We have a new 2016 Thor ACE 30.1 and I'd like to sanitize the fresh water system. All the sources say something like "mix one cup bleach with a gallon of water and pour into fresh water tank." That sounds straightforward enough, but I was (at least) two issues. 1. The filler for the fresh water tank is high up, presumably so water doesn't flow back out! I can get a funnel, but I'm not sure I can safely pour a gallon of bleach water above my head. I'm thinking it would be good to be able to attach the flexible filler I put on my potable water hose to a gallon container to pour it in. Does such a container exist? 2. That leaves the part of the system from the (separate, in fact on the other side of the rig) city water inlet to where the streams join untreated. If I had a container with a hose bib that I could put the flexible filler on, I could also put a short length of hose on it a run some sanitizing solution in through there. Or is there a simple answer I'm missing? The simple answer we applied when in the past with an old old Santara Class C was to regard what came out of the tap as wash water only and carry many bottles of drinking water. I'd rather not continue that.

Congratulations on your new coach. When I bleach our campers water system in the spring I take a bottle that buy water in, pour the bleach in it with a funnel, then I can easily reach up and pour that in. I don't use more than a cup for our 33 gallon tank.

Aside from issues reaching it, that is WAY WAY too much bleach. You will NEVER get the bleach out of that system if you use the ratio you gave.The correct ratio is 1/4 cup bleach for every 15 gallons of water your system holds.

1/4 cup for every 15 gallons is plenty. As long as you can smell it coming out of the tap it's enough.An ounce or two of Hydrogen Peroxide will neutralize the bleach in the tank and lines and is safe.

I just make sure my hose is empty, and pour the bleach in the hose and then attach it to the rv.

coolmom42 wrote:Aside from issues reaching it, that is WAY WAY too much bleach. You will NEVER get the bleach out of that system if you use the ratio you gave.The correct ratio is 1/4 cup bleach for every 15 gallons of water your system holds.Yeah. A 1/4 cup of bleach per 15 gallons, diluted in a gallon of water. That's what I was talking about. Not a cup per gallon.

Sanitizing fresh water system | Good Sam Community

Slownsy
Explorer
Oct 31, 2016
Hov do you keap smaller containers fresh?, water don't go of. Millions of peaple live of tank water. Birds poop in it fish poop in it, it youst ads flavor.
Frank.
jplante4
Explorer II
Oct 31, 2016
1/4 cup per 15 gallons is the usual advise. Be sure to fill the water tank completely to catch any nasties at the top of the tank. Run the bleachy water through all faucets (don't forgot the outside shower) until you smell bleach. Leave that water in the piping for a couple of hours, drain the water tank and refill with fresh water. Run clean water through the system until you no longer smell bleach.
Jayco-noslide
Explorer
Oct 31, 2016
Sounds like too much bleach to me. I put about 1/4 cup in a 30 gal. tank and just leave it rather than flush it all out. But we don't drink out of our tank but rather out of smaller containers kept fresh; no bleach.
theoldwizard1
Explorer II
Oct 31, 2016
k6ncx wrote:

If I had a container with a hose bib ...

That's what you need !

Get a 5 gallon bucket and 1/2" Male Inch Pipe (MIP) to male hose adapter and a 1/2" pipe thread nut. Drill a hole in the side of the bucket near the bottom. Place the bucket on top of a step ladder and fill with water and bleach. Use a short hose.

Without any gasketing it WILL leak. You could try placing mashers on the inside and the outside and some silicone caulk under them. Do NOT tighten completely until the caulk has set overnight.
pulsar
Explorer
Oct 31, 2016
1/4 cup of bleach per 15 gallons of tank capacity is the correct ratio.
Ace owner's manual wrote:
Prepare a solution of 1/4 cup household liquid chlorine bleach (5% sodium hypochlorite) to one gallon of water for every 15 gallons of tank capacity.

Although my coach does not have a gravity fill, I use the hose method through the city water connection (valve setting for tank fill.) If your gravity fill is high up, the bleach might run out of the hose as you connect it to the source faucet. You can handle this by attaching a small shutoff to that end of the hose.

Tom
Johnny_G1
Explorer
Oct 31, 2016
lj2654 wrote:
I just make sure my hose is empty, and pour the bleach in the hose and then attach it to the rv.
Works everytime and no spills.
ernie1
Explorer
Oct 31, 2016
I would recommend that you go to a swimming pool supply place and/or a Home Depot store and buy a swimming pool test kit. Once you get it and figure out how to test for chlorine residual, shoot for 1ppm free available chlorine residual which is the same as the recommended amount in pool water. Water from public water sources,campgrounds, state parks have chlorine residual that varies a lot and cannot be counted on to do proper disinfecting of your water. At the very least, use the test kit to check the public water source for chlorine residual. I can almost guarantee that it will not have enough to disinfect your rv system.
mikim
Explorer
Oct 31, 2016
I do this annually. 1/4 cup bleach to 10 gallons of water. Pour the bleach into the tank using a funnel. Drive 15 miles to slosh it around and then run it through all of the faucets until I can smell the bleach. Then let it sit for 4 hours. Then drain the tank and refill with fresh water.

Usually change the oil at the same time.
k6ncx
Explorer
Oct 31, 2016
lj2654 wrote:
I just make sure my hose is empty, and pour the bleach in the hose and then attach it to the rv.

I was thinking of that, as a solution to both issues. Thanks.
K_Charles
Explorer
Oct 31, 2016
One cup of bleach in a gal of water and then fill the tank with water might work if your tank is large enough.
Just go to a state park in the spring and fill your tank. Sometimes you get chlorine enough to sanitize everything.