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should a 20 plus year old water tank be replaced?


xtioga

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i'm remodeling my camper and as i go through various appliance changes one question that i just came to was if the old water tank plastic could be degraded or a health risk in some way, maybe it's fine, but imput from others is always insightful. thanks! x

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you should disinfect your tank at least at the start of the season my tank is 1978 15 gallen i put 3/4 quart of purex in fill with water drive it to slouch it and mix it run pump fictures until you get strong smell of bleech let set 24 hours drain and flush 3 to 4 times a strong mix of bleech will kill bad things you dont want in your tank our city water is clorinated so i always have that tast lol

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  • 4 weeks later...
  • 5 months later...

Run each facet / toilet until you smell chlorine. run then and extra minute or so to get maybe a gallon or two into each of the holding tanks.

Go for a short drive to slosh everything around. (30 minutes)

Run the facets / toilet to drain the fresh tank (watch the level in the holding tanks, don't overfill)

Refill the fresh tank with fresh water

Run the facets / toilet until the chlorine is cleared out of the lines. (watch the level in the holding tanks, don't overfill)

Drain the holding tanks

Top off the Fresh tank

Your ready to go

JOhn Mc

88 Dolphin 4 Auto

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Run each facet / toilet until you smell chlorine. run then and extra minute or so to get maybe a gallon or two into each of the holding tanks.

Go for a short drive to slosh everything around. (30 minutes)

Run the facets / toilet to drain the fresh tank (watch the level in the holding tanks, don't overfill)

Refill the fresh tank with fresh water

Run the facets / toilet until the chlorine is cleared out of the lines. (watch the level in the holding tanks, don't overfill)

Drain the holding tanks

Top off the Fresh tank

Your ready to go

JOhn Mc

88 Dolphin 4 Auto

Don't forget to get that bleach into your water heater tank. It needs disinfecting, too. Just run your hot water tap for a few minutes to fill it up. If your hot water smells bad, it needs to be done. ;)

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Xtioga:

Also adding to the above , my Sunland Express Owners Manual says to make sure your fresh water tank is empty, Make a solution of one gallon of water and one cup of chlorine bleach and pour the gallon into each 15 gallons of tank capacity ( each vehicle has different capacities). After the solution has been added, fill the remander of the tank with fresh water. Open all faucets of the fresh water system until all air has been released and the system is filled with the solution. Once filled, close all faucets and valves and allow the system stand for three hours. Drain and flush system with fresh water several times to remove the chlorine taste. Then mix a solution of one quart of vinegar to five gallons of water and pour into the system and open and closing each faucet. Then allow to sit overnight if possible. Then flush with fresh water several times. Always drain your fresh water system completely when vehicle is not in use. A quick flush and a fresh water fill of the system before each trip will insure the highest quality drinking water for your consumption.

Others have told me that after using bleach, to mix one half cup of baking soda with a gallon of water and pour into fresh water tank . Then fill the tank completely and pump the solution through the water heater and all faucets and it can stay in the water system for a few days. You can drive around a few blocks to slosh water around in the tank cleaning it. Then drain entire system, flush and refill tank for use.

Hope this helps you or someone.

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Forgot to add, use the proper hose for filling your tanks. The standard garden water hose, especially a new one will off gas some really bad stuff into the water. Besides making it taste bad its also toxic. Use a hose for RV's. They are usually white and available even at Walmart in the RV section. And on another note there are also some commercial products that you can add to your fill-up that will make the water taste good and remove many of the metals and other bad stuff and even soften the water.

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I usually bring water from home, for drinking and cooking. Haven't drank water from my fw tank, yet.

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I also carry all drinking, cooking, and water for the tooth brush, even after sanitizing the water storage, but always leave home with a full tank for the shower and sinks.

quote name='84TOYRV' timestamp='1318002680' post='23912']

I usually bring water from home, for drinking and cooking. Haven't drank water from my fw tank, yet.

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I installed a 10" carbon block water filter with it's own separate faucet at the sink. It cleans up bad taste and will even remove most heavy metals. Also removes chlorine.

Tastes as good or better than bottled water.

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I don't mind a chlorine shower but do not like it in my coffee! So I carry water from home just for that I feel the same way about camp ground water had some good water but also some really bad stuff. It usually takes about 3 cycles (don't need to fill the tank to the top but a nice drive is in order) to get rid of chlorine it does help to drain the water heater tank after a good dose of chlorine. We put one pint in 500 gallons of emergency water during the last hurricane here in Maine and I could taste it.

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Chlorine is one of earth's most abundant chemicals and a wonderful disinfectant.

It is used in the majority of water treatment systems here in the US.

But a CUP of chlorine for an 18 gallon tank ( a previous poster) is grossly overkill. I would imagine you would taste chlorine all season. Yech!

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A cup of bleach mixed in with a tank of water should do a good job of sanitizing the fresh water tank, pipes, hot water heater, and the gray and black tanks.

Once drained, flushed, and purged, I have no chlorine odor or taste at all.

JOhn Mc

88 Dolphin 4 Auto

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