I have taken our new Pathfinder away now on three occasions and have had the same problem with the taste of the water. At first I put it down to the area we were camping in but I now realize this was not the case. We have not been drinking the water from the tap directly but have been putting it in the kettle and boiling it for tea which ends up having a bad taste.I did also try drinking the water direct from the tap and it still had a distinctive taste.
Should I be adding purification tablets or could the taste be because the unit is new ?
If the water tastes ok straight from the site tap then your pipes need a clean! - suggest flushing through with a proprietary water system cleaner or even a strong solution of bicarbonate of soda. Once clean you shouldn't need to do anything to the water except make sure the system is flushed through regularly
when you flush the system out you will have to change the filter in the water system if fitted , as Vince said bicarb is good for cleaning the pipes also good in the water carrier as it takes any taste of plastic that you get sometimes on new equipment .
------------- geoff & annb,--
never lost just on tour
your just jealous of the little voices talking to me
we found this and now always have a small container of water that we use to fill the kettle/ water filter etc as it gets filled more regular than the aqua roll the water is fresher.
we also use the aqua roll for water to the taps for washing.
Not sure if the new penines have a water filter or not. I know most of the new carvans seem to have them. Sounds like the pipes/aqua roll are tainting the water. We use Miltons to flush ours through.
I had a folding camper with an immersed pump (filter is on the cartridge that you drop into the water-carrier) for some years (and will have another one at the end of this year - finally talked other half into a Pathfinder YAY!!!) and always cleaned the system with Milton or some other baby bottle steriliser. I used to make up a full aqua-roll of solution (as per instructions on bottle, then draw enough through for the pipe to be full. I then went away and left it for an hour or two before fully rinsing the aquaroll and drawing 2 full barrels through the system to rinse it out. As I used the trailer every weekend of the season, I usually only had to do this at the beginning of the season.
Other than cleaning/flushing the system, make sure you keep the open top of the aquaroll covered to stop creepy-crawlies getting in - the filter stops them getting into the pipes, but you really don't want them swimming about in your water anyway! Remember no to seal the top when you cover it though - air needs to get in for the water to get out.
There may be several causes, due to the trailer as well as due to local circumstances and even the watercooker.
1. You say it is a new pathfinder. You do mean really new, i suppose. Just in case not: If second hand, the water pipers may have been replaced. If normal garden hose is used that may taste, as the plastic is not made for holding consumables. In that case install the right type of hosing.
2. What about the jerrycan/container. Is that the right type of plastic?
3. If new: new plastic (pipes and container) may cause some taste, even if it should not. In some cases the wrong materials have been used, probably due to lack of supplies. I've heard off one or two cases where the wrong pipes were applied. In Holland those are the blue and red pipes, they are specifically for drinking water. So, still check the pipes. The should not be the green type of hose and may certainly not be transparent.
4. Try and bypass the filter, if any. Filters are known sometimes to create funny tastes.
5. If the water in your camping area is treated differently from home, it will taste (very) different, also for tea. On holiday a lot of water contained chloride, recognizable when the water was running and in the tea.
Mountain water also tastes very different.
Did you put homewater in the trailer and taste that through the trailer tap? maybe your home water does not contain chloride, while elsewhere it does. That does create a distictive taste. Just also smell it. If you open the lid from the watertank/container you probably will smell it, due to the evaporation of the chloride in the tank/container. That will taste and certainly also in the tea. It does not taste well, but does not harm you.
6. Another very bad taste was obtained by taking the water out of the kettle just a little bit too early, at the beginning of the boiling. Very bad taste. When leaving it untill the (electric)watercooker switches off automatically it was all right. It just needed all the time for boiling. Just 2 degrees centigrade too low created bad taste (and some foam on the tea)!! Actually, it is an old peoples wisdom that water should be boiling for 5 minutes. There may be something in it.
I had a folding camper with an immersed pump (filter is on the cartridge that you drop into the water-carrier) for some years (and will have another one at the end of this year - finally talked other half into a Pathfinder YAY!!!) and always cleaned the system with Milton or some other baby bottle steriliser. I used to make up a full aqua-roll of solution (as per instructions on bottle, then draw enough through for the pipe to be full. I then went away and left it for an hour or two before fully rinsing the aquaroll and drawing 2 full barrels through the system to rinse it out. As I used the trailer every weekend of the season, I usually only had to do this at the beginning of the season.
Other than cleaning/flushing the system, make sure you keep the open top of the aquaroll covered to stop creepy-crawlies getting in - the filter stops them getting into the pipes, but you really don't want them swimming about in your water anyway! Remember no to seal the top when you cover it though - air needs to get in for the water to get out.
Happy camping
That is exactly what we do and it seems to work fine.
Just a couple of things to add to what has already been said.
You are draining the water each and every time you leave site. If not this water may start to cause problems if left in the pipes for an extended time.
I certaily agree that garden hose pipe is not food grade and should not be used. However I am not sure that just becasue a pipe is a certain colour it is or is not food grade. I am sure we used to have clear food grade pipe for the beer to the pumps in a previous life.
New aqua rolls have been know to taint water. Miltons etc has resolved this previously. If you have a filter fitted and it has not been changed in ages this could be part of the problem. They should be changed yearly.
In answer to wlee, The Pathfinder is brand new as is the aquaroll. At home we drink water from a well (rural Ireland) so I suppose I should expect some difference.When I put the bottled water from the supermarket straight into the kettle it was fine.
I'm away again tomorrow so I'll definately get flushing. The point about the Chlorine was very interesting .........maybe I've just got used to drinking water from the well for too long ?
Good chance you are used to the taste of your well water. I remember well water from Helvoirt (south in Holland). totally different taste. The water overthere tastes different anyway from the water in west, were I live.
As regards the Chlorine: water companies in warm areas have a policy to add chlorine during warm periods. This is to prevent the growth of bacteria in the warm water in the piping system. Some waterpipes are very near or even on the surface and may grow e.g. legionella.
This year the water in France tasted for this chlorine everywhere, even in an area where I was not used to this at all as they normall have excellent water there. It gave a very clear smell and taste.
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Topic: Why Does the water taste bad ?
