Water Quality

[JIM KELLER]

At our new house I filled the water tank in our Bus with well water. I now notice an odor each time we use the water. We previously filled the tank with city water which always had its fair share of chlorine and any other ingredients they wanted to add. My question is to all you well water people out there. Should I add something to my well water ? My water tastes great, and has no smell out of the tap of the house but starts to smell in the Bus much quicker than city water.

[phorner]

Well water with a higher concentration of hydrogen sulfide will sometimes have a slight "rotten egg" odor. This is intensified if the temperature of the water increases.

There is a chance that the temperature of the well water rises just enough in the tank of your bus to make otherwise undetectable odors more apparent.

Higher temps will also make the odor (and taste) of chlorine more apparent.

[Jon Wehrenberg]

We have lousy well water, but it goes through a softener, a chlorinator, a carbon filter to remove the chlorine taste and odor, and a UV light.

For drinking water we go one step further and use an RO unit for icecubes, drinking and cooking water and coffee.

I sanitize our coach water system with chlorine about every six months. About 2 1/4 cups in a full tank of water, flow it through every fixture, let it sit for a couple of hours, and then I dump, refill and flush everything. We still get an occasional whiff of odor other than chlorine and then I do the sanitizing thing again.

We do not use campground water unless we have to but if we are gone for a long time we will. We have a pleated and charcoal filter in the coach.

No matter what we never drink tap water from the coach. We always bring our own RO water in GLASS jugs for drinking or cooking.

[phorner]

Aeration, carbon filtration and reverse osmosis are the best treatments to remove tastes and odors.

I'll bet Jon's fresh water tank holds water of a better water quality than most municipalities deliver to their customers :D

[dale farley]

Jim,

I used to live in Lakeland (45 years ago), and I would often go to Tampa. The well water around Tampa had a terrible smell, and it was even worse if it sat for a while. I now have well water, and I use it in the bus. I have never noticed a smell from from the water in the house or bus. My well is 135' deep.

[tdelorme]

We have a deep well that has great water. No odor in the bus and I always fill before we leave and hope to not top off while out.

[0533]

We have lousy well water, but it goes through a softener, a chlorinator, a carbon filter to remove the chlorine taste and odor, and a UV light.

For drinking water we go one step further and use an RO unit for icecubes, drinking and cooking water and coffee.

I sanitize our coach water system with chlorine about every six months. About 2 1/4 cups in a full tank of water, flow it through every fixture, let it sit for a couple of hours, and then I dump, refill and flush everything. We still get an occasional whiff of odor other than chlorine and then I do the sanitizing thing again.

We do not use campground water unless we have to but if we are gone for a long time we will. We have a pleated and charcoal filter in the coach.

No matter what we never drink tap water from the coach. We always bring our own RO water in GLASS jugs for drinking or cooking.
When you dump and refill your water with 2.25 cups of Chlorine, how do you handle the effects that the chlorine might have on the various filters. I have five filters on the bus, the first one when I'm on city water, 2 before it gets to the sink and bathroom and one in the refrigerator. Is it ok to allow the chlorine water to flow through these filters????

[phorner]

Bruce,

It's OK to let the chlorinated water flow through the filters, although I would remove paper-style filter elements and simply install new ones when finished.

By allowing the water to flow through the filters, you are disinfecting them as well. Just be sure to rinse thoroughly when done.

You want a concentration of 1/4 cup of chlorine bleach for every 15 gallons of water.

Don't forget to sanitize your fill hose too. Just mix up a chlorine solution in a bucket and immerse the hose in it, making sure that the water flows into the hose. Let sit for several minutes and then remove and rinse. Chlorine is not kind to rubber so be careful as to concentration and contact time. It's the combination of chlorine concentration and contact time that does the job.

[0533]

Thanks Paul,

I had not considered the hose, good call.

A Qtr. Cup per 15 Gal. is about 22 ounces on 170 gallon system, Jon says 18 ounces so each sounds good, very close. I plan to place the chlorine directly into the direct fill at the tank itself, does this make sense?

I plan to do this today, as I am heading out for a short trip and the water has been sitting for a while.

The water here in Jupiter is 100% Reverse Osmosis, and kind of pricy water, but I think it is very clean product. I just do not trust those big plastic tanks we all have.

[jack14r]

Some of us have a STAINLESS tank for fresh water.

[MangoMike]

Liberty's have stainless steel water tanks.

mm

[phorner]

Bruce,

DO NOT add the chlorine without at least some dilution first. I would mix up several gallons of water with the appropriate amount of chlorine to give you a final concentration in the full water tank.

Full strength chlorine bleach is very corrosive. You don't want to start replacing the "o" ring seals on all your filters. Some are harder to find than others.

[0533]

I hear you on this. I have not actually done this by myself, last time was about 6 months ago by Marathon Fl in April. and before that when I picked the bus up in Coburg.

I did plan on diluting the chlorine in 3 large buckets to limit the concentration a little. I was also told to ride around for a bit to stir the tank a little before dumping the solution?? My plan is to run it through the system until I can smell the chlorine from all faucets in the bus, then take a ride and get it all mixed up in the tank, then dump the entire tank.

[phorner]

In my opinion, if you fill the tank until it starts to flow out of the overfill discharge, it should be good enough and driving around won't be necessary. The idea is to make sure that all the tank surfaces come into contact with the chlorinated solution.

Once water starts to dribble out of the over flow piping, stop filling and let things just sit for 30 minutes or so. Good time to take a break and have a beverage of choice. It's a medical fact that alcohol kills bacteria, so I often use a liberal amount to make sure the ice in my drink is safe :D

After your "break", then just use the pump to run the chlorinated water through everything and let sit for another hour or so. Don't forget to flush the toilet a couple of times just to freshen up that plumbing too.

Now you have time to polish something while the chlorine is doing its thing.

Afterward, just dump the water, re-fill the tank and run fresh water through everything.

[0533]

In my opinion, if you fill the tank until it starts to flow out of the overfill discharge, it should be good enough and driving around won't be necessary. The idea is to make sure that all the tank surfaces come into contact with the chlorinated solution.

Once water starts to dribble out of the over flow piping, stop filling and let things just sit for 30 minutes or so. Good time to take a break and have a beverage of choice. It's a medical fact that alcohol kills bacteria, so I often use a liberal amount to make sure the ice in my drink is safe :D

After your "break", then just use the pump to run the chlorinated water through everything and let sit for another hour or so. Don't forget to flush the toilet a couple of times just to freshen up that plumbing too.

Now you have time to polish something while the chlorine is doing its thing.

Afterward, just dump the water, re-fill the tank and run fresh water through everything.
Why bother to put chlorine in the tanks at all, lets just increase our alcohol intake.