By Nanci Dixon
Here’s an easy tip for draining the fresh water tank: Add a hose end!
As full-time RVers staying in different RV parks across the country over the years, we have wondered where to dump fresh water when it is not so fresh and the system needs sanitizing.
Where to drain all that water?
The RV park does not want us to drain 90 gallons (or even 20 gallons!) of water at the campsite. Although, I will admit that I have resorted to stealth-opening the fresh water drain in the middle of a torrential downpour before we figured out this system…
Add a hose end
A couple of years ago, we added a hose end to the drainpipe to attach a hose to the drain and move the water off to a well-deserving tree or to the sewer. It worked okay, although after we installed it we realized that pipe threads are definitely different than hose threads and it was tough to get the hose on.
Too low
When a technician was replacing our water drain valve, he mentioned that the drain pipe was now too long with our extension and was in danger of hitting something in the road. That could rip out the whole drain pipe and put a hole in the fresh water tank. Not good… very not good.
Easy fix
Did we want him to fix it? YES! He cut the drain pipe down a bit and added an elbow with a garden hose end. A real hose end at an angle—easy to attach a garden hose.
Easy drain
Now we can easily attach a hose (our flush hose—not the white drinking water hose) and drain the water off to a better place or put the end of the flush hose in the sewer pipe outlet. Hint: If you’re using the sewer pipe method, rinse and sanitize the hose well. It is not just fresh water that goes down the sewer pipe…
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RVDT2908
Nanci- install a plastic quick connect – male end without moving parts (road spray will corrode a brass piece) on the end of the garden hose connection to make it even easier to connect a drain hose.
We use brass disconnects for most of our water hoses. If you go this route, buy all the same makes of brass disconnects. They do not play well with others.
Why wouldn’t you just empty your fresh water tank through the sink faucet and using the water pump, then flush your grey water tank with it?
The pump can’t reach all the water in the tank. After you use what you can to flush grey tank you still should open freshwater drain valve and even rinse freshwater tank with a few gallons of fresh water.
I do not have a drain valve on my rig. I just turn the pump on and toss it into dry grass through the last spigot at the rear of my rig.
My grass-bush-tree in my yard. In the fall I dump the pink stuff into the black and gray tanks, just a bit.
If your fresh-black-gray tanks crack you can kiss your R.V. adios. They drop the body onto the frame when building.