Sanitizing FW system

[ckreef]

Howard,

The vent as shown by your arrow in the pic is not connected on my Imagine. Under the rig there is a drain and an overflow. You are correct, the overflow is the vent on my Imagine.

There is no check valve.

Jim

I too have the overflow and drain under the rig so quite possibly my screen has nothing connected behind it. It's just the part GD sourced out had the ability but wasn't needed due to the overflow already vents the fresh water tank.

[Cate&Rob]

ckreef

Charles and Susan,

Great information! . . . thanks for the photo . . . this is the kind of collaborative answer that this forum is good at!

I suspect that the small round screen is "provision for" a tank vent that Grand Design does not use. The tank overflow is typically also the tank vent. There are similar unused vent attachments on other water panels.

Rob

[Fitter235]

First the good news, the hose is not kinked and there is probably not a check valve. I was able to shove about 3' of 5/8" heater hose down the fill port. Bad news is that shining a flashlight in there, it appears to go straight back for several inches, running slightly uphill. That explains why there is a puddle of water just inside the port that doesn't go away. I gonna use my leveling blocks on that side and see if I can then pour my sanitizing mixture in. Thanks for the help.

[ckreef]

First the good news, the hose is not kinked and there is probably not a check valve. I was able to shove about 3' of 5/8" heater hose down the fill port. Bad news is that shining a flashlight in there, it appears to go straight back for several inches, running slightly uphill. That explains why there is a puddle of water just inside the port that doesn't go away. I gonna use my leveling blocks on that side and see if I can then pour my sanitizing mixture in. Thanks for the help.

Sounds like they cut the hose just slightly too long before they installed it. That got the bend up higher than it should have been.

If the leveling blocks don't work shove a short hose down in there then put a funnel on the end of the hose. Should allow you to pour the mixture into the funnel.

[Guest]

First the good news, the hose is not kinked and there is probably not a check valve. I was able to shove about 3' of 5/8" heater hose down the fill port. Bad news is that shining a flashlight in there, it appears to go straight back for several inches, running slightly uphill. That explains why there is a puddle of water just inside the port that doesn't go away. I gonna use my leveling blocks on that side and see if I can then pour my sanitizing mixture in. Thanks for the help.

What happens when you put a water hose in the gravity feed under pressure? Even if the fill line formed a trap, water would still seek its level so this should not inhibit flow.

There would not be a check valve as these are used in the auto industry for roll over issues. No need to do this with water.

On my rig the back side of the gravity fill can be seen from inside a kitchen cabinet. Not sure if yours would be visible inside the rig with it being on the left front side of the rig.

Jim

[Fitter235]

The leveling blocks didn’t work, so I was thinking about a hose and funnel.Then I found this at the hardware store. I’m going to pour out the plant food and put a bleach mixture in it. But that will be another day. I’m done playing with it this weekend.

[Cate&Rob]

it appears to go straight back for several inches, running slightly uphill.

LOL! Its than "stuff flows downhill" gravity thing that can't be ignored .
Rob

[howson]

First the good news, the hose is not kinked and there is probably not a check valve. I was able to shove about 3' of 5/8" heater hose down the fill port. Bad news is that shining a flashlight in there, it appears to go straight back for several inches, running slightly uphill. That explains why there is a puddle of water just inside the port that doesn't go away. I gonna use my leveling blocks on that side and see if I can then pour my sanitizing mixture in. Thanks for the help.

You've done the diagnosis--consider having this repaired under warranty. You shouldn't have to deal with workarounds on a long term basis. If you don't want to take your trailer in right away, call Grand Design Customer Service and have the problem documented in their system.

[Cate&Rob]

a hose and funnel.

A hose and a funnel will work as long as the funnel is held above the hight point of the internal hose. The permanent fix should be pretty simple . . . if you can get to the hose from gravity fill fitting to water tank, just cut it a little shorter.

