Looking for criticism on idea filling water tank

[brycesteiner]

We parked our montana in southeast kentucky. The dew is so heavy here you could probably take a shower every morning just from standing under the trees.
That also means that when we are not there and without a dehumidifier mold can form in the RV.
We do not have running water at the site, I intend on doing a rain catchment off the roof that the fifth wheel is parked under.
In the mean time I got an idea to keep the humidity down and fill the fresh water tank - put a Y in the hose filler tube and have the dehumidifier drain a gallon or two of water into the fresh water tank each day.
Plain stupid or genius for visiting once a month for a few days?

[Mikendebbie]

Bryce - I don’t think the rain water collection or the dehumidifier water will be fit to drink. The rain water off the roof will have “stuff” in it…dirt particles, bird poop…just lots of stuff. The commercial rain water collection systems I briefly dealt with had filtration and chemical treatment systems for the water that went into the tank so stuff did not grow in the tank. I was never a fan of rain water collection on a commercial project unless the developer intended to use it as a “dog whistle” to draw clients in to rent office space, and he was willing to pay the hundreds of thousands it added to the project. Oooops - I probably should have edited this out, but I am not a fan of rain water collection. I tried it at my house for lawn irrigation and I had too much water when I didn’t need it and had no water when I did need it. I don’t know about the dehumidifier water, but I would not send it to my fresh water tank…send it to the gray or black tank.

[brycesteiner]

Those are good points.
For Rain collection There would certainly be a basic filtration before going in IBC totes (built up on a small tower for pressure. Then a filter before going into the tank.
We don't drink the fresh water in the tank anyway because of all the crud that tends to accumulate in it anyway.
Why not for the dehumidifier? Wouldn't that just be distilled water?

[LeftOverParts]

A novel idea but without filtration and treatment, I think you’ll find where and what the water touches (coils, fins, drip pan, hose) in the dehumidfier is not clean enough. The coils or fins probably have dust, dirt plus whatever that dust and dirt is carrying. Also the water might contain some metal elements depending on what the fins are made of. Maybe you could collect it in a bottle to flush the toilet but you probably don’t want that in your fresh tank or the plumbing and fixtures. Personally, I would plumb it outside.

[BB_TX]

The dehumidifier water would be essentially the same as distilled water. But unless you sanitized the collection tank regularly it would eventually start to grow stuff in it.

[RKassl]

Buy some bottled water.

[Bourbon County]

If you've ever seen the inside of an AC evaporator coil after just one summer's use, you would nix that idea pretty quick. As mentioned, the water is basically distilled water but there are always mold spores floating in the air that collect on the coils and the water just provides the moisture they want.

I live in central KY, and yes the humidity has been brutal until just a few days ago. It won't be an issue once the weather cools down and stays there. If you're shopping for a portable dehhumidifier, check the specs closely. Many of them won't work in temperatures under about 45 degrees or so. Any condensate you might put in any tank does run the risk of freezing.

I've been doing this practice for my first camper and now my Monty: Open all cabinet and closet doors at least slightly, same for drawers. I have a small oscillating fan that I put in the rear of the camper kept on low speed just to have a little circulation and leaving doors open just helps prevent any large temperature differences in the coach.