We take the Nimbus out every few weeks. Could be 1, could be 8. But I'm trying to nail down a best practice for dealing with my freshwater. Leave it full? Leave it empty? Partially full with bleach?
I think my approach going fwd will be to keep about 1/4 tank in with bleach. Then drain prior to leaving as part of trip prep, and filling as much as we might need on the road depending on the trip.
Is there a better way?
I guess it depends on your circumstances and plans. Will the coach be subject to freezing?
Being a full timer, I have always filled my tank and added a few drops of bleach and then refilled before the tank was empty, preferably from a water source known for good quality.
We keep a full tank of water at all times in case we have to leave on a moments notice. We have got to a campground and their water system was down, have had to over night several nights on the road due to weather, and other unexpected usage while traveling so always a full tank. If we are doing a warmup run just to check everything out we drain and refill with fresh water. Yes, it is some trouble but worth fresh water if nothing but a backup if the city water has a boil notice come up while you are asleep. We are lucky to either be at home port or on the road so the trouble that comes up in storage isn't a problem we have.
Pamela & Mike
Since we live in the Sierras, our trips or at least the first few hours are either fairly steep up or down so we carry about 10 gallons in the tank. Enough to wash dishes, etc. 100 gallons is getting close to 900 lbs so it takes more fuel for the grades, more cooling for the engine that we don't have in summer and while the Jake handles most of the braking, with a toad, it's one more thing to consider. And if you think I'm kidding, in Winter, we can fly up out of Death Valley most of the way to 395 in 3rd (out of 4) but in Summer, it's 1st gear with the heater on high.
Arriving in a campsite, it's only 20 minutes to fill the tank.
Once East of the Rockies, it's basically flat to the Atlantic so no harm in a full tank
Pierce
I didn't like carrying the weight either. But after being broke down on the side of the highway once for almost 11 hours waiting on a tow truck and running out of water. Before I leave camp I put a half a tank and empty the holding tank. We then run off of that tank until it's empty. That way there is always a supply of fresh chlorinated water being pushed through the system. If I let it sit for any length of time I drain the system. I haven't had any problems so far. We're full timing so a lot water gets run through the system. I guess my way of thinking ( I'm certainly not a water sanitation expert) is that the bad things that grow in stagnant water can't do that with an empty water system.
My concern has always been that even though I've "emptied" the tank ( draining at home) there is still a trace of water in there to become stagnant. So while at home waiting to use the coach again I weekly or biweekly leave the drain open while I'm at the same time adding about 10 gallon and letting that drain.
I'm not wasting city water though because it's well water.
I try to keep a 1/4 tank in unless I know we won't have water hookups or I know the water is not so good. It's nice to be able to use the bathroom on the road. I fill from the house with city water so it has some chlorine in it. I dump it and flush the tank a little before refilling for a trip. We drink the filtered water from the sink tap, so I'm not too worried about things. I'll sanitize the lines again this winter just for good measure.
I usually travel with about 20 gallons for all the reasons stated above but I hate carrying extra water weight. I recently bought an On The Go water softener and I can't say enough good things about that. If you're traveling in areas that don't typically have hard water it might not be necessary but here in the MidWest we can have incredibly hard water in many places. Being a bit of a water snob I also recently built a portable reverse osmosis filter. It's a little heavy and bulky but it's still a lot lighter than a full tank of water and I have an unlimited supply of pure water no matter where I go or for how long.
I usually leave with a full tank and leave what's ever in the tank when I get home.
When I return home, I use most of the remaining fresh water to rinse the gray tank, but try to leave about 10% in the fresh tank. Before a trip, I'll dump that 10% from drain valve and fill just before I leave.
This is what I do except I MT the tank before I fill it before departing
Keith
I do not empty the tank until November, fill in February and sometimes it sits with whatever is in it for 6 or 8 weeks then refill, generally we are able to leave home with filtered and softened water.
Always add a few drops of Clorox brand bleach (it's a different chemical to the cheaper ones).
Having said that if you are in anyway suffering from anything that would give you reduced immunity and are li very hot weather, you may want to be more attentive to your water quality.
Yes the 100 gallons weighs near a half ton, but the state parks in Ohio often have very hard water with a touch of iron which I do not want in my tank.
That 100 gallons will get us through a 5 day long week end without skimping on water use.
My Coach never experiences Freezing temperatures, for extended periods of time, So I keep my Fresh water Tank Full when the coach is not in use. My reasoning is if an emergency exists I have a complete backup system. ( Hurricanes, City water system goes down), I try to always fill the fresh water tank with "Chlorinated" water from a good city water system when the coach will not be in use for a month or more. My storage thought is; Fresh Water Full, Fuel Tank Full, Black and Gray Water Tanks empty. In an emergency I can travel, self sustained, about 1,000 miles @ 6.5 MPG to escape any incident... ^.^d
Same. Keeping it full with some chlorine will reduce algae / mold from growing .
Keep in mind that the chemicals will disperse and need to be added over time. A pool test kit should shows just a hint of chlorine. Barely enough to smell.
For coffee , let the water sit out in sauce pan for a few hrs to reduce the chemicals .
I always leave the shop with full tanks for the bus supporting our racing. Dry camped .