Turn on your water pump and run the mixture through your system, opening all faucets and running the water until you smell the bleach. Let the solution sit for two hours. Then completely drain the system.
Refill the tank with fresh water and run it through the system again. Then drain once more. Fill again.
If you still smell chlorine, add ½ cup white vinegar. This will neutralize the chlorine taste. Drain the system again. Refill the tank with fresh water and you are ready.
When arriving at your RV campsite, you want to hook up your water system. Do so with caution. You do not need to open that water valve full force, even with a regulator. Open the valve a turn and check inside flow. If it is sufficient, you are good to go. If not, open the valve another one half turn and recheck the inside flow and repeat until you have sufficient flow.
Use a regulator that keeps the pressure at or below 45 PSI. Night time pressure can vary widely at some campgrounds when people are not using water and can go up to 200 PSI which can blow apart your water lines, weaken the connections, damage your system and create leaks.
Before you connect your water hose to the campground water faucet, wipe it off with Clorox wipes or spray it with another disinfectant such as bleach in water. You never know if a dog has come by and lifted his leg on that faucet, especially the faucets that are lower to the ground.
There are also various filters that go between the faucet and your RV that will filter out particles and make your water taste better. Short flexible hoses are available that are used to connect filters to your water hose.
It was mentioned by members that they carry bottles of water for drinking and check the campground water before drinking it. If the water is good, you can refill your bottles before moving to another campground.
If you buy or have bought a used rig, the previous owner may not have given you the manuals that tell you the capacity of your water tank. Multiply the length in inches by the width in inches times the height in inches and divide by 256. Water weighs 8.3 pounds per gallon, so a 35-gallon tank is almost 300 pounds.
You may want to counterbalance your RV if you are traveling with a full fresh water tank.
Ground fault circuit interrupters (GFCI) help prevent electrical shock and should be tested periodically.
Exercise your generator at least once a month; 30 minutes is recommended with several minutes load. This means run your A/C or furnace. By doing this you will not gum up your internal parts.
There are three different methods used to winterize your RV water lines. Again, this is your personal choice.
Dolly went on to discuss the different methods and told what she did to winterize her unit and to recover the antifreeze that she used. RV antifreeze is not toxic. NEVER USE MOTOR VEHICLE ANTIFREEZE IN YOUR RV WATER SYSTEM.
How much hot water is too much hot water? That is your personal choice. Some folks like to light their hot water heater when they set up their rigs at their campsite, leaving it on until they leave the campsite. Some folks choose to light it just prior to needing it. An average heating cycle is 22 minutes. This may vary depending on outside temperature and when you last let it cycle. It is not advised to drive with your system turned on, i.e. pilot light.
When turning on your propane, turn the valve left and open full. Then turn right one quarter turn. This relieves pressure on the valve thus keeping the valve strong and possibly preventing future leaks.
Soapy water in a spray bottle is a good way to check for leaks.
The question is whether to run it on LP gas while going down the highway. Again that is a personal preference. However, most people do not run it on LP gas while driving. Fueling is a consideration. Pilot lights are supposed to be off during fueling of your RV. Some RV's need to have the pilot light turned off manually. Some RV's have a turn off grace period such as five minutes. It normally takes more than 5 minutes to fill your RV gasoline tank.
When filling your RV's fresh water holding tank use a hose that is non-toxic, tasteless and odorless. There are a few types on the market. The most popular one seems to be the white hose with the blue stripe or the plain all white.
The seal in your toilet bowl is a one way valve, i.e. down. That means contents are flushed leaving a clean bowl. Now if you overflow your RV black water tank, contents can enter your RV indoors. So, watch your black water level, do not allow it to overflow. Note: the overflow of grey water ends up in your tub our shower.
Tank capacity varies from 15 to 40 gallons, depending on the make, size and year of the RV. Gray water means what is received from the galley, lavatory sink, tub and/or shower. Black water is what is received from the RV toilet.
Dolly showed everyone a flexible wand and a toilet chock that is used to hold open the valve in the toilet to allow flushing out the tank prior to storing the unit.
DO NOT USE YOU DRINKING WATER HOSE TO CLEAN OUT YOUR HOLDING TANK! There are a variety of brands that make both gray and black water deodorants for use in the holding tanks. The directions are on the bottles or packets. Some are colorless and others do contain a dye. If they contain a dye you should be careful about getting the dye on items near the toilet since they may cause a permanent stain.
Most people said that after emptying their black water tank they put a little water into the tank with a small amount of deodorant. There are biodegradable products available that do not contain formaldehyde that work well. Some campgrounds that are on septic systems ask that you do not dump if you are using a product with formaldehyde since it destroys the digestive action in the septic system. The KOA at Las Vegas New Mexico is one such campground.
We have all had the experience of emptying our holding tanks and having the sensors still show that they have something in them. This is caused be something on the sensor. There is a product available that will help keep this from happening. The name of the product is TST Probe.
It is a good idea to keep the seal on the toilet clean. If it fails to seal completely, water may continue to run through the bowl and into the black water tank, filling it before you even know it. This may depend upon the type of toilet you have in your RV.
Most RV's prior to 2001 have a 1½ to 2" gray water pipe. The black water pipe is 3½ to 4". Some pull valves are color coded gray and black. When in doubt, run water into the gray water tank. Put your hand on the tank - if it is cool, it is the gray water.
The information presented was of interest to all of the members and various members shared their experiences as they related to the various topics discussed.