Yahoo Message Number: 12765 (http://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/Country-Coach-Owners/conversations/messages/12765)
I'm a bit behind in reading my backlogged e-mail but I thought a response was better late than never.
Hodge Phillips wrote about a siphoning action on the fresh water tank after filling? He said he experienced siphoning of over half the water that he just loaded in his 2005 Inspire daVinci.
================================== Here are my comments on the subject ... We are recently new owners of a 2002 Intrigue that has exhibited the same siphoning action from the fresh water tank overflow hoses when filling the tank. On our coach there are 2 hoses forward of the rear axle that overflow when the tank is filled ... a larger one (about 1/2 inch diameter) and a smaller one (about 1/4 inch). We also found this frustrating after filling the tank and then watching many gallons siphon back out onto the ground when done filling. We probably lost several gallons this way ... it would siphon off a pretty steady stream for about 5 minutes and then trickle to a stop.
I did a little experimenting. First I connected a long piece of vinyl tubing to the larger hose by getting a piece of tubing that would form a snug fit inside the larger tube. Then when the tank was full and the siphoning action began, I would blow into the tube to interrupt the siphon action. This worked but didn't seem like the ultimate solution because I didn't want to leave this long tube hanging under the coach and I didn't want to crawl under the coach each time I filled to attach or detach this tube.
Next I tried just capping off the larger tube and found that the overflow out of the smaller tube was much less volume and only lasted for a couple of minutes. This worked well and so I have left that larger overflow tube permanently capped off and have not experienced any problems. The excess fill seems to bleed off through the smaller hose without forming a continuing siphon.
I might add that prior to trying the above approaches, I had a Country Coach service tech look at this situation and he had absolutely no idea as to what was causing the problem or whether it was normal or not. He did admit that it didn't make sense. It's refreshing to hear that someone else is experiencing a similar problem. In my view it is not normal to fill a tank and then siphon off the top end of the tank. It would be nice if someone from Country Coach was reading these posts and could come back with answers.
Steve Bufty
2002 Intrigue 36' #11382
Yahoo Message Number: 12770 (http://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/Country-Coach-Owners/conversations/messages/12770)
I have read this thread with some interest. While I have not had this problem on my Allure, I do find it somewhat puzzling. As far as I know the overflow vent comes off the top side of the tank and there is no drop pipe/tube inside the tank. Therfore, it would not be possible for a siphoning action. What could be possible is that the tank is swelling under the pressure of the filling action and lack of sufficent venting of the air space and the excess overflow.
Once the the water begins to vent overboard and the water filling is stopped, the tank begins to relax back to its normal shape. Thus, pushing out even more water until the tank completely relaxes.
Just my two cents worth.....
Jim
2000 Allure #30511
response
Yahoo Message Number: 12773 (http://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/Country-Coach-Owners/conversations/messages/12773)
Most if not all of the water loss ocurrs when the coach is tilted towards
the side with the overflow vent and/or centrifugal force ocurrs due to turning.
The problem is easily solved by lengthening and then routing the overflow tube to
the highest point possible in the compartment and moving the one-way air vent to
the highest point in the extended segment. This is what several of us have done on our Newmar DPs and it works great.
Tom Fisher
Dallas, TX
Yahoo Message Number: 12782 (http://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/Country-Coach-Owners/conversations/messages/12782)
S'funny this subject comes up just a few days after we started experiencing it.
Having just parked for the winter here in Puerto Penasco, MX, I noticed our fresh water tank overflowing from the same hose as described in this thread. This was somewhat distressing as we wanted to make sure we had a good supply of safe water before we crossed the border, and filled up at the last good source two weeks earlier...in Pahrump NV, of all places. Now this overflow is happening, and I can only conclude the fill valve is leaking, because as soon as I turn off the city water the overflow stops after a few minutes.
Now we're stuck with a tank diluted with (possibly) bad water, no handy souce of a replacement fill valve, and bottled water going for $1/gal.
Dick & DeVonne
2000 Allure #30519
Yahoo Message Number: 12792 (http://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/Country-Coach-Owners/conversations/messages/12792)
Dick: Where are you staying in Pureto Penasco? We will spend February at Playa Elegante and I've been trying to contact someone there.
Thanks,
Larry
Intrigue
10762
Yahoo Message Number: 12814 (http://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/Country-Coach-Owners/conversations/messages/12814)
Thanks, Steve, for your response. I got the same response from CC tech support that you got and also from the dealer. They did suggest the longer tube, but I have decided to just fill by the gauges. I have plenty of time to get the water turned off before the overflow action begins. It would be nice to hear a better fix, but I can live with the method I currently use.
response
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Yahoo Message Number: 12846 (http://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/Country-Coach-Owners/conversations/messages/12846)
Hi,
Siphoning occurs when the hose outside the tank is lower than the hose inside. Now if the hose inside the tank is flush with the top of the tank - no siphoning can occur. But if the hose inside the tank is not flush but has some length going down inside the tank, then if the outside hose end is lower than the inside hose end then siphoning will occur when the water reaches the top of the tank. The water will flow until the inside hose no longer touches the water level. One solution is to raise the hose, on the outside where it exits the tank, a couple of inches above the top of the tank. Another is to shorten or move the overflow hose so that the exit end is even with the top of the tank.
Fred Kovol
Yahoo Message Number: 12854 (http://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/Country-Coach-Owners/conversations/messages/12854)
On 13 Nov Jim Hughes wrote: "What could be possible is that the tank is swelling under the pressure of the filling action and lack of sufficent venting of the air space and the excess overflow." ....
This was my first thought also when I initially encountered the problem.
But that explanation doesn't hold water (ha ha) when I was able to stop the siphoning action by blowing back into the tank to interrupt the siphon.
Also, the flow from an over swelled tank would be heavy at first and then taper off before it stops. The situation that I have observed is a very steady solid stream of water coming out of the large overflow hose, and then it rather abruptly transitions from a solid flow to no flow as the siphon breaks.
What I suspect is that the overflow tube does indeed dip down into the tank somewhat and once an overflow starts, it continues until the water level is back down to the bottom of the inside tube. What it seems to need is an anti-siphon valve at the top of the loop so that once the actual overflow is completed, the water flow would stop. But try as I might, I could not reach up and follow the overflow tube back to the tank ... neither could the tech guy who looked at it for me.
Incidentally, I always level the coach before filling so an unlevel coach is not part of the problem.
Steve Bufty
2002 Intrigue #11382
Yahoo Message Number: 12923 (http://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/Country-Coach-Owners/conversations/messages/12923)
Hi,
I took my 05 Inspire back to the dealer for the siphoning problem. They installed a vacuum breaker in the highest point on the overflow tube and removed the vacuum breaker that was installed in the top of the tank. Cured that problem. My dealer (Coulee Region RV) also sent a picture of the modification to CC.
While on the subject of plumbing, has any other CC owners had the problem of solids building up where the toilet dumps into the holding tank and plugging the toilet?The holding tank is only 5.5 inches deep under the toilet and the toilet dumps into a corner of the tank making matters worse. The other end of the tank is about 9.5 inches deep so if I add enough water to the tank to make things work properly,I've used up nearly half the tank capacity. This sure puts a damper on dry camping for three or four days.
Steve
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