Rob

[Guest]

So I decided to sanitize the fresh water tank and plumbing today. I got a 6 gallon water can and thought I could fill the system through the gravity fill, but it won't take the water in. What am I doing wrong?

Mark,

At the left side of accessory panel in the passthrough, there is a removable panel where gravity fill line may be visible from inside this area. Its easy to remove and may be worth a shot. Otherwise if this does not work the gravity fill will have to be removed and the line shortened. Keep in mind the reason the line may be too long is there needs to be enough length to attach the hose once the gravity fill is removed.

Does the gravity fill take water from a pressurized hose?

A unit may possibly sit on the dealer lot for quite a while to take care of something minor like this.

Jim

[Fitter235]

Yes, a pressurized hose has no problem filling the tank.

I have pulled that panel off in the passthrough, no luck there. I pulled the fill port off the side of the trailer and looked at it. The connection on the tank is straight up. The hose then turns 90 degrees to the fill port. I have to pull the hose tighter than I like just to make the hose level. I believe the port should be mounted about 2" higher to work right.

As far as the warranty goes, I would like to take the trailer camping a couple times and see if any other little issues pop up then see about getting it fixed. Waiting for the parks to reopen, We're kind of anxious to get this thing out of the driveway and go camping.

[Guest]

Yes, a pressurized hose has no problem filling the tank.

I have pulled that panel off in the passthrough, no luck there. I pulled the fill port off the side of the trailer and looked at it. The connection on the tank is straight up. The hose then turns 90 degrees to the fill port. I have to pull the hose tighter than I like just to make the hose level. I believe the port should be mounted about 2" higher to work right.

As far as the warranty goes, I would like to take the trailer camping a couple times and see if any other little issues pop up then see about getting it fixed. Waiting for the parks to reopen, We're kind of anxious to get this thing out of the driveway and go camping.

Mark,

To get you going, can you remove the fill port and pull the hose out the side of the rig and use a funnel and hose inserted into that to pour in the bleach solution? This should get you going so you can get out there. Looking back I see Rob is thinking along this line as well. Might be best to wear clothes you do not care about.

Another place this hose may possibly be seen inside the rig is to remove the bedroom drawer on the left side.

Hopefully you can get the tanks sanitized and go camping.

Jim

[Fitter235]

A hose and funnel it will be, next weekend. No easy access to the hose here’s a picture of what it looks like.

[Yoda]

The leveling blocks didn’t work, so I was thinking about a hose and funnel.Then I found this at the hardware store. I’m going to pour out the plant food and put a bleach mixture in it. But that will be another day. I’m done playing with it this weekend.

My old unit had a gravity fill port with a similar issue. I got a funnel similar to this (with handle) to poor from jugs to fill https://www.autozone.com/shop-and-ga...E&gclsrc=aw.ds

Hope this helps

On edit - having a handle or hadn grip on the funnel makes it a lot easier to hold as you pour water in.

[steve&renee]

... Also some folks say to flip the inlet screen in the city hose port to hold the check valve open. If you do this be sure to flip it back for normal use.
Hope this helps

I've been following the advice to flip the inlet screen to hold the check valve open the last two or three times I winterized/sanitized. Yesterday I declared it to be Springtime in Minnesota, so I initiated the usual sanitize operation.

Flipped the screen and screwed my short intake hose into the hose port. Didn't really think it thru, though. After pumping the sanitize stuff in, I unscrewed the intake hose and discovered the check valve stem had been punched thru the cone screen -- and the screen was very tightly lodged into the hose port. So tightly that I couldn't pry the screen out with screw driver, awl, or pliers. The screen housing was wedged in by the hose port threads. I even tried drilling a hole in the screen housing and inserting a screw so I had something to pull on. No go. That cone is never coming out.

I found what I hope is a replacement port on Amazon for about $20. We'll see.

Anyway, even though my dealer does the inlet screen flipping trick, I'm not gonna do it anymore. Now that I think about it, I don't know why what just happened to me hasn't happened to more folks more often. . .

-Steve