How do you get water in the fresh water tank using Nautilus

[Deleted User]

My friend has the Nautilus system in her 2021 400. She accidentally drained all her fresh water out on a recent boondock trip.  (she forgot to close the valves after filling up at the campground spigot)  When I went over to her site with my 5 gallon water jug to help refill her tank so she didn't have to move her camper to refill, we had one heck of a time trying to figure out how to get the water from the jug into her tank! We eventually found some configuration that sucked the water in from the jug but it wasn't very efficient.  We even had to cut the end off her water hose to use it as the siphon hose. We had to use a really short piece though to get it to suck so we had to hold the heavy water jug up close to the camper. Very hard to hold that amount of weight at that angle!  Is there a better way to get water into the fresh water holding tank in a situation where you don't have a city water connection within reach?  

Thanks.

Sharon_is_SAM

I think the only way to get water into the tank via a jug is to use the siphon/pump method that you used.  

Pg 7-8. https://us.v-cdn.net/5021717/uploads/editor/py/2wdph8ajpgb7.pdf

manyman297

I believe @Sharon_is_SAM is correct. I guess you could try to do a gravity fill (old school style) but I don't know if that would work on the Nautilus. You also may need to prime the pump initially (get some water in the hose and blow it into the inlet but you shouldn't have to hold the water jug close to the camper. I just winterized using the siphon feature and it sucked in antifreeze pretty quickly through a fairly long (maybe 4 ft) hose. 

bergger

Yes using he siphon mode on the nautilus is the only way to get water into the tank without using a city water hook up.  I think it works fantastic.  As long as the pump is primed it is easier than dumping a heavy container of water into a gravity feed like I used to do on my old trailer. 

[Deleted User]

Ok, good to hear some have used the syphon function with the container on the ground. I'm not sure what we were doing wrong in this situation.  I've got a 2022 on order so I will give the syphon method another try.  I do like the idea of this function as opposed to trying to use the gravity fill as bergger said.   We were under duress at the time not to mention laughing so hard we could barely breathe. It was like an Abbott and Costello comedy act.  

dragonsdofly

@TabbyShack, your friend most likely had air in the pump and line, especially if the tank ran dry and the pump was still engaged. This situation sometimes (in plumbing) results in a vacuum lock and the pump needed to be primed, that is, get the air out of the pump and pump line. If you face a similar situation, use only a gallon of water and gravity feed or a battery powered pump to start the water flowing into the pump and just begin suction. Shut off the pump, switch the hose to the larger container of water on the ground, then switch the pump on again (using the nautilus syphon function). After priming with water, getting air out of the pump and line, the tank fill should go quickly. Good luck with this.

[Deleted User]

Thanks Dragonsdofly! That sounds exactly like what we were dealing with.  Her pump ran dry for at least 30 minutes.  I thought it might be damaged, but it seemed ok.  They did away with the gravity fill port which I would really like that to be put back in for the odd ball cases like this.  

marchule

I woke up several days ago with, "Yikes! Where do I pour water into the tank on my new 400?"  I thought I missed it.  I looked and looked.  Even read the 400 manual (wasn't obvious).  Nada.  Ah, I sez, look at the forum!  Thanks for plowing the field before me!

MuttonChops

Lots of helpful diagrams on Nautilus system usage and more
on Forum Resources page

https://tab-rv.vanillacommunity.com/discussion/7856/plumbing-resources#latest 

K_C_915

@TabbyShack

I was having a devil of a time getting my pump to work on my T@b 320 a few weeks ago. Even after running all the air out of the lines on city water, the pump would run, but not pressurize the lines.  I was about to give up and go to my dealer, when I found the video below from Escape Trailers on how to prime the Sureflow pump our trailers have.
You just remove the filter cover, make sure it is not clogged, add some water to it, run it for a few seconds, fill it again, put the lid on, and let it rip.  Much to my surprise, the pump started to sputter and before long, it was working like a champ.  Our trip was saved.

Here is the video. Enjoy.
Water Pump Troubleshoot - Bing video

[Deleted User]

I'm still pretty old school and prefer at least a manual option to fill the tank.  I'm sure I will love the Nautilus though.

ColoradoSun

The siphon function on the Nautilus is labeled as winterizing. We carry a short section of hose just for this function. Attach the hose to the city water inlet. Set all of the levers to the winterize settings shown on the Nautilus panel. Elevate the other end of the hose and pour water from a small container directly into the end of the hose. Once it over flows quickly insert the end of the hose into the larger water container and turn on the pump using the pump switch on the nautilus. You should soon hear the water being sucked through the line and into the tank.

[Deleted User]

I see you are priming the line first. Makes perfect sense.