Sanitizing new Montanas

[Phil Eyler]

I have another question for you very knowledgeable MOC members. How do I sanitize my fresh water system when I don't have an outside fill valve? I just bought a 2014 3402 and really didn't think about this when I bought it. The owners manual tells me the formula for sanitizing the tank but it doesn't mention how to get the bleach into the system. Any suggestions?

[woodtic]

Put the bleach in the hose before you connect it to the water connection and use the city fill valve position to fill the tank.

[johncamtravel]

That's how I do also. Put the bleach in the hose and you sanitize the hose plus the tank. Works well for me.

[WaltBennett]

I can certainly understand missing the fact that your new unit didn't have one, but Keystone leaving it off to save a few bucks really makes me wonder what else they've done that's hidden. While I don't use the outside fill that often, IMHO it's a really needed feature.

[HamRad]

Phil,
I did not realize that Montana built a rig without an outside water fill! That just does not seem right.

For what it's worth we had our first rig for 10 years and never cleaned the fresh water tank. And we're still here to talk about it. We did, however, use a lot of water so that the tank was refilled often. As long as you don't get some contaminated water to begin with you will probably be safe.

Good luck, Dennis

[jfaberna]

Our new 3402RL has both the normal/fresh water fill switch in the convenience center and an outside fresh water fill using the vent at the rear. The vent cover snaps off, and you can easily remove the screen that keeps critters out. The instructions on the sticker in the convenience center pointed me to that as a part of sanitizing the fresh water tank.

However, I like the idea of filling the hose with with bleach before connecting. My hoses probably need sanitizing more than the tank.

[Virginia Young]

One more question - How do you empty the fresh water tank? Do you have to run it out through a faucet with the pump? Seems like there should be a way to just drain it.

[capn chris]

Tank drain is at the rear of the rig. Screw that cap off and it drains the tank. Did not know about the vent removal for alternate filling. Good info!

[Virginia Young]

If the tank drain is the short white hose with the black threaded end at the very back of the fiver - there is no cap on it. Is there supposed to be? Guess I need to make a trip to CW and see if they failed to install it before delivery. Wouldn't surprise me. There were a lot of things they missed during the PDI. I don't think they even did the water pressure test. We ended up with a puddle of water under one of the bathroom vanities, because the fittings to the faucet weren't even hand-tight. Also had a hydraulic leak due to a loose fitting.

[Carl n Susan]

My 2005 had a cap on the fresh water tank drain line. My 2012 Montana has a valve just above the hose thread end. That way you can attach a hose and direct the output somewhere besides the ground underneath the RV.

There has to be something to stop the tank from draining, particularly if your hose ends with a threaded bib.

[Lack of HP]

Check for your plug inside the water heater cover. that is where they store them a lot of the time. that is where my last two have been. Make sure the little seal insert is inside the cap or the water will drain out. Joe

[jfaberna]

Our dealer winterizes new rigs before delivery and leaves the fresh water cap and water heater anode inside the hot water heater panel. I found mine there.

[Mark N.]

My 2013 3400rl doesn't have the snap off rear vent cover. It is sealed to the body with RTV. Dang it. Adding bleach to the hose prior to filling is easy enough, assuming you have a funnel that has a spout small enough to fit inside the hose you are filling with. This is quite necessary as to not end up dumping bleach all over your shoes.

My biggest complaint about Keystone doing away with a gravity fill is not the adding of sanitizer, That's easy enough. It's the adding of water when you are somewhere like a National Park campground where you must tote water from a spigot somewhere in the campground. That's a pain. I forces you to spend money on some sort of transfer pump to get it into the Montana's tank. Decent transfer pumps aren't cheap, and there's no easy power supply over there. It's more stuff to carry in my rig that a $5.00 gravity fill port from the factory would have nullified. With a gravity fill port, I just set the water jug on my Little Giant ladder next to the port, and siphoned 5 gallons of water at a time into the tank. Whatever engineer thought this was a good idea has obviously never boondocked in an RV for longer than 1 full tank of water!

