Water tanks

[valsarhino]

Hi.

Hoping I can get some advice....We are at the start of our 3rd year as motorhomers. At the start of each year we clean our water tanks with puriclean and then have our habitation check completed. We have recently spoken to a few people who have told us not to waste money on tank cleaner and to just rinse out the fresh water tank with clean water. We are just wondering what advice anyone can give us on this?

Thanks in advance

Val

[Derek Uzzell]

These links may be of interest

 

http://www.practicalmotorhome.com/advice/30426-get-your-motorhome-ready-for-the-new-season

 

http://forums.outandaboutlive.co.uk/forums/Motorhomes/Motorhome-Matters/cleaning-fresh-water-tank/36384/

 

Some motorcaravanners sterilise their vehicle’s fresh-water system after a winter lay-off; others do not. It’s really up to you, but your practice of using Puriclean makes good sense and certainly can’t do any harm. It’s hardly going to break the bank to give the system a Puriclean treatment once a year, so I suggest you ignore the ‘just rinse’ cheapskates and continue to do this.

[Brian Kirby]

It depends a bit on how you (and they) use tank water. If you would only drink it after it has been boiled, and would not wash anything to be eaten raw in it, or clean teeth in it, I guess it matters little whether you sterilise the system or not (at least to the point at which the system gets smelly).

 

The rate of throughput will also have some bearing. If you use a lot of water, showering daily, etc. it won't spend long in the tank before refilling is necessary. As all European drinking water is chlorinated (or similar) the system should stay reasonably sterile. However, beware taking water from unknown taps, and even camp site or similar taps in early season, because the water may have sat in the supply pipe over winter, and the chlorine content been lost. Under those circumstances, the first few gallons drawn off may not be that reliable.

 

If you don't use much tank water, so it sits in the tank for several days on end before refilling, the chlorine (which is naturally a gas) will evaporate out of the water leaving the tank contents untreated. Each time you draw off water, an equal volume of air will be drawn into the tank, and that air will contain whatever contaminants are circulating outside at the time (pollen grains, bacteria, fungus spores, etc) and, if they fall into water that has lost its chlorine protection, they may breed or grow to taint the water, or cause stomach upsets (camper toilets are not the ideal companion to a dose of Montezuma's revenge!).

 

As Derek says above, the fail safe remedy is to sterilise the system and, if water consumption is low, to add a preservative to the water to maintain its drinkable quality - even if you wouldn't actually drink it.

 

Be a bit careful what you use, as most campers have a Truma water heater, and these have stainless steel liners. Anything that contains chlorine is best avoided when purifying the system, as chlorine attacks stainless steel, and Truma heaters are extremely costly! Elsan make two chlorine free products: one called Tank Fresh (for purification), and the other called Elsil (to maintain the water to potable standard over time). Both are liquid, so there are no granules to dissolve.

[Brock]

Why waste money having a seatbelt, Val? I'm being mischievous but the point is about your attitude to risk.

 

My sister is a biologist and guides my actions. She says the first consideration is whether those drinking the water, either directly or indirectly through food, are prone to upset stomachs etc - the older you are, the more prone you become is a generalisation that's probably true; children are also more prone. If you use Puriclean or similar [Puriclean claim it is OK for stainless steel boilers] to regularly clean out your water system [at least once a year], use a food grade hose or container each time you fill the fresh water tank, change the tank water every four days, and never leave standing water in the tank when the motorhome is not being used, then you should avoid an upset stomach from water contamination providing the source of the water is also sound. If you skip on any of this basic food hygiene, which you would expect food and drink outlets to follow on a regular basis, the risk is marginally higher.

 

You can buy products to cleanse water from dubious sources. You can also drink bottled water.

 

You'll know that a 400g tub of Puriclean costs between £5 and £10 so is not much of a "waste". I find there is enough in the tub to cleanse my 120l fresh water tank and pipes twice.

 

My sister says even if motorhomers don't follow the food hygiene, they are not going to die from contaminated motorhome water. They might might lose a day or two of their holiday whilst any bugs get washed through their system but even that is unlikely.

 

I recommend you carry on as you are. We've been doing this as caravanners and motorhomers for 27 years and it works for us.

[scotsbob]

I have in the past couple of weeks cleaned my fresh water tank /pipes/hot water 'boiler'. There is very informative article on P 69 of the Feb '17 issue of Practical Motorhome on how to clean & sterilise the fresh water system by using White Wine Vinegar. I used this method using 1.1/2/ lts of W W V from Asda for about £2.50 - it did the work, no after taste or 'fragrance'. Will use again next year.

[valsarhino]

Thanks for all the advice.

Think we'll carry on sterilising at the start of the season.

Val

:-D

 

[AndyLou]

Hi

I see you say that you have a habitation check every year.

 

Is this necessary?

It seems a lot of money for very little return in my book.

Maybe I am missing something.

 

Andy

[monique.hubrechtsgm]

I have a outside water shower connection on the side wall. Closed by a plastic cover. That connection leaks some brown rusty water to the outside bypassing the rubber seal in the cover. Normally you would expect no metal parts there. I flush every time to spool the system but always start whit a rusty spray. It has a spring loaded push in connection. And reverse out. Any idea to get away from this?

[Brock]

Andy, I have an annual habitation service and always have done. It's not necessary except perhaps to keep any warranty, eg water ingress, in place. Whether it's worth the money I suppose depends on what you value, to what extent, your style of motorhoming, technical competence, and how mentally strong you would be to deal with anything that goes wrong because a habitation check wasn't done.

