Water tank overflow

[jgilliam1955]

8) I just picked up a 2004 2619 TM. While being shown the different things about the TM it was mentioned don't let the fresh water tank over flow, because the water will spill into the TM if it gets in the air screen tube. Is this true?
Thanks
Jack

[Bill]

I don't believe so.

My TM is closed at the moment, so I can't check. But I have spent a lot of time under the sink (where my tank is located - yours may be different), and I believe I understand every inch of plumbing and wiring under there - and I'm sure I would have noticed if this were true.

Look at it this way - that would be a really dumb design feature, guaranteed to PO the customer. Not a good thing for TM (or any other manufactuer) to do. If it had been true at some point, it would have been fixed FAST.

Bill

[RockyMtnRay]

Not really true. If installed correctly, both the fill tube and the vent tube (what I presume you mean by "air screen tube") shouldn't leak water into the interior of the TM. But as has been discussed in a thread in the Maintenance Forum (http://www.trailmanorowners.com/yabbse/index.php?board=2;action=display;threadid=1187), the factory does a generally poor job of clamping the fill tube (and probably also the vent tube) to the top of fresh water tank. Overfill the tank by just a bit and water usually will leak out onto the top of the tank where it makes a small puddle. I suppose if you kept trying to overfill, the leakage would eventually flow over the sides of the tank and get into the undercounter woodwork (a rather bad thing).

As noted in the linked thread, the leak is caused by the stiffening ribbing in the fill tube's wall and can sometimes be stopped by applying a 2nd clamp to the fill tube. If done correctly, it probably could also be stopped by applying silicone to the hose/tank nipple before re-assembling things...but correctlly applying the silicone without getting it into the water system is a bit tricky.

Personally, I just stop filling as soon as I hear a sustained gurgle in the fill tube...that's my clue the tank is just about full. Sometimes I get a small puddle on the top of the tank, but I know to look for it after filling and just sop it up with a rag that I carry in the TM precisely for that purpose. Overall, a minor nuisance.

[Windbreaker]

Yep, that is the way mine is setup also, never filled it full for fear of shooting water on myself while filling the tank that input hole is a lot larger than the out going hole, bet it would shoot out a good ways.

[mjlaupp]

Windy,
Is it fatal if you get shot by the water ???

[Windbreaker]

It just might be, being kin to the wicked witch of the west, we tend to take water very seriously.

:o

[kdrickard]

We have a 2004 2720 and I have personally overfilled the tank. :o Having barely escaped the deadly torrent of water that resulted from the overflow tube... Well, maybe it wasn't quite *that* deadly ;D , more like water dribbling out of both the inflow and overflow tubes on the outside of the TM. And yes, as discussed in another thread the ribbed inflow tube had a small leak where it connected to the tank -- this even after the dealer gave all the connections an extra tightening during the walkthrough. No leaks from the overflow tube.

Kevin

[mjlaupp]

-- this even after the dealer gave all the connections an extra tightening during the walkthrough.

At some point all of this overtightning is going to crush the poly nipple welded to the top of the water tank. Bet that new tank ain't cheap! :o
MJL

[efelker]

I agree with Mike -- keep tightening that clamp & eventually something is going to give... clamp is steel, tank inlet is plastic.. my money is on the inlet spout breaking.

Surely there must be some way to put a thin rubber sheet, teflon tape, or (God-Forbid, duct tape) on the inlet spout to take up some of the space between the spout & the corrogated tube. Wouldn't that then form a better seal using less force on the clamp?

Ed

[Happytrails]

Duct tape, that's what they call around here, West Virginia Chrome.......lol........ ::) See, you guys in and around Texas aren't the only ones!

Happytrails...........

[efelker]

Happy:

Duct tape, WD-40, and a hammer -- I'm now like the Bush administration, equipped to handle all situations -- first two minimal tools to fix most problems and last one for my view that everything in the world is a nail -- oops, probably should have saved that for the Off Topic discussion.

[kdrickard]

At some point all of this overtightning is going to crush the poly nipple welded to the top of the water tank. Bet that new tank ain't cheap! :o
MJL


Yup. The tightening I observed the dealer do was more along the lines of giving it a turn or so to make sure it was snug/tight. Not the "well it still leaks so one hard turn will fix the leak", type tightening. Again, through personal experience on replacing a water pump on a car (many years ago) I agree that that the "one more hard turn" will fix the problem is ill advised.

As others (forgive me for not remembering who) have mentioned, it's getting a good seal on the ribbed inflow tube that is the problem.

Kevin