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| Regulator and Filter |
Travelling in our Roadtrek we encounter a variety of campground fresh water conditions. These include high pressure, well water which is hard or contains sediment, and city water which meets much higher standards.
Sediment can be dealt with using a portable filter. Hard water is not as easily improved. For drinking one can always use bottled water, but seriously hard water does damage to aluminum, copper and brass faucets and can even leave deposits on check-valves, etc. which hinders their operation.
There are accessories which can be carried to improve the water condition. However, unsafe water is not something for the typical RVer to deal with. If we have any concerns about fresh water safety and purity, we purchase and drink bottled water. Some campgrounds have public reverse osmosis machines on site, where a gallon of water can be filled a modest cost such as 35 cents each gallon.
We've carry a water pressure regulator and a filter with us in the Roadtrek. This keeps water pressure in safe limits, protecting the fresh water piping system. We also carry a portable RV/Marine filter. We replace the filter each year.
However, some locations have hard water. Our lily-pad in the Southwest US is an example. The water comes from local wells and is mildly alkaline with a pH of about 8.0. Another measure is Total Dissolved Solids or TDS. Total dissolved solids (TDS) describes the inorganic salts and small amounts of organic matter present in solution in water. "The principal constituents are usually calcium, magnesium, sodium, and potassium cations and carbonate, hydrogencarbonate, chloride, sulfate, and nitrate anions. "
One of the issues for treatment of freshwater in the Roadtrek is simply the space limitations for the hardware. We have used a portable water softener when we stayed in an area known for hard water. This device is replenished with table salt. It is currently used in the 5th wheel.
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| Portable Water softener in our 5th wheel |
At our Arizona lily pad, which is connected to resort well-water, we have a more extensive water treatment system. The water is hard, and there may be occasional sediment. We spend several months at the resort each year and so we decided upon a more extensive water treatment approach. There is osmosis water available at 35 cents per gallon, but this year I added a reverse osmosis system which I installed in the kitchen island. Our system includes:
- Pressure Regulator
- 10 inch diameter Filter
- Reverse Osmosis system
- Water softener
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| Big Blue 10 inch diameter filter |
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| Reverse Osmosis Spigot with TDS Indicator I installed in our 5th wheel |
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