[tonyishuk]

Andy&Lou - 2017-04-06 9:40 AM

 

Hi

I see you say that you have a habitation check every year.

 

Is this necessary?

It seems a lot of money for very little return in my book.

Maybe I am missing something.

 

Andy

 

Pays yer money, takes yer choice.

 

I was in the "Don't bother brigade" and ended up with a £2000 quote for repairing damp damage in the wall and floor.

 

Since then, I have bothered ;-)

 

Rgds

[Bulletguy]

 

The only stuff i stick in my water tank is water! I drop the tank before winter but on first refill i run a couple of gallons through to get all air out, water flowing through the system, and ensuring boiler is full. It's only used for brews and having showers so can't see any point sticking chemicals in the tank. If i want water to drink i buy bottled as it's dirt cheap and kept cold in the fridge.

[Bop]

I hope that I'm not detracting from Val's thread by posting here but I was reading an article in a motorhome magazine yesterday which wrote "avoid traveling with water on-board: this will start to swirl in transit and cause instability".

 

I thought the whole purpose of water tanks was to carry water on touring holidays so I found the advice to be a bit duff.

 

Sorry Val :-)

 

Andrew

[malc d]

Bop - 2017-04-08 7:48 PM

 

I hope that I'm not detracting from Val's thread by posting here but I was reading an article in a motorhome magazine yesterday which wrote "avoid traveling with water on-board: this will start to swirl in transit and cause instability".

 

I thought the whole purpose of water tanks was to carry water on touring holidays so I found the advice to be a bit duff.

 

Sorry Val :-)

 

Andrew

 

 

I wonder if the person who wrote that article travels around

with diesel " swirling in transit " in his fuel tank. ?

 

;-)

[peterjl]

Re the posters question, after my first Mhome I have tried to buy vans with internal fresh water tanks cos they don't freeze in cold weather ( and we have been down to minus 17c for a week). But another advantage is that once a year I take the cap off, have A look inside, drain down and wash out manually. Works for me.

 

Turning to annual habitation service. I also have an annual service. It's peace of mind plus it's a small outlay when judged against a major investment. I have had these identify problems I wasn't aware of so I am happy to continue.

 

Peter

[Tribsa]

Hi, I'm struggling to make a decision as to what cleaning system (and where to obtain it) to use to clean our fresh water tank that has a Truma water heater.

Since the powder/liquid cannot contain anything that will react with stainless steel and be food safe.

 

Some say use sodium metabisulphite; that attacks stainless steel

Milton; that attacks stainless steel.

 

I see that Puriclean is mentioned in this thread; what chemical does it contain and is it really stainless steel safe?

 

Thanks.

[Robbo]

Tribsa - 2017-04-25 3:48 PM

 

Hi, I'm struggling to make a decision as to what cleaning system (and where to obtain it) to use to clean our fresh water tank that has a Truma water heater.

Since the powder/liquid cannot contain anything that will react with stainless steel and be food safe.

 

Some say use sodium metabisulphite; that attacks stainless steel

Milton; that attacks stainless steel.

 

I see that Puriclean is mentioned in this thread; what chemical does it contain and is it really stainless steel safe?

 

Thanks.

 

I've just bought some Puriclean from Halfords camping section. Not the cheapest way to purchase as they only sell it in 100g containers (treats 90 litres).

 

The label on the container states "Cleans and purifies all water systems INCLUDING stainless steel boilers".

[keninpalamos]

My Truma combi manual tells me to use white wine vinegar but doesn't say to what strength and I don't want to buy a 150 litres of the stuff to fill my tank

[Brian Kirby]

tonyishuk - 2017-04-08 5:20 PM

 

Andy&Lou - 2017-04-06 9:40 AM

 

Hi

I see you say that you have a habitation check every year.

 

Is this necessary?

It seems a lot of money for very little return in my book.

Maybe I am missing something.

 

Andy

 

Pays yer money, takes yer choice.

 

I was in the "Don't bother brigade" and ended up with a £2000 quote for repairing damp damage in the wall and floor.

 

Since then, I have bothered ;-)

 

Rgds

But, in most cases you can get a damp check carried out (generally essential to maintain in force any water ingress warranties) without having the full habitation service. The rest of the habitation service is concerned with checking the safety of your 12V/230V electrical, gas, and water systems, and checking that all appliances are working as they should. If you are confident/competent to do these checks, then just get the ingress test carried out.

 

While an ingress warranty is within its stated time limits you should read the small print carefully, paying special attention to who can carry out the check, and when. Once the warranty has expired (or if you aren't concerned about the warranty) there is no "need" for the damp checks, but I would suggest continuing with them because, a) they should identify damp problems before they become severe and b) a full set of test records should be an aid to selling when the time comes.

 

As Tony says above, yer pays yer money, and yer takes yer choice.

[747]

Tribsa - 2017-04-25 3:48 PM

 

Hi, I'm struggling to make a decision as to what cleaning system (and where to obtain it) to use to clean our fresh water tank that has a Truma water heater.

Since the powder/liquid cannot contain anything that will react with stainless steel and be food safe.

 

Some say use sodium metabisulphite; that attacks stainless steel

Milton; that attacks stainless steel.

 

I see that Puriclean is mentioned in this thread; what chemical does it contain and is it really stainless steel safe?

 

Thanks.

 

Milton is perfectly safe to use if you read the instructions and stick to the recommended strength.

 

It will only be in your boiler for a short time and will do no harm.