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buspor63 Samba Member
Joined: February 17, 2005 Posts: 1179 Location: Knoxville,TN Where America stops for gas
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Posted: Tue May 24, 2005 11:09 am Post subject: Westy fresh water tank sanitizing? |
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Is it routine to sanitize the fresh water tank? What products could I use? How's it done? My wife's a little leary of water that sits for a while. |
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DanJReed Samba Member
Joined: July 30, 2004 Posts: 548 Location: Riverton NJ
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Posted: Tue May 24, 2005 12:59 pm Post subject: |
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I had to do this when I got my Westy.
Open up the water tank (inside the van) and unscrew the top part that's under a metal plate inside the cabnet (ablve the electrical outlet).
Fill up the tank with h20 and a small amout of bleach. I used 1/3 cup bleach to 13 gla.
Mix it up, let it sit for 20 min.
Drain it.
Add about 1/3 water back into the tank and scrub with baking soda.
Drain and then rinse.
Leave top open with a small fan blowing into it, and leave the drain off. This will allow all the moisture and bleach to leave.
Worked well and didn't leave any funny taste.
If your wife is really freaked, just give her a gallon jug of "spring" water. And use the water in the tank for washing and cooking... Drink the spring water and use it for coffee and so on.. _________________ -Dan
(87 Westy Vanagon, 98 Jetta GLS 2.0, 95 Golf Sport) |
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molson88 Samba Member
Joined: April 28, 2004 Posts: 143 Location: Gabriola Island, BC
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Posted: Tue May 24, 2005 5:23 pm Post subject: |
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Here's an article on treating potable water tanks in RV's:
http://www.doulton.ca/rv_dilem.html
We treat the tank in our Westy at the beginning of every season and give it a rinse afterwards. You can still smell the bleach in the tank for a short while, but there's no taste in our drinking water thanks to our Culligan RV water filter.
The Culligan filter (model US-316) is a nice small unit that fits in the cabinet under the sink, without having to remove the shelf. It has a charoal filter which removes all the bad tastes and odours from the water. We also have an inline filter that we attach to the when we fill our tank, so we start out with fairly clean water to begin with. _________________ Cliff
99 Eurovan Camper (current)
88 Vanagon GL Camper with Subaru EJ22 (gone)
83 Vanagon Camper (best forgotten...)
2012 Audi Q5 3.2L |
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Big B Samba Member
Joined: June 24, 2003 Posts: 467 Location: long beach,cal
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Posted: Sun May 29, 2005 7:41 am Post subject: |
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BP63
My Vanagon is not a camper, BUT, my motorhome watert tank?
When ever I fill it, I add a 1/2 cup of bleach.
It's a fifteen gal tank and I use it for washing only.
Drinking water, I use bottled...........
My MH is a 1977 model and the tank is super clean.
Shalombaby
Brian |
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buspor63 Samba Member
Joined: February 17, 2005 Posts: 1179 Location: Knoxville,TN Where America stops for gas
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Posted: Tue May 31, 2005 5:09 am Post subject: |
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Thanks for the input all. I did the 1/3 cup bleach per full tank, let them sit a day. I then drained, refilled with freash water, let sit a day. Finally, I drained then left the tank open top and bottom to adry out. I used a little bit of the wife's stockings to cover the openings so no critters could get in. |
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kennyw Samba Member
Joined: September 03, 2012 Posts: 58 Location: Salt Lake City
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Posted: Fri Sep 21, 2012 9:04 am Post subject: |
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I know this is a really old thread, but I noticed every one saying 1/3 - 1/2 cup of bleach for the tank. That sounds low. Back in my homebrewing days (need to start that up again) I used 1 oz bleach for every gallon of water to sanitize my plastic and glass equipment. For a 15 gal tank that's almost 2 cups(1.8 to be exact). Let stand 30 mins, drain, rinse with hot water and let air dry. Some brewers would skip the rinse, but I used a high pressure hot rinse.
Ken
88 Westy |
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r39o Samba Polizei
Joined: May 18, 2005 Posts: 9800 Location: San Diego
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Posted: Fri Sep 21, 2012 10:08 am Post subject: |
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kennyw wrote: |
I know this is a really old thread, but I noticed every one saying 1/3 - 1/2 cup of bleach for the tank. That sounds low. Back in my homebrewing days (need to start that up again) I used 1 oz bleach for every gallon of water to sanitize my plastic and glass equipment. For a 15 gal tank that's almost 2 cups(1.8 to be exact). Let stand 30 mins, drain, rinse with hot water and let air dry. Some brewers would skip the rinse, but I used a high pressure hot rinse.
