Input requested- planning the plumbing

[tekebird]

I replumbed my 4104 with Pex, with the threaded compression fittings.  makes repair super simple, just stop at any Lowes and buy what you need, unscrew and replace.

my 04 was vented (black) through the floor.....no issues at all in 30 years, of course it was never stationary in a park for weeks on end

[Skykingrob]

Hey Paladin
If you want to make your manifold, fine but Dewayne at Colaw RV Salvage in Carthage Missouri has two sitting from a motorhome take-out. I was just there today. If interested call, 1-417-358-2125. I chose to put mine in without a manifold, hope it wasn't a wrong choice. I did use 1/2 PEX in both red and blue colors for ease of distinguishing lines.

I haven't started the tanks yet so this is a good thread!

Rob
91 Lemirage SL
Missouri

[jjrbus]

Have you considered heated, insulated tanks? it is easy to do.

[gumpy]

Great info here!

'nother question.
Should I make the manifold out of 3/4" with 1/2" outlets or go 1/2" throughout?

I'd recommend you make the line 3/4" from the shore to the tank. Everything else should be 1/2". The reason for the 3/4 to the tank it that it takes forever to fill with 1/2". My 150 gallon tank takes 1 to 1 1/2 hours to fill on my city water supply.

Also, sewer vent through the roof, fresh water vent/overflow through the floor.

craig

[Bob Belter]

Ahoy, Paladin,

I don't see it mentioned, but a very useful fresh water feature is to install a seperate POTABLE WATER tank.  I did --  about 15 gallons with a faucet in the bath and the galley.  Fill it with water which you normally use at home, and it will last you for quite a trip, since it is only used for cooking and drinking.  That way, the water you take on at normal stops is for flushing / washing, and is not so critical to your health.

Happy New Year to you all.  /s/  Bob

[Chaz]

Paladin,
  Here is a thread with some pix I posted on what i did: http://www.busconversions.com/bbs/index.php?topic=6532.msg62794#msg62794
  My tanks are 100 and 100. And I vented the waste tank thru the floor with two vents.
    Good luck!
      Chaz

[Dallas]

Great info here!

'nother question.
Should I make the manifold out of 3/4" with 1/2" outlets or go 1/2" throughout?

I'd recommend you make the line 3/4" from the shore to the tank. Everything else should be 1/2". The reason for the 3/4 to the tank it that it takes forever to fill with 1/2". My 150 gallon tank takes 1 to 1 1/2 hours to fill on my city water supply.

Also, sewer vent through the roof, fresh water vent/overflow through the floor.

craig

Craig,
That doesn't seem right for filling the tank. True, we only carry 55 gallons but we can fill it in about 10 to 12 minutes depending on city water pressure or pump pressure.

Are you sure you have a valve opening all the way? Maybe a kink in the line somewhere? Possibly a loop feeding back the pump to the city water line to the tank, etc?
I know that if we don't turn off our pump we get a feed back situation and it takes a lot longer to fill.

Just thoughts, since we use 1/2" PEX for the incoming line and have had no issues because of it.

Dallas

[JohnEd]

Dave,

Putting those tanks in "on edge" with a long axis from top to bottom makes for a lot of pressure on the bottom of the tank.  A configuration I saw that i really liked was with the Fresh water tank about 14 inches high and 3 feet across.  It was on the bottom.  The black and grey were trapezoidal in shape and fit on top of the fresh and extended out over the edge of the fresh.  The drains for the black and grey were in the bottom of that overhang.  There was also a small waste gate connecting the grey and black at their lower front edge so after you dumped the black you could open the grey to the black and flush it with grey effluent after draining the black.  That was, I thought a really neat way to go.  I added my own design feature of having the fresh supply go thru the water heater and then be returned to the fresh holding to heat the water bay in winter.  With the tanks stacked the heat in the fresh would also heat the other two tanks.

I would always opt for a separate black water tank. You can dump the grey at the side of the road or in a storm drain and no harm done.  Mix you effluent and you need a sewer.  I have drained through a garden hose many times.

Plumb that black straight down cause you only want to empty when it is full.  Being able to look down the toilet drain with a flashlite is a fail safe way to judge your need to drain.

You ain't LIVED till you have a vent line to the black tank split and spew fumes inside the coach.  Flush that sweetheart and "abandon ship" and puke if you must.  Sooooo really really bad.  There is a requirement that each drain line have its own vent and that vent must go straight up....basically.  Kitchen, bath each have their own.  The grey also gets one at each end of the tank.  Black tank gets two also and I guess one could be in the down pipe under the main toilet valve.  If this is done right you will never have any use for tank  SPRAYERS OR FLUSHES OR TREATMENTS.  NONE!  Do it wrong and nothing will help.

HTH

John

[gumpy]

Craig,
That doesn't seem right for filling the tank. True, we only carry 55 gallons but we can fill it in about 10 to 12 minutes depending on city water pressure or pump pressure.

Are you sure you have a valve opening all the way? Maybe a kink in the line somewhere? Possibly a loop feeding back the pump to the city water line to the tank, etc?
I know that if we don't turn off our pump we get a feed back situation and it takes a lot longer to fill.

Just thoughts, since we use 1/2" PEX for the incoming line and have had no issues because of it.

Dallas

Well, maybe it's an hour to fill.  Haven't filled for several months. I know I get a lot of other stuff done while it's filling, and when it runs out the bottom of the bus, it's full.

No kinks or loops. Comes in through a 60 lb pressure regulator and then through a sediment filter, and then through the manifold and into the tanks. It just takes a long time to push 150 gallons through all the small pipe and fittings.

So, I'm carrying about 3 times what you are and my time to fill is maybe twice what yours would be on a comparable volume.

[belfert]

I can fill my tank pretty much as fast as the hose will deliver the water.  I know my 100 gallon tank takes no longer than 20 minutes and maybe less.

My tank has a fitting at the top that is 1/2" NPT.  I installed a valve and a fitting to attach a hose.  No filters, pressure regulators, or anything else.  Water just goes straight into the tank.  I don't filter as we don't drink or cook from the tank.