Bottle to Tank Water Transfer

[Timothy McGowen]

Took some digging but found this spec sheet. It is 12 LPM but I notice it also comes in a 16 LPM with same demensions.

http://www.seaflo.com/en-us/product/detail/1046.html

Sent them this question:

This pump states it can be made into food grade. What is involved in doing that. I am looking at using this pump to transfer bottled water into my RV onboard tank.

Will let you know what I get in response.

 

[Wallowa]

Took some digging but found this spec sheet. It is 12 LPM but I notice it also comes in a 16 LPM with same demensions.

http://www.seaflo.com/en-us/product/detail/1046.html

Sent them this question:

This pump states it can be made into food grade. What is involved in doing that. I am looking at using this pump to transfer bottled water into my RV onboard tank.

Will let you know what I get in response.

Tim,

Thanks again...My previous post was not worded very good...I saw the 12 LPM at web site and in gallons that is 3.17 GPM or 8.2 minutes to fill a bone dry Hawk, including a hot water tank, with 26 gallons.

Will be interested in the response to your question.

Phil

 

[Bill D]

Given many of our FWC's already have a pump, why not use it?
With the combination of 2 winterizing kits, you could pump water out of the bottle and send it to the FWC's water storage tank.

All you would need to do is flip 2 valves. There would even be enough room in the pump area to keep the fill hose attached.

This would also be handy for you when you come back home and need to winterize.

https://www.amazon.ca/Camco-36543-X-Pump-Converter-Winterizing/dp/B0006JJ588

 

[Timothy McGowen]

Doh! good idea Bill. Why didn't I think of that?

I got a response from the manufacture (China) that basically stated that "could be made food grade" meant that they could use food grade materials to manufacture it and wanted to know if my order would be for more that 1000 units.

They sent me contact information for their US distributor so I sent them an email seeing if single food grade units were available. I'll let you know when I get a reply.

 

[Timothy McGowen]

Doh! good idea Bill. Why didn't I think of that?

I got a response from the manufacture (China) that basically stated that "could be made food grade" meant that they could use food grade materials to manufacture it and wanted to know if my order would be for more that 1000 units.

They sent me contact information for their US distributor so I sent them an email seeing if single food grade units were available. I'll let you know when I get a reply.

The response from the US distributor was that the model I linked (post #35) was in deed food grade.

https://www.amazon.c...=I11TIW1XWXWKMK

 

[Advmoto18]

Timothy...that is a great find and good to read "food grade" is confirmed.

I like the idea of simply dropping the pump into my Specter 5G water cans! Assuming it fits through the can opening after seeing the picture of the pump in hand on the Amazon page you linked.

But, I have to get past the notion of having hot electrical leads running through the water to the camper battery!
Thoughts?

 

[2thdr]

That's the nature of any bilge or sump pump...Mixing water and insulated electrons!

Sent from my XT1254 using Wander The West mobile app

 

[Wallowa]

That's the nature of any bilge or sump pump...Mixing water and insulated electrons!

Sent from my XT1254 using Wander The West mobile app

Not to worry...think of all the vehicle fuel pumps that are submerged in the fuel tanks..or water wells with submerged pumps...etc.

 

[Advmoto18]

That's the nature of any bilge or sump pump...Mixing water and insulated electrons!

Sent from my XT1254 using Wander The West mobile app

Oh and do I ever know it so very well! And it's just not water! But any solid (human body, camper/truck), liquid or gas and conduction of electricity.

According to the experts, why TWA 800 blew up off Long Island and why we operated the 757 and 767 differently for several years until Boeing could design and manufacture a "fix".

And why I would not try dunking a bilge pump into a can of water, powered by my camper batteries to power same. Perhaps if the batteries were isolated (such as on the ground outside the camper). My flats boat, uses bilge pumps for the live wells and bilge. But, they are not submerged. While nearly all manufacturer's claim their bilge pumps are submersible, manufacturing characteristics vary and reliability suffers. Read some of the boating/yacht forums where owners have "jerry rigged" their own bilge pumps. Pump failure followed by electrocution (shock and cuss words mostly) are the prominent issues.

