Canister Water Filter Suggestions

[Oregonbound]

Originally Posted by Adamsvr

Good to hear!

On our 2012RL, Grey 2 is the Galley tank and Gray 1 is shower, bathroom wind, washer/dryer tank.

Were you able to figure out the tanks/valves through experience or is there another source of info. I can access?

[Adamsvr]

Originally Posted by Oregonbound

Were you able to figure out the tanks/valves through experience or is there another source of info. I can access?

The top valve in the convenience center is Gray 1, the middle valve is the Galley tank 2, and the bottom valve is the Black tank. At least that's how it is in our coach. Just figured it out.

When flushing the tanks, start from bottom and work your way up.

[johnboytoo]

One thing I always do with my water hose that may help is...

I drain it completely then loop it and connect the two ends together to make it a closed system while in storage...

so far (two years with same hose) no issues...

BUT, we still only drink bottled water -
just a habit we got into a long time ago and do it at the S&B house too -
just too convenient to grab a cold bottle and run

[Oregonbound]

I imagine keeping the air out of the hose keeps airborne molds, etc out.

As far as tanks Adamsvr, our valves are labelled Black, Galley and Grey. On the control panel, they are labelled Black, Grey 1 and Grey 2 which, combined with a faulty sensor for Grey 1 sensor, makes it difficult to know how it's all hooked together. Anyway, think my method of finding out is sound. Thus far:

Kitchen sink - Grey
Bath sink - Galley
Shower - Grey

in process of running washer and then dishwasher

[johnboytoo]

Arrrrrrgh - me pirates mate says

Galley is kitchen sink only...
(and maybe d/w and w/d if you have them ? I don't)
and grey is showers and bath sink...
and we all know what black is

at least that's the way it was on my last 5er,
sooooo, I put a valve at the end and opened both grey tanks when no sewer to let both greys run together...
otherwise galley would be empty and grey would be full from shower...

[Oregonbound]

Arrrggg…must be different in our ship. Ran the bathroom sink for 30 minutes this am with tanks empty. Only the "Galley tank" had anything in it afterwards. So far, that's the only thing I've found that fills the "Galley" tank though I still need to test the dishwasher. I wish Redwood published a plumbing, electrical, other systems diagram for each model

[Oriana]

The 36FL is plumbed to that the kitchen sink, bathroom sink, dishwasher and shower go into one of the grey tanks and the W/D goes into the other. We don't have a W/D and have already shelved that cupboard for extra storage. Therefore that tank would have been un-useable.

We and a few others have added another valve in the outlet, which we keep closed and then open both grey tank valves. This gives us the full capacity of both tanks.

[mhs4771]

Sounds like almost no two units are plumbed the same. Our Galley tank is the Kitchen sink only (would also be the DW is we had one besides me). Gray is the bath (shower & sink) and our washer. And in the convenience center the pulls are: Black on top, Galley middle, and Gray bottom.

[atom ant]

Our's is like Michelle and Ann's. It would make sense based on the floor plan.

[Oregonbound]

Originally Posted by Oriana

The 36FL is plumbed to that the kitchen sink, bathroom sink, dishwasher and shower go into one of the grey tanks and the W/D goes into the other. We don't have a W/D and have already shelved that cupboard for extra storage. Therefore that tank would have been un-useable.

We and a few others have added another valve in the outlet, which we keep closed and then open both grey tank valves. This gives us the full capacity of both tanks.

May I ask how you know that for sure? I'm now on my third cycle of testing all the water sources and thus far the only one that fills the "Gallery" tank is the bathroom sink. I'm hoping the dishwasher drains to it….otherwise, we pretty much have a useless tank. I just emailed my wife. She says she can't remember ever seeing the "Gallery/Grey #2" tank more than a third full and come to think of it, neither have I. I think someone messed up in the plumbing dept. and will have the dealership take a look at it in the Spring - we're hunkered down for the winter (with 1 Grey tank i guess)

[johnboytoo]

This is what we did to alleviate the 1 empty and 1 full issue...
get one of these:
http://www.amazon.com/Valterra-T58-T...wer+gate+valve

remove the end cap, put it on the end of your drain and close the valve...
then open BOTH grey tanks....
water will seek it's own level and the full tank will back up and overflow into the empty tank, thus making one big grey tank...
dumping is just as easy...

hook up stinky slinky, close both grey tanks, open end valve, open black tank, close black, and open grey tanks...

works like a champ !

