Water tank access hatch?

esimmers

esimmers

Senior Member
Joined
May 15, 2010
Messages
170
Has anyone installed a circular access hatch in the top of their water tank for clean out? I see lots of marine- type circular hatches for sale but they are designed for rigid surfaces. Since the water tank is flexible it seems you’d need some sort of in- tank ring to bolt to the ring around the hatch cover.
 
No, haven't, but looked into doing it. Sorry, can't find the product link. But here's an example post where the owner "siliconed" on a surface mount hatch. (scroll down a bit)
http://www.rv.net/forum/index.cfm/fuseaction/thread/tid/25467063/gotomsg/25941794.cfm#25941794

You say the tank is flexible, my '97 was a rigid poly tank, are they bladder type now ?

I can't quickly find a hatch online with an inside ring but perhaps one could fab up and pre drill one out of food safe PP or PVC (cut from a storage container for eg), most of the circular hatches I see are drilled out for perimeter fasteners. PP might be flexible enough to squeeze into the opening or maybe split the inside ring like in this pic.
cleanout180.jpg

I like the idea of a clean out, provided there is good access. After seeing what was inside some of our camper's water supply tubing we switched to scepter wide mouth jugs for drinking water and use the tank only for washing water. Am now less concerned about refilling from a well or creek source.
 
What would this approach to "cleaning" the FWC water holding tank do that Clorox disinfecting would not accomplish?

Thanks...Phil
 
Clorox won't clean anything out, it will just sanitize whatever is in there. If the algae or whatever is in there doesn't get completely saturated/penetrated by the sanitizer, it will not be completely dead. The accepted practice for sanitizing food contact surfaces is to first wash and rinse, then sanitize. The tank on the camper is really just a big water bottle, and anyone who has kept a water bottle for any length of time know that even if you are just putting drinking water in there, over time, it gets funky.

esimmers: If possible, I think a better option would be to remove the tank from the camper and clean it. It seems like even if you had an access hatch, it would be pretty hard to thoroughly clean the tank, and it would probably mean a lot of spilled water in the camper during cleaning. But I have installed hatches on kayaks before, and that process sounds like what you are talking about. A backing ring is inserted through the hole into the hull of the kayak, and that gives the hatches screws something to grab as well as add rigidity to the hatch area. For rectangular hatches, the backing ring can be inserted whole; the backing ring for circular hatches has a cut all the way through it so the ring can be compressed enough to fit through the hole. Rectangular hatches are a lot stronger in my experience because of this.
 
Clorox won't clean anything out, it will just sanitize whatever is in there. If the algae or whatever is in there doesn't get completely saturated/penetrated by the sanitizer, it will not be completely dead. The accepted practice for sanitizing food contact surfaces is to first wash and rinse, then sanitize. The tank on the camper is really just a big water bottle, and anyone who has kept a water bottle for any length of time know that even if you are just putting drinking water in there, over time, it gets funky.

esimmers: If possible, I think a better option would be to remove the tank from the camper and clean it. It seems like even if you had an access hatch, it would be pretty hard to thoroughly clean the tank, and it would probably mean a lot of spilled water in the camper during cleaning. But I have installed hatches on kayaks before, and that process sounds like what you are talking about. A backing ring is inserted through the hole into the hull of the kayak, and that gives the hatches screws something to grab as well as add rigidity to the hatch area. For rectangular hatches, the backing ring can be inserted whole; the backing ring for circular hatches has a cut all the way through it so the ring can be compressed enough to fit through the hole. Rectangular hatches are a lot stronger in my experience because of this.


===============================================================================


Couple of comments on this..one, the objective as I understand it is to "sanitize" the water systems in our FWCs...simply put, to kill algae or bacteria within the system...Clorox correctly used will do that...I have many water bottles and CamelBak bags that are kept clean in this fashion...without a "scub down"...deceased algae and bacteria will be flushed out of the system during the process.

