Water woes

[Thomas Csibor]

Merry Christmas all...

We have only owned this coach for a couple of weeks so still in learning . Decided to spend Christmas down on the coast and have some water issues. We have been using city water up to now, but yesterday saw puddles of water under the coach and shut the city water off after filling the tank , thinking that a leak developed in the city water valve. Not enough tools with me to really diagnose. Lo and behold, still leaking water.

Would anyone have available diagrams of the water system, both for city water and pump, so That I can try and trace the leak. I have looked on here but was not able to find one.

Also, my water pressure on pump is extremely low. I have cleaned all the strainers on the taps, but still hardly any pressure. I understand that there is also a strainer by the pump which I will get to next.

There is also a filter there which I assume is for the ice maker only??

Thank you
Tom and Laurie

[David T. Richelderfer]

Our water pump delivers far more water pressure to inside faucets versus shore water which has one or more pressure restrictors.  You might check that a prior owner did not install a "too small" water pump in your coach.  The water pump I installed new a few years ago I think is rated at 3.5 gpm.  Also, you can check that the gate valves in the water bay are turned full on.

[Bill Lampkin]

Welcome Tom! Check to see if your outside shower is leaking. Then see if you have inadvertently turned on your auto water fill via a rocker switch. Mine is on the cabinet fascia under the kitchen sink. If you have an Aladdin system, you can see if the auto fill is activated by looking at your tank levels screen. Check out your aladdin, I bet your wet spot is from overfilling your FW tank by using auto fill when you were hooked up to city water. Is your FW tank at 100% full?

Merry Christmas!!

[Thomas Csibor]

Thank you for the replies. If I have an outside shower, I have not found it yet. I used the fill switch before I disconnected the city water and filled the tank to 70%. I will check the pump output rating, but all I get is a very tiny trickle

[Roy Warren Co-Admin]

Tom,
Check to make sure your auto fill is turned off when not in use.  If you hear your pump running and are getting low water pressure, your auto fill is probably still on and you are just putting water back into your fresh water tank.
Roy Warren

[Keith Moffett Co-Admin]

Tom
First, welcome to the BAC. 
A couple weeks is just long enough to start a list of the things you dont know or at least that is how it wnet for me.  Lol
As Roy said you must have the (AF) auto fill in the off position but the button controls a 'Redhat' valve in the water pump compartment and that valve can stick part way open.  Put that as a last option for this.
Look at your FW manifold (low point drains) and be sure the leak isnt from a drain tube underneath.  The plumbing circut should be turned on and low point drain turned off.  This would be my guess!
You may have a bad FW pump though that doesnt account for the leak.

[Gerald Farris]

Tom,
Your plumbing system is the same regardless of whether you are on city water or pump (onboard water). The only difference is where the water pressure enters the system. The outside shower that is referred to above is the fold out facet located in your plumbing bay. A 3 GPM water pump is minimal for your coach, but if it is operating properly, you will have reasonable water flow at one facet.

From your description, it sounds like you have a loose connection, probably at one of the valves in the plumbing bay or in the water pump compartment. If the auto fill valve was leaking, your fresh water tank would overfill when you were hocked to city water. You need to fix the water leak ASAP, because it will cause damage to the wooden flooring in your basement if it continues. If your pump strainer is clean and your pump is not running when the facets are turned off, you have a bad pump.

If you need to talk through you problem, just call me (713-254-4156). I am in the Mountain Time Zone now.

Gerald

   

[Thomas Csibor]

Thank you everyone and thank you Gerald for your kind offer.
After going through the suggestions and looking at a water diagram from a newer coach, I found that the red hat solenoid stayed stuck open so that the pump was sending water back into the tank. So, everyone was correct, it had to do with the fill valve. Great pressure now, just have to find the leak.

[Robin Goffrier]

Tom, I second Gerald's suggestion to locate the leak and stop it as soon as possible.  I have had only one water issue with current coach and it was a result of a severed waterline to the ice maker in the refrigerator. Water was making a mess of the coach floor and draining out through basement storage. The leak was only evident when the system was under pressure.  Severed hose was accessed from the outside hatch. At the Anacortes rally this Sept my neighbor had a water issue in his Contessa.  Line in the wall behind the shower separated under pressure.  Yours sounds more like a fitting leak if its a drip.  My 01 Marquis had suffered a leak prior to my ownership and it destroyed plywood underneath the floor which I found out a year after purchase. Having seen the damage water can do I strongly recommend finding and fixing.  Good luck.