Freshwater in camper and drinking water

[Bill D]

No one ever worries about disinfecting their home pipes (unless there's a specific advisory about contaminated water). But not drinking the hot water is interesting...do you still trust it to clean your dishes and silverware, and face and hands? And shave with hot/warm water, risking introducing those bacteria into your bloodstream?

The home I just recently sold was built in 1950. I was very conscious about drinking water from the tap. It had galvanized pipes. Often when I went to work for more than a week at a time and came home, rust was the first thing that came out. I'd still drink the water but I would let it run for a couple of minutes first. In plenty of countries people don't drink from the tap. Typically the water is treated and safe at the source, but the water delivery system is the culprit.

I just purchased my Hawk used. I have no idea how well the previous owner maintained the water system. I flushed the system 2X with 2 teaspoons of bleach each time. I plan on drinking the water from my camper when I fill it with on the next trip. Keep in mind not everyone has access to chlorinated water.

There's a big difference between washing your hands and shaving with hot water and drinking it. When I vacation to Mexico/Jamaica, I shower, but I don't drink the water from the tap. If you want to go without showering or choose to drink the water... the choice is yours.

 

[super doody]

I too, plan to drink from my water tank. The green slime thread made me sound like I was in the minority.

 

[jha6av8r]

I too, plan to drink from my water tank. The green slime thread made me sound like I was in the minority.

We don't have any issues drinking from the camper's water tank. However, we like to carry extra water for drinking and use the tank mainly for cleaning and washing up. I gallon water bottles store pretty easily and we use them for other things like inside trash cans, floats for crabpots, targets, etc.

 

[bike4mee]

several years later and many filled tanks of water in the camper our tank water still has a slight taste of plastic. Doubt if 4WC puts the toxic free plastic tanks in so we carry a 3 gallon (plastic) container of RO water for drinking. It seems to have no after taste so we think were better off. Also on long backcountry trips water is precious, so it's good to have extra.

 

[PaulT]

Just an observation and NOT a scientific experiment.... But I found on my 2014 Hawk that I got a plastic smell after chlorine shocking the system, refilling the tank and leaving the water in for several days without using it. On arrival at destination, there was a plastic smell until I had run several gallons thru the pipes. No more plastic smell as I continued to use water and refill.

I suspect that the plastic smell comes from the pipes and not the tank and that it leached out after standing unused for several days. Don't know if the chlorine mattered or the newness of the pipes. I did hook up the shower hose to the outside & ran water & to the inside shower & ran water in attempts to lose the smell. Haven't had the smell return but I will run the water daily for a week or so before the next trip to see if the smell remains missing.

Paul

 

[N'kwala]

I still find this strange. This is my second camper (first a VW Vanagon that I spent ten years in) and now my ATC Ranger II) that I've spent time in. I've never bothered with any water other than from the tank and it tastes fine and I'm quite free of any water-borne issues (touch wood). I never thought of this as an issue.

 

[MarkBC]

I still find this strange. ... I never thought of this as an issue.

For most people it's not an issue, as can be seen by the responses in this thread and in the earlier thread, which I linked in my first post.

For any issue, people are much more likely to say something if they're dissatisfied -- if they have a complaint. If someone is happily using a product they have no incentive to say so.
And yet, on both of these threads on the same subject, most of the posters are happily drinking from the camper tank. So that tells me that those unsatisfied with drinking from the tank must be in a small minority indeed. So drink up!

 

[Freebird]

I expect some of you have seen this before....
Consider this bit of wisdom lifted from the financial world (paraphrased):

"Past performance should not be taken as an indicator of future results..."


Re: opportunities for education
Professor talking about a student: "You can lead a horse to water but you can't make him drink....
And it is not my job to suck on his...hind end...." (Edited for subtlety)

(Humor may not make the world go around....
But it certainly eases the process...)