Check your hoses!

[sande005]

Getting ready for a month long trip, and just got the trailer out of storage. Proceeded to start the sanitizing process. I bought a cheap 2 gal. watering pitcher that I use to premix the bleach in - the spout makes it easier to pour into the gravity fill port on my trailer.
Surprised to see bits of "stuff" floating around in the pitcher. Ick! Dumped that batch, and made new. Even more stuff! Blamed it on the pine trees I was standing under. Moved away, and this time even more stuff!
I need almost 100 ft of hose to get from my house spigot to the trailer, so 4 lengths of hose. Finally started testing each length. 2 were my pricey fabric collapsible "Zero-G" hoses that I really like. About 4 seasons of use. The other two were old Camco white ones, one at least 10 yrs old, usually relegated to emergency use only.
Yep, of course it was the Zero-G's that were putting out "chunks". Bummer. Long flushing, etc. just made it worse.

Bought what was available locally since we leave very soon - cheap white ones, with the bad fittings which are prone to leaking. If there is time will try to pick up new ends for them, and replace with better....

In any event - as part of the sanitizing routine, I'd advise just doing a bucket test as I ended up doing, before just trusting what your hose may be putting into your tank/plumbing. Now I wonder how long this has been happening....at least I use a filter just before it enters the trailer when on city water!

 

[fmartinmn]

Getting ready for a month long trip, and just got the trailer out of storage. Proceeded to start the sanitizing process. I bought a cheap 2 gal. watering pitcher that I use to premix the bleach in - the spout makes it easier to pour into the gravity fill port on my trailer.
Surprised to see bits of "stuff" floating around in the pitcher. Ick! Dumped that batch, and made new. Even more stuff! Blamed it on the pine trees I was standing under. Moved away, and this time even more stuff!
I need almost 100 ft of hose to get from my house spigot to the trailer, so 4 lengths of hose. Finally started testing each length. 2 were my pricey fabric collapsible "Zero-G" hoses that I really like. About 4 seasons of use. The other two were old Camco white ones, one at least 10 yrs old, usually relegated to emergency use only.
Yep, of course it was the Zero-G's that were putting out "chunks". Bummer. Long flushing, etc. just made it worse.

Bought what was available locally since we leave very soon - cheap white ones, with the bad fittings which are prone to leaking. If there is time will try to pick up new ends for them, and replace with better....

In any event - as part of the sanitizing routine, I'd advise just doing a bucket test as I ended up doing, before just trusting what your hose may be putting into your tank/plumbing. Now I wonder how long this has been happening....at least I use a filter just before it enters the trailer when on city water!

Hey Ted, I guess you just gave me another good reason to put the filter on the house side. Who woulda thunck the Zero G hoses would deteriorate that fast. I'll check mine. Thanks for the post.

 

[AZCamper-MGRV]

Getting ready for a month long trip, and just got the trailer out of storage. Proceeded to start the sanitizing process. I bought a cheap 2 gal. watering pitcher that I use to premix the bleach in - the spout makes it easier to pour into the gravity fill port on my trailer.
Surprised to see bits of "stuff" floating around in the pitcher. Ick! Dumped that batch, and made new. Even more stuff! Blamed it on the pine trees I was standing under. Moved away, and this time even more stuff!
I need almost 100 ft of hose to get from my house spigot to the trailer, so 4 lengths of hose. Finally started testing each length. 2 were my pricey fabric collapsible "Zero-G" hoses that I really like. About 4 seasons of use. The other two were old Camco white ones, one at least 10 yrs old, usually relegated to emergency use only.
Yep, of course it was the Zero-G's that were putting out "chunks". Bummer. Long flushing, etc. just made it worse.

Bought what was available locally since we leave very soon - cheap white ones, with the bad fittings which are prone to leaking. If there is time will try to pick up new ends for them, and replace with better....

In any event - as part of the sanitizing routine, I'd advise just doing a bucket test as I ended up doing, before just trusting what your hose may be putting into your tank/plumbing. Now I wonder how long this has been happening....at least I use a filter just before it enters the trailer when on city water!

After watching this and your post I am wondering if I should ditch my Zero G and replace it with a Flexzilla.

https://youtu.be/WalzXF48iac


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[sande005]

Can't say whether the hose was breaking down, or if just lots of gunk had grown in it. I do make a point of trying to drain it as completely as I can after each use, and when storing for long term keep it in an open container in the pass through, assuming it will dry out. Whatever it was, it looked "organic", so might be growth inside. The Camco's have been disrespected, and put away wet most of the times, with the ends fastened together, so they never have a chance to dry out. I would suspect them of growing things, but apparently not.

About Flexzilla - long one star review on Amazon. They grow black mold on their outside very quickly, and it is impossible to remove.

