Fresh Water Install?

[Tress]

As some of you may know im in the thick of converting a van into overland camper, question about plumbing? I'm assuming my fresh water tank and lines are going to sweat a good deal in the hi temp hi humidity regions of Central and South America where im traveling, have any of you any advice on how to combat this problem? Im thinking of adding some heavy plastic/rubber sheet under the tank and draining it out through the same hole the tank drains through. Besides that im thinking some standard pipe insulation should take care of the lines, had anyone any advice or experience with this problem? Thanks in advance!

:REOutArchery02:

 

[Lynn]

If the system is at ambient temp, you shouldn't get much sweating, but I have seen installs where the tanks were inside of a tub, and the tub had a drain. The main purpose was to contain a tank failure, but it would solve any sweating issues, as well.

 

[Tress]

Not a bad idea, although im wondering if i could find a simple tub liner that would work, or even the plastic sleev they are shipped in, thanks....

 

[Tress]

A different fresh water question????

Im looking to install a water filter pre-tank just inside the inlet to avoid sedimentary buildup, problem is im going to be spending a good deal of time in Central and South America and will prolly fill the tank with gravity more often than not, so if i was simply pouring water through an inlet would it be able to pass through a filter? Thanks in advance for the help!

 

[kdgreene]

Tank sweating and filters

Having traveled extensively through Central and South America I would have to say that sweating on your tank will not be an issue. As for yourself, you'll be sweating for sure.

I would question using gravity fill to add water to your tank. You can connect a hose to taps just about anywhere. We fill our tank at fuel stations every couple of days. That way we accomplish two chores with only one stop. Central America taps are all 3/4 inch just like in the US. South America is a different story with 1/2 and 1" treads being common.

If you are concerned about drinking water, you can install a sink-top purifier like the NaturePure. Many people we have met travel w/o a purifier and just buy 20 liter bottles of purified water and then install a hand pump on the bottle. The hand pumps are available where-ever you buy your first bottle. They have deposits on the bottles so you just exchange your empty when you get a new one.

We use simple cabon activated prefilters that we just screw onto the water tap before attaching our hose. The water flow slows down a bit, but you catch the crap before it gets into your water tank.

Cheers,
Don Greene
http://www.QuestConnect.org
http://www.AmericasOverland.net

 

[Tress]

See Red reply

Having traveled extensively through Central and South America I would have to say that sweating on your tank will not be an issue. As for yourself, you'll be sweating for sure.
Great! Thanks for the info, is good to hear, and that has since been my conclusion as well since nearly everyone says the same thing, so im not going to worry about it! However the other sweating problem im fully aware of!!!

I would question using gravity fill to add water to your tank. You can connect a hose to taps just about anywhere. We fill our tank at fuel stations every couple of days. That way we accomplish two chores with only one stop. Central America taps are all 3/4 inch just like in the US. South America is a different story with 1/2 and 1" treads being common.
As for this question i only thought of doing this because when i was in Nicaragua there were only concrete troughs for water, but i wasn't traveling via RV either! So your saying that its easy to connect a 3/4" hose to our inlet, and that would be sufficient, is the average size for most inlets 3/4"?And do you run this water through a filter before it goes into the holding tank?

If you are concerned about drinking water, you can install a sink-top purifier like the NaturePure. Many people we have met travel w/o a purifier and just buy 20 liter bottles of purified water and then install a hand pump on the bottle. The hand pumps are available where-ever you buy your first bottle. They have deposits on the bottles so you just exchange your empty when you get a new one.


We use simple cabon activated prefilters that we just screw onto the water tap before attaching our hose. The water flow slows down a bit, but you catch the crap before it gets into your water tank.
We already have a Daulton water purifier which will have a tap right at the sink so thats taken care. From here im just trying to figure out how to get water into the tank, not sure if a standard inlet would be fine or what, and im not sure i need to filter the water pretank, but i like your method of the prefilter, where do you get something like that?....
Cheers,
Don Greene
http://www.QuestConnect.org
http://www.AmericasOverland.net

 

[dhackney]

Tress,

You can get the pre-filters at any RV store or online RV supply.

Do not leave home without a couple of Water Bandits.
http://www.folandsales.com/catalog.asp?prodid=490518&showprevnext=1

You can use the Water Bandit directly on 1/2 or 1" hose bibs or just about anything else. They will work great for filling your tank, but you won't be able to push the water through the filter using one. They only work for a non-pressure connection.

Once you get down here you can go to any decent hardware store (ferreteria) and buy brass adapters to go from 1" or 1/2" to 3/4".

Doug

 

[kdgreene]

Water Fill

Sorry to have taken so long to reply. Just want to clarify that I understand your question.

The spigots in Central America are generally 3/4" and you can attach a 3/4" hose to run to your water fill for your holding tank. We attach the pre-filter directly to the spigot and then the hose after that. Wal Mart has the cheapest filters we've found. We also carry an extra screen washer which is sometimes needed for a better (tighter) fit. We also have an additional 8" hose to use when the spigot is too close to the ground for the filter to fit.

We agree with Doug that a hose bandit is invaluable for those times when threads are stripped, the size is not anything you've ever seen before...

Also, as Doug said, in South America the sizes can vary anywhere from 1/2" to 1" fittings, so it is best to pick them up before you need them.

Cheers,
Don Greene
www.QuestConnect.org
www.AmericasOverland.net