Issue with fresh water tank pickup line.

[twinster2]

I've been playing around installing an accumulator tank in my 189FBR and could not figure out why I was getting some air in the line when the monitor said the tank was a third full. I decided to unscrew the plastic hose fixture from the side of the tank and to my surprise, there was no pickup hose inside that ran to the lowest spot on the tank (tank bows down about an inch to the bottom center). Is that typical and is there any that can be purchased that allows use of the entire water supply?

 

[twinster2]

BTW, due to limited space, I added my accumulator tank with a T fitting as shown below. Works reasonably well.

 

[profdant139]

I had my dealer move my pickup to the lowest point of my tank -- we went from 25 gallons of capacity to 30 gallons!

 

[hotdog-FUN]

How did the dealer modify the pick up line?

 

[twinster2]

Seems to me an easy fix would be to have a pickup tube inside the tank that fit inside the current water exit. The tube would bend slightly to follow the contour of the tank bottom and would have a flat flange at one end so it would be a pressure fit with the fitting that screws into the tank. Any suggestions?

 

[profdant139]

My dealer plugged the old pickup (which was located above the low point) and installed a whole new pickup at the lowest point of the tank. I am not sure exactly how they did it, but it sure works.

If you were to install a new tube inside the old one, that might reduce the diameter of the fitting, putting a lot of stress on the pump -- like drinking a shake through a narrow straw.

 

[hotdog-FUN]

Moving the pick up point is problematic for two reasons. First, if one were to locate it at the lowest point, that would be on the bottom of the tank and it surely would get broken sooner or later. Secondly, I am not sure how one would seal a new fitting to the plastic tank. Typically they are plastic welded (which is beyond my capability).

Where did they mount the new pick up and how did they seal it to the tank?

 

[M Wilkie]

I guess you wouldn't necessarily want to have the tube all the way to the bottom because that is where the sediment will settle. If you filter under the sink it might be less of an issue.

 

[profdant139]

Hmmm. I had not thought of the danger of breakage. We do a lot of off-road towing (very slowly) and have had no damage to the tank, but there is always a first time.

I think they used some sort of a pressure fitting -- as they tightened it, it sealed. It does not leak.