How to sanitize the water system

mandt

i have been reading the forum and trying to figure this out. 
Is this correct. 
1. Drain fresh water tank and drain hot water tank. 
2. Bypass hot water tank so that it does not get the bleach (not sure which valve this is)
3. Refill water tank and add 1/4 cup of bleach
4. Use pump to run the bleach solution thru the pipes - faucets - until I smell bleach, then use the drain under the tab to empty the rest of the water
5. Fill and drain 2 more times with fresh water. Some of the draining is sending water thru the faucets and some drain under tab 

Am I close?

Thanks,

Mickey

marilyncp

1. You don't need to drain the hot water tank.
3. 1/2 c bleach per gallon of water... I used 3 gallons when I de-winterized.

See the T@B owners manual under User Manuals/PDFs
http://tab-rv.vanillaforums.com/categories/video-resources

mandt

To clarify: you start with an empty fresh water tank. Add 3 gallons of water and 1 cup of bleach. Do you then run it all thru the faucets and into the gray tank. Then the rinse water goes thru the faucets and into the grey tank??

TabberJohn

You want to dilute the bleach first so instructions are add 1/4 cup to a gallon of water, add that gallon to the fresh water tank, then fill the tank which dilutes the bleach even further.
That's 1/4 cup max for the entire job, not per gallon. Some are of the opinion that is overkill (pun intended) but 1/4 cup for an 11 gallon tank is just about right as posted here: http://www.sanidumps.com/sanitizervfreshwatersystem.php
1/4 cup = 2 oz = 4 tablespoons = 12 teaspoons
This measurement is for non-concentrated household bleach (5% sodium-hypochloric solution).
Concentrated is typically 8.25% so you can use 1/3 less (8 teaspoons or around 2-1/2 tablespoons). 

Also don't forget the sit time for sanitizing is 3 hours minimum (Step 4a before you drain anything).

mandt

The fresh water drain on a 2016 max s is located by the step, correct?

Verna

mandt said:

The fresh water drain on a 2016 max s is located by the step, correct?

Yes.  To the left of your step. 

wizard1880

Keep in mind if the Bleach you're using is concentrated, use about a 1/3 less, so less than 1/4 cup is ultimately needed for your entire system.

In supermarkets like Albertsons, Safeway, etc. it's the only kind of bleach you can find.  I've only seen standard bleach at dollar stores.

Honestly though, the concentration probably won't hurt anything, so whatever you feel confortable with.  You may need to take longer rinsing to get the smell out.

I also don't see why you need to bypass the Alde -- you want to sanitize your entire system.  Unless there's something I missing?

marilyncp

wizard1880 said:

Keep in mind if the Bleach you're using is concentrated, use about a 1/3 less, so less than 1/4 cup is ultimately needed for your entire system.

In supermarkets like Albertsons, Safeway, etc. it's the only kind of bleach you can find.  I've only seen standard bleach at dollar stores.

Honestly though, the concentration probably won't hurt anything, so whatever you feel confortable with.  You may need to take longer rinsing to get the smell out.

I also don't see why you need to bypass the Alde -- you want to sanitize your entire system.  Unless there's something I missing?

I read in the Manual that it is not necessary or recommended to winterize the Alde system if you follow the instructions.  The main issue is - was the ALDE winterized.  If not, it is not necessary to do...  please read the manual for proper instructions. 

wizard1880

For winterization, yes, you don't want the pink stuff in the tank, so if you use heat it would cook that stuff and make a mess / possibly damage.

But for sanitization, I don't see why not?

ScottG

wizard1880 said:

...
I also don't see why you need to bypass the Alde -- you want to sanitize your entire system.  Unless there's something I missing?

I think is has something to do with bleach not playing nicely with the stainless steel in the Alde tank.

Of course, I didn't have (or didn't read...) those directions the first time I sanitized mine. Not only did I run bleach through the Alde, but I misinterpreted the mixing directions and used way too much bleach.

While it sure took a long time to run the bleach smell out of the camper, everything still works just fine...

On the surface, it does seem logical to sanitize the entire system. However, conventional wisdom recommends against consuming water from a hot water tank, so I guess it's a moot point.

wizard1880

Yep, that's it - Bleach and Stainless do not play together well.  Oops.  I've sanitized mine at least 4 times with bleach, but i've never left it in there more than a couple hours.

According to Alde it is self-sterilizing (due to 150F heat).  Unfortunately my T@B was one of the first produced with the Alde so there is no bypass valve, just a drain valve.  Hmm.

db_cooper

I just filled and sanitized ours yesterday.  I read about a different technique using dichlor granules, which I have handy for shock treating a hot tub.  

http://rvbasics.com/techtips/sanitizing-your-rv-fresh-water-system.html

According to the article if you are on chlorinated city water, you really don't need to sanitize, unless it's really been a while, like skipping a camping season or two.  If you can smell chlorine then you're safe.

Since we're on a well, I'm trying the  dichlor. It's basically 99.9% pure chlorine so it doesn't take much.  Large   RVs use a teaspoon per 100 gallons.  That means there's no good way to measure for our small tank, so I used a half pinch.  
Definitely a stronger chlorine smell than I'd like so I'm going to drain in  a couple days, and replace, using about 6 granules. Seriously.

We don't normally drink from the taps, saving it for showers.  But this way it should be safe if we need to.

wizard1880

Hmm, our water is definitely chlorinated.  And strong too as I can almost always smell it in the shower or when I'm filling large pots of water at home.

I thought of using bromine but apparently that's a BIG no no. 

For my situation, since I can't bypass the Alde, I think I'll use an extremely diluted amount of chlorine, like a tablespoon, and let it sit overnight to sanitize.  That thin an amount shouldn't harm it.  Heck, they use strong bleaches to sanitize stainless countertops in restaurants and they survive fine.  Just thinking out loud here.

ScottG

@wizard1880, if you're not drinking from the HW side, it's arguable that it doesn't really need sanitizing. You could avoid chlorinating the Alde by just turning off it's supply valve and letting the bleach solution run through only the CW distribution side.

I was just repeating something I had heard here about bleach and stainless, but i have no first had knowledge of what the actual concern is. I share your out-loud thinking about the use of bleach in restaurants, (not to mention hospitals and other places where sanitizing is a high priority). Maybe somebody else can offer some insight.

JohnDanielsCPA

Just Google "bleach and stainless."  Dozens of links will pop up indicating the two don't play well together.

ScottG

Yeah, I know how to Google, but sometimes I choose not to...  ;-)

ColoradoJon

Bleach (chlorides) can cause corrosion on stainless steel if concentrated enough.  It's not a problem if it is heavily diluted and rinsed well.  The problem occurs when the area dries, leaving concentrated bleach on the surface of the stainless steel.  This can cause pitting.

I have several stainless steel brewing pots that I sanitize with Star San, a phosphoric acid based sanitizer, but it foams quite a bit.  I don't know how it would fare inside a closed Alde boiler

Heat is the best way to sanitize but you will need higher temps - over 170F to properly sanitize.

ScottG

I've thought about StarSan as well. Don't fear the foam!  :-)

ColoradoJon

@ScottG - you know the saying!  Another brewer?  

ScottG

Yep, I put up a few batches a year while waiting for camping season.

When it comes to working on the T@B, RDWHAHB!

ColoradoJon

That's awesome!  RDWHAHB, words of the wise.

I would like to try StarSan to sanitize but am concerned about the foaming.  My brother used plain dish liquid in his apartment dishwasher once.  The result was actually pretty neat as long as it wasn't your apartment.

I don't like wasting a lot of water to rinse bleach out of my fresh water tank but so far I haven't found anything that is as effective.