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Old 12-11-2017, 08:31 AM   #1
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Draining Fresh water tank

I finally winterized my Class A, and this for the first time since until this June I have always owned trailers.

It took 3+ hrs to drain the fresh water tank, but only about 15 min to drain everything else and to bypass the water heater and fill the system with anti-freeze.

Any suggestions on a quick(er) way to drain the fresh water tank? The drain spigot is about the size of an igloo water cooler spigot and it drained at a pace like it had prostate trouble!

I wondered if perhaps I could just run all the sinks and shower with the pump on and drain it through the gray water tanks valve? any other ideas?
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Old 12-11-2017, 08:42 AM   #2
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We took a balloon put a small hole in the top, then slipped it over the overflow that we have plumbed to the side of our rig. We then put the bicycle pump nozzle in the balloon hole at the top and pump one or two psi into the tank. That makes her pee real good. We drain through a 25 ft rubber hose usually to a sewer opening. Have fun!
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Old 12-11-2017, 08:53 AM   #3
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I usually open the fresh water tank drain on the last leg of the drive home. The tank will be as empty as can be when you arrive home.
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Old 12-11-2017, 09:08 AM   #4
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With my last rv it drained slow like yours. I opened the fresh water drain and also put some weight to hold the flush valve open to also empty into the black tank for a final rinse along with turning on a sink. That would usually empty the fresh tank in 30 minutes or so.
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Old 12-11-2017, 09:48 AM   #5
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That's too bad. We have the exact opposite issue. If and when I drain my fresh water tank, it's a deluge!! The valve is an 1 1/2" gate valve, just like your dump valves only a tad smaller. Our problem is, the fresh water tank and dump valve, sits about 2"-3" away from my fuel tank. So, when the valve is pulled with the T-handle, that water comes gushing out and hits the fuel tank and splatters all over the place. There's really no way to have a controlled emptying of that tank. Just park the big beast outside and, pull the handle. Then watch any bugs go surfing!
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Old 12-11-2017, 10:01 AM   #6
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Can't glue a modified elbow onto valve?
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Old 12-11-2017, 02:21 PM   #7
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Our previous rig drained through the low point drains, which are fairly small (1/2" tubing). However, we have to run the pump to get the water from the tank to the drains anyway, so it's under pressure and goes OK. Maybe 15 minutes? I never did it with a full tank, though.
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Old 12-11-2017, 02:24 PM   #8
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I have the same issue of a huge tank and a tiny petcock drain. I found that with opening the water heater drain plug the water pump pushes out the water from the fresh tank in about a third of the time. The pump only pushes whatever it’s max gpm flow is, but that’s better than the petcock drain.
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Old 12-11-2017, 02:40 PM   #9
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I drain ours the last night before getting home.
In the morning, I add about five gallons just to
get us home. (toilet flush)
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Old 12-11-2017, 03:49 PM   #10
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Will opening the gravity fill cover help?
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Old 12-11-2017, 05:27 PM   #11
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I changed my twist valve to a ball valve. At some point I will be putting a larger drain line in, but then I plan to rarely drain it.
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Old 12-11-2017, 10:10 PM   #12
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Can't glue a modified elbow onto valve?

If you were responding to my addition to this thread, the answer is no, I cannot add any form of elbow to the drain. The primary reason is, the distance between the two tanks, the water and fuel tank is about 2-3" or so. I can barely get my hand up in there to blindly feel what's there, much less trying to add on some sort of control for that drain. Yep, I thought of that too when I had 15 gallons or so, in about 10 seconds after pulling my T-handle. I couldn't get it back in quick enough. I have a monster size oil drain pan for when I change oil. It's about 28"-30" in diameter and it still couldn't catch the splash made from the bounce of the water hitting the fuel tank. I don't drain that tank very often, if at all but, I was doing some work on the wet bay and had to drain it. Oh well, good thing it's an epoxied floor. Cleanup was only a few minutes.
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