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Old 10-08-2017, 07:34 PM   #1
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Brand: Thor Motor Coach
Model: ACE 30.3 Sold
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Dumb move -- overfilled fresh water - tank bulging

I was filling the tank as part of sanitizing. It was taking forever to fill, so I stuck the hose in and started to run some water through the faucets (until I smelled bleach) to do in parrallel. When I got back out, water was coming out around the hose, so I pulled it out, and then not only was water coming out the vent, but water was shooting back out the main gravity fill.

I'm not sure how long it did this, but more than a few seconds, probably 15 seconds or more. When I looked in the outside storage compartment under the kitchen counter where the fresh water drain and part of the tank is, I found the piece of wood that is under the tank was laying in the compartment and the tank was bulging down a good 4-6".

No idea if I did permanent damage, or whether any damage was done to the top of the tank or if all the bulging occurred in that spot. I'm draining the tank again to see if I can get that piece of wood back in place, which I imagine functioned as a support for the tank.

Then, I guess I will refill and see if there are any obvious signs of leaking.

Any thoughts on what I can check for damage? I'm leaving on a five day trip in the morning.

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Old 10-08-2017, 10:03 PM   #2
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The vent and fill must not have let the overflow out fast enough. Like you mentioned, I would guess if the tank shows no sign of leaking, you may not have damaged it. Also, when we are traveling, I only have the tank 1/3 full which give us enough water for day use until we get to a campground. No need for more water, more weight unless we boondock for a night or two.
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Old 10-08-2017, 11:47 PM   #3
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Looks like I got lucky. Once drained, I was able to put the support board back under it.

The only place it appeared to be leaking was out of a drain plug that appears to support hooking plumbing up on either side of tank. It was barely leaking. I took it out, put some Teflon tape on threads and reinstalled and seems to be fine.

So, assuming no damage was done to downstream plumbing, which I doubt, I think I dodged a bullet.
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Old 10-09-2017, 05:12 PM   #4
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Quote:
Originally Posted by tnedator View Post
Looks like I got lucky. Once drained, I was able to put the support board back under it.

The only place it appeared to be leaking was out of a drain plug that appears to support hooking plumbing up on either side of tank. It was barely leaking. I took it out, put some Teflon tape on threads and reinstalled and seems to be fine.

So, assuming no damage was done to downstream plumbing, which I doubt, I think I dodged a bullet.
It feels good when a lesson learned is also cheap!
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Old 10-09-2017, 07:14 PM   #5
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On my first RV I filled the tank with the hose full blast and walked away. when it was full the water was going in faster then the vent would let it out and the fill hose came disattached inside the rv and flooded the back of the RV. I had to take everything apart and use a dehumidifier to dry it all out.

Now I used one of those inline filters which not only cleans the water but also slows the flow down enough so it doesn't happen again.
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Old 10-09-2017, 07:20 PM   #6
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I have learned the hard way to never ever ever NEVER walk away or do something else in the vicinity of the rv with water running. Running water and levels get 100% attention from beginning to end. Even then... How do I do these things?!
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Old 10-10-2017, 03:37 AM   #7
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Now I'm gun shy. How do you know the tank is full?

I thought you just filled the gravity fill until water runs out of it, but now I'm afraid to do that.

I'm not sure if it was a Phoenix cruiser video or another when I was researching purchase, but one of them said that's how you know it's full.
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Old 10-10-2017, 11:02 AM   #8
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Fill it a little more slowly... So the water can escape when it is full...
It is also one of the sensors on control panel that is reasonably accurate.

On my rig, I can open a cabinet door from living area, or bathroom vanity, and see the tank.

I rarely fill it completely - as I haven't needed that much on board - and no need to carry the weight.

Not leaving the rig while filling is good advice... I have had the vent line pop off before. You just never know.
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Old 10-10-2017, 11:17 AM   #9
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We have an annual trip we take that requires us to fill the tank. I simply fill it up until it overflows. Another helpful tip: Use a filler with a shutoff right at the tank (like this one) that way you can turn it off right there and not have to run over to the spigot to turn off the water.
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Old 10-11-2017, 11:53 PM   #10
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I use a water pressure regulator (not sure where I got it) as the first or second thing on the water hose. Read somewhere not to trust campgrounds' water pressure - could be too high. It protects the filter as well as the RV.
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Old 10-12-2017, 12:18 AM   #11
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Quote:
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Fill it a little more slowly... So the water can escape when it is full...
It is also one of the sensors on control panel that is reasonably accurate.

On my rig, I can open a cabinet door from living area, or bathroom vanity, and see the tank.

I rarely fill it completely - as I haven't needed that much on board - and no need to carry the weight.

Not leaving the rig while filling is good advice... I have had the vent line pop off before. You just never know.
Another hint: You can tell when the tank is nearing full by the sound of the air rushing out of the tank by your fill hose. Not unlike filling the gas tank on your car. When that sound changes, stop and check your level. It's probably as close to full as you really need. After you've done it a few times it becomes second nature and you can just about match your timing every fill.
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Old 10-12-2017, 12:58 AM   #12
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On ours the fresh water tank is visible in a compartment just under the fill, and translucent, so you can see water level.
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Old 10-12-2017, 05:08 AM   #13
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On ours the fresh water tank is visible in a compartment just under the fill, and translucent, so you can see water level.
Yea, I found that after the mishap. Still, part of the tank is up above the rim of the door, and it fills for a while once it gets up in that area.
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Old 10-12-2017, 05:14 AM   #14
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Also, it appears the overfilling identified another manufacturing defect in my coach (mostly they've been minor, but quite a few).

So, when I overfilled, I said the board supporting it came down. I attributed that all to my goof up.

I went on a four hour drive Tuesday, and about an hour or so in, I decided to stop to take a look. I was really looking to see if there was any water in the compartment, indicating a tear/rupture up above that only moving around would find.

What I found was the board once again laying in the cargo bay. This time I paid closer attention to what was wrong.

So, this is black board is under the tank and sits on a black metal band hanging from the coach floor. There is a think black shield that screws to the black band covering about 3/4 of the front of the tank (they leave the one area visible to see the level -- I now realize).

So, the same screws that hold this thin cover in place are about an inch or longer and apparently are supposed to screw into that board. However, the board is in at an angle, so the right hand screw never made contact, and the left hand screw looked to only be about 1/8" (maybe less) into the board.

So, while my overfilling popped out that tiny bit of screw penetration, it was probably just a matter of time until that board fell when driving.

Fortunately, I was stopped in a harbor freight parking lot. I transferred most of the water to my black/grey tanks to get it light enough to get the board back under it and got some very thick zip ties from Harbor Freight and zip tied it all in place.

Another thing for the list of stuff to get fixed when I head up to Thor factory service
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Old 10-12-2017, 10:58 AM   #15
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...and on the 6th day God invented duct tape and zip ties, knowing that He then could count on a really good day of rest on the 7th.

Quote:
Fortunately, I was stopped in a harbor freight parking lot.
Ya see, something good always happens. Another day of learning without a disaster.
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Old 10-12-2017, 03:44 PM   #16
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...and on the 6th day God invented duct tape and zip ties, knowing that He then could count on a really good day of rest on the 7th.



Ya see, something good always happens. Another day of learning without a disaster.
Ironically, before I made this trip, there were a few items I had planned to put in the RV, such as zip ties, wire nuts, electrical tape, etc. and never got around to doing it.

One issue that might rear it's head is that when the board fell out while driving, the tank was resting on the metal support band and those two screws and there are gouges in the plastic from resting on the screws while the coach was moving.

I'm not sure how thick these tanks are, nor how deep those gouges are.
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