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Old 06-18-2018, 06:17 PM   #1
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Testing the water system for the first time

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Originally Posted by Sunline Fan View Post
On the water pump, since I just went through this, there are a few things to check. Check the pumping ability from the fresh tank first. Then, check around the pump itself for any leaks. Lastly, hook the trailer up to city water and make sure you don't have any leaks at the pump, AND that no water is pumping back into the fresh tank. My backflow valve failed last fall, which caused city water to pump back up through the pump and into the tank. Slowly, but it still did.
Okay, so today I finally got around to testing the water system, or at least attempt to. I did not get far. As soon as I started filling the fresh water tank, it started leaking in two places - at the entry into the water tank and the drain outlet. So far I do not see any other leaks from the water tank, and I haven't even gotten to the pump yet.


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Old 06-18-2018, 09:51 PM   #2
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The drain valve, try turning the knob to any position throughout the rotation and see if it shuts off. If not, then the valve needs to be replaced.

That valve is still sold as many new campers still use it.

Here are 3 of them on Amazon. I cannot recall the exact brand Sunline used. I will look and see if I can find it imprinted on the 1950 or the 2475. I changed the valve entirely on the T310SR to a larger capacity one.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B007HRQHNI...529379865&sr=1

https://www.amazon.com/Valterra-A01-...nk+drain+valve

https://www.amazon.com/Camco-22223-D...70_&dpSrc=srch
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Old 06-18-2018, 10:05 PM   #3
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The tank leak,



I'm assuming you tried to tighten the clamp?

Can you see where the dripping is coming from?

It looks like it already has the food grade silicone on it. Sunline used the food grade silicone to try and seal these up. The polyethylene tanks for fresh water are really hard to have anything stick to it. And the silicone is a double edged sword. When it is in the flowable state being put on and you slip the hose over it, it is so slippery the hose can pop off when you tighten the clamp.

I have better results cleaning all the old off, putting a band of new silicone on the fitting, insert the hose and only half tighten the clamp. Then come back after a while (15 to 30 min) when it has cured up some and tighten it the rest. If not the hose can squirt off.

If you need to use the silicone, it is Aquarium silicone which is FDA approved for indirect (incidental) food contact. What is toxic to fish is toxic to us humans too. Here it is at Home Depot https://www.homedepot.com/p/DAP-Sili...0755/100128841

Lowes may have it too. Loctite brand also makes it

Hope this helps

John

PS. In the worst case, replacing the hose with a smoother bore has helped solve the problem. This topic just came up with the last few weeks and links to the hose was given on that post.
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Old 06-19-2018, 06:20 AM   #4
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Thanks for the responses JohnB. Much appreciated!

Fresh water tank - The dripping seems to be coming from behind the silicone ring. The ring looks more like some type of gasket seal rather than silicone sealant. I had already checked to make sure that both clamps were on tight. I will check them again.

The drain valve itself will need to be replaced. It looks like it may have a crack in it. I was looking on Amazon last night but couldn't tell which one I needed. So I had to wait and let the water drain out completely. I was able to open the drain once I saw that it was leaking but that was as far as it would open so draining even that small amount of water was slow. I will take it off this evening to get a better look at it.

Thanks,
Tommie
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Old 06-19-2018, 06:33 AM   #5
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I found that post you mentioned. I will go back over it.

Thanks again.
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Old 06-19-2018, 04:32 PM   #6
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Removed the screws from the drain valve and it fell right off. It is in bad shape and definitely needs to be replaced. Now I just need to figure out what size. There was no clamp on that end either so that may be the reason it leaked at there area.

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Old 06-19-2018, 06:50 PM   #7
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It’s a pretty much standard drain. I see them in the rv stores all the time.
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Old 06-20-2018, 06:32 AM   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by johnnybgood View Post
It’s a pretty much standard drain. I see them in the rv stores all the time.
x2. Very standard part, and cheap too.
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Old 06-23-2018, 12:43 PM   #9
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Can anyone tell me how to get this clamp off. I have never seen a clamp like this before so I don’t wanna take the chance of damaging the fresh water tank. So far I haven’t been able to get it off.




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Old 06-23-2018, 04:26 PM   #10
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I got mine off by putting channel locks on the tab and twisting it until it broke. Then I popped the clamp off.
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Old 06-23-2018, 05:09 PM   #11
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Okay thanks! I will give it a try.
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Old 06-25-2018, 07:50 AM   #12
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Yeah, that's a one time use squeeze clamp. Twisting it will work, but could be a little risky. If you can expand it at all, that will help. Plan to replace it with a normal hose clamp.
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Old 06-25-2018, 08:44 AM   #13
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Thanks to all!

