Did I Break My Fresh Water Tank?

BillH46 · April 20

I connected my 2021 400 Boondock to my campsite fresh water system this morning. I had the water pressure regulator installed at the supply faucet and connected my hose to the Nautilus system, adjusted the 4 knobs to Power Fill as I have done dozens of times over the past 5 years. I turned the faucet on at about 1/4 throttle. The NuCamp information display panel did not show any change from Empty. About 45-60 seconds later I heard a couple of loud bangs. I quickly turned the water faucet off. I looked under the camper and there was no water dripping down. I pulled up the camper bed to look at the back of the Nautilus and the surrounding floor and there was no water leakage. I went back to the faucet unhooked my hose and turned the faucet on. There was a loud sound of air rushing out of the faucet. It seems that I was the first to use this faucet after it had been blown out by the park to protect the water system from winter freezing (in Wyoming).

Did I Break My Fresh Water Tank?
What can I check to determine if the tank or connections are damaged?
I've bled all of the air out of the water supply system, but I don't want to add water if I damaged the tank or some of the piping that might flood the camper.

Any thought, ideas, suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Bill

rfuss928 · April 20

If you had the pressure regulator in place there should not be any damage from excess pressure. The bangs may have been the fresh tank expanding and the sides "oil canning". The tank overflow should vent the air immediately.
IMO - I would start adding water and keep a close eye inside and out for the first few minutes.

MuttonChops · April 20

My estimation is there has been no damage to the TAB systems if you indeed had the Nautilus set to "Power Fill". As seen in the figure below, Power/Tank Fill directs all the City Water to the tank . . . TAB Water System is disconnected.
Not shown in the figure is the tank Vent, so the air burst should not have stressed the tank/pipes . . . extra air pressure would just vent.

Image: https://us.v-cdn.net/5021717/uploads/editor/wh/h7oj1g28ic7u.jpg

The Dark Blue Lines show how the water and that burst of air pressure is/was routed.

Consider adding a new Camp Site Procedure of testing the city water flow before connecting to the TAB. I always do so mainly to get a sense of the pressure and quality of the water.

BillH46 · April 20

rfuss928 and MuttonChops

thanks for those very encouraging insights

I'm going to go outside and give that a go. I'll give you guys a situation report in a few minutes.

pthomas745 · April 20

Be very careful here. If your fresh water tank overflow "vent" is clogged, the sound you are hearing could be the fresh water tank expanding while you try to add water. The "vent" is designed to let air escape from the tank while the tank fills with air. If the "banging" you heard was the tank expanding due to excess pressure, this could become a big problem.

https://tab-rv.vanillacommunity.com/discussion/11129/dont-let-this-happen-to-you-blocked-fresh-water-tank-overflow-with-nautilus-system

BillH46 · April 20

rfuss928 and MuttonChops

You guys are THE BEST!

Everything is working great! The only thing better than a nuCamp camper is the community we get to be a part of.

If we are ever fortunate enough to share a campground we owe you a beer or other drinks of your choice. Our TAB 400 is your typical white/grey Boondock and our tow vehicle is a 4Runner (Magnetic Gray).

Thanks, thanks, thanks!
Bill

Did I Break My Fresh Water Tank?

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