Fresh Water Tank--do you empty it?

[bowler1]

I sometimes camp where there are hookups for water, and sometimes not.

When I do fill it I never end up using nearly all the water.

I wonder whether I should empty it after this or just leave the water in there until the next time I camp.

Pros and cons to both I guess. No point in hauling around extra weight, but also no point in wasting the water and having to take the time to fill it again next time.

I don't really drink the water out of my tank. I pretty much just use it for washing dishes and showering.

It is also extremely slow to empty (unless there is a bigger drain than what I am using which is like a lower water drain). I had about half a tank today after camping and let it drain as I was driving. It took about an hour. Made me wonder if perhaps the intent was not to empty it but just to keep water in there and top it off when needed. I guess water doesn't really go bad. Not sure if mold or mildew is more likely to form in an empty but still wet tank or a full tank.

Last thought on this is about weight distribution. It did occur to me that swapping back and forth between empty and full would change the weight distribution in my trailer and maybe affect the way my WDH should be set up, in which case perhaps it is better to either set it up with or without water and then drive that way all the time.

What do you do????

thanks
Matt

[chr_]

I fill mine at home from a faucet I mounted on the softener. Whatever I don't use, I flush my black tank with it while dumping. I replaced the broken shower head on my outdoor shower with a garden hose sprayer that has a hose thread on the end. I thread it into the washout port and turn it on. While I do that, I go into the trailer and rinse the toilet drain and valve with the shower head. For some reason, these toilets have a ledge in the drainpipe to collect c r a p. I then just open the draincock and let whatever is left to drip out on the drive home. I flush with a bottle of Peroxide once a year after summer (hot in AZ) to kill any bugs. Works for me.

[mosseater]

A very important point is how the tank is plumbed. Mine, and I'm guessing many others', isn't tapped out of the bottom of the tank. It's tapped into the lower corner on the side. So, while it's close to the bottom, it isn't AT the bottom, meaning when it's "empty" it really never is. If you let it in that state, it will begin to stagnate in short order. This is why I always keep mine full during the camping season and change out the water when we leave on our next trip. It's a bonehead move by the mfg'ers, but that's what they did and I get to live with it. Never new it till I checked. You should check your before deciding what to leave in it.

[coolbreeze01]

bowler1 wrote:
I sometimes camp where there are hookups for water, and sometimes not.

When I do fill it I never end up using nearly all the water.

I wonder whether I should empty it after this or just leave the water in there until the next time I camp.

Pros and cons to both I guess. No point in hauling around extra weight, but also no point in wasting the water and having to take the time to fill it again next time.

I don't really drink the water out of my tank. I pretty much just use it for washing dishes and showering.

It is also extremely slow to empty (unless there is a bigger drain than what I am using which is like a lower water drain). I had about half a tank today after camping and let it drain as I was driving. It took about an hour. Made me wonder if perhaps the intent was not to empty it but just to keep water in there and top it off when needed. I guess water doesn't really go bad. Not sure if mold or mildew is more likely to form in an empty but still wet tank or a full tank.

Last thought on this is about weight distribution. It did occur to me that swapping back and forth between empty and full would change the weight distribution in my trailer and maybe affect the way my WDH should be set up, in which case perhaps it is better to either set it up with or without water and then drive that way all the time.

What do you do????

thanks
Matt

Saving the water is good.

[Caveman_Charlie]

I used to on my last TT because the water can get stale after awhile. On my new TT I have to crawl underneath and remove a plug. This is hard to do so, I just go camping more often to keep the water from getting stale. :B

[rbpru]

When I returned home to winter in March I blew the lines and added antifreeze, FW, GW and BW all drained. For a quick trip in late April with no CG water, I filled the FW about 1/3rd full. Drained it three days later and let the TT sit for about two months.

We are headed West in a couple of week for a month or so of travel, so I added ½ cup of bleach, filled the FW tank with about 35 gals. Let it sit for a few days, drained and added about 10 gals of fresh water.

I will drain and fill with fresh just before we leave. There is nothing difficult or mystical about this. This is all un-softened well water.

