Basic sanitizing questions from a first-timer

[RGEarley]

We’ve got a new (2021) Reflection 150 260RD. The manual and Nautilus control panel caution us to sanitize the system before using it. A couple of questions have come up that are not clear:
1. How do you know if the fresh water tank is full, for purposes of sanitizing? Sanitizing instructions say to fill the tank. Filling instructions warn not to overfill. The lights on the convenience center panel are less than convenient to monitor when filling. We estimated by siphoning from 5 gallon buckets and counting, but again this seemed less than satisfactory. Will siphoning to point of overflow cause any problems?
2. What & where is the “tank termination valve”? When flushing the tank after sanitizing, do you use the “gate valve” that is described in the manual? The Nautilus control panel warns “Do not use the tank flush valv unless the tank termination valve is in the open position., Can result in an unsanitary condition....”. The manual references a termination valve but does not describe what it is or where it is, only how to maintain and troubleshoot. (This seems like a serious oversight in the manual).

Thanks in advance for all the helpful folks on here, really appreciate your time and efforts!

[ThePowells]

Welcome to the forum! What you are dealing with is the owners manual after being edited by the Corporate attorneys. The only true way to know when it is at full is with a meter on your hose. They worry about high pressure / high flow systems that if unattended would exceed the pressure of the tank and fittings and pop something resulting in a multi-million lawsuit because your insulation got wet.
The second is about the same thing, only a little more practical. The "termination" valve is the gate valve. Their concern is having a black water waterfall from the roof. the "problem" with this is that many of the black water spray nozzles are near the outlet, leaving most of the tank "unwashed". By paying attention and letting water collect in the tank you get the best effect possible for an effective flush, which is a massive "whoosh". I use a timer on the phone and have a high water alarm installed in my black water vent.

[howson]

We’ve got a new (2021) Reflection 150 260RD. The manual and Nautilus control panel caution us to sanitize the system before using it. A couple of questions have come up that are not clear:
1. How do you know if the fresh water tank is full, for purposes of sanitizing? Sanitizing instructions say to fill the tank. Filling instructions warn not to overfill. The lights on the convenience center panel are less than convenient to monitor when filling. We estimated by siphoning from 5 gallon buckets and counting, but again this seemed less than satisfactory. Will siphoning to point of overflow cause any problems?
2. What & where is the “tank termination valve”? When flushing the tank after sanitizing, do you use the “gate valve” that is described in the manual? The Nautilus control panel warns “Do not use the tank flush valv unless the tank termination valve is in the open position., Can result in an unsanitary condition....”. The manual references a termination valve but does not describe what it is or where it is, only how to maintain and troubleshoot. (This seems like a serious oversight in the manual).

Thanks in advance for all the helpful folks on here, really appreciate your time and efforts!

For your first question, check out TucsonJim's recent thread on this very topic: https://gdrvowners.com/forum/operati...flow-revisited Lots of good information that may help you determine how you want to verify the amount of water you're putting in your tank. (FYI your tank should be anywhere from 46 gallons per an old drawing up to 62 gallons per GD's website for you trailer under "specs".)

For your second question, I *think* the confusion is the manual may be referencing the BLACK TANK FLUSH. What they are saying is don't flush the black tank if the black tank valve isn't open. (Not applicable to sanitizing the water system.)

I'm looking at page 99 in the latest version of the FW Reflection owner's manual. Is that what you're reading? https://www.granddesignrv.com/owner-...owners-manuals



If still confused check out this video by Changing Lanes (Chad and Tara) on this subject.

[RGEarley]

Welcome to the forum! What you are dealing with is the owners manual after being edited by the Corporate attorneys. The only true way to know when it is at full is with a meter on your hose. They worry about high pressure / high flow systems that if unattended would exceed the pressure of the tank and fittings and pop something resulting in a multi-million lawsuit because your insulation got wet.
The second is about the same thing, only a little more practical. The "termination" valve is the gate valve. Their concern is having a black water waterfall from the roof. the "problem" with this is that many of the black water spray nozzles are near the outlet, leaving most of the tank "unwashed". By paying attention and letting water collect in the tank you get the best effect possible for an effective flush, which is a massive "whoosh". I use a timer on the phone and have a high water alarm installed in my black water vent.

LOL I get the issue with the attorneys; the challenge is knowing which warnings are from the attorneys and which are from the engineers! With an overflow tube, I had a hard time seeing how the siphon fill could cause any damage, but you don’t know what you don’t know. I couldn’t find a water meter locally so put in an order with Amazon.

As for question 2, after reading responses here and some of the other threads, and looking again at the manual and Nautilus controls, I think my source of confusion was that the warning was in regards to flushing the blackwater tank, not flushing the fresh water system after sanitizing. I still find it frustraing that the manual refers to a “termination valve”, but never describes what it is or what it does or where it is! When you say the termination valve is the gate valve, you mean the gate valve for draining the blackwater tank? (Not the gate valve for draining the fresh water tank?)

[RGEarley]

For your first question, check out TucsonJim's recent thread on this very topic: https://gdrvowners.com/forum/operati...flow-revisited Lots of good information that may help you determine how you want to verify the amount of water you're putting in your tank. (FYI your tank should be anywhere from 46 gallons per an old drawing up to 62 gallons per GD's website for you trailer under "specs".)

For your second question, I *think* the confusion is the manual may be referencing the BLACK TANK FLUSH. What they are saying is don't flush the black tank if the black tank valve isn't open. (Not applicable to sanitizing the water system.).

howson yes you are correct, I was confusing the two different flushes (blackwater vs. fresh water sanitizing).

And yes, page 99 of the manual was the part I was going through, but the “termination valve” confusion came from the Nautilus panel warning:



You’ve answered my question for practical purposes. I would like to give GD some feedback on the manual that they talk about a Termination Valve on pages 176 & 183 but never give you a clue where it is or what it is for.

I came across a similar frustration with the instruction to bypass the water heater with the water heater bypass valve; the Nautilus manual said that was one of the features but never explained how to bypass it. I’ll revisit the post you referenced, which has a great schematic of the plumbing & Nautilus valve positions. But that will have to wait for another day.

I’m getting the idea that RV’ing can be a full time activity, even if you don’t live in it full time! 😁

Thanks again for the help!

[RJAPCOK]

For measuring water, I use the "Save-a-drop" water meter that attaches to a hose. It has a digital readout and I bought it at Walmart.com for less than $20.

http://www.p3international.com/products/p0550.html