Water pressure

[Gerald Farris]

Keith,
It sounds like your flow problem at the kitchen facet is a restriction in the facet itself. If you have the Moen pull-out facet, there is a screen between the hose and the handheld unit that is easily restricted. It only takes a minute to remove and clean this screen.

Gerald

[Edward Buker]

Keith,

I think the best set up would be an adjustable regulator at the campground feed set at 50lbs to 55lbs to start out, then going through a 1/2" or better hose as Gerald stated. A good watts regulator would be best but this Valterra works pretty well, far better than any of the inline metal units that may say hi flow. I have been using one of these for several years.

http://www.amazon.com/Valterra-A01-1117VP-Lead-Free-Adjustable-Regulator/dp/B003YJLAIK/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1340655929&sr=8-3&keywords=rv+pressure+regulator#tags

Check valve would be much better than a second regulator that now resides at the coach panel. This unit would cut a lot of the current flow restrictions.

http://www.amazon.com/JR-Products-9690-200-023-Water-Flange/dp/B0002UHVX2/ref=sr_1_8?s=automotive&ie=UTF8&qid=1340656646&sr=1-8&keywords=rv+check+valve

If you still want a second regulator, then this unit probably has a higher pressure regulator set point than what came with your coach. This is the 65lb regulator model by Shurflow.  Model # 183-020-14 OEM (Chrome)

Until you make these changes you will not have sufficient water supply flow into the coach. The kitchen faucet is the only one that I consider an issue with an adequate water feed system (all of the above) supplying the coach through the city water inlet. The faucet itself is part of the problem and perhaps the hose system design used as part of the slide. I would start with trying to find a faucet sytem that allows better flow than the originals.

Gerald is right on all counts on this one (as usual), I'm supplying some PNs.

Later Ed

[Richard Cooper]

I've gotten a lot of great advice here and thank you all very much.

I've had a lot of difficulty finding online to buy a 3/4 inch drinking water safe hose, but did find some that are 5/8 inside diameter.  To get the best pressure I think I need the 3/4 inch hose.  After all, I cannot yet replace the water pump with the variable speed one that was suggested and cannot yet replace the inlet water regulator.  I will go through every screen and clean them good.

Is this the right order of things from the cg faucet?  1) water pressure adjustable regulator; 2) 3/4 in dia safe 25ft hose connected to my water filter on one end; 3) another 3/4 in dia safe 25 ft hose connected on other end of my water filter and finally screwed into inlet regulator on my coach.

I may not need 50 ft of hose, but the only way I know to connect the water filter in there without losing flow through the filter's optional use short hose which I think is probably half inch.

Are these  the correct assumptions here?

If you don't get an adjustable water regulator with a gauge built in then how will you know what to adjust it to?

[Gerald Farris]

Richard,
I would just go with the 25 foot 5/8 inch hose to start with. A 3/4 inch drinking water hose is almost impossible to find. Also a short 1/2 hose from the filter to the coach will probably not restrict the flow any more than a much longer 5/8 inch hose. All of the piping in the coach is 1/2 inch inside diameter.

This is the first time that you mentioned an external water filter. External filters can slow down the flow also. Therefore be sure that they have an adequate flow rate (some filters do not), and change the elements if you notice a reduction in flow or at suggested intervals. However the external filter will reduce the number of clogged screens in the future.

If you do not replace the factory regulator, the adjustable regulator at the facet will mainly be protecting your hose and filter, but it will not increase your flow rate. Also I agree with your viewpoint about a gauge, I would not have an adjustable regulator without a gauge.

Gerald

[Edward Buker]

Richard,

The water regulator city water connection at your outside panel is not very expensive and can be replaced easily by unscrewing the old one and then pulling it out enough to disconnect the hose and fit the hose to the new 65lb version or a check valve only if you prefer. If the old one had teflon tape then follow that lead. This is probably one of the best flow improvements for the money along with the better adjustable regulator at the CG water feed. The larger hose will help but it probably is not one of the most significant water restrictor in the water delivery system as long as the hose has a 1/2 inch dia or more.

If you find a significant difference in water flow with and without your filter and it is a new filter, you could consider plumbing in a pair of filters using Y connectors and short hoses instead of a single filter.

Later Ed

[LarryNCarolynShirk]

Ed,

Richard uses a 3/8" hose.  If he attends an FMCA rally, usually a vendor is selling drinking water hoses.  I bought a 5/8" rated at 220 pound burst strength, with quality brass fittings.  High pressure is no longer a hose issue.  I mounted an adjustable pressure regulator with a gauge in the bay, so I do not forget it again.  The city water inlet, was changed from 45# to 65#.  This resulted in improved faucet flow and faster fill times.  The real bottle neck is the 3/8" opening inside the built-in SurFlo city water fill fitting.  Eliminating the other restrictions helps.

Larry

[Edward Buker]

Larry,

Your set up sounds pretty ideal. Your point about the regulator was the one I was also making. My wording wasn't clear enough, but my point is basically eliminate the 40lb original regulator with a check valve only or the 65lb version as a minimum, and if you get to at least a 1/2 dia inch hose  that source of restriction should now be minimal in the scheme of things, given the other restrictions in the system.

