De-winterizing Water Tank -- Newbie question

[sstanley]

I bought my 2015 Coachmen Freelander in late July last year and only used the city water connection and never used the onboard tank. Should I still fill the tank with the chlorine mixture? Not sure if I'll be using the tank this year or not.

[ScottG]

To completley kill any remnant of the bleach, poor 1 or 2 ounces of hydrogen peroxide into the bleach/water solution and then run it through the faucets (totally safe, you can drink that stuff). Drain and refill and your water will be clean without any hint of bleach.

[Bobbo]

Yes.

Use 1/4 cup of bleach per 10 gallons of capacity, then fill the tank with water. Drive around the block once or twice to mix it, and to slosh it onto the top of the tank. Run it through all of the water lines and let it sit 4 hours. Drain and flush with plain water. Done.

[pulsar]

sstanley wrote:
I bought my 2015 Coachmen Freelander in late July last year and only used the city water connection and never used the onboard tank. Should I still fill the tank with the chlorine mixture? Not sure if I'll be using the tank this year or not.

Should you sanitize the system? I would.

Your owner's manual would recommend that you use 1/4 cup of household bleach for each 15 gallons of tank capacity. If you have a gravity fill port, you can use that for the bleach. This way you do not have t remove a "full-house" filter. If you have a cold water filter in the coach (under the sink) you should remove it.

Sanitizing is an easy job, although time consuming in that you have to let the bleach solution stand in the system for 3 hours (some manuals recommend 4 hours.) And you have to wait around for the tank to fill, both for the sanitizing and the flushing.

Tom

[Jaxom]

GordonThree wrote:
No need to bring in the rocket surgeons to get an RV water system ready!

So a dozen clockwise laps then a dozen counter-clockwise laps around my city is overkill? 😄

[GordonThree]

Just a cap full of regular bleach (not scented, not color boosting, not ULTRA MEGA SUPER etc) is enough. Let it sit at least 15 minutes. Drain it out, fill it, drain it, good to go. No need to bring in the rocket surgeons to get an RV water system ready!

Enjoy 🙂

[ksg5000]

Most RVers will sanitize their water systems once a year. I add a bit of bleach (chlorine) to the FW tank and turn on the taps to allow it to flow through the water system. I let it sit for a few hours and then drain and flush the system with FW until the chlorine smell dissipates.

[korbe]

I would have it ready anyway. You never know.

[DaCrema]

If your city water is already chlorinated (very likely). What I do at the start of the season or when the RV has sat for more than a couple of weeks.
1. Fill the fresh water (FW) tank almost full go for a drive on a twisty, bumpy road and then dump the FW tank. This step will rinse the inside of the tank.
2. Hook up to city water and fill the hot water tank, and flush the lines cold and hot water lines.
3. Fill the FW tank a part way (1/4 tank or less) and run the cold water a while to flush the line between the FW tank and rest of the water system.
4. Dump the water in the FW and Hot water tanks.

note. it is a good idea to remove the aerator on the faucets when you flush the lines. This will keep them from plugging from the calcite that forms in the hot water tank. Flushing the HW tank and draining it will help keep the calcite (white stuff) to a minimum.

If you are on well water at home use the chlorine solution. If you have even a little doubt about my method, use the chlorine solution. It is just a little trouble and you'll enjoy the RV more if your mind is at ease.
John