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Old 04-12-2009, 07:52 AM   #1
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Question Water Tank Emptying

'08 35J Sightseer. Twice now I have accidentally overfilled the water tank a little bit. Water comes out the overflow tube as it should.

But, both times, I noticed that after and hour or 2 that the tank is down to 1/4! I wonder if that once it starts to over flow it sets up a siphon and empty's the tank down? Anyone experience this?
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Old 04-12-2009, 08:21 AM   #2
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I have had that happen on two RV's, I drilled a small hole in the very top of the overflow line to break the siphon.
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Old 04-12-2009, 11:16 AM   #3
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The overflow tube does not extend down into the tank so it can't siphon.
When the tank is filled the air can't escape fast enough so the tank walls will expand some. When it overflows and stop adding water the walls will revert to normal and push some water out of the overflow tube. That won't explain the tank dropping to 1/4 though.
What I have seen is that when traveling water in the long wide shallow tank can slosh out of the overflow tube and drop the tank by a lot. mine would drop to 1/2 or so.
Winnebago fixed mine by adding a upward loop to the overflow tube so the water can't slosh out as easily.
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Old 04-12-2009, 12:27 PM   #4
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We don't have this problem on our 35J but a friend with a 29 has the same problem, he ended up putting in a shut off valve down the overflow pipe. Only uses when he's not changing elevation much so it doesn't burst the tank. On our last trip out I saw how bad it was without the shutoff valve, every corner he took you could see the water splashing out.
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Old 04-12-2009, 12:40 PM   #5
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Yeah, but I haven't moved .
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Old 04-13-2009, 05:16 AM   #6
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The tank is probably plastic and when it starts to siphon through the overflow tubes, it actually collapses the tank until it breaks siphon. Had this happen to me in a former coach we owned. The top of the tank was actually pulled down to about the half full point.

If you can see the tank, you can confirm this the next time it happens....but I wouldn't make a habit of doing this as the tank was not designed to be 'flexed'.

You should be able to monitor the fill somehow, either through eyeball or electronic monitor. What I've done in the past is to monitor my tank visually because I can see it.....and when it's close to the top, I shut off the water.

If this isn't the case, then you may have an overly long siphon hose length inside the tank. In that case, you may need to do some surgery.

Hope this helps.
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Old 04-13-2009, 03:10 PM   #7
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I second the shut off valve fix.... A few times I showed up to "drycamp" to find I really was drycamping.... I put in a plastic quarter turn valve and have had no problems..
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Old 04-13-2009, 05:17 PM   #8
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Steve, We had the same issue for the first time a couple months ago on our second trip out... I lifted the bed and moved the water drain valve to start the flow from the drain valve then shut it off a few seconds later. Can't explain why, but it worked to shut off the water from draining out of the overflow. Hope this helps and have a fun SOB! Eric
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Old 04-13-2009, 10:07 PM   #9
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I've had it happen a time or two. Since then, if I do happen to overflow the tank when filling, I pull the fresh water dump valve and dump a few gallon to break the siphon. That has stopped any repeat problem.
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Old 04-13-2009, 10:22 PM   #10
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Are you filling from the city water where your water hose hooks up in the utility compartment or actually using the hose to run water down into the tank? My arrangement is probably different from yours, but when I'm filling from the city water hook-up I always open the cap where the tank can be filled with just a hose. This keeps pressure from building up in the tank. As was stated above, these tanks weren't built to be flexed.

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Old 04-14-2009, 06:43 AM   #11
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Quote:
Originally Posted by wagonmaster2 View Post
Are you filling from the city water where your water hose hooks up in the utility compartment or actually using the hose to run water down into the tank?
This 08 Sightseer doesn't have a gravity feed inlet...have to do it in the bay. I'll just have to be more vigilant I guess. I did a 3/4 fill yesterday and all was well. Thanks all!
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Old 04-14-2009, 09:40 AM   #12
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Although it's not supposed to, your overflow hose probably extends down into your water tank. We had the same problem with our old '01 Monaco Knight. Removing the hose to fix it is probably NOT a fun job.
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Old 04-14-2009, 05:29 PM   #13
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My rig did the same thing, I took it in and told the dealer about the problem and he said there was nothing wrong and you should'nt overfill the tank because it can cause the tank to colapse, like someone already mentioned. I actually called Winnebago service line the the tech said they would fix it and to have the Dealer call them & Winnie did fix the problem for me under warrenty.

Have your Dealer call the Winnie service line and they will tell them how to fix it.

Winnebago is a great Company and they stand behind their products!!!!!!
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