Filling water tank

[oclv]

I've only filled the tank in our Sportsmobile using a hose. Is there a way to fill the water tank using 5 gal containers instead of using a water hose? Thanks. oclv

[jage]

There should be a fitting inside, near the gray cut off for your "city water" or hose connection. It's hose size, and mine has a black cap on a tether.

There are many options for getting the water from the 5 gallon jug into the tank (especially opposed to "all over") but the inside fill is what you need to start with. Use the search, there have been discussions on how to accomplish this.

Oh and it's backwards- male thread which is a "water out" in the hose fitting size.

[zugg]

Hi Oclv,

Take a look at this members album:

Gallery of kzemach

Page 2 & 3 are a great reference for what you are trying to do.

Zugg

[kzemach]

Better yet there is a mods thread with more explaination.

http://sportsmobileforum.com/viewtopic.php?t=271

However, I've found that a Super Siphon works best from the hard containers than a dedicated connected hose. Still quick connect to the tank, but use the super siphon from your tank source.

[Greg In Austin]

We have two Scepter Military 5 gallon water jerry cans, and they have a fitting on the lid that allows you to hook up the short potable water hose and just pour it into the tank using the interior fitting. There is also a vent fitting to make sure the water flows easily.

.

[yvrr]

I ultimately solved the problem by adding a pump at the rear of our van so that I can pump directly from our jerry cans to the inside fresh water tank...

[jlrray]

What kind of pump did you use and how did you wire / plumb it?

Joe

[yvrr]

I used a Flojet Quiet Quad II water pump from Camping World ($70) only because it was easily available, designed to pump water, and is self-priming. We have an EB-50 with a water heater so I mounted the pump inside the water heater "cabinet". The piping configuration was based primarily on the availability of various couplings available at the hardware store. The inlet to the pump is some flexible pipe and a male water hose fitting which extends through the water heater cabinet. From that fitting, I can attach a 2' long piece of reinforced water hose and to that, a piece of 1/2" PVC bonded to a 90 degree PVC fitting. That lets me insert the PVC pipe into the jerry can and suck water from the bottom of the jerry can. The reinforced water hose is probably overkill but it keeps the hose from collapsing.

The outlet of the pump is connected to a length of reinforced garden hose which extends snakes through the inverter box to the water tank (under the sofa in our case). Since I don't need to fill the water tank from inside the van anymore, I removed the SMB cap and permanently installed a 90 degree fitting which connects to this water hose. The on/off electrical switch (12v) for the pump is on the rear of the water heater box next to the water hose fitting.

To use the setup, I hook up 2' long hose and PVC pipe to the connection at the rear of our van, turn the SMB valve on the water tank to the "fill" position, and turn on the pump. The result...no more filling of the tank from inside the van.

If you need more information, let me know...

[oclv]

Thanks for all the good ideas. I will see what works best for us. oclv

[jage]

Originally Posted by yvrr

If you need more information, let me know...

I'd like to see photos of your water pump install if you get a chance.