Sodium Dichlor contains 62% available chlorine. Compare that to household bleach which has something close to 3%. One pound of Sodium Dichlor is equal to 8 gallons of bleach! Also, household bleach contains other stuff, including a lot of salt, and that salt and other stuff is what causes the bad taste and why you have to flush the fresh water tank so well. Bill says it takes only 1 teaspoon of the concentrate per 100 gallons of water to initially sanitize the system. Remember to run water. If a water supply is suspect I add 1/2 tsp Sodium Dichlor to the 100G fresh water tank to insure the water is disinfected.
Richard, how do you test campground water?Same way we test city water supplies - we don't. We do, however, check the best we can before filling out tank.
Sometimes it's easy, as in many states if the campground uses a well they've got a testing certificate posted for guests to see. Other times it's not as simple, but we've had good success with asking other campers before filling the tanks if there have been any problems with the water. The seasonal campers will more likely know the situation.When we were in a campsite in PA this fall, I was really glad we asked at the desk before filling. They had been issued a water-boil advisory by the health department only a short time before due to a problem with their fresh water supply. Would have contaminated our whole system.We don't hook up our electrical without testing first with our pedestal tester, and we don't fill our water tank without doing what we can to verify that the water is safe to drink. It's not a perfect system by any means, but sometimes imperfect is the best we can do.
We use the onboard tank exclusively for all needs - bathing, cooking, drinking. We've got a whole-house filter to remove sediment, and a drinking water filter on the sink which further filters water for cooking/drinking. We stopped using bottled water years ago. When possible, I fill the tank from our well water (softened) before leaving on a trip.
![Sodium Dichlor Rv Fresh Water Tank Sodium Dichlor Rv Fresh Water Tank](http://cpi.studiod.com/www_ehow_com/i.ehow.com/images/a04/f0/jk/rv-fresh-water-holding-tanks-800x800.jpg)
It holds 90 gallons which will last the two of us more than a week. We'll fill from city water while on the road, but only after double checking on the quality of the water supply at the park/campground.We do the same. The under-counter carbon/silver water filter is for drinking, cooking, and especially coffee maker, and ice maker.
If a water supply is suspect I add 1/2 tsp Sodium Dichlor to the 100G fresh water tank to insure the water is disinfected. Yes Carl I know what is, it is stabilized chlorine; how to safely handle it, how to use it to destroy Cyanide( Sodium Dichlor/chlorine may be used to neutralize Cyanide, which makes the solution safe to discharge into a city sewer system). One tsp will sanitize a 100G water system, 1/2 tps 70% Sodium Dichlor will disinfect 100G water while maintaining a safe drinking water level. It leaves no aftertaste like household bleach.Richard you are correct; this WHO pdf explains using Sodium Dichlor to disinfect drinking water.EDIT: Using this chemical is not for a novice, it can cause blindness if it gets in the eyes, and other serious injuries when handled improperly. If the granules get wet in a container it may emit Phosgene gas.
We use mainly bottled water for consumption and CG water for everything else. Our coach has a whole house filter and the frig has its own filter so the ice maker is helped by those. We do consume the ice from the ice maker.We change our filters probably a little more often than we need to. We also use a little bleach to sanitize our system every few months. We honestly are more cautious with our water than when we were in a sticknbrick.Hope I don't freak anyone out, but yesterday after cleaning all my wheels I took a huge long drink straight from my green garden hose!
Since we are on the subject of sanitizing the fresh water tank, do not over chlorinate your fresh water tank. Your pump uses black rubber diaphragms, O-rings, and the onboard check valve. Chlorine will cause the black rubber to disintegrate prematurely, thereby shorten the life of the pump. If you don't believe it, look at the black flapper valve in a S&B toilet where the city water is chlorinated. If you want to slow down replacing those flapper valves so often, replace them with a red or white rubber one next time. Also if your water tastes bad, clean the inside of the faucet end with vinegar, that is where the nasty taste comes from in most cases.