Tuesday, February 13, 2018

Camper Fresh Water



Above are two 4 gallon water tanks (blue) waiting to be installed in the camper.  The one between the counter cabinets (left) and the single cabinet to the right is the fresh water tank and the location I will install it.

The 4 gallon tank closer will be the waste water tank and will be the subject of a separate blog post.

Note the single cabinet to the right came with the camper and housed the heavy lead acid AGM house battery before I redesigned the 12 volt system.  Now it will be used primarily for my clothing.



Above I have made an adjoining cabinet to house the fresh water.  The tank is secured in place with 3/4”x3/4” shims around the base.  The weight and storage of things around it keep it from moving so far.  I could add a strap if needed.



Above the water tank I made my potty.  The two holes are finger holes to lift out when I fill the fresh water tank below.



The potty is made from a simple stainless steel salad bowel.



This picture above is the finished water tank with fresh water hose that goes to the sink hand pump.  The funnel for filling is on the back side of tank. 




The tubing to the pump fits perfectly through the flange that screwed into the water tank cover where a spigot that comes with the tank goes and is not used.

The supply tube makes a loop and then up through a diagonal hole into the side of the counter cabinet, along the back of the cabinet and up to the pump.



Above is the water pump I used and mounted to my counter.  I’m not totally happy with this pump as it has leaked around the pump handle.  It is temporarily fixed with Teflon tape around the handle threads.




Since I need to fill the 4 gallon blue tank in-place in my camper, I use a one gallon water jug to fill it one gallon at a time.  I carry this expanding 3 gallon jug to get water at one of the many water kiosks out here.  This expanding jug also allows me to bring extra water into my desert trips.  4 gallons inside, 3 in the expanding tank and 1 gallon jug for a total of 8 gallons for a week in the desert.

The system works good and I’m happy with it.  I would like to replace the blue tank with a commercial poly tank with an external fill and drain, but for my first year it’s great.

Brent

macaloney@hotmail.com

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