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Drinking water from the Fresh Tank
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Update to our research….
We spoke with the product manager for the HydroLife HL-170 filter we have filtering the water for our icemaker. He assured and satisfied us that the filter reduces the level of the typical bad stuff including cysts. He said he has a motorhome and uses the filter for his drinking water from the tank. Sanitizing the tank periodically is a given.
Also for drinking water we have decided to rely on the Instant Hot/Cold F-601R filter, an upgraded/better filter than the F-201R filter installed in our Marathon.So so now we are in the Drink From The Tank Club.
An R/O system would obviously be a level above this setup but right now we don’t have the space for an R/O.
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We have been drinking from our fridge dispenser for the last five months while on the road. No problems so far but as Charles does, I turn over my fresh water at least weekly or more. I also have a charcoal filter for the whole coach, the inline hydro 170 filter for the fridge, and a filter inside the fridge. Also, just added a portable water softener which we are enjoying.
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When park in RV park, we draw water from water tank, even with garden hose connected, just not flowing when coach turns on for several reasons, One, keeps water pump active, and two, when tank is low we add more to keep tank water fresher
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Jim & Chris raise a good point about using your water pump, which several of us discussed at the No Rally.
But it my question is why not exercise the pump daily or weekly, but then use the water pressure from the park all the other times. Wouldn’t that lengthen the life of the water pump?
And how often would you exercise a second water pump? I’ve turned mine on monthly to ensure it still works, but I see that as an emergency only situation.
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Tim, the reason to fill and shut off and use your pump…water pressure at sites is unreliable. You particularly don’t want too high pressure. Geo.
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Tim,
If I’m on a long stay I use the city water, then periodically run a tank or two of fresh water using the pump, then back on city water. Of course if you have a Headhunter Toilet your screwed, you have to have the high pressure and volume. My fresh water regulator gives me 45 psi assuming the city water has enough pressure. If city water pressure is whimpy, then I’m on the pump.
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My two cents worth. On a Marathon, the 12v pump automatically starts when the ignition key is turned on and the 110v pump is automatically turned off. So exercising the 12v pump happens when you are running the coach down the road and water is required.
We never use city water as I tend to be bitchy if my shower water pressure is not up to par. Using the 110v pump 100% of the time when we are parked removes the bitchyness
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I do just like Tom does, and all is good.
Bill S.
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Just a couple of observations based on the comments above. First, we have talked about having a back up water pump, and if the comment above is correct those with two pump Marathons set up as described do not have a true back up pump because one is dedicated to available 120V power, the other only when the key is on. True redundancy is when either pump is capable of running under all conditions. A failed water pump without an equivalent back up makes a trip somewhat miserable.
The use of city water is somewhat dictated by how the converter set up the plumbing and the type of toilet used. I am not familiar with any toilets other than the Headhunter, but that particular toilet requires a constant relatively large flow of water at a fairly high pressure. Typically the only way to reliably get that short high pressure burst is to draw water from the tank and push it using a large volume pump like any of the Headhunter pumps. As an alternative a minimum of a 1 gallon accumulater tank in line with the toilet flush valve will allow a smaller pump or even city water it develops at least 60 PSI.
If the toilet is other than the Headhunter it may be possible any pump or any reasonable city water pressure or flow may prove adequate.
We have had city water connections that were barely a trickle to one that was so high some type of regulator was required because it exceeded 120 PSI so those variations make it difficult to say the coach water system will work as intended on city water at all times.
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East coast must be getting on the Godfathers nerves.
The key on function to switch water pumps on a Marathon is only the way they are wired.
You have the option to run either pump without the key on by pushing a button on the ac dc panel in the bathroom.
Later
bv
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It’s OK Bernie, he just can’t keep up with all the user friendly items found in a Marathon.
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Godfather, my bad, the 12v automatically switches over when the key is on, but I always have the ability to switch between 12v and 110v waterpumps at the inside control panel. So yes, we do have a 12v backup waterpump when needed. Those folks in Oregon have thought of everything! 🙂 And Marathons don’t need rose petals as ours do not stink!
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Maybe they should come with waders. Geo.
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Maybe you Marathon guys should tell the whole story because the way it was first posted the pump selected sounded like it was either / or.
The same applies to earlier discussions of the Marathon aux air system. It took a while before how it operated was fully explained.
The bottom line is it sounds like Marathon did a great job with the design, provided the owner with flexibility regarding how to operate some of the systems, and allowed isolation of components if their is a problem. I answered about the second pump in the context of how it was explained in the previous posts, and my concern was owners need to know limitations so they can devise methods for handling problems. It is now apparent there is a means to use both pumps whether the key is on or off.
This is drifting, but another example of how we as owners need to understand our coaches relates to shore power interruption. A lot of us travel with pets. If we leave our pets on a hot day we leave the A/C systems working. It has been often repeated that to protect the pets the generator is set to start upon shore power interruption. Just like understanding if we have back up water pump capability we have to understand what happens if shore power goes down. Often folks think the generator will start and the A/C will keep running. Not every instance of shore power interruption will result in the generator start and resumption of A/C. In some if not most cases the A/C will not restart without manually restarting the A/C itself.
My effort is to encourage a line of thinking about what owners are going to do if certain things happen to our coach. I’m fortunate in that I have a dedicated back up water pump, but I am not so fortunate if power is shut off to our coach, even for a short time because once my A/C units shut down due to lack of power they will not restart without manual operation of the A/C units.
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The newbies here have a backup 12v water pump. We too can select 120v or 12v on the panel in the john. Our third system is Mary sending me outside to fill a bucket. So far we haven’t found a fourth system because we, like Tom, are spending a lot of time dumbstruck by the sheer number of amazing sytems on this marvel of technology.
Also, Jeff’s support has been great. He instantly solved our shorter-than-a-Liberty power cord issue. He said, ‘go buy and extention’. We did. How cool is that?
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