Ken
88 Westy |
The FAQ is your friend again. See section 76. As an example:
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=481770
This thread talks about the subject topic.
There is more information available if you follow the links in the FAQ.
Keep it clean! _________________ "Use the SEARCH, Luke" But first visit the Vanagon FAQ!
1990 Multivan EJ 22, Rancho trans 0.82 4th, Small Car front AC, CLKs w/ 215/65-16, homemade big brakes 303mm, Konis, Recaros, etc....
Click to see my ads for Cup holders, Subaru clutch fix and CLK wheels (no wheels currently) |
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VWhiker Samba Member
Joined: March 17, 2008 Posts: 22 Location: Elverson, Pennsylvania
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Posted: Sun Sep 23, 2012 7:17 am Post subject: |
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I haven't seen mention in any threads of using iodine sanitizer, but I have a restaurant-sized bottle left over from my homebrewing days, and we use that each year.
We make sure the tank is drained each winter to prevent freezing, then sanitize it before the first trip of the year.
Like some other folks we fill the tank only from the inside of the van, and add a few ounces of iodine directly to it, let it sit a few minutes, and run it through the pump (be careful pouring, undiluted iodine stains). The outside connectors were replaced some years back but we don't trust them and believe their leaking has led to some seam rust. (For the same reason we've stopped using the city-water connector entirely.)
I don't know how iodine compares to bleach in efficacy but when diluted iodine is tasteless and odorless, and probably less toxic. _________________ Dan
'84 Rabbit GTI
'85 Westy "Buttercup"
'92 Mazda Miata
'03 Jetta
'04 Jetta wagon TDI (wife's car)
'96 Autozam Scrum (ORV) |
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rubbachicken Samba Member
Joined: October 05, 2004 Posts: 3058 Location: socal
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Posted: Sun Sep 23, 2012 8:13 am Post subject: |
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i cleaned and scrubbed with bleach, when we first got lucy, probably more than was needed, now we put a tiny amount of bleach in with every fill, to date we have not tasted anything but water, e do however only boil or wash with it, we still fill up bottled water from the machines outside grocery stores _________________ lucy our westy
lucy's BIG adventure
meet 'burni'
markswagen {mobile mechanic} san diego area all early VW's cared for.
619 201 0310 or 617 935 4182 |
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Royb Samba Member
Joined: May 24, 2008 Posts: 228 Location: Sierra Foothills
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Posted: Sun Sep 23, 2012 8:59 am Post subject: |
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I've put a little beach in once, now I just add a few gallons, drain, then fill up, and drain it when I get home.
I know that water can "go bad", but really, we're not brewing beer here- just carrying water. Bleach kills stuff because it's toxic- nastier than any small amount of algae or something. As long as you have good tap water, I wouldn't fret it. _________________ 1991 Westy |
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JPrato Samba Member
Joined: December 15, 2006 Posts: 788 Location: Livonia, NY
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Posted: Sun Sep 23, 2012 11:55 am Post subject: |
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Don't forget to run a fair amount of the bleach water through the pump, hose and faucet. I like to do mine before I put it away for the winter. Treat, drain and close it up. In the spring I give it a good rinse before use. _________________ Joe
87 Syncro Tin Top project
84 Westy, 2.5L Subaru power
06 Subaru 2.5 turbo in waiting
46 Cessna 140 |
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ragnarhairybreeks Samba Member
Joined: October 26, 2009 Posts: 1888 Location: Sidney B.C. Canada
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Posted: Sun Sep 23, 2012 12:21 pm Post subject: |
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As well as disinfecting, I got rid of 29 years of water deposits in tank last summer when tank was out. I used a bit of diluted muriatic acid (HCl).
Before
After:
No scrubbing involved ( I did not want to add any more dirt/bacteria harbouring crevices.
alistair _________________ '86 7 passenger syncro, converted to westy pop top, project still in progress
'82 westy, diesel converted to gas in '94, now gone...
https://shufti.blog/
Old address still works...
http://shufti.wordpress.com |
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randywebb Samba Member
Joined: February 15, 2005 Posts: 3815 Location: Greater Metropolitan Nimrod, Orygun
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Posted: Sun Sep 23, 2012 1:04 pm Post subject: |
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Water deposits are unsightly but I'm not sure they are of any danger.