Next both of my sea kayaks have circular through the hull hatches...non of these hatches required cutting the inside ring to install; you simply access the under side of the deck through opening where the paddler sits...plus it is my experience with open ocean touring that the round hatches [screwed to o-rings] will not leak as some non-round hatches will...cutting a round or square hole in the FWC tank will potentially require mods to the hatches and sealing surfaces.

Anyway to each their own, but doing major surgery to my Hawk to access the inside of the water storage tank is not in our future. I see it as a non-problem looking for an ornate solution that could generate not only a lot of work but could introduce potential leaks inside the FWC.

But hey, I could be wrong! :D

Phil
 
Wallowa said:
Anyway to each their own,
Click to expand...
Indeed. And, I think many would agree, sincere acceptance of the principle can make life much easier to navigate.

Personally, I like the idea of a clean out / access hatch to potentially: satisfy curiosity of just what is inside that water tank I've been drinking from and feeding to my family for years and, facilitate removing sand picked up from a well (noticed after the fact) and/or any possible sediment collected from untreated and unfiltered surface water sources (out of necessity).

Not speaking for the OP and have reason to think anyone else has the same desires. As always, YMMV.

I like Andy's idea of removal, though realise it may not be practical. With a hatch the tank could be cleaned, inspected and - most desirable to me - sun dried. Then re sealed and stored dry until required.
 
Hello Andy
I'm new to this and learning also. I clean our tank each year, flush the water, change water, proper maintenance is what I get from the Internet is how we keep our tanks safe to use with the water we carry. Kinda seems the these manufacturers have to follow some rules with the product they manufacture. What do you do with the hoses and faucets and the pump? That said I think there would be a clean out access provided if it were prudent. When I want a drink of water I reach into the cooler and pull out a cold bottle of Kirkland water. I cook with our tank water, make coffee with it, and wouldn't have a problem drinking it , and have.

Has anyone out there herd of or gotten sick from their water tank?

Russ
 
CougarCouple said:
Hello Andy
I'm new to this and learning also. I clean our tank each year, flush the water, change water, proper maintenance is what I get from the Internet is how we keep our tanks safe to use with the water we carry. Kinda seems the these manufacturers have to follow some rules with the product they manufacture. What do you do with the hoses and faucets and the pump? That said I think there would be a clean out access provided if it were prudent. When I want a drink of water I reach into the cooler and pull out a cold bottle of Kirkland water. I cook with our tank water, make coffee with it, and wouldn't have a problem drinking it , and have.

Has anyone out there herd of or gotten sick from their water tank?

Russ
Click to expand...
Good open discussion of keeping the water systems potable....and debris free.

As for the lines, faucets and hot water heater...again a sanitizing agent such as Clorox will kill the kritters, if any, in the system...do agree that particulate debris [sand] may not flush out...do also suspect that the majority of FWCs fill their systems off of potable water sources that hopefully will be debris and parasite free..I also have a pre-filter on the fill hose with which I fill the 20 gallon storage tank..

Phil
 
The pre-filter is a good idea never thought of that. I’m going to look for a small inline one for travels. Home is filtered and I take off my softener.

Russ
 
I really like my fill option for the water tank. I cut a hole into the top of the tank and installed a marine hatch. It is great for filling from a 5 gallon water jug. just set the jug on the bench and let er drain. I know there is battery operated pumps to do this filling but this is a good alternative. It also allows you to scrub the walls of slime if you let your water stay in the tank unused too long. I always drain excess water between trips. If you do go this route get a good one. mine leaks a little when tank is full so I have to ductape it.
 
