older Scamp water tank and lines food grade?

[hiker22]

Being our Scamp is 40 years old would the water tank and lines be certified food grade(BPA free) back then? Did that exist back then? Where can I get a BPA free replacement to fit in the back well? I think the original tank are 10 gallons.

[Darwin Maring]

We do not drink from our waterlines. We purchase bottled water, freeze the water and place in the fridge to help it stay cool then drink the water as needed.

We take showers and flush the toilet with the water that goes through the lines.

Even though we do that, we still sanitize the system every year B 4 camping.

Fill them with a mixture of Clorox and water to kill any bad stuff.

[Paul O.]

Whatever material they used 40 years ago had to be something deemed safe at that time. I drink the Scamp fresh water whenever convenient, and we cook with it. While on the road, we drink bottled water, mostly for convenience.

I myself would not bother replacing the plumbing. How sensitive you want to be to these possible issues is a question only you can answer for yourself. Consider that stuff will leach out of the plastic at some steady rate and accumulate in the tank and the pipes. If the water was sitting in that tank and the pipes for months, drain it and fill with fresh water. If you winterize your Scamp and flush the system in spring, all the stuff that leached out goes down the drain. If you travel with the water tank empty, when you fill it up, you just eliminated, or diluted whatever may have been there. Also consider the fact that the water lines in your Scamp are short, so the time spent in contact with the tubing is also reduced.

Any kind of low life that might want to take up residence in your plumbing is easily eliminated with a little bit of Clorox, as suggested.

[Glenn Baglo]

Originally Posted by Paul O.

Any kind of low life that might want to take up residence in your plumbing is easily eliminated with a little bit of Clorox, as suggested.

Make sure you are using an unscented bleach.

[stevebaz]

30-40 year old tanks probably have leach all they can leach. You may cause more harm than good by replacing old with new. Concern over BPA is a relatively new science so probably no concern to the builders of older trailers. Good luck with your quest for pure water.

[sokhapkin]

Originally Posted by Paul O.

Any kind of low life that might want to take up residence in your plumbing is easily eliminated with a little bit of Clorox, as suggested.

No need to add Clorox if you connect to campground water supply from time to time. Usually it has a lot of clorine That's why I prefer cheap Walmart bottled water for drinking and cooking while travelling.

[Glenn Baglo]

Originally Posted by sokhapkin

No need to add Clorox if you connect to campground water supply from time to time. Usually it has a lot of clorine That's why I prefer cheap Walmart bottled water for drinking and cooking while travelling.

Any clue where that Walmart water comes from?

[sokhapkin]

No idea. But walmart water doesn't smell chlorine like campground water does. I have private well in my house and I know what is water without chlorine.

[floyd]

Originally Posted by hiker22

Being our Scamp is 40 years old would the water tank and lines be certified food grade(BPA free) back then? Did that exist back then? Where can I get a BPA free replacement to fit in the back well? I think the original tank are 10 gallons.

I don't see a problem if your old tank is clean and leak free, but JCWHITNEY sells a potable water tank in several sizes for RV use. It comes with a bag of fittings, works well, and fits under the bench. Only problem is that it is not translucent like the original.

[steve dunham]

The water lines from the city water main to my house are lead.
The well water at my cabin is not filtered or treated.
I drink / cook with the water from my trailer's fresh water tank
I played in the dirt and in puddles when I was a kid.
I make coffee with lake water when boondocking
I refuse to pay more for a bottle of water than a bottle of beer.

How many things have we been told that they were healthy or unsafe only to have a new study come out 3 months later saying the last study was all wrong..
I refuse to live my life in fear or the latest phony scare du jour.

[floyd]

Originally Posted by steve dunham

The water lines from the city water main to my house are lead.
The well water at my cabin is not filtered or treated.
I drink / cook with the water from my trailer's fresh water tank
I played in the dirt and in puddles when I was a kid.
I make coffee with lake water when boondocking
I refuse to pay more for a bottle of water than a bottle of beer.

How many things have we been told that they were healthy or unsafe only to have a new study come out 3 months later saying the last study was all wrong..
I refuse to live my life in fear or the latest phony scare du jour.

[stevebaz]

Well I drank from a hose, the hose was vinyl or rubber at times, the hose bib was brass, the interior piping was lead soldered copper, with several fittings in line that were chromed and or brass and the main supply line was galvanized steel. Darwin chose me survive over many others. I cheated death many times over but yet I am still here and yes I do drink the tap water I fill my Scamp with through the hose at my home city supplied water. Still using the original 30 year old polypropylene tank but with a new fabric reinforced polyurethane hose that I can see through.

But I have gotten rid of all my unlined aluminium pans over 25 years ago. I just can't remember when exactly.