[woodtic]

Mark N.
If only the owners manual was worth more than the paper it was written on, it might tell you there is a simple way to get water into the tank in the situation you describe. The Montana has a built in water pump. All you need to do is connect a short hose to the winterizing port. Put the other end in your water jug. Open the winterize valve. Open the city fill valve and, turn on the pump.

The pump will then suck water from your supply and direct it to the tank. Just be sure your hose fittings are tight enough that they don't leak air and the pump should draw the water out of the jug. Of course, raising the jug off the ground a couple feet would help also...

[Mark N.]

quote:Originally posted by woodtic

Mark N.
If only the owners manual was worth more than the paper it was written on, it might tell you there is a simple way to get water into the tank in the situation you describe. The Montana has a built in water pump. All you need to do is connect a short hose to the winterizing port. Put the other end in your water jug. Open the winterize valve. Open the city fill valve and, turn on the pump.

The pump will then suck water from your supply and direct it to the tank. Just be sure your hose fittings are tight enough that they don't leak air and the pump should draw the water out of the jug. Of course, raising the jug off the ground a couple feet would help also...

Sweet! Why didn't I think of that? This is why I love this forum. I wonder how long it will take to transfer 5 gallons?

[Virginia Young]

Thanks! There wasn't one inside the water heater cover so we went to CW and they gave us one. It does have the seal. So glad I saw this post and discovered the missing cap. It would have been frustrating to find this out when we were ready to pull out. I just love this forum.

[Rondo]

jpkelpe(Paul) went and put an elbow on the drain hose and ran a hose back to the back of the Big Sky and put a female hose end(I think that's what it was) on the end of the hose with a cap on it to keep the critters out. He can drain the freshwater tank and connect a hose to the connector and run the drained water out beyond the unit instead of under it. He can fill his fresh water tank via the drain also besides the convenient center. Works for me and I may do the same if I ever get a new unit without the fresh tank fill on the rear of the unit.

[Toby2011]

I've tried using various combinations in the convenience center to transfer from a fresh water jug to the fresh water storage. Even followed up with the dealer and found that the convenience center won't transfer to the fresh water storage.

Solution. I bought a small water pump from Amazon. Seaflo "12v Water Pressure Diaphragm Pump 4.3 L/min 1.2 GPM 35 PSI - Caravan/rv/boat/marine" for $29.99. I also ordered a RoadPro 12v 12" extension cigarette lighter plug fro $8.57. NAPA Auto provided a Bell cigarette lighter repair kit,with inline 5 Amp fuse for $1.69. Home Depot had the 3/8" Inside Diameter vinyl tubing, clamps, brass adapter to garden hose fitting for the tubing and male to male brass nipple to connect to the convenience center. HD was about $20.

I ran the 12' extension across the basement attaching with Velcro at the top so it was out of the way. The Bell lighter plug splices into the pump wiring and serves as on/off switch. The little pump is light and with tubing it fits in a gallon freezer bag to keep it clean. I keep the extension cord unplugged from the basement 12v outlet when I don't need the pump.

[Carl n Susan]

quote:Originally posted by Toby2011



...Even followed up with the dealer and found that the convenience center won't transfer to the fresh water storage....

That statement tells me the dealer doesn't have a clue. I would be suspicious of them any answers from them after that response.

The convenience center water connection either supplies water to the interior plumbing or it fills the fresh water tank based on which way the valve is turned. While you have found a solution, many others have used the "Winterizing" function in conjunction with the fresh water fill function to get the bleach into the fresh water tank. Others have just poured the bleach into the hose feeding the fresh water fill connection and let the water pressure push it into the tank. If the Search function was working, you could find a number of easy solutions to the sanitizing problem.

[Toby2011]

Thanks. I'll give it another try. Our motorhome convenience center included very concise and clear instructions on how to fill from jugs when dry camping.