If you opt to power such a pump with your camper batteries, just be very cautious about your wiring and pay particular attention to grounding.

Let's just say I'm very leery of home-grown ideas involving electricity, especially when components are dunked into a liquid. Electrocution is a tough injury to treat in the boonies. And while an auto/marine battery is not likely to kill a healthy person, if you are an AARP member or someone with a heart issue, electrical shock can indeed have serious health implications.

But each to his own!

 

[Wallowa]

Oh and do I ever know it so very well! And it's just not water! But any solid (human body, camper/truck), liquid or gas and conduction of electricity.

According to the experts, why TWA 800 blew up off Long Island and why we operated the 757 and 767 differently for several years until Boeing could design and manufacture a "fix".

And why I would not try dunking a bilge pump into a can of water, powered by my camper batteries to power same. Perhaps if the batteries were isolated (such as on the ground outside the camper). My flats boat, uses bilge pumps for the live wells and bilge. But, they are not submerged. While nearly all manufacturer's claim their bilge pumps are submersible, manufacturing characteristics vary and reliability suffers. Read some of the boating/yacht forums where owners have "jerry rigged" their own bilge pumps. Pump failure followed by electrocution (shock and cuss words mostly) are the prominent issues.

If you opt to power such a pump with your camper batteries, just be very cautious about your wiring and pay particular attention to grounding.

Let's just say I'm very leery of home-grown ideas involving electricity, especially when components are dunked into a liquid. Electrocution is a tough injury to treat in the boonies. And while an auto/marine battery is not likely to kill a healthy person, if you are an AARP member or someone with a heart issue, electrical shock can indeed have serious health implications.

But each to his own!

Assuming you plug the pump cord into a FWC outlet what is the problem? Or [DC] if you use an inverter plugged into a FWC outlet and into the pump?


What did I miss?

Thanks,

Phil

 

[Advmoto18]

Assuming you plug the pump cord into a FWC outlet what is the problem? Or [DC] if you use an inverter plugged into a FWC outlet and into the pump?


What did I miss?

Thanks,

Phil

A pump of unknown quality and certification, installed by someone other than a licensed electrician, then said pump is connected to the camper batteries (not the FWC outlet since that would be 110V shore power, not 12V). And by the way, while that 12V auto/marine battery is much less likely to kill you, using 110V to power a faulty bilge pump can certainly kill you, if not give you an eye popping shock.

Water is inherently a poor conductor of electricity. However, many springs and sources of water at campgrounds come from wells which generally contain high levels of minerals. This minerals float freely in water thus enabling water to conduct electricity. If the a submerged bilge pump used to transfer water into the camper's tank is faulty or poorly/improperly wired, the electrical charge from the battery can easily be transferred to the camper, thus shocking anyone (grounded) touching the camper.

Given that we are often camping far from medical help and/or facilities, I see a submersed bilge pump used to transfer water into the camper's tank as introducing an element of risk that can easily be avoided altogether. I am by no means adverse to taking calculated risks, but, I will always default to good risk management and avoid needlessly taking risks that can involve possible injury when there are alternatives which eliminate the risk of injury.

And as I mentioned earlier, each to his own...each one of us has to determine our exposure to risk.

It only takes 100mA (0.1 w/v) to stop your heart!

I think I will pass on a submerged bilge pump and continue to use my 12V "dry" pump with a suction hose stuck in my water can and the output hose stuck into my camper's water tank receptacle.

 

[Wallowa]

A pump of unknown quality and certification, installed by someone other than a licensed electrician, then said pump is connected to the camper batteries (not the FWC outlet since that would be 110V shore power, not 12V). And by the way, while that 12V auto/marine battery is much less likely to kill you, using 110V to power a faulty bilge pump can certainly kill you, if not give you an eye popping shock.

Water is inherently a poor conductor of electricity. However, many springs and sources of water at campgrounds come from wells which generally contain high levels of minerals. This minerals float freely in water thus enabling water to conduct electricity. If the a submerged bilge pump used to transfer water into the camper's tank is faulty or poorly/improperly wired, the electrical charge from the battery can easily be transferred to the camper, thus shocking anyone (grounded) touching the camper.