Bleach will react with plastics, and the resulting toxic compounds will adhere to the surface of the water tank and slowly elute into the solution. Is there any real health risk? No one really knows. The Europeans do not allow the use of bleach to disinfect water supplies, and instead oxygen is used. If you have kids you might want to think about that... _________________ 1986 2.1L Westy 2wd Auto Trans. |
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reluctantartist Samba Member
Joined: August 13, 2006 Posts: 1927 Location: Bloomington, IN
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Posted: Sun Sep 23, 2012 1:20 pm Post subject: |
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Here is link on how to do it with peroxide:
http://www.ehow.com/how_6696168_clean-rv-freshwater-tank.html _________________ 1982 Westy, 1974 412 Variant... Yes, Aircooled's are great! Oh and I do have modern computer controlled vehicles too, but I just don't care about them. |
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ragnarhairybreeks Samba Member
Joined: October 26, 2009 Posts: 1888 Location: Sidney B.C. Canada
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Posted: Sun Sep 23, 2012 1:36 pm Post subject: |
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randywebb wrote: |
Water deposits are unsightly but I'm not sure they are of any danger.
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one of the first, if not the first, stages in infection is attachment. So getting rid of the deposits is not a complete was of time
If you can get it, peroxyacetic acid (peracetic acid) is a great food safe sanitizer. Has a bleaching effect to.
alistair _________________ '86 7 passenger syncro, converted to westy pop top, project still in progress
'82 westy, diesel converted to gas in '94, now gone...
https://shufti.blog/
Old address still works...
http://shufti.wordpress.com |
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presslab Samba Member
Joined: September 29, 2008 Posts: 1730 Location: Sonoma County
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DeadSetMonkey Samba Member
Joined: April 15, 2010 Posts: 532 Location: Denver, CO
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Posted: Tue Oct 02, 2012 11:01 am Post subject: Fresh Water Hose Replacement |
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How hard is it to replace hoses?
Is removal of cabinets needed?
Any pearls on this?
I assume HomeDespot or similar will have all the bits of hose and clamps needed? No need to mailorder from GoWesty or similar?
Any advice out there on what inline filter to mount between the tank and the faucet? |
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presslab Samba Member
Joined: September 29, 2008 Posts: 1730 Location: Sonoma County
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Posted: Tue Oct 02, 2012 11:14 am Post subject: Re: Fresh Water Hose Replacement |
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DeadSetMonkey wrote: |
How hard is it to replace hoses?
Is removal of cabinets needed?
Any pearls on this?
I assume HomeDespot or similar will have all the bits of hose and clamps needed? No need to mailorder from GoWesty or similar?
Any advice out there on what inline filter to mount between the tank and the faucet? |
While removal of the cabinets is not strictly needed, it can be a bit of a pain. There are a few clips that attach the hose to the body; they are inaccessible without removing the cabinets. If you pull hard enough on the hose, the clips will pop out but without removing the cabinets you can't reinstall the clips.
I didn't want to remove my cabinets (again) so I just pulled the clips and didn't reinstall them. I used a barb fitting from the old hose to the new and I just fished the new hose through by pulling the old one out.
Here is my post on a water filter. Still working fantastic 3 years later; I have changed the filter once. The 0.5 micron filter does slow the flow of water a bit but I don't mind.
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=370074#3977996 _________________ 1986 Vanagon Westfalia EJ25
1988 Subaru GL-10 EJ20G --- 2000 Honda XR650L
2010 Titus El Guapo --- 2011 On-One 456 Ti |
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AdrianC Samba Member
Joined: January 13, 2012 Posts: 526 Location: Wherever the road's gone
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Posted: Tue Oct 02, 2012 11:31 am Post subject: Re: Fresh Water Hose Replacement |
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We're firmly in the "don't drink it" camp. If water must be drunk, then bottles are cheap enough and much more pleasant than tap that's been sat around for days with a taste of purifier.
Otherwise, let's be honest, there's far more interesting things to drink. _________________ Adrian
Zookeeper of a miscellany of motoring silliness, from 0.75bhp to 9ft tall.
Living life on the road in an '88 2.1DJ Westfalia Club Joker Hightop.
www.WhereverTheRoadGoes.com |
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iiigoiii Samba Member
Joined: January 05, 2008 Posts: 307 Location: Bay Area, CA
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Posted: Tue Oct 02, 2012 11:47 am Post subject: |
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no offense, but i wouldn't trust ehow to tell me how to brush my teeth, much less sanitize a water tank.
lemon juice is not a 'deodorizer' nor a 'sanitizer'...i wouldn't put a food product in my water tank. and i wonder how many lemons it takes to make a cup of lemon juice?!
i've personally never seen anything of use on ehow. i always wonder how it gets such high placement in search results....
_________________ 1984 Westfalia Wolfsburg Ed. w/ Subaru EJ22 power |
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