Show me your water flow meter setup!

[Second Chance]

Call me squeamish, but I still don't like the idea of connecting the black tank flush fitting to the fresh water line. Ball valves, check valves, whatever - I just would rather keep my fresh and black systems separate.

Bought a separate (black colored) hose to connect to the black tank flush so I can use the non-potable water at the dump stations. I never have the fresh water lines connected to the same fitting as the non-potable lines.

I guess I *am* squeamish.

So am I. Brain farts happen to everyone. I try to minimize their damage by my version of best practices

This has been discussed many times here on the forum. The way mine is set up, there is a quick-connect on the flex line for the flush and it's only connected while flushing - water flowing away from the Y and toward the flusher (which has a backflow preventer on it, as well). As soon as the black tank is drained and flushed, the valve to the flush line is turned off and the line is disconnected and drained - away from the valve. As a retired Army nurse with field experience in northeast Africa, I'm not about to risk waterborne diseases in my everyday life.

Rob

[ajg617]

Call me squeamish, but I still don't like the idea of connecting the black tank flush fitting to the fresh water line. Ball valves, check valves, whatever - I just would rather keep my fresh and black systems separate.

Bought a separate (black colored) hose to connect to the black tank flush so I can use the non-potable water at the dump stations. I never have the fresh water lines connected to the same fitting as the non-potable lines.

I guess I *am* squeamish.

I also have a separate black hose which I will use at dump stations and remove the black tank connection to attach the black flush hose. I never connect my fresh water hose to anything other than potable water sources.

[Second Chance]

I also have a separate black hose which I will use at dump stations and remove the black tank connection to attach the black flush hose. I never connect my fresh water hose to anything other than potable water sources.

My system is never connected to anything but potable water sources (I do not use dump stations).

Rob

[ajg617]

My system is never connected to anything but potable water sources (I do not use dump stations).

Rob

That would be ideal but I've had to do so a couple of times - extended stays at state parks for example. In those cases, there is only one hose connected - black hose directly to black tank flush connection on the Nautilus and never connected to the 'Y' or any other part of the system.

[Second Chance]

That would be ideal but I've had to do so a couple of times - extended stays at state parks for example. In those cases, there is only one hose connected - black hose directly to black tank flush connection on the Nautilus and never connected to the 'Y' or any other part of the system.

And, if I were in the same situation, I would do the same. I carry an extra "non-potable" hose just in case and would not use my current system.

Rob

[jjbbrewer]

In those cases, there is only one hose connected - black hose directly to black tank flush connection on the Nautilus and never connected to the 'Y' or any other part of the system.

I think my squeamishness comes from my own poor plumbing knowledge and microbiological ignorance. I'm not sure of what all "things" live in black tanks that are not good to get into fresh water systems nor do I know if they can become airborne, cling to surfaces, or are completely stopped with chlorine, valves, backflow preventers, microscreens, etc.

I do know that once something gets into the fresh water system, it's never going to come out.

Just to further implicate myself, I also wipe off the spigots at RV parks before I attach my fresh hose since I don't know what all the previous person did with that fitting - and I have witnessed some pretty disgusting activity at dump stations - so I'm certain most people aren't nearly as squeamish as I am.

All IMHO, of course.

[Second Chance]

I think my squeamishness comes from my own poor plumbing knowledge and microbiological ignorance. I'm not sure of what all "things" live in black tanks that are not good to get into fresh water systems nor do I know if they can become airborne, cling to surfaces, or are completely stopped with chlorine, valves, backflow preventers, microscreens, etc.

I do know that once something gets into the fresh water system, it's never going to come out.

Just to further implicate myself, I also wipe off the spigots at RV parks before I attach my fresh hose since I don't know what all the previous person did with that fitting - and I have witnessed some pretty disgusting activity at dump stations - so I'm certain most people aren't nearly as squeamish as I am.

All IMHO, of course.

I don't think you're "squeamish" or paranoid at all. There is no case where contamination from the waste water system(s) in the fresh water system is OK. That's why there is a backflow preventer on your toilet flush line (which is part of your fresh water system, by the way). That's to make sure that, if the level in the toilet bowl gets too high and the nozzle in the toilet gets contaminated, none of that backflows into the fresh water system (we won't go into the effectiveness of the backflow preventers here...). Sanitizing spigots is always a good idea. The organisms one would worry about with human waste are not airborne in themselves - only if they are splashed in droplets or become atomized (very small droplets) in spray. A chlorine-based disinfectant is very effective against most anything we would encounter in this part of the world. If a fresh water system were to be contaminated, it is possible - with significant effort - to sanitize the complete system, though.

Be safe and happy camping!

Rob

[ErwinB60]

So speaking of water pressure, what would cause my water pressure to decrease? There is no buildup where the hose attaches in the front and when using the pump the pressure is good. This happened after it was taken to Indiana to be repaired. We have a Imagine 22RBE