Given that we are often camping far from medical help and/or facilities, I see a submersed bilge pump used to transfer water into the camper's tank as introducing an element of risk that can easily be avoided altogether. I am by no means adverse to taking calculated risks, but, I will always default to good risk management and avoid needlessly taking risks that can involve possible injury when there are alternatives which eliminate the risk of injury.

And as I mentioned earlier, each to his own...each one of us has to determine our exposure to risk.

It only takes 100mA (0.1 w/v) to stop your heart!

I think I will pass on a submerged bilge pump and continue to use my 12V "dry" pump with a suction hose stuck in my water can and the output hose stuck into my camper's water tank receptacle.

I am certainly not trying to convince you of anything and of course you will go with your best judgement .

BUT the FWC does have two DC outlets, at least my Hawk does, and for me using either the FWC AC or DC outlets [below my stove on panel] should not pose a threat since in fact the wiring in the FWC was installed by licensed electrician.

Of course a hand-pump or the dry-pump you mentioned could transfer water from jugs into the FWC storage tank...or hoisting the jug onto the roof [for the younger set... ] and letting gravity feed water into the storage tank...

Cheers,
Phil

 

[Advmoto18]

I am certainly not trying to convince you of anything and of course you will go with your best judgement .

BUT the FWC does have two DC outlets, at least my Hawk does, and for me using either the FWC AC or DC outlets [below my stove on panel] should not pose a threat since in fact the wiring in the FWC was installed by licensed electrician.

Of course a hand-pump or the dry-pump you mentioned could transfer water from jugs into the FWC storage tank...or hoisting the jug onto the roof [for the younger set... ] and letting gravity feed water into the storage tank...

Cheers,
Phil

Sorry Phil, when you wrote "outlet", I interpreted that to mean the AC outlets since that is the generally used term in the trade. The 12V cigarette sockets are generally referred to as "sockets" or "receptacles". This is where I got confused interpreting your meaning.

The "dry" pump I use requires 12A. Thus, I run a direct 15A fused power line with alligator clip to the camper battery and ground to the truck. This requires less wire than running it all the way to the FWC 12V socket. Further, in order to run a bilge pump from the FWC 12V socket, you will have to swap out fuses in the camper's fuse panel. Just remember to swap the fuses back tot the lower amperage when you have finished pumping your water. Using a 15A fuse to power common devices through the socket can easily lead to an overheat condition and/or fried devices.

Don't put too much faith in manufacturers to keep you safe; Samsung Galaxy Note 7 battery explosions! And, this was not a charging or power issue but rather a pressure being exerted on the battery issue.

I know the FWC wiring is GTG. I was referring to the wiring from the submerged bilge pump to your electrical power source.



Best...

 

[pawleyk]

We were originally just hunting down "Agua Purificadas" that had hoses and would fill our tank. Typically about $50 Pesos. Now we just fill the camper tank with water from the hoses at Pemex whenever we fill the fuel tanks. We've talked to a lot of full-timers who do this.

We pour the requisite amount of bleach in with it and use it for everything but drinking, although it should be safe for that as well. Just smells a bit like pool water.

We keep couple gallons of purified water inside and use it for drinking.

 

[Shadyapex]

So we're heading to Baja next month and have been working on a solution for refilling the Eagle tank from a water container and I had an idea so I went to the hardware store and put together a kit. Take an aqua tainer and install a 3/4 npt male to 3/4 hose male adapter, fit a large shut off valve onto the adapter (the ones the hardware store sells have too small of an ID but I have some large ones in the garden shed). Thread a piece of hose on it and lay the container on its side. Take a CO2 bottle (we have one for refilling the tires after we air down), put the other hose end in the filler hole and use a rubber tipped blower to blow air into the vent hole. Flows fast! It does kind of make it a 2 person job but there are 2 of us and it seems to work very well. We'll fill the aqua tainer at an aqua purifico machine and always keep it topped up. Thoughts?