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08-23-2019, 08:23 AM
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#1
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Winnebago Owner
Join Date: Sep 2018
Posts: 61
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Fresh water tank
We have a Micro Minnie 1808fbs with a 31 gallon fresh water tank. We’ve camped 6 times over the past year since we purchased the Micro Minnie. The fresh water tank has never been used and only filled and drained when we purchased it. We have used the regular water hook ups when camping and that works fine.
I feel like I need to at least fill and drain the fresh water system even though it hasn’t been used and wanted to get some ideas how to do that regarding using bleach or similar solution to clean and
sanitize, etc. I do know how to handle that process but wanted to verify the use of bleach, whether I need to run it through the pump system (have never used the pump), water heater etc.
Thanks
PC
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08-23-2019, 08:49 AM
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#2
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Winnebago Owner
Join Date: Aug 2019
Posts: 50
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Tank water is a way to insure that you have the quality of water that you desire . Many small campgrounds water leave a lot to be desired . For bleach I take a Pepsi plastic bottle [ Coke might work ] and put the desired amount of bleach in the bottle and squeeze it into tank opening , fill with water . Run all faucets , let sit for 2 hours , drain all once or twice , refill and you are ready to go .
I would also recommend that you take a look underneath at the tank and see how the tank rides when full of water , many will sag , bulge , belly or distort . Many of us have added reinforcement .
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08-23-2019, 09:16 AM
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#3
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Winnebago Owner
Join Date: Sep 2018
Posts: 61
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...and running the water through the fresh water tank also means the pump needs to be on?
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08-23-2019, 09:20 AM
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#4
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Winnebago Master
Join Date: Nov 2018
Location: Pflugerville/Austin, Tx
Posts: 7,373
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I would want to occasionally flush the tanks as they will gradually get mold, etc. if never handled and that mold can get thick enough to clog things if we leave it forever. But that fungus/mold stuff can also grow on any surface that is moist, so I want to have the chlorine water in the tank while I am driving to slosh it around good. Bleach is what many public water supplies use to treat water if they are small plants like community wells, etc. so it is what I use.
How much is always a question but that involves what you plan to do with the treated water. If you are drinking it, specs for public water say between 3 and 10 PPM but if you are wanting to simply clean the tank after storage, stronger is fine, just don't drink it!
Also better not to drain really strong bleach water on the lawn.
For 31 gallon, I might go with a cup of 6% bleach and drive it or at least let it set for overnight before draining. Preferred to drain into a sewer drain rather than holding /dump stations as the bleach will also kill the bacteria used to digest the sewage if it is not diluted by lots of other water. Not directly into a stream to kill the fish!
Pump through all pipes until you smell bleach as it also helps to clear the lines and pump.
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08-23-2019, 09:27 AM
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#5
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Winnie-Wise
Join Date: Feb 2017
Location: Denver, CO
Posts: 352
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It doesn’t take much bleach to sanitize the system. You should be able to find the suggested amount online. After you fill the tank, let it sit for a bit and maybe even go for a short ride. You’ll have to drain and film the tank a few times to get the system fully flushed.
Good luck!
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08-23-2019, 09:51 AM
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#6
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Winnebago Owner
Join Date: Sep 2018
Posts: 61
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Thanks! Saturday project coming up.
PC
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08-23-2019, 12:38 PM
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#7
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Winnebago Master
Join Date: Nov 2018
Location: Pflugerville/Austin, Tx
Posts: 7,373
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Small point as there are some who are deathly afraid of bleach. I'm used to using it on aquariums where folks are really shy about getting it near fish, so a bit of understanding can make it easier. One big point about the chlorine in bleach is that it reacts with almost all organics and that is what kills the buggers we want to avoid but it also gasses off over time as it just sets there. That's why we smell it around pools and when we drink a glass of water. So that's a handy point to know when you come around to draining. There is no harm in leaving it in the tank for as long as you want and, given time, it does gas off. So if it gets awkward to dump it, just leave it until you get to a handy place or let the chlorine gas off to the point that it CAN be dumped in the yard without killing the grass. Not nice to take it to an RV park and dump it, though. Makes it hard to keep the park running if somebody comes by and kills all that good bacteria that is breaking down the yuck!
Same stuff as in lots of tap water but just stronger.
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08-23-2019, 03:00 PM
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#8
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Winnebago Owner
Join Date: Sep 2018
Posts: 61
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...and having the bleach / water mix won’t bother anything in the system if it just sits? I will only be using 1/2 cup based on what I’ve read and the size of our tank(31gal).
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08-23-2019, 03:30 PM
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#9
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Winnebago Master
Join Date: Nov 2018
Location: Pflugerville/Austin, Tx
Posts: 7,373
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No harm at all. Keep in mind that the chlorine in bleach is the same as in tap water except stronger. It reacts with organics and that is dirt, bacteria, fungus or grease around the collar so if we don't get totally crazy amounts, it reacts with what we might call "dirt" and doesn't have enough left to bother anything else. If we used real rubber for waterlines, it might be iffy but real rubber is now replaced by plastic which is not harmed by chlorine. Main note on liquid bleach is to avoid getting it on clothing as it does react with cloth and you don't want your best shirt and pants to come out tie-dyed! Nor holey?
The reason for not being any really specific amount to add is that we can't say how much "dirt" it finds to react with, so we just want it to be enough to clear any bad stuff but we don't need it to be so strong it kills the grass where we drain it. If we want to kill the bad guys in a jug of water to drink, we have to be much more careful as we need less when the water is good and clean than if we just scooped it out of a muddy pond. We want it to kill the bad guys but not enough left to kill the good guys in our digestion.
I often use the sniff test for deciding if it is safe to add to a fishtank. If I can't smell it any more, it has gassed off enough to be safe. Think of plastic swimming pool liners when thinking about harm to the lines, etc. No harm to plastics. Some reaction with the iron in metals but thinking of how long water pipes last makes me not worry about that. More likely the wife may complain about the smell of bleach if she turns the pump on and runs it to the faucet!!!
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08-23-2019, 05:30 PM
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#10
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Winnebago Owner
Join Date: Sep 2018
Posts: 61
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Ok! Thanks again to all.
PC Red
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