using city water

[Tweitekamp]

We are leaving for the weekend and the campground has full hook but I have a hard time not leaving with water in my tank JUST IN CASE!! Plus I always use soft water with 2 filters on to make sure I have clean soft water in my lines.

Question: My fresh water tank is full of good water. I would like to shower with the soft water from my tank but use the campground water for everything else if necessary. Can I shut off the city water at the spigot at night and use my fresh water without any problems? In my mind there shouldn't be any issues. What happens if you forget to turn off the spigot and turn on your water pump to get water out of the tank for showers WITH the city water still on. I am going to assume you will get city water and not fresh tank water. Is that correct? The campgrounds we normally attend don't have full hooks so this is new to me.

No matter what, I will go home and flush all my lines with soft water.

Just wondering how it works when you are hooked to city water but sometimes what to pull water out of your fresh tank. I would assume turn off hose and turn on pump. Only way of doing it???

Thanks!!!!

Todd

 

[Ray LeTourneau]

Todd, you will be OK. There is a backflow prevention device at the connection on the trailer. When you turn off the parks water supply and relieve that pressure, you can turn on the pump and use water from the holding tanks.

 

[bsuds]

Todd, you will be OK. There is a backflow prevention device at the connection on the trailer. When you turn off the parks water supply and relieve that pressure, you can turn on the pump and use water from the holding tanks.

Just make sure you release the pressure. lol

 

[Tweitekamp]

Can you tell me more about this pressure thing? Do I need to physically disconnect the water hose from the spigot? Do you mean just turn the spigot off? I can see a problem if you have the city water on AND the pump on. That would ramp pressure up right?

Just let me know exactly what you are meaning before I mess something up please.

 

[olcoon]

You could connect a "Y" connection to the faucet, then connect the hose to one side. When you want to use the tank, turn off the city water faucet, then open the other side of the "Y" fitting & it will relieve the pressure in the hose. Also are you aware that you can purchase the equipment to soften the city water before it comes into your rig? I don't know anything about it, but I've seen several people that have/use it. Someone will probably fill you in on it. This way you won't have to haul around the extra weight from a full fresh water tank.

 

[123camper]

All you need to do to release the pressure is open any faucet in the rv and the pump will kick in

 

[123camper]

Your pump also has a back flow preventer in it.

 

[danemayer]

I've also run the pump from time-to-time when city water is connected. In campgrounds with lousy water pressure/flow, turning on the pump improves the water flow. No problems noted with both active at the same time. For what you want, if you turn off the campground faucet, you should be fine.

 

[brianharrison]

Turn off park water supply, turn on pump - only sure way you'll get your soft water out the faucets from the onboard water tank.

If you leave park water supply turned on and pump turned on - you will not ramp up pressure beyond the higher of park water pressure or pump discharge pressure. It is good practice to install a water regulator on the park water supply, regulating pressure to a predetermined safe limit.

Brian

 

[travlingman]

How do you plan on keeping the "hard" water(campground) out of your hot water heater? Are you not going to use hot water during other times because if you do, it seems to me that you would put "hard" water in your heater. Then when you used the water you brought, you would only dilute the "hard" water in the heater.

 

[brianharrison]

How do you plan on keeping the "hard" water(campground) out of your hot water heater? Are you not going to use hot water during other times because if you do, it seems to me that you would put "hard" water in your heater. Then when you used the water you brought, you would only dilute the "hard" water in the heater.

Good point - I completely overlooked this one.......

 

[GOTTOYS]

Why not just hook up to the park water supply and just use it. It's only a shower...Don

 

[JohnD]

How do you plan on keeping the "hard" water(campground) out of your hot water heater? Are you not going to use hot water during other times because if you do, it seems to me that you would put "hard" water in your heater. Then when you used the water you brought, you would only dilute the "hard" water in the heater.

That is exactly what I was going to say . . . you beat me to it.

Also, why haul around all of that extra weight of a full water tank.

My water tank weighs 400 pounds when full . . . and I'm sure that the 5'vers have a much larger water tank than my Trail Runner!

 

[Tweitekamp]

Hard water in the hot water heater did cross my mind but I has to overlook that for the convenience of bathing my kids several times after playing in the sandy playground. Everything went well and saved all my soft water till today. Should have pretty much flushed out the lines of the campground water. We will be going again in two weeks so it will be back on soft water again. Thanks for all the advise guys. Was looking at the responses at night briefly before bed but never replied.

Had a great weekend because I didn't have to break open the toolbox!!!