When I was a kid I use to ride in the back of a pick-up truck and once even rode sitting on the tailgate with my feet dangling. We were on a dry lake bed cutting across the dirt flat heading to the high way. I was bumped off and sitting there watching the truck drive away. It took almost 20 minutes for them to realize I was bumped off and came back to find me. I didn't ride on the tailgate anymore after that but the back of the bed was still safe.

[Jon in AZ]

You might want to see what member Ian Gilles did with his Boler water system. Rather than a fixed, internal water tank, he uses an external 5 gallon insulated water cooler running through an internal pump.

The cooler is probably food grade (check with the manufacturer), easy to clean, and refills quickly (unlike the PITA gravity fill spout). And you gain the space where the tank used to be as storage.

More information here. You might have to dig around to find it- it's in one of the renovation pages.
http://www.proud-canadian.com

[hiker22]

It seems like keeping the original tank is a sound decision, but it probably would be a good idea to replaces the hose line. Where is a good source of food grade tubing that works with an older Scamp tank and faucet? Is there a marking or code to signify that rubber or plastic is food grade?

[stevebaz]

https://www.amazon.com/ATP/b/ref=bl_...browse-bin=ATP

[steve dunham]

Originally Posted by hiker22

It seems like keeping the original tank is a sound decision, but it probably would be a good idea to replaces the hose line. Where is a good source of food grade tubing that works with an older Scamp tank and faucet? Is there a marking or code to signify that rubber or plastic is food grade?

NSF / ANSI 61. Plastic tubing is often marked NSF approved potable water . I would just use residential grade PEX tubing.
Blue for cold. Red for hot

[TheWanderers]

Originally Posted by hiker22

Being our Scamp is 40 years old would the water tank and lines be certified food grade(BPA free) back then? Did that exist back then? Where can I get a BPA free replacement to fit in the back well? I think the original tank are 10 gallons.

We pulled the water tank and lines and threw them away. There was no way to clean the scale and scum out of the tank because the only access was the input line and the supply line. The crud that was in that tank almost made me hurl.

We now use an external was cooler as our "tank" and it's super easy to keep clean. We still have an external water supply that we can connect to the camper when it is available and we would wash our hands or cook with that water but some of the stories we've heard about the quality of the water available from campgrounds makes us afraid of drinking that stuff.

An old friend recommended we freeze bottles of water for camping and it has worked well for us. He called it "smart water" because it works twice for you: once while keeping your stuff chilled and a second time while providing you with drinking water for your trip. Others here have also recommended this idea as well. We've packed a dozen bottles of water in the bottom of our coolers that have supplied us with enough water for cooking, drinking and ice including drinking for four small dogs.

[Jon in AZ]

Originally Posted by TheWanderers

...There was no way to clean the scale and scum out of the tank because the only access was the input line and the supply line....

Since the OP seems to have decided to keep the tank, I will mention that some people cut a hole in the top and install a marine deck hatch so you can access the inside of the tank for cleaning. I don't recall what kind of adhesive they used. A search should turn up some old posts.

[KenjiFox]

Originally Posted by Jon in AZ

Since the OP seems to have decided to keep the tank, I will mention that some people cut a hole in the top and install a marine deck hatch so you can access the inside of the tank for cleaning. I don't recall what kind of adhesive they used. A search should turn up some old posts.
Attachment 101777

I installed one on my original tank. Works great, I full time and drink etc. from my 1986 scamp tank exclusively. I did however replace ALL of the factory vinyl lines. Those are big heavy and gross. I used 3/8 (1/4 ID) PEX tubing so that my hot water would reach the bathroom with less waste, as well as saving the dead weight of useless water in the lines. The only section of vinyl tube remaining is that which I used to shove the PEX THROUGH using dish soap as lubrication under the fridge. Made routing the lines super easy.

The original tank is completely safe. It's made of the same material as today, but in-fact is less likely to have contaminants in it for two main reasons;
1: Not made in China for as cheap as possible as it would likely be today.
2: Old plastic has already released the chemicals used in manufacturing years ago.

Install the access hole on the top using butyl rubber (nothing else will stick to the tank!) and give it a good scubdown with bleach or hydrogen peroxide if you don't like the idea of bleach.

My water tastes just like that from a bottle, or whatever it tasted like before it went in the tank! Further, I fill my water from the inside. I would never EVER trust having my water source able to be contaminated from the outside by anyone who wishes. I got a 100ft roll of 3/8 pex for about $20, so it's cheap too. The fittings are also inexpensive.

[Borrego Dave]

Originally Posted by Jon in AZ

Since the OP seems to have decided to keep the tank, I will mention that some people cut a hole in the top and install a marine deck hatch so you can access the inside of the tank for cleaning. I don't recall what kind of adhesive they used. A search should turn up some old posts.
Attachment 101777

I installed a 4" hatch like this, used SS hardware and 3M 5200 sealant as was suggested by others. It adheres well and stays a bit flexible.