Water questions
New to Motorhome so excuse my ignorance (purchased an Auto-trail Mohawk 2012 model).
Re the 100 litre water tank, assuming we don't use too much water then how often do you think this should be drained down and refilled if MH is not used often so it is still safe to drink?
Toilet flush, can't seem to find if this model has a separate water flush fill system that i can add the flush pink chemical that came with the MH to... or is it a case of diluting this and just spraying the bowl?
Toilet cassette, once the blue chemical is added then how much water do i add into the cassette, i can only find pointers to 'add the required amount of water' whatever that is?
Thanks in advance
Pete.
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Water tank, if you are not using the motorhome regularly I would drain it down.
Toilet flush, if there is no a fill point just inside the toilet door then the flush water will be piped from your fresh water tank and yes if you want to be fussy then you will have to spray the bowl.
Toilet chemical, it is not necessary to add water, but if you want to a cap full should suffice.
peedee
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We don't bother to drain the water tank between trips, certainly in the months of the year when you are unlikely to get a severe frost. We don't drink the water either from the tank preferring to use bottled water and as we are never from a tap we fill the kettle when required. Obviously a personal choice as I can't point you to any information that says you shouldn't drink the water direct from the tank.
David
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No need at all to excuse yourself; we were all beginners once.
I can't really answer your first question. I don't drink the water from my fresh water tank and I never have with any van I have owned, even on those I have purchased new. But I can remember previous threads where some people have said they do drink from their fresh water tank and find it perfectly OK. Whether or not this makes a difference to how often you drain it I could not say but, intuitively, my feeling would be you would be advised to drain it more often. Whether or not you drink the water from the fresh tank it is a good idea to give the whole system a good clean out with a cleansing product (just Google cleaning fresh water tank for examples) now and then. You'd need to make sure the system was thoroughly flushed through before you drank from it though. In my view it saves a lot of hassle if, like me, you keep a 5 litre plastic container, or similar, filled up at fresh water taps, for drinking water. I used to use the water from my tank for my kettle, for tea and coffee, but I do not even do that now, preferring to use the water from my container or direct from the taps on site, if, for example, on a serviced pitch. I do not buy bottled water. I view this as a waste of money, but probably because my sense of taste is not sufficiently discerning to tell the difference.
I drain my water system usually once a year only when heavy frosts might arise. As I use my van a lot in the winter, I sometimes have to do it more than once to dodge potential frosts whilst it is not being used. This last winter I could have got away with not doing it at all. I will clean the tanks, as described above, at least once a year; I’m never convinced about how much this achieves.
In almost all modern motorhomes, the toilet flush draws the water from the fresh water tank. So, you can’t use the pink stuff. I do keep a bottle of the pink stuff in spray form, but I use other products as well to keep things fresh.
I add only a small amount of water to my toilet tank after putting in the toilet chemical, really just to help it swill around a bit and nothing more - not more than the chemical itself probably. The flushing will dilute the chemical.
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That is an interesting option. I don't think I even knew a product like that was available. I don't think I would change my routine, personally, but it is good to know of the option.
What I would like to ask though, and I am thinking about informing the OP who is new to this, are your circumstances or procedures such that you never have to worry about frost damage in the winter? I have been caught out in the past with a broken tap when I failed to drain down and left the taps closed over a period of particularly hard frosts. That's why I always drain down, leave all the taps open, etc., if my van is unused at times of severe frosts.
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OK thanks, that answers it. I have Alde heating too, but not the double floor arrangement. My tanks have heaters too. But, my van is in storage so I can't have the heat on, or use the tank heaters, whilst absent. I presumed you must have some way of ensuring no freezing up. To the OP, I think you will need to drain at times of heavy frosts.
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We sterilise the fresh tank & pipes every year before we start using the van again in Spring. We dont use the van in winter. After the last probable use of the year, or if frost threatened, we drain down tanks, boiler (both taps) and leave all water taps open.
Once we are using the van again in Spring, we drain the fresh tank, but not the boiler, if we are not using the van for about 4 weeks, or if frost threatened.
We do drink from fresh tank.
Loo - just flush a couple of times once chemical is in. Some chemical containers talk about adding a litre of fresh water - think that is excessive.
As for whether your loo has a separate tank - you should find a fill point near it if you have. But if you are not filling a separate tank up, and it is still flushing, chances are it is using your fresh water tank.
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I also use a separate (10 ltr) container for drinking/tea/coffee.
To ensure clean pipework I add 4 Aqua Midi Tabs a couple of times a year, the 1st on a fresh fill after winter.
Although I drain down manually my system auto 'dumps' if temperature drops below 6*C & yes it works as I found to my cost this year after putting in the sterilizing tablets.....
This does drain my my boiler, why wouldn't you? It's a much more expensive item to replace than a pipe or a tap.....
I also use the pink stuff in diluted form to spray/wipe the bowl & probably add up to a litre of water to the 'blue stuff' (I'm sure the instructions say 3!!!)
