Where Are the Water Tanks Located Damon Intruder Motorhome

January 15, 2022 Post a Comment

Topic: Damon 377 Water Tank Issue

Posted By: dkplatner on 02/20/10 06:16pm I usually connect directly to the water supply available at most camping facilities, and have had no problems. But on my last trip to a Michigan State Park, I filled up at the fresh water / dump station. After a half hour, when the tank registered full, I visually verified the tank was full and disconnected from the supply. I checked that no drains were leaking and proceeded to the camp site. After the first right turn, I noticed a trail of water. By the time I got backed up to the site, there was quite a lot of water on the ground. I immediately checked all my settings and started looking for the "leak". I found water pouring out of the two vent lines running from the top of the water tank. Within minutes the tank was empty and after a brief rush of air, the flood stopped. Of course it stopped; the fresh water tank was empty. So I went back to the fill station and half an hour later the tank was again full. It is a large tank. I disconnected and watched for the flood to start, but nothing happened. I headed back to the camp site and immediately after the first right turn, I could see water pouring from the right side vent tubes. I immediately stopped and tried to plug off the flow of water. But as soon as I released my grip, the water again continued to flow. Thinking I somehow had some kind of pressure problem; I put the hose to my mouth and blew until I could hear air bubbling in the tank. The flow immediately stopped, but I was already half empty. So, once again I returned to the fill station and only 15 minutes later the tank was full. Once again I disconnect and look for the flood to start, but once again nothing happens. So I wait a few minutes simulating the run to the first right corner, but nothing happens. So I decide to rock the RV side-to-side. Immediately the water starts pouring out both vents. I immediately blow into one of the vents and the flood stops. I continue to the camp site without further issue.

Anyone have ANY idea what is going on???

Posted By: fredbon on 02/20/10 06:30pm Our coach will siphon water under various circumstances. I found that when the tank starts to overflow, I turn the water valve back to "City" prior to turning off the water at the spigot. If that fails, refill and reverse the process, just can't remember which way it goes, "Senior Monent".

Fred and Bonnie
Frankie & Scarlett, (The Cats)
2005 Dolphin LX 6375
2006 Saturn VUE

As I've Matured... I've learned that artificial intelligence is no match for natural stupidity.

Posted By: admiral0647 on 02/21/10 01:44pm You seem to have a thorough understanding of your water tank and its hoses. My 377c is considered a 2007 model, but it was built late in the model year and though the fresh water tank is on the passenger side (like yours)the city/tank fill valve is in the driver's side (waste tank drain) outside compartment.

Here are my pictures:
[image]

[image]

I was unable to determine where the city/tank line comes into the system (near the pump I presume) and whether what I have labeled as pump suction in the first and second pictures is also the fill point for for the tank, making the check valve closer to the pump. I also do not understand why there are two tank vents.

Maybe this spring I can try over filling my tank to see if it siphons dry. The position of the city/tank valve may, as someone has suggested, be the controlling factor.

Jim

I started with nothing... and have most of it left.

Damon Challenger 377c
Toyota Yaris Dingy
Scottish Terrier

Posted By: J Walker on 02/21/10 09:46am You have a siphon and you just need to see how it comes about. You have an intake at the bottom of your tank for the siphon because the entire tank empties. I am guessing that you fill the tank by connecting a hose and then switching to filling the fresh water tank instead of using water from the hose directly in your MH. What if you move the switch from the fill setting to direct use? It might not drain the tank. I don't think it should drain anyway. A check valve might have gone bad. I have a Damon Ultrasport with a gravity fill and there are not problems or possibility of problems like this. On another note, are you sure the water from the dump station is potable? I have never seen potable water at a dump station, and there are always signs to state that.

Jim Walker
2014 Thor Palazzo 33.2, 6.7 Cummins, 2100 Allison
2009 Malibu

Posted By: dkplatner on 02/21/10 08:57am Ok, this is a bit awkward. I would like to thank the two people that commented, but that window is closed, so I don't know from this screen who you are. So, I'm going from memory, here, and senior moments are a common problem. There is also a foot of snow on my unit, so I'll try a written description (in lieu of a picture).

My 2007, 377 Damon has the fresh water tank on the passenger (right-hand) side of the unit. The house feed is on the lower left (aft) side of the tank. It is connected to two valves, one which will drain the tank through a long hose, and the other which will allow winterizing the unit by putting the long drain hose into the pink stuff. This works quite well. The tank has TWO additional hoses, one coming out of the top left and one coming out of the top right. These two, rather short, hoses just exit the compartment directly below where they come out of the tank.

The fresh water connection is, of course, on the driver side. I cannot see where it attaches to the tank, but I can hear the water filling the tank, so I figure the connection has to be toward the middle of the unit and towards the supply. The 2007 model put the city/fill valve INSIDE, below the bathroom sink cabinet. In 2008, they started moving this valve to the fill side of the unit (duh, could have had a V8). This inside valve also lacks labeling, but when connected to the supply (with the pump off) you either get faucet flow or you fill the fresh water tank. Once disconnected from the supply, and operating with the pump, you either get faucet flow or you don't. Kind of idiot proof, but procedurally awkward, since the fill, tank, valve, monitor and pump switch are all in different locations. Trying to chase this problem down gives you quite a work-out. Who needs a stepping machine, I've got an RV??

When the unit decides to "dump", siphon or whatever, it comes pouring out BOTH "vent" hoses. Blowing in either the front or aft hose will immediately stop the dumping and no additional driving, rocking or rolling will start it back up. It kind of seams like the vents are blocked during the tank filling and the tank becomes pressurized. But after blowing into the vent hoses (adding more pressure?), there is not a LOT of air escaping, and the dumping stops. I don't know, why would a vent line drain a tank? Doesn't make since, but it must be resolvable, since it is repeatable.

