Sanitizing the water tank

[Skillet]

Ok, yesterday per internet instructions I put in my bleach/water combo and ran faucets. Then it said to let it sit for 12hrs and drain/refill till bleach is gone. A silly question but where is the drain for the fresh water tank? The tank is under my couch. The area outside has a side compartment in a location that appears to be directly below the tank. I can't fit myself all the way under but reaching up and around the compartment, I can't feel anything like a drain plug.

[Blue~Go]

On my 1999 Concourse, the drain that would be used for the tank is under the couch, in the area between the rear/inner corner of the tank and the water pump. It's a little metal petcock that might be somewhat buried in the carpet. Note that there is also a valve right nearby that directs the water flow (similar to the ones on the water heater bypass).

I found that my tank would not drain by gravity alone, even with a faucet open. IIRC, I had to "pump" the water out using the water pump. The reason I say "IIRC" is that I also had a Class B van prior, and it had a similar issue (tank drain didn't really drain by gravity alone).

You can also use something like Lynx blocks to help put the van on a good slant (although it still doesn't drain that well in my experience).

Another way to do it is just to be near a place to dump your grey tank, and then just run the sink, etc. until the water tank is empty, and then dump the holding tank.

There is also a diagram of the plumbing systems in the blue book (that should theoretically be in your Chinook) and or is available in .pdf form. I'll see if I can upload whichever manual I have that is closest to your year (although plumbing didn't really seem to change).

Here is the 2000 Manual. I also have the 2004, but my guess is the 2000 would be just like yours. Figure 9.8 shows the plumbing and petcock.

2000 Chinook manual.pdf

(1.48 MiB) Downloaded 242 times

[Skillet]

Thanks! I didn't consider it would be inside. Having a slant won't be a problem since my driveway is on a pretty good one. I do have a drill-powered pump that I could use too. I'd love to find a dump station near me that didn't charge or I'd go that route.

[Concourse]

Open the drain that BG mentioned that's on the floor back at the water pump and also the two valves on the floor between the back of the driver's seat and in front of the couch (magazine rack/ low voltage disconnect). They are all small tubes so it can take a while to drain the tank so I just open them and go do something else then come back later.

There is a website that searches for dump stations in your area (can't find the link right now). I go to a wastewater treatment plant a couple of towns away to dump tanks and its free plus no hassles.

[Skillet]

Thanks. Since I have little time after work, I'll have to wait until this weekend and drain it. I know the website you're talking about (sanidump) but everything around here is pay. Enough that I would be better off spending the night to get my money's worth!

[Skillet]

Well, let my bleachy/water solution actually sat since my first post. Today I drained it and and refilled it. Now letting it drain one more time and then I'll do a final fill. Couple things I noticed:
- My driveway has such an angle that the best way to drain it was to pull in nose first (I always back in)
- To refill I have to back in otherwise the water port burps at me and nothing gets in
- It's a pain to have to switch around like that but that's my problem
- When I refilled I didn't smell/taste any bleach in the water so I probably could have just filled it and left it, but it can't hurt to do it one more time

I found the drain tube sticking down under the body and I'm surprised I never noticed it before. Does drain slow and maybe next time I'll hook up my drill pump to it to speed things up. I'm curious how many people leave water in the tank between trips. I've heard people on rv forums say it's not good to because something could grow in the heat of the summer and others say they don't empty it until winter comes around and they have no taste/health problems.

[Blue~Go]

When I lived on a boat it wasn't that we "left" the tanks, but on the other hand we might be away from a water source for a month, so the same water would be in the tanks that long, and plus some of that time was in the tropics, so HOT.

We never had any mold or off taste problems. Couple of things we did:

1) Put the recommended (I'd have to look this up) amount of bleach in with each tank. This is not the "shock" amount but a drinkable amount. It doesn't last a long time (dissipates) but seemed to last for a month or so.

2) Take care about where the tank vent goes. This is because essentially, every time you draw water from the tank (faucet, shower, etc.), you are actively SUCKING IN air through the vent. If the vent is outdoors, then you can get biological whatnot in of course. I have seen many outside routed vent hoses just BLACK with mold. When possible, I prefer to have the vent inside (just make sure it is high enough) and then put at least some folded gauze over it (they make filters that would likely be better).

3) Don't expose the tank to light.

If your tank has been "yucky," you might want to check your vent hose (it runs along near the fill hose and exits right next to the fill hose, if all is stock).

[Skillet]

How do I control where the vent hose is? Perhaps I'm not understanding you. Just finished filling the tank back up. Even if there is a tiny bit of bleach in it, sounds like it's ok from what you said. Makes sense to have some in there now that I think about it. So far the water tastes fine so I think I'm good to go for my next adventure. Now that I have a clean tank and a working generator (a/c), I'm ready to boondock in comfort, as opposed to what I was doing before. I was carrying a 6gal skinny water tank I got at Walmart because I didn't want to drink from my tank until I santized it. The fan moved air but when it's humid, it's only a partially comfortable.

[Blue~Go]

Well essentially, you would have to move it unless you wanted it where it came stock. I've installed or moved a few vent hoses on various boats (and will do so on the Chinook most likely). I mean the outboard end - not where it installs on the tank.

The main thing is, of course, that it allow air into the tank to replace the water you are removing (hence it develops suction and can pull in stuff).

The "second main thing" (if it's indoors) is to make sure that it won't let water into the interior. I've always filled boat tanks by gravity, so it doesn't get much "speed" up, and as long as the vent is a reasonable amount above the level of the fill, no problems. For example, on one boat the vent was in a locker about three feet above the top of the tank/fill. No problems. The plot might thicken if you are filling with a powerful hose or etc. (?) Not sure since I have not done that. I mean, I've filled with a garden hose, but the fill hose was still 1-1/2", so not exactly building up pressure. Maybe one never does build up pressure.

On a couple of boats, the vent was placed such that the first place water overflowed (when filling) was into the galley sink (spout was lower than vent). That was convenient. Those were "manual pump" boats though - I'm not sure if having a pressure pump might change that.

Of course you could filter the vent even if it's outside, but there is just more "stuff" to potentially filter out, plus the filter could get dirtier when you drive or etc.

The worst on boats is if the vent runs into the anchor locker or etc. (relatively common). Those are often full of mold and mildew. Yuck!

If you look at your Chinook vent hose and it is not black, that's a good sign.

[Skillet]

Thanks. I will have to look through the manual that you uploaded to see where it's at. I'm not sure where to look or maybe I've seen it and not paid much attention.