Caravan Water Tanks

G'day Chell

About every 6 months I drain the tank at home then refill and put a bottle of miltons (the stuff you wash baby bottles in) in the tank and take the van for a 10 minute drive to shake it up a bit then leave it sit for 30 minutes then drain, make sure you drain it all, then give it a rinse with the hose and refill.

Go by the directions, if you put to much in the water can taste a bit like chlorine.

So far me tanks been used rarely in 3 years but the water is still okay no bad taste or odour.

So I guess it depends on the quality of the water you have in there to start with.

But yes Milton if the tank does go bad would be the go.

Cheers

Hi Chell, we periodically pull up half our or so after leaving a van park & open the drain cocks & then let them both drain as as we mosey along. My theory is that the movement of the van will suspend any foreign material in the tank & hopefully it will drain out as well.
We have never put any chemical in our tanks, but if we were to I would agree with Milton. Cheers & happy travelling

Hi Chell,

I have owned vans for the past 30 years continuously and have never had to flush out the tanks. Sometimes the van has not been used for 6 months at a time, but the water is still fresh. If you put clean water in why does it go off, farmers and rural people use water that has been sitting in rain water tanks for far longer periods and that is still ok. As it is dark and sealed it is virtually impossible for anything to grow or cause a problem.
When you get back from a trip you can fill the tanks right up and that will also cut down on the air space as well. Put only fresh water in and you should have no problems. Why waste perfectly good water by draining your tanks, that has got me puzzled.
Now if you had a problem of some sort then that is another question.

Regards from Col.

Maybe I'm anal but, when we get home I drain both tanks, about 1/4 cup household bleach in each tank and fill with water. Pump through the system, through taps until you can smell the chlorine and then shut down. Drain and flush once just before next trip. I've been doing this for quite a few years, the reason, it keeps the water sweet particularly since I have a fair bit of clear plastic connecting pipes in the system. Algae can and will grow in clear pipes where the sunlight can get to them. Hope this helps
Mark

Thanks everyone for you informative reply's I am happy to just use the water when we need it and only empty if there is a problem. We do have a water filter both externally & internally so I think we should be pretty right.

Happy & safe travels.

Chell

Hi Chell

While there are two viewpoints here, i do not drain the tanks. Pure water does not go off. The water coming from bores and artesian sources may have been accumulating underground for tens of thousands of years. Across the nation, many people have been relying on water stored in tanks which may not be completely emptied year after year, and they are not as sealed from sunlight and contamination as caravan tanks are. Water in a caravan or camper tank is not exposed to sunlight so will not grow algae and will be safe even if left for years.

If you drain the tanks, remnant dissolved salts or calcium may crystallise and could cause blockages in pipes, taps or pumps.

For those who feel there may be a need to cleanse the tanks, add a little household bleach to some water (or swimming pool chlorine if you have it) and swill it around in the tanks before emptying and flushing with fresh water ready for refilling.

This article Water and linked article on collecting water (including filling hose types and filters) has more.

Motherhen