Dave

Posted By: admiral0647 on 02/20/10 06:47pm I have not had that problem with my 377 after over 2 years of use. I did overfill my tank once, but it did not empty because of it. As I recall there are three hose openings in the fresh water tank. One is the bottom drain (valved) one is the top vent, and one near the bottom that is the outlet to the pump. I do not recall without looking if the water fills through the pump hose (as I suspect) or through a separate hose. Only two hoses should be open on the end to the atmosphere, the vent and the drain.

It sounds like a siphon problem from a hose (the vent hose?) that originates inside the tank very near the bottom. My 377 is in winter storage so I cannot verify the hose configurations, but what you might try is to cork the leaking hose, then turn on the water pump and try to pump water out of the tank to see if it creates a negative pressure (vacuum) in the tank. Watch it closely while trying this. If plugging that hose is the only tank vent, and the city/tank valve is closed, the pump should run out of water fairly quickly.

If you do not run out of water from the pump, and that hose is corked, you have another air/vent source. Leave the cork in.

If the pump runs dry while there is water in the tank, then the vent hose is too low into the tank.

If the weather here holds, I'll look at my 377 tomorrow. It would help for me to know the exact hose that is leaking, by location. A photo would be even better.

Jim

Posted By: admiral0647 on 02/22/10 12:54pm

dkplatner wrote:

Could Damon have somehow connected the two vents together inside the tank?

It certainly is an interesting problem,,,

Take another look at the pictures I posted. The top of the tank is hidden from view, but I can feel where the vents enter the top of the tank. Each vent hose is connected to the tank with a fitting similar to the one circled in the middle picture. It seams unlikely to me that the vent hoses are connected inside the tank. It also seems unlikely vent hoses entering the top of the tank could have an interior hose extending half way down into the tank, but to siphon from either vent hose that would be necessary.

I would overfill the tank, cause the siphon to begin, then change that selector valve position to see if that stops the siphon. If that fails, start the pump to try to stop the siphon.

Jim

Posted By: J Walker on 02/22/10 02:02pm

admiral0647 wrote:

More likely it is siphoning from a hidden hose somehow tied into the supply side (visible fitting in the middle picture) and back through a low point drain, possibly through the city/tank fill selector valve.
I would overfill the tank, cause the siphon to begin, then change that selector valve position to see if that stops the siphon. If that fails, start the pump to try to stop the siphon.
Jim

I agree with this idea. You (we) need more to go on and seeing where the water comes out, whether it happens if you switch form city water to fresh tank would help. I suspect that switching to fresh water will stop the dumping.

Posted By: dkplatner on 02/22/10 10:22am I just called the Damon service number. The gentleman that answered was of course Jim. I must have the wrong name to own an RV. Jim was immediately aware of the issue and said this was a common problem with all fresh water systems. Jim said the solution was to put a 3 inch loop in the two vent lines. I presume near the top, but he was not specific. Jim said that there is a vacuum created and the result is siphoning 1/2 to 3/4 of the tank. (Don't vents relieve a vacuum condition?) Jim said this will frequently happen while traveling down the road. I had a Coachmen for many years and usually traveled to remote places with a full fresh water tank. I NEVER had it dump out the vent. Don't know if I believe this recommendation, but I guess it's worth a try????

Dave

Posted By: dkplatner on 02/22/10 10:37am Sorry to be such a skeptic, but I'm just not buying the siphon loop deal. There are two vent lines. Blowing into one vent should have NO effect on the other vent. In fact if it was siphoning, the second vent should flow better once one is open. But BOTH vents stop dumping. Could Damon have somehow connected the two vents together inside the tank? That just doesn't seem possible. There is a logical explanation here; I'm just not connecting the dots.

Posted By: the breeze on 02/22/10 10:44am i bought a 07 demon day"break" 3060 emphasis on " break " new in 08. no water problems so far but, the dashboard had a crack in it, the dash fan droped down, the radio disk player had to be replaced, some of the outside trim molding was cracked, the instrument panel fell back into the dash board, the back up camera screen came loose from one side, and the decorative decals on the out side are peeling off.

* This post was edited 02/22/10 10:59am by the breeze *

"make it your goal to lead a quiet life, mind your own business and work with your hands."

Posted By: dkplatner on 02/21/10 07:57pm Thank you Jim, Jim and Fred. If you all had been Jim's that would have been super embarrassing. But I also had the signature box unchecked, so I couldn't see the names. Heh, I'm still a newbie,
Admiral Jim, the pictures are great and (except for the valve location) the hose locations are the same as mine. And, yes, why two vent lines and how could a vent line siphon a tank? Wouldn't you want to vent ABOVE the water line? And shouldn't two vent lines prevent siphoning? I wonder if Damon has any schematics. My curiosity is killing me!!
JW, the Michigan State parks have the fresh water supply at each end of the dump station, with the business part in the middle. There is a rinse hose at the dump, without a hose connection, and it is clearly marked as non-potable. The two end fills have hose connectors and are also clearly marked as potable. If you need to dump and fill, it is two stops. Potable or non-potable, which one do you put in the pot? The one you sit on or the one you cook in? I have not seen multilingual signs (no happy or sad faces), so I hope everyone knows the difference.

Posted By: admiral0647 on 02/21/10 08:53pm My only explanation for two vents is an internally baffled tank where the baffle hangs down from the top and splits the tank...
But who knows.
Jim

Where Are the Water Tanks Located Damon Intruder Motorhome

Source: https://www.rv.net/forum/index.cfm/fuseaction/thread/tid/23700752/print/true.cfm

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Where Are the Water Tanks Located Damon Intruder Motorhome

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