'Tis a quandry - I saw a research site that tested both zero-g and flexzilla, and they both had various "bad for you" contaminants in them, just far less than conventional hoses. Back in my foodservice days, my inspector required we only use hoses that were marked "NSF" certified. Just labeled "drinking water safe" did not pass muster with him at all. But for us in the retail world they are very hard to find, and very expensive. Most manufacturers just refuse to go through the expensive testing and paying of the certification fees. Its easier to claim the raw materials used are the same as the standards call for. But if they source from dodgy suppliers, or don't have solid manufacturing control, they can still introduce contaminants into the drinking water.

So in the end, I try to be aware of the potential, but assume that since I'm not really drinking it day in and day out, there are other things to worry about. I mostly care about ease of use, that they don't burst, and that the couplers can go together leak free. Even that basic criteria list is hard to check off!

 

[zinman]

Getting ready for a month long trip, and just got the trailer out of storage. Proceeded to start the sanitizing process. I bought a cheap 2 gal. watering pitcher that I use to premix the bleach in - the spout makes it easier to pour into the gravity fill port on my trailer.
Surprised to see bits of "stuff" floating around in the pitcher. Ick! Dumped that batch, and made new. Even more stuff! Blamed it on the pine trees I was standing under. Moved away, and this time even more stuff!
I need almost 100 ft of hose to get from my house spigot to the trailer, so 4 lengths of hose. Finally started testing each length. 2 were my pricey fabric collapsible "Zero-G" hoses that I really like. About 4 seasons of use. The other two were old Camco white ones, one at least 10 yrs old, usually relegated to emergency use only.
Yep, of course it was the Zero-G's that were putting out "chunks". Bummer. Long flushing, etc. just made it worse.

Bought what was available locally since we leave very soon - cheap white ones, with the bad fittings which are prone to leaking. If there is time will try to pick up new ends for them, and replace with better....

In any event - as part of the sanitizing routine, I'd advise just doing a bucket test as I ended up doing, before just trusting what your hose may be putting into your tank/plumbing. Now I wonder how long this has been happening....at least I use a filter just before it enters the trailer when on city water!

I was looking to buy Zero G but after your post I'll stick to the cheap white ones like I've had for the past 10 years. No chunks coming out of them.

 

[sande005]

Interesting - the newer Camco "TastePure" hose is NSF listed. That might be my new one to try....

 

[Jims94vmx]

You should cut open your hose to see what is happening. We full time and 3 years later our "G" is okay....
Could it be long storage?

 

[sande005]

It's out in the trash, waiting to be picked up. My speculation -

As anyone who has replaced a faucet at home may know, there is a lot of crud that can be deposited inside a water line. Hence why when first using the new fixture, one removes the screen and runs the faucet until it clears up. What that crud is is probably a combination of animal, vegetable and mineral (mostly mineral). But most of it sticks to the inside of the pipe, sight unseen. And with the water supply being treated, there is no risk of it causing ill effects. Certainly far less than that "pure mountain stream" we all envision. Might be the same thing in the hoses we use, although the total time of use, and therefore accumulation, is far less than house pipes (full timers excluded).
Putting the hoses away wet (and they all have some moisture) might easily contribute to growth of the animal/vegetable part. Sanitizing will kill that, but the "dead bodies" still remain.
As a swimming pool owner, I know it is far easier to clean out algae that has been killed by chlorine, than it is to clean off actively growing patches. I assume the same goes for the hoses - easier for the dead things to get flushed out.

What probably compounds everything is the extreme flexibility of the zero-g type hoses. What is stuck on the inside walls can be loosened more readily just by flexing of the hose. The traditional hoses likely are much less prone to that, due to stiffness. There may be differences in how well things can stay stuck to the plastic materials used, also.

Since I sanitize the hoses at the same time as the rest of the system, I have no concerns about health. But I don't like to see lots of bits and pieces floating around in my water. Or plugging up my filters/faucet screens.

Since I let the hoses flush for a very long time, and they still were emitting things, it was time for them to go - no good way that I could see to otherwise clean them out.

Perhaps the same is happening in the white ones, but "out of site, out of mind" seems to be the rule of the day. They aren't adding anything to the water output. May be nothing in them, or it may just stick better inside.

And I don't ever want to think about the inside of the fresh tank or the rest of the plumbing, as long as it is all dead, and stays buried.....

 

[OurNewEra]

After watching this and your post I am wondering if I should ditch my Zero G and replace it with a Flexzilla.

https://youtu.be/WalzXF48iac


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Thanks to [MENTION=7033]sande005[/MENTION] for starting this thread and to [MENTION=36048]AZCamper[/MENTION] for the YT link. I was getting ready to ditch my conventional hoses for the Zero G. I'm tired of fighting the hoses to roll them up. Now I may rethink the Zero-G upgrade. The Flexzilla looks interesting. The price point is also much better than Zero-G. One more thing to think about?!

