After settling in our summer spot I went to dump the holding tank which should have had been around 3/4 full as the fresh was around 1/4 full. All I got was a little less than 1/4. I looked at the sight glass in the bay before dumping and it showed about that, less than 1/4. I thought maybe it was clogged so connected the hose and back flushed the sight glass and it still showed the same. The fresh water tank was topped off and both dump valves were closed and capped. When I run water in the black tank I could hear what sounded like an empty tank.
This is a mystery. I don't believe it is clogged because what was in there came out ok.
Anyone ever experience such a thing?
Brad
Brad,
I filled the potable tank, drained the black, locked up the coach and headed out for the day. When I returned there was no potable water and no black water and nothing on the ground. Now if that were you problem I've got the answer, but since it's not I can't help. Sorry. Russ
Ok, I'll bite! What happened, Russ? I hope the water was not *in* the coach!
Oh good - a nibble....
Okay, I'm parked on a concrete site in an area that will have freezing temperatures in the winter. It is an all year campground, so the utilities are frost proof. The water has one of those pump looking handles that connects via a rod to the valve which is several feet under ground. When the valve is closed, it actually drains the water in the pipe leading to the surface into gravel at the underground valve.
I was connected to the coach through a hose and to the city water connection. The valve in the coach was set so that water entering through the hose filled the potable water tank. I do this because I can keep the utilities door closed and it looks neat. And, I think the water entering that way passes through my big spin-on filter. Not being quite as modern as Tom's coach I have to turn off the water when the tank is full. I always set a timer to remind me to check so I won't forget. I also leave both top fill caps off so should worst come to worst I and I somehow forget, the water should be able to run out without over pressurizing the tank.
So, on that morning I did everything just like always and left with clean tank full and dirty tank empty and the water turned off at the handle on the frost proof faucet.
While I was gone, the check valve that is part of the city water inlet on the Newell failed. The pressure of the water from gravity in the tank caused the water to try to run out, which it could since the valve underground was open. There went my 100 gallons leaving not a trace behind of what happened to it :-) Russ
Thats one for the books Russ for sure. I suppose an anti syphon valve would solve that next time.
Still scratching my head over this mystery.
That's a great story Russ! I have visions of one of those ServePro commercials where the house fills up with water.
Your explanation brought up another question...
If I fill the tank from the top it obviously does not go through the filter system...I get that. But I assumed that water drawn out of the tank *does* go through the filter (at least to the faucets). But if that is the case, how does water from the "City" tap also go through the filter? Am I confused?
I am with Forest and alway fill my tank from the top and almost never use the "City" tap because of the chance of over-pressurizing the plumbing system. I also dump the waste tank at the same time I fill the potable water tank.
I suspect a lot of this is personal preference, but I would love to hear what you guys think!
Cheers,
bill
Bill,
Well that got me out to trace the pipes. I was wrong about the water going through the filter before entering the tank - it does not. Doesn't matter if you fill from the top like you do, or through the city water inlet as I do. Both ways still have a risk of over pressurizing ( not the plumbing ) but the tank itself. I minimize that risk by the timer and having three ways for the water to overflow if I forget - 1. the built in overflow, 2. the top fill on the passenger side which is open, 3. the top fill on the driver's side which is open. If you fill through the top you could still forget couldn't you and in that case at best you would have only two places to exhaust the extra water.
The coach is obviously setup for folks to use the city water inlet as their source for water and go directly into the piping system. There is even a regulator on mine that limits the pressure to 45 psi, so says the label. I choose not to do that as I like the pressure from my Headhunter which is higher than the 45 that the regulator allows, and I never have to watch the level in the gray/black tank. It cannot get too high since I will run out of water from the potable tank before it fills up.
Knock on wood, the plumbing and such has been problem free. I find it takes around 15 minutes to fill my potable tank - depending upon available water pressure at my site. So bottom line, I think filling from the top or the city tap is very much personal preference. If there is any advantage to my way it is I don't have to do a thing except open the valve at the post and walk away while it fills.
Russ
You guys might want to look carefully at the piping on top of the fresh water tank. Mine has an overflow pipe. If you overfill it just runs on the ground in my rig
Richard,
Yes, that is the overflow I called #1 in my post. Would you feel comfortable that that overflow alone could keep the tank from dangerous pressure if you were filling at the city inlet ( bottom of the tank ) and forgot to turn it off when the tank was full? Russ
I have over filled my tank many times and as stated it goes on the ground. I watched the top of the tank to see what happens and it rises just a little but settles when the water is shut off. My coach has copper plumbing and I am not concerned about to much shore pressure. In the shop we would use the same copper plumbing for high pressure air lines, 120 lbs. So anything coming from the street has got to be way lower than that. I figure it is a good test for the plumbing for leaks. If it can't take street pressure then it needs to be fixed so it can. Most the time I do use a regulator tho. If you are not using shore pressure then you are using the water pump which adds wear and tear on something that will just need to be replaced sooner. You're right, personal preference, but one of the reasons I bought a Newell is so I wouldn't have to be concerned with things not being built to the standards of a regular home or better in-order to enjoy life on the road with less worries/expenses than the other lesser quality rigs.