Siphon Fill 320S

GC3
GC3 Member Posts: 20
in Heating/Plumbing & Winterizing
Reading the Nautilus user manual, I see one can the refill fresh water tank from a bucket (or in theory any pool of water) using the pump, same as you pull antifreeze into the system for winterizing. Not as simple as gravity fill, but still a way to overcome the freshwater capacity limits for boondocking (at least near a water source). Anyone done this, fill water tank via suction?
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  • ontheroad
    ontheroad Member Posts: 489
    Haven't done it yet but thinking it's going to be great...you can easily find the 10 L jugs anywhere..
    Former 2017 T@G Max XL
    2021 T@B Boondock CS-S
    2018 Nissan Pathfinder
    Ontario, Canada
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  • jkjenn
    jkjenn Member Posts: 6,417
    GC3 said:
    Reading the Nautilus user manual, I see one can the refill fresh water tank from a bucket (or in theory any pool of water) using the pump, same as you pull antifreeze into the system for winterizing. Not as simple as gravity fill, but still a way to overcome the freshwater capacity limits for boondocking (at least near a water source). Anyone done this, fill water tank via suction?
    It's on my list to try. Having filled via a gravity fill, I am looking forward to this.

    2021 T@b 320 Boondock "Mattie Ross" | 2021 T@b Nights: 239 | Total nights in a T@b 455 | 2022 Jeep Grand Cherokee L Overland | T@b owner since 2014

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  • Gbertrand
    Gbertrand Member Posts: 39
    Took our new 2021 400 out for a 3 day boondock, shake down trip a couple weeks ago, first night good old newbie stunt........closed the sink lid and the faucet drained the full fresh water tank

    Good news is we were camping by a river (and we always take drinking water so never drink out of the fresh water holding tank).......to answer your question, the Natutilus system works like a charm!! We carry 2 small 3 gal pails (one collapsible) and while the Natutilus is pumping one pail in I go down and get another pail, filled the tank in no time at all

    All systems on the new 400 worked so good, our 3 day trip turned into 14 days, no issues with solar power, ran the Sirius radio ~10 hrs a day, 12v fridge was everything it is bragged up to be, and the wife even used her hair dryer once after a dip in the river 😀........just got back home yesterday, as the yard needed some TLC 😀😀😀

    Heading out again next week, deeper into the mountains.......so far love all the NuCamp systems (oh......and our Walker tent 👍) 
     2021 T@B 400 BD, 2019 F-150, or 2011 F-150 (depending on conditions)

    Definition of Success….”moving from failure to failure without any loss of enthusiasm” (Winston Churchill)
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  • Sharon_is_SAM
    Sharon_is_SAM Member Posts: 10,061
    @Gbertrand - I know you don’t drink from your tank, but you may want to sanitize your system after that river water.  Easier than dealing with a fouled tank later on.
    Sharon / 2017 T@B CSS / 2015 Toyota Sienna Minivan / Westlake, Ohio
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  • Gbertrand
    Gbertrand Member Posts: 39
    Yuppers....we routinely bleach our system 3, 4 times a year depending on usages 
     2021 T@B 400 BD, 2019 F-150, or 2011 F-150 (depending on conditions)

    Definition of Success….”moving from failure to failure without any loss of enthusiasm” (Winston Churchill)
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  • DougH
    DougH Member Posts: 1,110
    edited August 2020
    There's plenty of 0.1 micron gravity water filters out there too, for filling the fresh tank from a clean-ish lake or stream.  Some can do 1-2 liters a minute.  But I've yet to find a portable system with a small pump that filters at that level, so it takes a dozen trips to fill the whole tank.  It's still easier than heading back into town though.  Warning: use a cheap sediment filter before any Sawyer or Katadyn or equivalent bag filter, or they get real slow.  I also use a 5g LifeSaver jerrycan for drinking and showering if I run out of fresh tank completely... along with a few spare 2.5g jugs.
    2021 Jeep Gladiator, 2021 tiny toy hauler, Austin TX
    Former steward of a 2017 T@B S Max

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  • Denny16
    Denny16 Member Posts: 5,431
    Also, since you are not drinking the TaB water, you can add an once or so of bleach to the river water to deal with microbes in the water.
    cheere
    2018 TaB400 Custom Boondock,  Jeep Gladiator truck, Northern California Coast.
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  • bergger
    bergger Moderator Posts: 1,077
    I have a 2021 400 and have used the siphon method a few times to add water to the tank.  The last time was just a few days ago up in the West Yellowstone area.  It works wonderful.  So far I am loving the nautilus system.  
    2021 T@b 400 BD  "Vixen Gail" 
    2018 Nissan Titan Pro 4X "Big Bird"
    Leadville Colorado
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  • jkjenn
    jkjenn Member Posts: 6,417
    How long of a piece of hose are you using for the siphon method? I could have used it this weekend but was ill prepared as I thought there was a hydrant adjacent to my site. 

    2021 T@b 320 Boondock "Mattie Ross" | 2021 T@b Nights: 239 | Total nights in a T@b 455 | 2022 Jeep Grand Cherokee L Overland | T@b owner since 2014

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  • Gbertrand
    Gbertrand Member Posts: 39
    I had an old garden hose sitting in the garage so I cut a piece ~3 ft long and store it in the Nautilus box...........you only need enough hose to go from the Nautilus connection, to the bottom of whatever bucket you are using for water
     2021 T@B 400 BD, 2019 F-150, or 2011 F-150 (depending on conditions)

    Definition of Success….”moving from failure to failure without any loss of enthusiasm” (Winston Churchill)
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  • ontheroad
    ontheroad Member Posts: 489
    We currently have a 10 foot white water hose...will be getting a shorter one to be added to our JIC tote...
    Former 2017 T@G Max XL
    2021 T@B Boondock CS-S
    2018 Nissan Pathfinder
    Ontario, Canada
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  • mntrails
    mntrails Member Posts: 144
    I picked up 1/2" ID clear tubing with the nylon reinforcement and a nylon hose fitting to attach to the Nautilus at the h/w store.  I made 3' hose and have added to the tank from buckets and a 2-1/2 gal. water jug.   Went with the clear tubing to be sure I could see and clean out any junk that happened to grow inside the hose. The Nautilus works great. 
    2021 T@B 320S Boondock - 2018 Toyota 4Runner
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