Sanitizing system

[Jlawles2]

So if I read the manual correctly, to sanitize the holding tank I need to make 5 gallons + 1 quart and 1 pint of solution to sanitize the 80 gallon tank. At 0.25 cups (2 oz per gallon of solution) that's only 1-1/3 cup of bleach to sanitize the whole tank. Does that sound correct?

Can I use https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1 instead?

[ckreef]

So if I read the manual correctly, to sanitize the holding tank I need to make 5 gallons + 1 quart and 1 pint of solution to sanitize the 80 gallon tank. At 0.25 cups (2 oz per gallon of solution) that's only 1-1/3 cup of bleach to sanitize the whole tank. Does that sound correct?

Can I use https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1 instead?

1/4 cup per 15 gallons so I believe your math is correct at 1 1/3 cups.

[RJAPCOK]

...Can I use https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1 instead?

I believe this Camco product is intended to be added to water that you will be consuming. If that IS the intended use, then the chlorine concentration in the water will need to be 4 parts per million or less to be safe for consumption. The 1/4 cup of household bleach per 15 gallons of water, recommended for shock treating a tank, is intended to get the chlorine concentration to about 50 ppm. Based solely on what I have read, I don't think the Camco product you are inquiring about will adequately sanitize the tank, however, once the tank is sanitized, it might be a good additive to keep it fresh.

I hope this helps.
Bob

P.S. Here is a good article on sanitizing water storage tanks. Based on this article, you would need 12.8oz of household bleach, or about 1.6 cups, to sanitize an 80 gallon tank at 50 ppm concentration.

https://waterandhealth.org/safe-drin...lorine-bleach/

[ncitro]

So if I read the manual correctly, to sanitize the holding tank I need to make 5 gallons + 1 quart and 1 pint of solution to sanitize the 80 gallon tank. At 0.25 cups (2 oz per gallon of solution) that's only 1-1/3 cup of bleach to sanitize the whole tank. Does that sound correct?

Can I use https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1 instead?

That sounds right, I pour the bleach into a clean five gallon bucket (food safe that I keep clean and only use for that), and fill it with water before pumping it into the tanks just so it’s not too concentrated for the pump.

[TedS]

I would pour 1 and 1/2 cups bleach into my water hose, connect it and fill the 85gal. fresh water tank. Then use the pump to fill the system including the water heater. Add water to top up the tank and let it sit for several hours.
Do not use splash-less Clorox; it is not for sanitizing.

[AndyBaum]

I would pour 1 and 1/2 cups bleach into my water hose, connect it and fill the 85gal. fresh water tank. Then use the pump to fill the system including the water heater. Add water to top up the tank and let it sit for several hours.
Do not use splash-less Clorox; it is not for sanitizing.

If I read the sanitizing instructions correctly, you prepare a 1/4 cup of 5% bleach with 1 gallon of water for every 15 gallons of capacity. For your 85 gallon tank, you'd use 85/15 = 5.6 gallons of water and 5.6 x .25 = 1.5 cups of bleach. You'd put 1.5 cups of bleach into the hose and fill 5.6 gallons of water to get to 50ppm. If you fill your entire tank to 85 gallons, you'd need 85/5.6 = 15.2 x 1.5 = 1.4 gallons of bleach in the hose.

Or are you "preparing a 1 gallon dilution" and adding 15 gallons of fresh water to that?

Please correct me if I'm missing something here.

[Jlawles2]

AndyBaum Andy, I think you mis understood the instructions partially. You do have it correct in the first part. The instructions state 1 gallon of prepared solution will treat 15 gallons of water (0.25 cups bleach + 1 gallon water).

So 85 gallons divided by 15 = 5.7 gallons of solution, which is 5.7 measures of bleach.

Each measure of bleach is 0.25 cups thus 5.7 * 0.25 = 1.4 cups of bleach to treat 85 gallons. I used 1.5 gallons of bleach total to treat everything including the water lines. Filled fresh water tank to top, let sit overnight, used pump to fill / flush all lines in coach, let sit overnight, then drained and refilled and flushed lines

[Scott'n'Wendy]

How often do you guys do this? I do it about once every 5 years.

[AndyBaum]

Thank you for the clarification, Jlawles2 . I just went down and started the process. Much appreciated.

[Cate&Rob]

How often do you guys do this? I do it about once every 5 years.

To reiterate a comment that I made in a recent similar discussion . . .
https://gdrvowners.com/forum/operati...-winterization

"Sanitizing" the water system can be a false security, particularly if you are travelling from campground to campground. We never drink the water from our tank . . . because we travel campground to campground and never know the quality of the water. So, sanitizing the tank is a waste of time for us. Connecting to a poor quality campground water supply will quickly undo you sanitizing efforts. The only situation (that I can think of) where sanitizing the tank and water system makes sense is if you boon dock with a tank of known quality untreated well water and plan to drink it.

Rob

[mpking]

How often do you guys do this? I do it about once every 5 years.

Rule of thumb (you won't find this written down anywhere official) is once every 6 months. More if you suspect contamination, or have foul smelling water.

I'm only camp 6 months of the year, so I just do it once at the start of season. One year I left the water in the water heater for 2 months without use, and it stunk, so I re-sanitized, for a total of two that year.

BTW, you have noticed some people say they don't drink out of the camper. That's their choice. Same as some people don't drink out of the tap water at there house. But there is nothing wrong with the plumbing system in the camper, it's more personal choice on the source of the water, and what unknowns it brings. Myself, we've been drinking out of the water system of our camper for 8 years. (and I had a 20 year old camper at one point). But I also trust the water supplies I'm filling up with, and that I've properly sanitized the water system.

[Guest]

To reiterate a comment that I made in a recent similar discussion . . .
https://gdrvowners.com/forum/operati...-winterization

"Sanitizing" the water system can be a false security, particularly if you are travelling from campground to campground. We never drink the water from our tank . . . because we travel campground to campground and never know the quality of the water. So, sanitizing the tank is a waste of time for us. Connecting to a poor quality campground water supply will quickly undo you sanitizing efforts. The only situation (that I can think of) where sanitizing the tank and water system makes sense is if you boon dock with a tank of known quality untreated well water and plan to drink it.

Rob

A couple years ago we noticed signs at a State park in Michigan that stated the water was contaminated with ecoli. Good thing we were hauling our own water. The park had closed all use of the water until the wells were sanitized and they also closed the dumping station indefinitely. So while they took appropriate action to protect folks, some had to be consuming contaminated water up to the point that the issue was discovered. Since I will soon be getting water from various locations, I will adopt Robs approach where we will drink bottled water and shower with what we put in the tank.

Jim

[Cate&Rob]

We travel with two "water quality inspectors". At a new campground, I will put down a bowl of campground water. At least 1/3 of the time. . . Molly and Angel will sniff at it but won't touch it. We avoid connecting to those water sources.

Rob