How to drain the water tanks

[Nev and Penny]

Happy New Year ,

I will not be using the van untill the end of March and decided to drain the water tanks. I drained the hot water , no worries . Can somebody let me know how to drain the tanks please. My old van (not a Kedron) had drain taps. The van is a 2011 ATV with 2 X 100lt and 1 X 60lt.

Thanks Nev

[TonyH]

Hi Nev,

If you want to drain the water tanks why not loosen the clamps holding the outlet hoses on the lower edges of the tanks & carefully remove the hoses allowing the tanks to drain, I say carefully remove because if you are to heavy handed you can possibly break off the 'snout' on the tank which would probably mean a new tank.

I personally have never worried about draining the tanks between use (sometimes extended periods) as the tanks are black & under the van the chances of the water going 'off' is remote. I definately would leave water in the water pumps. If you do drain the tanks refit the pipes/hoses as soon as they have drained so no wasps or spiders decide to call the tank home.

If you are worried about water quality you can buy water purifying tablets from BCF or similar prior to using our van next time.

I would not drain my hot water tank.... Would be to worried about corrosion..... Empty tank full of air ...... Invitation for corrosion.....when did you replace your anode last??

[Nev and Penny]

Hi Tony,

The anode is 90%.

I see that you own a 200 series , what is the fuel use like towing van and normal driving.

Thanks Nev

[John and Ann]

Nev,

Our ATV (2010) has drain plugs at one end of the tank, used them to lighten the load but as a general rule as Tony suggested I leave them full.

Our LC does from 9.5 to 12.5 usual weight of around 3t highway to city driving not towing. With van in tow and fully loaded to 7.3t we do 18.5 to 26, average is more like 25 but have done some killer days at 40+. All numbers are ltrs/100km.

[Ian and Sue]

Is that petrol or diesel Jaygee?

Our diesel does 10 to 12 litres / hundred around town - airconditioner always running.

When I towed our Kedron down to Geraldton from Karratha with mid 40C's temperatures all the way and sitting on 95 to 100 kph I was getting around 18 to 20 there was a headwind although it wasn't the really strong headwind we can get through here. The van wasn't fully packed up by a long shot but did have 4 of the 5 80 litre tanks full. This was our first long trip towing it (only recently purchased it up in Karratha) so we didn't know what to expect.

We normally leave our water tanks full and empty them just before we are about to head off somewhere, Ian mentioned that our new kedron doesn't have an emptying plug which our old van had so will be having fun soon getting the stored water out.

The Kedron we have now has been stored for the past two years in the Pilbara (hot weather) with its water tanks full - the guys we bought it from emptied them before we picked it up and we havent had any problems with the water.

Sue

[TonyH]

Hi Nev,

I have fitted a Manta exhaust system, cats still fitted 1 large but smaller than original muffler no resonator. Very nice note, no drowning when towing & fell it enhances/reduces fuel consumption.

Currently in Tassie with van steady throttle towing returning 18.6 lph according to scan gauge, no van highway speed light throttle as low as 8.3 lph again according to scan gauge. Very happy with performance & towing capability.

Previous tow vehicles I had a locally manufactured brake control unit was 'ok' but on this new tug I have fitted a Tekonsha P3 controller, SO HAPPY with the increased braking performance & peace of of mind it gives you when towing really reduces driver fatigue.

I know you only asked about the fuel consumption but I just had to rave about the brake controller!!!!

[John and Ann]

Hi Sue,

Mine is a diesel with chip, exhaust upgrade, heaps of other upgrades and accessories.

[Mayzee]

Hi Nev,

Like most of the others we leave our water tanks full when not in use. We returned mid December from a 5 month trip from Qld across to NT then on to Kununurra, down the Gibb River road then throughout most of WA's National Parks etc. Finally we crossed the Nullarbor and made our way home. Lots of dirt roads as well as black top in the 21,200km trip. I drive our 200 series at the speed limit 100kph or 110 where legal. Our consumption varied of course along the way but over the complete trip our average was 20.5 Km/100 Litres.

Regards

John

[Mayzee]

Oops

Of course I meant 20.5 litres per 100 km

[Nev and Penny]

Thank you everybody for your advise and comments they were very helpfull.

Please anymore would be also be welcome .

We are setting off in July for 12 mths to travel this great Country of ours.

Nev & Penny

[Alan and Liz Jones]

Happy New Year ,

I will not be using the van untill the end of March and decided to drain the water tanks. I drained the hot water , no worries . Can somebody let me know how to drain the tanks please. My old van (not a Kedron) had drain taps. The van is a 2011 ATV with 2 X 100lt and 1 X 60lt.

Thanks Nev

Hi Nev,

I have fitted isolating valves and draining taps in the existing lines so I can use and/or drain the tanks individually. I have also plumbed the drinking water tank into shower water pump via an isolating valve. This means I can use water from any one of the four tanks at a time, therefore on short trips I only have to fill the tank/s I need. Also I drain off excess water for the trip home or to the next reliable water supply, saving weight to be towed. Taps and valves are available in the garden section of any hardware store.

[Alan and Liz Jones]

Hi Nev,

Tried to attach photos but didn't seem to work.

Alan

[Alan and Liz Jones]

Hi Nev,

Here is the photo I was trying to post. It's of the front two tanks other two are done in a similar way.

Cheers

Alan

[Alan and Liz Jones]

Sorry Nev,

I just realised that the photo is too small to see it properly. Try this one.

Cheers

Alan

[Nev and Penny]

Thanks Allan,

I'll visit bunnings

Cheers Nev

[Trish and Carl]

Dear Nev and Penny

We have the same van 2011 - (ATV)

we always drain our tanks when we store it - water goes stagnent

We also take out the water filter and store it in our home fridge as per recommendation in the handbook

to drain the tanks you will need about a 27-28 mm ring spanner

On ours there are drain plugs on each tank on the left hand side of the tanks

hope this helps

cheers

Carl & Trish

[Nev and Penny]

Thanks Carl and trish

I'm looking into to see if it is possible to put a tap into that fitting.

I will let you know how I go

Cheers Nev

[Nev and Penny]

Hi Everybody,

I fitted the same taps that are used in the water system in the van as drain taps for the tanks.

Here are the pics.

Cheers Nev

[Mayzee]

Hi There Again Nev and Penny,

Opinions vary, as they always do in our group but consider this, oxygen (air) and water equals algea, especially in our humid Queensland climate. It's virtually impossible to completely drain your tanks so algea will eventually visit. Fill the tanks and you eliminate the air part of the equation. Anyway this works for us and seems to be chemically sound. Mind you I am not a water quality scientist, just a simple Kogger.

Enjoy your travels as we did.

Cheers

John & Maureen