My biggest complaint is the hot water heater, it gets flushed every time I work with the water system but it stinks after a few days. I did not find an anode rod in this heater model. We bought the TT used so who knows when or how the hot water was used. Since its main use is for washing dished and hands; it is annoying but not a big deal.

I figured if the hot water gets really funky, I will let it cool,drain and flush with CG water as needed.

[Highbeam]

Well those water towers are constantly filling and draining, the inlet is at the top the outlet at the bottom. Also, as temperature of that water rises the chlorine can be gobbled up so have to add more.My experience with water towers is exactly why I would be careful about leaving the tanks full.

I never brush teeth with warm/hot water. Really, the water in the hot water tank is not going to be consumed so no, I don't worry about it.

[_DJ_1]

First off water never wears out. It is constantly being recycled. The next glass of water you draw may have bathed Cleopatra!!!

Look at water towers. They don't drain and refill every little bit.

I keep my tanks full at all times. Get home, dump the waste, refill the fresh. I have 2 campers so one of them may sit for a couple months between use.

Unless you are winterizing (blowing out the lines) each time you drain and refill for "fresh" you are just wasting your time and water. Those nasty bugs like a little water and lots of oxygen.

Which brings up questions for those that drain/refill frequently. Do you also drain the water heater? How many weeks does it stay full with an empty FW tank? You surely don't shower or brush your teeth in cold water!!

[Reddog49]

I don't travel with the tank full for weight reasons. Just keep enough for the times we use the bathroom on the lonely stretches of highway. I have had the problem of bad smelling water but not often enough to carry a full tank.

[old_guy]

I would say it depends on the water quality. most city water is that is treated would be OK but in most rural areas I have my doubts

[MitchF150]

My camping trips are usually 4 weeks apart, so I drain mine between trips. I always fill it up with my home water and use as much as I want when camping, so I'm not usually dumping out very much (30 gallons when full).

I drain the hot water tank between trips too. Just what I do and feel better about it..

Mitch

[dadmomh]

We never left water in the tank until a longer trip a few years ago. When we got home we never thought about it and in about 2 or 3 weeks started noticing a funky odor. Finally traced it down to the water left in the tank. I know very few have had this issue, but it meant resanitizing again. We always camp with water/electric for sure and FHU if possible. We do travel with just a minimal amount in the tank for bathroom/hand washing and we have a small amount left in that if we're in Rocky here at home we have a bit if needed. It's usually empty by the time we get out again and just put that minimal amount in it again. Agree that at 8.3# per gallon, we don't need to haul around that extra weight. At the CGs we use their water exclusively with our inline filter and a PUR faucet mount for drinking. No problems.

[rider997]

I will leave municipal (chlorinated) water in the tank for a few weeks. If I've filled at a campground with wellwater (non-chlorinated), I will drain the tank when I get home and partially fill with municipal water again. If I had well water at home, I'd add a bit of bleach to the tank to retard microbial growth.

[thomasmnile]

Dick_B wrote:
In one of the recent RV Travel newsletters it was discussed and the conclusion was that if the source of the water was good (municipal, etc.) then you could leave it in for six months.

No thank you. Leave my community's EPA certified safe to drink water in the tank that long it would probably eat a hole in it! A stretch, but can't imagine leaving water in an enclosed and somewhat anaerobic environment for that long without something growing in it I wouldn't care to drink.

[Jake8147]

I used to drive around empty all the time, but 2 things changed that:

1) Arrived for the first time at a campground which has only electric service at each site, but they invite you to fill your FW tank upon arrival. I did so and their water had the worst sulfur smell I've ever experienced. Started bringing my own water from home there after that, but still went everywhere else empty until...

2) Was at a campground with water hookup at site. A bad thunderstorm went through knocking out power for 10-12 hours. No electricity = no well pump at the CG, hence no water until power restored.

Now I flush and fill each spring, top it off after each use, keeping it full all season knowing that I'm only a flip of the pump switch away from good clean water at all times. I drain it each year when I winterize in November.