Water from the on board system has rubbery taste if left overnight..any ideas?

[rrclassicbt550]

I do not have a trailer just yet but plan to in the future, for now I am building my Rover and the problem I have right now is my water system. The water system I installed in my Rover (post number #324) is leaving a rubber taste in the water when left overnight. It is almost entirely PEX tubing and Sharkbite fittings except for the kitchen sprayer handle and the connections to the pump which uses the vinyl lines sipplied by Shurflo. It has a Purest One filter, 1gpm Shurflo pump, and an accumulator.

It's only the first of liter or two that have a rubber taste, after that it tastes good, but in that first bit of water...oh my goodness does it ever taste bad. I have a suspicion that it may be the sprayer hose leaving the taste but I am not sure. So I thought I would ask you guys to see if any of you have had or have heard of this issue with a water system.

It is a brand new system with all food grade fitings which are not suppose to leach anything into the water, but somehow that rubber taste is still there. I have only put 7 gallons through it so far. Is there a break in period for a new pump or accumulator? Do any of you have any advice or ideas? I would greatly appreciate some advice.

Thank you,
Jon

 

[Mashurst]

My guess would be you have a butyl or buna diaphragm in the accumulator

 

[elcoyote]

Use a 1:5 solution of white vinegar to water to flush out the system and remove the plastic and rubber tastes. We let it sit in the system for 15 minutes then flush the system with fresh water.

To sanitize the system, use 1/4 cup (2 oz) per 15 gallons. Just like the vinegar solution, we let it sit in the system for 15 minutes then flush the system with fresh water.

 

[madmax718]

it is not from the LCI water can, Im pretty certain of that.

 

[AZDoug]

I use mint flavored denture cleaning tablets to freshen and clean hyd packs, canteens and other plastics. Works very well.

 

[rrclassicbt550]

I replaced the sprayer and the hose (I believe it had a rubber interior) with a new vinyl line that is more like the lines supplied by Shurflo. It seems to have cured the rubber taste, I left it in the heat of the day for about 5 hours and there was no noticeable taste in the water. I will leave it overnight and see how it goes tomorrow, hopefully the water will taste just as nice as it did today.

 

[rrclassicbt550]

My guess would be you have a butyl or buna diaphragm in the accumulator

Hmm, that is interesting. I will give Shurflo a call tomorrow to check on that. Thank you very much!

 

[rrclassicbt550]

Use a 1:5 solution of white vinegar to water to flush out the system and remove the plastic and rubber tastes. We let it sit in the system for 15 minutes then flush the system with fresh water.

To sanitize the system, use 1/4 cup (2 oz) per 15 gallons. Just like the vinegar solution, we let it sit in the system for 15 minutes then flush the system with fresh water.

Wow, thanks for the tip! I have a question though. Will the vinegar cause issues with the water filter?

 

[rrclassicbt550]

I use mint flavored denture cleaning tablets to freshen and clean hyd packs, canteens and other plastics. Works very well.

That is an interesting idea, I am definitely stashing that one in the memory bank. I will have to put some of those in my camping kit for cleaning out some of my containers. Thank you!

 

[elcoyote]

I don't think so, no more that the bleach.

 

[rrclassicbt550]

I don't think so, no more that the bleach.

You said to use "1/4 cup (2 oz) per 15 gallons". I can clean out the Jerry can fairly easily by hand, but as for the actual water system, what measurement would you recommend? It probably holds 1.5 to 2 liters in total. Would putting in too much matter?

 

[rrclassicbt550]

It looks like switching the sprayer hose worked. No noticeable taste in the water, just tastes like really good and clean water now. The old one is the bottom and the new is the top.

I am definitely going to be using the tips you all gave me in the future. Thank you so much for the advice everyone, I really appreciate it!