Wallowa said:
Wallowa, on 22 Aug 2018 - 12:43 PM, said:

Next both of my sea kayaks have circular through the hull hatches...non of these hatches required cutting the inside ring to install; you simply access the under side of the deck through opening where the paddler sits...plus it is my experience with open ocean touring that the round hatches [screwed to o-rings] will not leak as some non-round hatches will...cutting a round or square hole in the FWC tank will potentially require mods to the hatches and sealing surfaces.
Click to expand...
I was referring to closed-hull kayaks, which is more appropriate as an analogy to the water tank. The rectangular hatches for closed hulls are more robust than circular ones, mainly because the backing ring can be one rigid frame rather than a flexible circle with a cut through it. There is no large hole in the water tank to access the inside of it like there is on your traditional kayak.

And as far as sanitizer killing everything that it comes into contact with, it is generally true as long the contact is made for the required amount of time and under the right conditions. But unless you are sanitizing the tank all the time, there is always a chance that algae will start to grow on the surfaces, and once that happens, sanitizer may not remove it. It might kill it, but it also might only kill the algae on the surface if the sanitizer doesn't penetrate/saturate it. The porosity of the surfaces can prevent sanitizing effectiveness too. That's why in the food service industry, food contact surfaces are not considered sanitized unless they are first cleaned. Homebrewers who have lost a precious batch to infection after sanitizing, but not first cleaning, their equipment will understand this as well. Of course, the water tank is a lot less of an ideal place for microorganisms to take hold than an old cutting board saturated in chicken blood or a warm carboy of sugary wort.

I've read a few posts from other people here on the drain valve threads where they changed the rear valve and had black/green gunk come out. So being able to clean the tank rather than just sanitize it, is pretty relevant, especially when you factor in that a lot of people are buying these campers used and have no way of telling how good the previous owners' sanitizing schedule was.
 
I was referring to closed-hull kayaks, which is more appropriate as an analogy to the water tank. The rectangular hatches for closed hulls are more robust than circular ones, mainly because the backing ring can be one rigid frame rather than a flexible circle with a cut through it. There is no large hole in the water tank to access the inside of it like there is on your traditional kayak.

And as far as sanitizer killing everything that it comes into contact with, it is generally true as long the contact is made for the required amount of time and under the right conditions. But unless you are sanitizing the tank all the time, there is always a chance that algae will start to grow on the surfaces, and once that happens, sanitizer may not remove it. It might kill it, but it also might only kill the algae on the surface if the sanitizer doesn't penetrate/saturate it. The porosity of the surfaces can prevent sanitizing effectiveness too. That's why in the food service industry, food contact surfaces are not considered sanitized unless they are first cleaned. Homebrewers who have lost a precious batch to infection after sanitizing, but not first cleaning, their equipment will understand this as well. Of course, the water tank is a lot less of an ideal place for microorganisms to take hold than an old cutting board saturated in chicken blood or a warm carboy of sugary wort.

I've read a few posts from other people here on the drain valve threads where they changed the rear valve and had black/green gunk come out. So being able to clean the tank rather than just sanitize it, is pretty relevant, especially when you factor in that a lot of people are buying these campers used and have no way of telling how good the previous owners' sanitizing schedule was.


==================================================================================

Your points are well taken...but the proof of the pudding so to speak...is that I have not heard of anyone becoming ill from algae or bacteria or parasites from contaminated water in a FWC water system....put in Clorox, drive around a little to mix it all in, drain, re-fill with clean potable water...enjoy the camper...

Or cut in a large enough port to scrub the holding tank [don't forget the lines and hot water tank] and then sanitize if that is what brings peace of mind.

Different strokes; it is all good.
 
The access hatches made by Todd have a very small o-ring, and it leaks...
i-z7C742L-M.jpg


Pretty lame. Of course you do not discover this until you drill a big 4-1/2" hole in your tank and install. I put a bead of silicon adhesive/sealant around it and it seems to be working fine, but getting into the tank again in the future is a lot more trouble than it otherwise would be if this thing did not leak. This is an aftermarket Ronco tank I installed in a shell, and you have to have an access hole in order to install all the other fittings. There may be a better access hatch available out there somewhere. I just bought this one when I bought the tank from plasticmart.com as it was described as suitable for an RV, which it really is not.
 
 
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