[Oregonbound]

Originally Posted by johnboytoo

This is what we did to alleviate the 1 empty and 1 full issue...
get one of these:
http://www.amazon.com/Valterra-T58-T...wer+gate+valve

remove the end cap, put it on the end of your drain and close the valve...
then open BOTH grey tanks....
water will seek it's own level and the full tank will back up and overflow into the empty tank, thus making one big grey tank...
dumping is just as easy...

hook up stinky slinky, close both grey tanks, open end valve, open black tank, close black, and open grey tanks...

works like a champ !

Wow….that's almost sounds too good to be true. Thanks very much…will look for one locally tomorrow.

BTW, do you think the 1 empty, 1 full is a mistake or part of the design?

[johnboytoo]

well, it IS part of the design...
not sure why you would put multiple major water sources into one tank and 1 tiny water source into the same size other tank....
but apparently many do it

maybe to save a few feet of plastic pipe ?!?

I don't take credit for the second valve trick, others told me about it and if you think about it, it's logical that it would work !

[Tobys Home]

Our water was so bad that even with all tanks emptied and filled with recommended tank solution the toilet would emit an odor that would clear the house. Plus every time the faucets were run the water smelled. Plus my Jack didn't like the ice cubes and so we went and bought ice. After the bleach rinse and addition of two external filters all went well. Remember that the cubes take a couple of days to purge out the bleach smell. We also removed the standard issue filter.(I hate that location!!!!) Next season around mid summer I will sanitize all lines again if it is as hot as last summer.

[Oregonbound]

Originally Posted by johnboytoo

well, it IS part of the design...
not sure why you would put multiple major water sources into one tank and 1 tiny water source into the same size other tank....
but apparently many do it

maybe to save a few feet of plastic pipe ?!?

I don't take credit for the second valve trick, others told me about it and if you think about it, it's logical that it would work !

I'm no engineer, but my guesses are:

1) that the initial plans included a more balanced approach for the tanks but for this particular model, it just wasn't possible to plumb it as desired due to obstructions.
2) the plumbing was disassembled then incorrectly reassembled at the dealership. When we were shopping for RV's last SPring, we saw a couple of brand new arrivals and it looked like they had quite a bit of the underbelly parts on the shop floor.

Anyway, I DO give you credit for taking the time to pass on such good information. Much appreciated

[RCAircraft]

Originally Posted by Adamsvr

Good to hear!

On our 2012RL, Grey 2 is the Galley tank and Gray 1 is shower, bathroom wind, washer/dryer tank.

Our 2013 RL has Gray Water Tank #1 accepting water from the shower and bathroom sink. Gray Water Tank #2 accepts water from the center island kitchen sinks. If we had a dish washer the water from the washer would go to #2. Our clothes washer drains into #1.

[Oriana]

Originally Posted by Oregonbound

May I ask how you know that for sure? I'm now on my third cycle of testing all the water sources and thus far the only one that fills the "Gallery" tank is the bathroom sink. I'm hoping the dishwasher drains to it….otherwise, we pretty much have a useless tank. I just emailed my wife. She says she can't remember ever seeing the "Gallery/Grey #2" tank more than a third full and come to think of it, neither have I. I think someone messed up in the plumbing dept. and will have the dealership take a look at it in the Spring - we're hunkered down for the winter (with 1 Grey tank i guess)

Ian - My understanding is that all the 36FL's with W/D prep are plumbed as per my post, based on previous discussions on this forum. Hence the reason numerous owners added the additional valve to equalise the level in both tanks.

There are photographs on this forum from early in the year, if you want to search.

[RCAircraft]

Originally Posted by Oregonbound

Were you able to figure out the tanks/valves through experience or is there another source of info. I can access?

I did some testing with dyes. Pouring the dye (different color for each tank) in the selected sink/shower/washer drain was followed by checking what color drained out from the selected dump valve. Food dyes or dyes used for dying fabrics should work very well. Takes very little water and time. Start with all tanks empty. For each test, check each tank's dump valve which checks for correct plumbing. I drained the fluids into my 35-gallon portable tank with a transparent elbow attached to the main sewer connection point.

[atom ant]

I learned about the plumbing with very little effort. I ran the wash machine with all the valves closed and when water shot out of the drain I just looked at which tank was full (after I cleaned everything up).

I didn't plan it that way, but I did learn

Our Montana had a direct drain for the washer to the sewer line. It never crossed my mind this one would go to a tank.

[Oriana]

Ian - I also recall seeing plumbing diagrams listed on the forum shortly after I joined. May want to research some old posts. Also when I get home I will check my drives to see if I saved a copy.

From memory, when we did the PDI, we did not get any water in one of the grey tanks from any source. The only source we didn't test was the dishwasher, which we subsequently determined goes into the same tank as the sink. Therefore, I confirmed our 36FL was plumbed as per the RW drawing, with the W/D having a dedicated grey tank.