Water smells like rotten eggs...

[Alibaddy]

If the smell is only at the kitchen tap, can you fill your fresh water tank with a 200ppm solution of bleach and recirculate it back to the fresh water tank (using a bucket or beverage hose with stainless connections) for a minimum of 10 minutes? I am a microbiologist with 50 years experience in the food industry, in sanitation.

[Raptor Dave]

Did 8 cups of bleach for the 104 gal tank. Ran all the exit ports till I could smell the bleach. Let it sit for roughly 72 hours and flushed everything with fresh water. We'll see where this one takes us.
Now my tankless water heater is not turning on. No read out on the inside. When I push the on/off button on the inside nothing happens. Dead! checked all the fuses I could find.
Have good water pressure and propane. Switch on the outside is in the on position.

Anything else I need to check?

[Alibaddy]

Turn off you batteries and the converter
Wait one minute, and turn both back on.

[Raptor Dave]

I talked with Lippert tech and he had me take the thermostat off the wall and out to the control board and connect it directly to the board. Fired up!
I'll be cleaning out the pass thru and getting to the back of the water heater to check connections. We believe it is a bad connect somewhere...staple in a wire.... something like that.
I have no power to the thermostat on the inside.

[Raptor Dave]

There's a day in my life I'll never get back because some idiot didn't hold the wires tight up inside the crimp nut when making the splice.
Had 11 volts on the thermostat wires at the water heater board....had 11 volts on the other end inside the trailer (without the therm connected) As soon as I made the connection voltage dropped to around 3 or 4 volts.
Indicator I had a loose connect to chase down.
After emptying the pass thru and taking down the wall inside....YEP, there it is, on the back side of the water heater. Loose wires in the crimp nut.


I'll wait a week or 2 and check the water to see if I was able to rid the smell.

[Raptor Dave]

I think we may have won the battle this time.
(almost 10 days and no smells)
8 cups of the bleach for the 104 gal tank and let it sit for 72 plus hrs before flushing the system.
Appreciate all the heads up on every water exit on the trailer.
I don't believe I was going strong enough and long enough previously.

Thanks to those who replied.

[Alibaddy]

I might have missed it in all the posts, but we have a 2021 Alpine 3650RL, and it has a diversion valve to direct water to the fresh water tank. I would like to sanitize the tank, but can't see how to add the bleach to the tank. Is it possible to use the winterizing line and suck the bleach through the pump? I believe that I could connect the outside shower to the water inlet and turn the valve to direct the water to fill the tank. Does any of this make sense?

[jxnbbl]

My trailer is away from the house so I run a hose out to the trailer and then have a shutoff valve, filter and water meter hooked and ready when I fill my tank. Although the filter is not needed for the sanitation so can be left out. Then I pour the correct amount of bleach into my normal 50ft fill hose, keep it high so the bleach does not come out. Reconnect the fill hose to the hose I have coming from my house....and start filling.

[Gamma]

From the manual (which is available online)

Sanitizing the Fresh Water System

Keeping the fresh water system clean and free of any potential contaminations should be a top priority. Sanitizing
the system before initial use and thereafter annually, or whenever water remains unused for prolonged durations,
is recommended. This will help keep the water system fresh and discourage harmful bacterial or viral growth. To
sanitize your system, perform the below:

Gravity Fill Models:
1. Drain the tank by opening the low point drains. Close the drains after water has drained.
2. Prepare a chlorine bleach solution of ¼ cup to one gallon of water for every 15 gallons of tank capacity.
Example: Use 2 ¾ gallons of the solution for a 40-gallon tank. If using Ultra bleach concentrations,
reduce bleach to 1/8 cup to one gallon of water.
3. Add solution to tank through the gravity fill port and fill with water. Open each faucet/fixture until a
distinct chlorine odor is smelled. Close faucets and let stand 4 hours.
4. Drain system and flush with fresh water until chlorine odor and smell is gone. (If a water filter has been
added, change it at this time).

Power Fill Models:
1. Drain the tank by opening the low point drains. Close the drains after water has drained.
2. Prepare a chlorine bleach solution of ¼ cup to one gallon of water for every 15 gallons of tank capacity.
Example: Use 2 ¾ gallons of the solution for a 40-gallon tank. If using Ultra bleach concentrations,
reduce bleach to 1/8 cup to one gallon of water.
3. Add solution to tank through the tank vent located on the side of the coach. This vent is an arched shape
part with the words “tank vent” on the vent cover. The vent cover is removable and held in place by
detents on either side of the vent. Remove the bug screen inside the vent. Using a funnel and tube, add
the sanitizing solution. Reinstall the screen and cover when done.
4. Open each faucet/fixture until a distinct chlorine odor is smelled. Close faucets and let stand 4 hours.
5. Drain system and flush with fresh water until chlorine odor and smell is gone. (If a water filter has been
added, change it at this time).

[Gamma]

Oops, did not get all of the post. I use the gravity fill as I do not want that high of a bleach concentration going through my pump, a bleach mixture will destroy a power pump garden sprayer (similar pump mechanism only smaller) when deck cleaning so just my preference. I fill the mixture through the gravity port followed by another couple gallons of water (just to flush the line) and then fill the tank normally. The rest is by the book.

[LHaven]

I've never had to deal with such a mechanism, but my first thought would be to run your fill hose into an in-line garden sprayer with the right amount of bleach in it, and just screw that onto your port while you're filling. However, I bet the saaaaaaaafety people have outlawed versions of this useful device that have a male hose connection on the output end, like the old one I own.

[Raptor Dave]

Originally Posted by Alibaddy

I might have missed it in all the posts, but we have a 2021 Alpine 3650RL, and it has a diversion valve to direct water to the fresh water tank. I would like to sanitize the tank, but can't see how to add the bleach to the tank. Is it possible to use the winterizing line and suck the bleach through the pump? I believe that I could connect the outside shower to the water inlet and turn the valve to direct the water to fill the tank. Does any of this make sense?

I just poured the bleach in the hose 1 cup at a time every so many gallons of water put in the tank.
Little bit of a pain but I would disconnect the hose on both ends and empty the water from the hose first.

[JRTJH]

If you have a "canister filter" on the trailer, just remove the filter element, fill the canister with bleach, reinstall it on the trailer and turn on the water. The amount of bleach you poured into the canister will be "drawn into the tank" as you fill it. That's much easier than pouring it into the hose "one cup at a time". I can add almost a quart of bleach per canister fill with my city water inlet filter.

[Raptor Dave]

Originally Posted by JRTJH

If you have a "canister filter" on the trailer, just remove the filter element, fill the canister with bleach, reinstall it on the trailer and turn on the water. The amount of bleach you poured into the canister will be "drawn into the tank" as you fill it. That's much easier than pouring it into the hose "one cup at a time". I can add almost a quart of bleach per canister fill with my city water inlet filter.

Thought of that but when I did the dirty I wanted everything from the hose bib in to have bleach run thru it.
I'll try that on my maintenance run.