# Refilling water systems



## ChristopherR (Jul 10, 2009)

Good Afternoon All, can anyone please advise when it is safe to refill the water systems on motorhomes. I realise we can still get frosts but does it get cold enough to be a risk? I should point out I live in the south of England and appreciate it will be different in northern Scotland. Thank you all for a very informative forum.


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## raynipper (Aug 4, 2008)

I'm even further south than you here in Normandy and I'm delaying refilling with water just yet.

Check your 10 day weather reports.

Ray.


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## SaddleTramp (Feb 15, 2007)

I never ever fill ours until we are almost going away, I usually clean tank and treat it then fill it day before we go and usually put heating on if it looks like being cold.


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## Grizzly (May 9, 2005)

We fill ours up when we get to a site and, in winter, rely on the van heating to keep it warm enough all the time we are away.

We empty the system completely before we leave the last site or as soon as we get home.

We do much the same in summer - ie fill up with fresh and empty excess-as we don't fancy washing in water that has been sitting around in storage between trips. 

G


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## joedenise (Jul 20, 2007)

We generally fill up day before we're going away, except in summer then we just top up before we go. Should be OK while you're away in van.

Joe & Denise


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## EJB (Aug 25, 2007)

I fill and drain for each trip.
At the moment, with a promise of -2 and -3 in the next week, I wouldn't fill up yet.


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## raynipper (Aug 4, 2008)

I guess it's the 'Boy Scout' in me...... :roll: 
Like to be ready at a moments notice. Always like the basics on board ¼ tank water, full gas and fuel, some basic foodstuffs, beer/wine, maps/GPS and the bed made. 
The later causes havoc with swimbo as she insists on stripping and putting clean, fresh bedding the night before departure. 

Ray.


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## Grizzly (May 9, 2005)

raynipper said:


> Like to be ready at a moments notice.
> .


We've always got it fully packed up, summer and winter, but not with water in the tank.

I change the bedclothes as soon as we come back and all we then have to add is any fresh food left in the fridge at home and go.

Water however is taken on fresh each trip. We do try not to arrive home with a full tank of fresh and run it down the night before.

G


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## Pudsey_Bear (Sep 25, 2008)

Bearing in mind that water expands when freezing by around 10%, if your tank is only 3/4 full it wouldn't expand enough to do any damage would it?

We don't empty ours, we just open the cock on the Truma, and make sure the taps are open too to allow for the expansion, so if the taps don't break (very fragile plastic) surely the tank thick polythene or similar will just bend a little at the most.

I just searched MHF and only found 1 reference to a split tank and it wasn't Split tank NOT.

So maybe we're all worrying a little too much.

Kev


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## Oil-on-the-Road (Oct 16, 2009)

raynipper said:


> Like to be ready at a moments notice. causes havoc with swimbo as she insists on stripping
> 
> Ray.


 8O

:lol:


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## Grizzly (May 9, 2005)

Kev_n_Liz said:


> So maybe we're all worrying a little too much.
> 
> Kev


I think most of us are worried about the contents of the various pipes and various feeds to cassette toilet etc freezing. It would have to be pretty cold for the contents of the tank to freeze but I'm sure it would not take much for the pipes to do so if they were full of water.

Imagine the mess they'd make when they thawed....

G


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## EJB (Aug 25, 2007)

Frozen pipes and bacteria are the reasons I fill/refill for each trip.


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## ChristopherR (Jul 10, 2009)

Many Thanks for the swift responses, I drain the fresh water tank after each trip but not the water heater and it was this and the flush water that I was thinking about. If we go away and use hot water it will be a little inconvenient to have to drain it all down again....perhaps I will ho;d off until April, should be safe then!! :!:


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## Grizzly (May 9, 2005)

ChristopherR said:


> , ....but not the water heater and it was this and the flush water that I was thinking about.


Don't put off your trip because of this Chris. It doesn't take long to drain either of these- pull out plugs as you leave the van at home and let it trickle away underneath the van. It's clean and there is not a huge amount of it.

I wouldn't recommend doing the same with the bulk fresh water tank which contains a lot more water and might flood your parking place or with the waste water which will smell !

It only takes a few extra minutes when you have got to your first stop to flush the water through the heater and the loo reservoir. There'll be much coughing and spluttering from the taps as the air is pushed out but it will flow freely - showing you've filled the water heater- after a little while.

G


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## ChristopherR (Jul 10, 2009)

Many Thanks to one and all


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## 1302 (Apr 4, 2006)

Its the first time we have had a van with a hot water tank. We used to sometimes leave water in the cold water tank in our old van, in between weekends, (draining it off if it was to stand any longer). On reading truma water heater instructions it advises to drain if chance of frost because of pipework, which I have done, but it seems to empty the water from both tanks when I do this! Is there a way of just draining off the hot tank?
Alison


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