Twisting it did not work for me. If I had continued to do that I would have broken off the piece connected to the tank. I had to keep at the end that I was finally able to bend upward enough with pliers to peel it up and off. I do have regular clamps. The problem with those is it will not fit in the hole where the drain valve goes into. I need to be able to put a clamp on that end so that it does not leak anymore. I think I bought the smallest that Lowes had.

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Old 06-25-2018, 10:10 AM   #14
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Well I think I figured out why there was no clamp on that end of the hose going to the drain valve. No clamp will fit through that opening. So I am going to have to improvise to see if I can accomplish 2 things - keep it from coming lose again and keep it from leaking again.

What I am thinking of is putting a piece of eternabond tape around where the hose attaches to the drain valve. Since this tape is so sticky it’s not likely that the hose will come loose and I’m hoping that it will not leak anymore either.




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Old 06-25-2018, 04:38 PM   #15
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You can use a few zip strips (cable ties) as clamps, and if that's not enough glue the hose to fitting
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Old 06-25-2018, 05:52 PM   #16
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Hi Tommie,

The E bond might not be the best application for a long term seal in this case.

Maybe some form of these ideas

If you want to use the small worm drive clamp, at the 12:00 location which I think is 90 degrees to the valve mounting screws, using a dremmel tool or other small cutter in a drill, remove some wood in the hole for the clamp to go in. But not through the siding or on the sides where the screws go. Put the clamp on hose out in the open, tighten the clamp then feed hose through the hole and hook to tank

Or go to Lowe’s and buy one of those crimp clamps on tank end and use your end clipper pliers to crimp it tight on the hose. They sell them in 3 and 10 packs. PEX brand makes them and others. Might have to remove some wood like above but a lot less. Put the crimp at the 12:00 location

The black stuff in the hose is mold. If you are going to reuse the hose, soak the hose end in a bleach and water solution to clean out the black. May need to scrub some too

Hope this helps

John
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Old 06-25-2018, 06:42 PM   #17
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Enormiss - I considered using zip ties but I couldn't seem to pull it tight enough.

JohnB - I had considered removing some wood but neither type clamp will fit through the metal siding either. Some metal may need to be trimmed too. I am going from the outside in. I also tried going in on an angle. I will try removing some wood. As for the hose, I am actually replacing it. The pic is of the old valve and old hose that I was testing with.

Thanks a bunch.

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Old 06-30-2018, 10:11 AM   #18
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Our maiden trip is fast approaching and now I am in rush mode to get everything checked out. Not too worried since I tested some stuff last year.

Good news:
- Water system pressurized as it should. Okay water flow. It is actually better than I thought it would be coming from a pump.
- No leaks that I can see from the inside plumbing.
- Hot water heater - we got hot water!
- No leaks from the new water heater bypass fittings which is really surprising to me with all the messing around I did back there. I thought for sure I had screwed that up.
- No leaks from the new fresh water drain valve.

Now to the bad:
- The new fresh water drain valve isn't flush with the side of the camper. For now I plan to fill in the gap with butyl tape and dicor over until later. I may have to drill at least one new hole.


- Leaking from the city water inlet while using onboard system.


- Leaking from what I assume is the grey water tank valve (I haven't tested the toilet yet and the water dripping is clear.) This is still a problem because Lake Anna State Park campground does not have sewer hookups.


- Water heater pilot light goes out when the thermostat turns off. I believe there is another thread on here where someone was having the same or similar issue. Gotta search for it.


That's it for now. I have a thread and YouTube video to find. Thanks for reading and you know I don't mind input.

Tommie
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Old 06-30-2018, 03:40 PM   #19
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You probably need to swap out the city water connection with a new one. There’s a spring in there so water can’t come out like yours is. Not sure if it’s repairable or not, but a new one’s not hard to install.

As far as the dripping out of the sewer hose connection. Have you operated the gate valve at all? Maybe it’s not fully closed? The gate valve seal may just be dried out from sitting dry for so long. Might want to put some silicone grease on it if you can get to it. That might cure your leak and make the valve easier to open and close as well.

Not sure about your water heater pilot light problem.

Good luck!
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Old 06-30-2018, 05:47 PM   #20
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Thanks JohnnyBGood. Yeah I ordered a new city water inlet because I wasn't sure if it could be fixed. I pushed on both sewage valve handles but it was still leaking. Drops, not pouring though. As for the water heater, I am going to give it a try again tomorrow morning. At least the water got hot. Still leaking a little at the gravity inlet into the fresh water tank. I am going to go back over that with more silicone again this evening. Not too worried. We won't be using the onboard pump and tank. Just testing everything to see what works and what needs attention. Next will be city water and the toilet. After that, if all goes well, we should be okay for the trip.


Thanks,
Tommie
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