Does anyone have suggestions on how to EASILY roll-up conventional hoses?

 

[NB Canada]

Thanks to [MENTION=7033]sande005[/MENTION] for starting this thread and to [MENTION=36048]AZCamper[/MENTION] for the YT link. I was getting ready to ditch my conventional hoses for the Zero G. I'm tired of fighting the hoses to roll them up. Now I may rethink the Zero-G upgrade. The Flexzilla looks interesting. The price point is also much better than Zero-G. One more thing to think about?!

Does anyone have suggestions on how to EASILY roll-up conventional hoses?

I store mine in a 5 gallon pail. It coils around the inside of the pail easily
50 feet of white camco hose and store my filters,regulator and fittings in the middle


2021 Imagine 2400 BH
2018 GMC Sierra 4x4 crew

 

[OurNewEra]

I store mine in a 5 gallon pail. It coils around the inside of the pail easily
50 feet of white camco hose and store my filters,regulator and fittings in the middle


2021 Imagine 2400 BH
2018 GMC Sierra 4x4 crew

Thanks. I'll have to give that a try. Right now I have two hoses in a tub with the accessories - regulator, Y, filter. No reason I couldn't switch to a 5-gallon pail for all that and it would take up less space in the pass through.

 

[sande005]

Dug mine out of the trash before the garbage man got it, and cut it open. Here's a pic.

The black junk was all through it, and pretty thick. Easily taken off with a finger tip.
I sighted down a foot or two on my old white ones, and they were pure white.

Obviously lots of growth - I suspect black algae, rather than mold....but didn't get out my microscope!

Back in the trash they went.

 

[NB Canada]

Thanks. I'll have to give that a try. Right now I have two hoses in a tub with the accessories - regulator, Y, filter. No reason I couldn't switch to a 5-gallon pail for all that and it would take up less space in the pass through.

One has 50 feet of garden hose and a 25 foot camco hose ,2 blue coil hoses and nozzles
Other has 50 feet drinking hose (room for more) and all of my fittings and regulator


2021 Imagine 2400 BH
2018 GMC Sierra 4x4 crew

 

[Cowboychincs]

The lower pictured bucket is the Camco drinking water hose... correct? You got me confused with saying the upper bucket had the Camco garden hose... (sorry, new at all of this... just need to make sure I get the correct drinking water hose... thinking about the Camco Ture Pure model....)

 

[NB Canada]

The lower pictured bucket is the Camco drinking water hose... correct? You got me confused with saying the upper bucket had the Camco garden hose... (sorry, new at all of this... just need to make sure I get the correct drinking water hose... thinking about the Camco Ture Pure model....)

Top bucket has a 25 foot orange camco hose for sewage cleaning. Bottom has 2 -25 foot white camco drinking hoses


2021 Imagine 2400 BH
2018 GMC Sierra 4x4 crew

 

[Cowboychincs]

Thanks for the clarification... very helpful!

 

[rjnava]

Bucket for the hoses

One has 50 feet of garden hose and a 25 foot camco hose ,2 blue coil hoses and nozzles
Other has 50 feet drinking hose (room for more) and all of my fittings and regulator View attachment 33448

2021 Imagine 2400 BH
2018 GMC Sierra 4x4 crew

Once the temp starts getting cold, rolling a hose that tight is difficult without kinking it. We use a wider bucket that we picked up at the dollar store which has slanted sides. But they are not as convenient to store.

 

[[email protected]]

Best hose I've ever owned.
I have been RV'ing since the 90's and I've gone thru a lot of hoses. The one I'm using now is from Amazon. it's 100' with a stainless steel cover 5/8'' inside diameter, has a built in shutoff valve, extremely flexible, and virtually indestructible, and has a 500# pressure rating. I carry it in an ordinary plastic bucket which holds the whole 100' with ease.
Photo:

 

[NB Canada]

Once the temp starts getting cold, rolling a hose that tight is difficult without kinking it. We use a wider bucket that we picked up at the dollar store which has slanted sides. But they are not as convenient to store.

I am in Canada. It is pretty cold here


2021 Imagine 2400 BH
2018 GMC Sierra 4x4 crew

 

[NB Canada]

Best hose I've ever owned.
I have been RV'ing since the 90's and I've gone thru a lot of hoses. The one I'm using now is from Amazon. it's 100' with a stainless steel cover 5/8'' inside diameter, has a built in shutoff valve, extremely flexible, and virtually indestructible, and has a 500# pressure rating. I carry it in an ordinary plastic bucket which holds the whole 100' with ease.
Photo: View attachment 33575

I didn’t research it but a quick search says it is not drinking water safe
YMMV


2021 Imagine 2400 BH
2018 GMC Sierra 4x4 crew