How not to fill your fresh water tank.

[whemme]

Reluctantly I must confess to a stupid mistake that resulted in some major damage to my 2002 BF 26' RSB coach.

I have probably filled my fresh water tank at least 50 times in the last 10 years always doing it in the same way. I stick the end of a water hose into the fresh water tank port on the left side of the coach and turn the source of water on. Then at the first sign of water gushing back out of the fill port, I then pull the hose out and shut the source valve off.

I was filling my tank just before leaving for this year's Born Free factory homecoming except after starting to fill the tank, I thought I had time to go back into the house to attend to a simple matter that ended up taking more time than I thought. So when I came back out of the house, the water was really gushing out of the fill port so I yanked the hose out and shut off the source.

When I went into my coach, I saw a small disaster. Water was all over the floor coming out from under the kitchen cabinets where the fresh water tank is located. What happened was that when the tank got full and started gushing out of the fill port, since I was not there to pull the hose out right away, the inflow of water exceeded what could gush back out and started to pressurize the tank.

The tank is plastic and can expand in size with incoming water pressurizing it. The tank sits on a plywood shelf behind the kitchen cabinetry. Right above the tank is another plywood shelf. As the tank expanded in size, it acted like a hydraulic ram pushing apart both the upper and lower shelfs. These two shelfs are connected to the kitchen cabinets specifically the front face wood panel containing the shelves and doors. In addition to breaking the upper and lower shelves, it also broke the cabinet's front face oak wood panel and bent the shelve slides so I could not open those two shelves. Then finally the tank itself burst flooding the coach.

The lesson: Always remove the hose from the fill port as soon as any water starts gushing out. Otherwise, the resulting damage will get expensive in a hurry.

My coach is scheduled into the factory on July 6th to replace the damaged kitchen cabinets and fresh water tank.

[Bonnie McDowell]

Wow, so sorry to hear this. As a newbie to RVing I am always worried I am going to do something I shouldn't. So glad you shared this. I have a tendency to forget something is running if I leave it (once left water running in utility sink on first floor of my house, overflow went into the HVAC ductwork under the sink and escaped in the basement by breaking open the flexible ductwork in the basement). Since then I don't generally leave water running even for a moment.

Speaking of fresh water tanks, I bought a pressure regulator for the water line, but I have been just running off the fresh water tank and then refilling when it gets low. Also gives me a second read on how much water might be in each of the gray and black tanks, since the sensors aren't exactly accurate. And speaking of tanks, why does the black tank have a higher capacity than the gray - my manual says 35 for the fresh, 35 for the black and 21 for the gray. My gray fills first, although I then switch to doing dishes in the bathroom sink (which goes to the black) to add time before I need to go to the dump station.

Thanks for sharing, Bill, and sorry that it was such an expensive lesson.

[Mike Astley]

Wow, didn't know or think it was possible that could happen. I always fill from the fill port. I've have missed the "gush point" a few times but only by a minute or so, but now I will always be more careful about it.

Realize its not fun to report a self-caused mishap but this is good info, so thank you!

[whemme]

When I scheduled my coach in for the factory repair, service manager Bill said that I was not the first to damage the coach this way - I think he said that I was the 3rd one to cause this kind of damage.

And Bonnie, I used to have your model with the smaller 21 gallon gray water tank. The floor plan of your coach dictates the location and permissible size of both your gray and black water tanks. The first consideration is that the black water tank must be located directly under your toilet so whatever space is available in that location under the coach will dictate the tank size. In the case of that coach, a 35 gallon tank fits. The remaining space under the coach behind the left rear wheels along with the necessary offset plumbing into that gray tank restricts the tank size to 21 gallons.

I know, I always thought the tank sizes were reversed but the floor plan dictates the size of the two tanks. My current 2002 BF 26' RSB coach has a 35 gallon fresh water tank, a 35 gallon gray water tank and a 21 gallon black water tank. These tank sizes being more appropriate to what is actually needed during actual use.

[stevek]

I have never filled my fresh water tank with the "gush" method.
I open a cabinet door, where I can see the side of the tank and I can watch the tank being filled and its capacity.

Since we are talking about FW tanks, do you see any reason why I can not leave my tank DRY for extended periods of times when we travel.
My wife does not like to dry camp. So I use the water hose from the RV site.
Plus we buy bottled water. And wet ones to wash while on the road.
So I travel with a dry tank all the time.
Can you see any disadvantages to keep a dry tank all the time?
Do you think things can "grow" in a "dry" tank?
I even keep the drain valve open all the time.

[Bonnie McDowell]

It's good to know the reason for the black and gray tanks sizes in my coach. In the future I'll use the kitchen sink for washing bigger dishes, and use the bathroom sink for cups and glasses. That should even out the rate at which they fill.

[shilohdad]

Bonnie,

What we do is use a dish pan for washing our dishes. All dish washing water, both washing and rinsing, goes into the dish pan. We mainly the empty the pan down the kitchen sink. If we feel that we are putting too much water down the gray tank, we pour part of the dish pan contents down the toilet.

Steve,

We also use your method of observing the fresh water tank while filling, and that has worked just fine. As for generally having your tank dry, we don't know if that is good or bad, if anything will grow in an almost dry tank. We find that it is almost impossible to completely empty the tank. We always sanitize our fresh water system at the beginning of our travel season or anytime we have not used the fresh water system for more than a month or two.

Bill Hemme,

Sorry to hear about your catastrophe, but thanks for the heads up!

[Brent]

Wow sorry Bill. My house flooded from a broken pipe and I'm dealing with that.

For the RV I always watch the tank and shut off before water backs up in the fill pipe.

When traveling I keep the tank full and the pump off unless using water. When not traveling it sets dry with the drain plug open. Once a year I rinse with a Clorox solution.

[Roger H]

Don't feel too alone there Bill. I nearly did the same thing this weekend when my neighbor came over to chat while I was filling the tank... the water started to gush... and I sprinted across the yard... fortunately, I caught it in time. whew... sorry to hear about yours tho. Wow... good luck!

[karls]

Sorry for your misfortune Bill. Wish I could have been there to cover for you as you have contributed so much valuable assistance to us BFers over the years.

I've been filling with a garden hose as well, the end of which is about the same size as the inlet. And I've worried about the consequences of a pressurized overflow so try to stay close with a flashlight, but have had a couple "eruptions" without damage.

Your experience motiviates me to do something about it, and that's going to be a reducer beyond the end of the hose that will allow air to escape past it. Maybe simply a short section of garden hose with a piece of smaller diameter tubing inserted in the end and clamped in place?

I'm sure the factory will return your pride and joy (or is that the Bonanza?) to better than new shape in short order!

Karl Striedieck

[bcope01]

I use one of these - a Camco product. With the ball valve, you can control the flow too.

Bill

[Mike Jean Bandfield]

...but have had a couple "eruptions" without damage.

I, too, had one of these small 'eruptions' that shocked me into recognition of the possibilities - but I never imagined Bill's 'water bomb' experience.

Bill, thank you so much for sharing! I know I'll be even more mindful when filling from now on.

[ewagman]

Thank you for sharing this educational story. I have filled my water tank in a similar manner, but so far always shut the water flow off before any disasters occurred. The good news is that you will have a fresh new tank with nice clean, drinkable water in it. The carpet is probably cleaner too.

I wish you well, and a swing of the pendulum to good fortune in your future.