Community Forums

bldrbob · 08-17-2012, 06:48 AM

I think the water has been in the ground more than a few weeks.If the tank is clean the water you put in it should be clean too.I sterilize my tank a couple times a year and use a sediment filter when filling.Some use the water to wash but not drink.If it is not safe to drink how will it clean you?

read & learn · 08-17-2012, 07:32 AM

We use the Water tank as a way to increase the pressure at some CG when we are spending more than a few days. Two reasons 1. always replacing the water in the tank, that way nothing gets a chance to go bad and 2. to increase the the water pressure when taking a shower, we also leave the city connection on.
When dry camping we get about 14 days out of a tank of water. We look around for the water machines that you fill your own bottles at for drinking and cooking.

1ciderdog · 08-17-2012, 11:16 AM

Am I the only one who does not worry about water? I live rural and have had my well water tested but don't remember that I have ever sanitized RV water tanks in many years of RV'ing. I'm not saying you shouldn't and maybe I'd be in better shape if I had but we are still going strong. I guess I'll add that to my list of things to do.

cb1000rider · 08-17-2012, 03:44 PM

Drill a new well in Texas and you'll worry about it. Especially if you're spending 20k on a new well and the well companies don't guarantee that you'll hit water, nor do they guarantee water quality. And once drilled, you need to determine what is in the water before you can treat it properly.

This is in contrast to a well in Michigan, which is at about 15 feet and has never had a quality issue.

awwall · 08-17-2012, 03:58 PM

Just remember this..all the filtering in the world is not going to remove organisms. I think the 1/3 cup of bleach is the right answer.

The water can be red, yellow, brown, or blue and if their are no organisms you probably won't die from drinking it. I personally would not, however, if water is clear and has been chlorine treated, I would have no problem.

cb1000rider · 08-17-2012, 04:14 PM

As we don't like drinking Chlorine (at home) - we use UV light instead. This prevents organism reproduction without burning your eyes out. In an RV, boondocking, I think I'd do the same thing - a reverse osmosis setup with a small UV light (all under the sink).

clyon51 · 08-17-2012, 06:31 PM

All the water we drink today is in the area of 5 billion years old. There is no such thing as new water.

With tank sanitized once a year, I don't worry about it....well, city whatever. Bacteria and alge is not going to grow/multiply without some organics to feed on.

fredaevans · 08-18-2012, 05:24 PM

Probably a lot of right/wrong answers to this question but mine is I NEVER store water in my motorhome. Getting ready to leave the CG, I'll pump the tank almost (leave 4 - 5 gallons) and treat that when I get home to run it through the lines.

Next trip, I'll put in 4 - 5 gallons of water (cup of bleach) to swish around. Assuming CG water, I'll connect direct and pump out the lines then 1/3rd tank and pump that out.

Sounds like a lot of fooling around, but until you've experienced Campilobactor (sp?), and been hauled off to the ER by the very nice EMT's .... well, not fun. It hurt far (short term) more than the three rounds out of the business end of a AK-47 going through me.