank is in normal mode (not in bypass mode) Then open a hot water faucet and wait for the water to run in a steady stream. Before you turn on your water heater it's a good idea to lift the pressure relief valve at the top of the tank to make sure some water sprays out. (stand aside or you may get very wet) Then you know absolutely for sure that your tank is full and it's safe to turn it on. You should periodically check that the valve is operating anyway so this actually accomplishes two things at once.

You need to presureize the system before anything else fills. The easiest way is to use your water hose, pressureize the lines and HW tank, bleed the air, then fill the potable water tank.