The kitchen faucet in our coaches is still a problem. My Moen is marked 2.2gpm on the combo faucet sprayer end. I unscrewed it from the pullout hose and turned on the water valve and the flow seemed much greater with just the hose. I spoke with Moen today and have them sending me another end faucet unit that will allow me to experiment a bit. The customer service rep said that 2.2GPM rating was what is being mandated today due to water restriction regulations. I'm sure that rating is at 80 lbs or greater of water pressure which we cannot approach. We get much less flow from this faucet then 2.2GPM. I will take the extra faucet and try drilling the holes in the plastic end larger. Not sure if that is the restriction but they are quite small holes and it may help. The faucet filter screen is clean.

Later Ed

[Richard Cooper]

I have a handheld shower wand and hose in my condo apartment here in Atlanta that I recently bought.  I thought the water flow was too low for my needs.  I called Waterpik and they told me how to remove a piece from it which would increase water flow.  Of course, they said doing it would void the warranty, but who cares.  I have good showers at home now.  I'm thinking maybe Moen would give you the instructions on how to do that with the new faucet.  Or find it on the internet.

[Richard Cooper]

Ed,

Richard uses a 3/8" hose.  .....

Larry

I'm no longer using the 3/8 inch hose.  I have returned it to Amazon.  Starting off fresh now and ready to order a couple 5/8 inch 25 ft hoses from Amazon.

If I am using a water filter outside the coach for water coming in and have a filter on the Moen kitchen faucet, do I really need to have drinking water safe water hoses?  I usually only drink bottled water.  But my ice maker does use water from either the tank or city water.

[Gerald Farris]

Richard,
Yes, you do need drinking water safe hoses.

Gerald

[Edward Buker]

Richard,

In this day and age with everything coming from China and who knows what they are making things out of, I would want the safe drinking water version. Our hoses sit in the sun, get hot, and our drinking water stays stagnent in the hose for hours sometimes. Your filters probably are not effective at removing leeching chemicals from plastics. The water to the ice maker I believe goes through the filter unit under the sink.

The filter version of the Moen faucet I had trouble with and it is one that has a significant flow restriction by design.  Moen offered me a replacement that does not have a filter in it (filter handle is discontinued). That new handle version has a 2.2GPM restriction built in, but the flow is a little better than the filter handle version. I had the filter version handle apart and I did not see any easy path to improve the flow of that design. The new version, the one that I am going to try and improve the flow through, has a check valve right at the hose interface that may be the first thing to go. This unit has a combo spray and faucet head and the plastic internal parts may be restrictive and not able to be modified but we will see. If I have any luck with modification, when the new one gets here, I will post the info.

Later Ed

[Richard Cooper]

I've taken most everyone's advice I think.  I've received today from Amazon 2 each 25 ft 5/8 inch rv marine hoses (Apex Neverkink) -- lead free, drinking water safe.  Also, received a Valterra Adjustable Water Regulator (lead-free) with a gauge on top.  It says it is pre-set to 45psi.

I hooked everything up as instructed.  With water on and hose connected to gauge and connected to water inlet of coach -- with the water faucet outside turned all the way on -- all the reading I got was about 38 psi.  Using a screwdriver I turned the setting to the plus + side and the pressure did not increase.

Does this mean my pressure from the faucet is only 38 psi?  If so, I should just remove the gauge altogether, is this correct?

I was at this campground (in the space next to this one) last month and had really great water pressure.  I had no regulator between the faucet and hose.  The hose I was using then was 1/2 inch -- smaller.

[Edward Buker]

Richard,

Turn the screw in the other direction with a little water running in the coach or outside and see if you can lower the pressure. If that works then one would think that you could increase the pressure if there was pressure beyond the 38psi to regulate. If it will not lower the pressure then you probably have a bad regulator. You could also speak to the owner and see what pressure he runs in the campground. If you still have the extra regulator at the coach panel then removing the one at the post would be fine if it helps. You may want to find a good known source of water pressure 60+ and test that regulator and preadjust it before concluding that it may be defective.

If you raise the pressure feed from the campground to your hose and increase the hose size only to drop the pressure to 40lbs at your coach panel city water coupling then you will not see a big benefit until the 50lbs or so of presssure is delivered into your coach.

If you were at a campground with 60 lbs or so at the post and you took your old regulator and hose and timed filling a bucket and then set the new regulator to 55lbs and use the new hose and timed filling a bucket you would see what was gained. I assume that you got a good regulator here...

Later Ed

[Richard Cooper]

Gerald,

I am now at the point to place an order for a Remco Aquajet RV varible speed 5.2 GPM replacement pump for my 2001 Marquis.

The part number is 55-AQUAJET-ARV

The best pricing I've found is in nearby SC for $158.68 + $1.99 shipping = $160.67.  That would give me about 3 days shipping at the most.

https://www.freshwatersystems.com/p-1070-aquajet-rv-5503-av15-b636-rv-pump-53-gpm-12vdc.aspx

Or is there better pricing elsewhere (including shipping)?  

I also want to either replace the city water inlet with a checked valve or alter the one I have to remove the 45 PSI limitation.  How does one remove the limitation on the existing valve?

[Brad Burgess]

Hi Richard

Aquajet pumps are very good pumps but EXTREMELY sensitive to voltage - be sure that your wiring to the pump is properly sized - most factory wiring will be too small of a gauge for this pump - the wiring recommendations in the installation instructions are very much to be followed.

I purchased a new city water inlet (chrome even!) at Camping World and its pressure regulator is set at 65 psi.

Brad Burgess
06 Monterey