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Kasspa wrote:
"I also use the pink stuff in diluted form to spray/wipe the bowl & probably add up to a litre of water to the 'blue stuff' (I'm sure the instructions say 3!!!)"
Yes, I think you're right about this. I was going to make a similar comment, but I couldn't remember how much was recommended, but I knew it was more than seemed to me sensible. I used to follow the guidance, but stopped years ago and now put just a drop in to allow the blue stuff to swill around.
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Hymer recommend that the fresh water should be changed every 4 days, more often if the source of the fresh water is doubtful. My Swift dealer of yore also said this. And my sister, who is a biologist, says the same.. We've become accustomed to only putting c4 days fresh water in the tank, topping up as necessary, and draining the tank when we come home or to refresh water which is 4 days old. We also use a food grade hose or container to add water.
Whether you follow our regime is up to you. I doubt you will die from tainted water but you might have a dicky stomach at some time. We drink the water 'straight from the tank'. Do what suits you.
According to Thetford, diluting the ordinary pink stuff and using it as a spray can be mildly poisonous in the air - my missus found it so. We stopped this practice and just use the toilet bowl cleaner from Thetford. The think the pink stuff is OK to add to water in the bowl.
If you have a Thetford toilet cassette you should be able to find a manual for your toilet cassette. Thetford recommend c3 litre for my cassette.
We all learn in time and find a way of working that suits so enjoy the trip!
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The advice from the UK water quality regulator is:
"Although properly stored public-supply water should have an indefinite shelf life, replace it every 6 to 12 months for best taste. If the water you are storing comes from a private well, spring, or other untested source, purify it before storage to kill pathogens".
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Instead of the pink I now add a small amount of scented Zolfora to the flush tank, and also keep an old spray bottle with a very diluted mix of water and Zolflora in the toilet compartment to spray on the bowl after use.
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I am in agreement with young Nellie about the use of Zoflora - there are different versions with various scents.
As for the 'Blue Stuff' or 'Green Stuff' many of us have changed from the fluid to the squishy plastic type since its much less messy - just ensure your hands are dry when .using them !!
I have to say I find it strange that I am the first to recommend using AQUASOL or PURICLEAN for tank sterilisation after draining down at the end of the season or if the van is not used for a lengthy period. The containers of these items have the instructions for use printed on them. I have used them from the early days of tenting right up to last week !! I'm still here to verify their efficacy
. They are available from the goodies area of Caravan / motorhome dealers normally !P.S. I don't drink from the water tank ~~ I always use a cup or glass !! Seriously if the instructions are carried out there should be no problems caused by drinking the water boiled for hot drinks etc or straight from the tap for cold drinks, tooth cleaning etc
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How different we all are😁
We don’t use expensive chemicals in loo, just a couple of Bio Wash pods and a tiny amount of water each dump and Fill. Zoflora spray to keep bowl fresh, we empty daily, or alternate days.
We do drink from tank, it’s filled up as and when from drinking water standard taps, we simply top up at home if we are out within a week again. We only drain down everything if frost likely, remembering to leave taps open.
Waste water? We always use a wash up bowl, so grease and any solids don’t get into waste tank. If on a CL that allows it, we pipe into hedgerow, if not, we use a folding bucket and empty daily if we can. If we have to store waste water, we empty and then put a wash bowl full of dilute Zoflora down to swill around and clean up things as we motor along, then empty as soon as we can. Tanks are purified each year, depending on usage.
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The only time I drain down my tank/water system is in the winter. Certainly not between trips. Water system gets sterilised in the Spring and I've always drunk from the taps. Well, not strictly true, I do use a glass. Neither sterilised nor drained the water tank on my yacht and haven't had cholera yet.
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That’s perhaps OK if stopping in one place for a bit, but a bit of a pain if you move on every few days and often after only a night. We only travel with Hymers recommended 20 litres, therefore we are not lugging a significant weight and it does mean you can fill the kettle and flush the loo on route.
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I top up at every opportunity. During our month long trip round France we came across two aires where the borne was 'hors de combat' and no fresh water available. Happiness is a full tank.
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A full water tank adds a very small percentage of extra weight. Of course, it depends on the van, but smaller vans typically have smaller tanks so I imagine the percentage would not vary a lot.
I am no expert, my mechanical knowledge is zilch, but when I have seen this discussed elsewhere, over many years, the conclusion seems always to be that weight saving at this level (probably less than 3% on average) will make a negligible difference to fuel consumption.
I rarely travel on a full tank of water, but I do always carry some water - usually around 50% full. I very rarely travel with anything in the waste. Any steps beyond that are just not worth the hassle.
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The difference between an empty and full tank is less than 3% of the van weight. A small extra load when accelerating but since the biggest bit of fuel consumption is air resistance, not worth bothering with. I'm getting an average of 32.4mpg over the past two years with my A Class which, judging by the "bug splatter" is not that aerodynamic.
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