De winterize questions

[Lemonhead78]

First I want to thank everyone for all the help and knowledge I get from this site. It is appreciated. So here's a couple questions if you don't mind . Do I have to do sterilization process to the fresh water tank even if I've never used it before ? We bought it brand new a year ago and never used it . My second question is the hot water heater. We already unwinterized and camped already. Now getting camper ready for are next trip I here water sloshing around in hot water heater when I walk inside. Almost sounds like it's only half full/empty. Did I do something wrong ? Is this fixable ?

[rbpru]

I have two fresh water hoses. They are manufactured for use in transporting drinking water and are usually white with a blue strip or mostly blue. They can be used without imparting plastic compounds into water.

I have a separate wash down hose, just a common green garden hose used only for rinsing the stinky slinky and other TT clean up chores. As I mentioned when I fill my fresh water tank I use my home garden hose.

Us old hose drinkers know you let the well water run until it is cold and has flush all the crappy tasting plastic chemical out; then you can enjoy the unique flavor of very hard, rusty, deep well water; delivered through your home pump, pipes, tank and outside spigot. None of which has been chlorinated in recent memory.

That is the same water you cook and make coffee with every day. To shower it need to run through the water softner. That is life in rural Indiana.

Safe travels.

[bobndot]

Maybe I'm the odd one but I never trusted an RV water system without a whole house filter which I do not have. I use bottled water for drinking and cooking.

My rv water is for washing and cleaning and I often fill my tank using the campground green house only because it's already hooked up to the spigot which I fill when I arrive prior to setting up on my site. (I have a 90 gal tank so its lasts awhile)
Throughout the season I do sanitize the system from time to time as well as the WH (drain n flush).

[Bumpyroad]

I carried both a green garden hose and a white drinking water safe one. used the green one to flush the poop out of the tank, the white one for house water. I'll agree, it is much more difficult to hook the white one up than the green one.
bumpy

[rbpru]

For those of us who have spent the last seven decades drinking well water from a garden hose, filling our fresh water tank from the hose is no big deal.

However, at the campground where the hose bakes in the sun all day and you can't let it "run until it is cold", before you turn the faucet on; I use my RV approve fresh water hose.

[Bobbo]

Bumpyroad wrote:

Bobbo wrote:
I use the green garden hose. I grew up drinking out of those.

perhaps that explains a lot.
bumpy

You've been talking to my wife!

[Bumpyroad]

Bobbo wrote:
I use the green garden hose. I grew up drinking out of those.

perhaps that explains a lot.
bumpy

[westend]

Lemonhead78 wrote:
So are these valves the right way ? I can't seee how to post a pic. So the hot and cold lines have valves going into tank and their both in open position. However there's a line right beside it . It connected to the both lines and in the middle theirs another valve and that's in the off position. Is hat the right way to have it ?

Yes, you have them correct. Typically, the shutoff valves have a handle that would be in line with the flow of water. To fill and use the water heater, the cold inlet valve needs to be open (inline) and the hot water outlet needs to be open (inlne). The third valve needs to be closed (not inline) with the small piece of connecting pipe.

If you're still having problems with Forum preferences, there should be another pictorial depiction of RV hot water systems viewable online.

[bobndot]

Lemonhead78 wrote:
I can't view pic it says I have to change my preference setting. Can't figure that out . I tried

Top right side of page you will see 'my forums'
then you click 'my preferences'
now check the boxes you want and apply them. click 'submit changes'

[Bobbo]

Lemonhead78 wrote:
I can't view pic it says I have to change my preference setting. Can't figure that out . I tried

I sent you a PM with the URL for the photo above.

[Bobbo]

Bumpyroad wrote:

rbpru wrote:
I hooked the garden hose to the fresh water supply and flushed out the anti-freeze.

Then I put the plug in the water heater tank and closed the bypass valve and opened the inlet and outlet valves. I open the hot water faucets and run until the air is out of the lines.

I sanitize when it s convenient to do so.

Since we often leave in freezing weather, at times I have to wait for warmer nights, before I flush the system with the pump and fresh water tank instead of the garden hose.

so you aren't using a hose suitable for drinking water?
bumpy

I don't use a "potable water hose" for filling my fresh water tank at home. I use the green garden hose. I grew up drinking out of those. When at the campground, if I choose to hook up to shore water, I use a "potable water hose" only to keep busybodies from "correcting" me.

[Bobbo]

Pressurize the water heater by either hooking up to shore water, or fill the fresh water tank and turn on the pump.

[Lemonhead78]

I can't view pic it says I have to change my preference setting. Can't figure that out . I tried

[bobndot]

[bobndot]

This time of year when opening up the system, valves should be in the opposite position of the above picture.
This pic is in the bypass mode. The vertical tube is the bypass with the 'T' handle in the open position to allow water to flow bypassing the WH. If the valve is across the tube like an X then its closed.