City water valve

[yizit]

We own a 2004 RT C190P and need to replace the city water valve.....has anyone replaced theirs? If so, how easy was it or is it better to just take it to a RV dealer? Can you get the part from any hardware store?

[markopolo]

I haven't done that but I'd look for the part at a RV parts store.

Sometimes they just get stuck open. Might have some debris in there. I used a male hose plug in mine to keep the road dirt out. You can also use a male hose plug to stop water from leaking out as a fix.

[yizit]

Thanks for the info. Our problem is we don't get water at all when hooked to city water. We've turned the lever both ways with no luck. When we winterized we were advised to put a pencil end into the valve and push up until pink antifreeze appears. When we did that, we must have pushed too hard, a piece of plastic and a spring fell out. We figure we broke the valve. We have always used a male plug to prevent debris from getting inside since we bought it. When we bought our RT, last March, I don't think we ever used the city hook ups, so I'm not even sure if it ever worked. We always used the tanks. Just recently we tired to hook it up to the city water and we couldn't get water inside. We inquired at CW about it and they said RT's are always more difficult to work on regardless of what needs to be done on it. We aren't the most handy, but we are tired of paying someone else to fix things for us. We're not even sure what we need to do to fix it.

[Mike]

The piece of plastic and spring are probably the check valve, which is supposed to keep water
from flowing back out through the city water valve, I believe. It missing, shouldn't prevent water
from flowing into the system from outside, I would think.
When I was getting my water pump "cleaned out" last Spring, the guys at the RV shop
mentioned some of the valves inside near the pump may have been in the wrong position
to allow water flow from the outside city water valve. Sadly, I never asked which ones, but
they were all inside, under the driver's side bench, near the pump. Maybe try hooking up a
hose to your city water valve, put the red valve in the vertical/upright position. Actually, you
might get a pressure control valve which would screw into the threaded city water valve. I think
mine has a check valve in it as well, and it might save you replacing the whole assembly, as long
as the inside threads on the pipe aren't damaged. They're not expensive (the pressure regulators).
The one I have looks like the first thing with the blue collar and brass look in this link.....
http://www.rvwaterfilterstore.com/Press ... lators.htm
Then connect your water source to it. Once you get "hosed" , turn the water on, try changing the
valve settings on the inside to see if it makes any difference. Might be an inside valve is set incorrectly.

[yizit]

Thanks for the info. Right now we are not in the position to try your suggestions..... baby it's COLD outside . I'm going to print your suggestions and keep them for when the weather warms up. I hope your ideas work, it'll save us a few $$'s.

[Mike]

I'm also sitting in a semi-deep freeze here. If I get a chance in the next day or two, I'll
take some pics of my setup for the valve positions (2002 Chev 190P), as I haven't touched
them since last Spring when I had the pump issues. I can probably post them up, and if
the basic plumbing looks the same as yours, you can compare yours when it warms up.
I'll assume there's no hurry? I need the sun to come out, my camera is older
and doesn't have all the idiot-proof bells and whistles, so I need near perfect conditions.
As for the actual plumbing, you could try the pressure regulator as a fix for the broken
check valve issue. Have a look at one at your local Camping World or RV supply shop.
They're like a second check valve with a stronger spring (I think?) but will keep the water
in your van's plumbing from draining out too, I think. They're a good idea to prevent you
from accidentally blowing up your plumbing if a campground has an unusually high pressure
shore water supply.
I think it would work, and as I said, they aren't expensive.

[yizit]

Thanks again Mike. We do have a water pressure valve, I hope that solves the problem. My dad took a look at it too and he thought it was a check valve problem too. He pushed a screw driver up the hole and he said it felt like something was stuck in it (we were in Florida at the time...miss the warm weather). When you take the pictures could you send them to me via email? No rush.

[Mike]

You should be able to push your pinky finger into it, and feel a small ball valve which should have some give to it
when pushed. If it gives, and then returns to it's starting point when you release it, it's probably not the ball/check
valve, as that's what it's supposed to do. Allow water in under pressure, but not out when the pressure is removed.
I can email the pics, no problem.
I miss the warm too, but it's been cold everywhere this winter!!! There's no place you can go
where you're sure to get warm weather it seems.

[yizit]

Thanks again Mike. I wonder if the ball is what is jammed and causing us not to be able to get water to flow in. We can check that tomorrow. The spring fell out, as well as the piece of plastic. As far as the cold, when we got home, home being Wisconsin Dells WI, a week ago it was -15, and when we were in Pensacola FL for a week, it was in the low 40's for the day time, and it got down to 24 at night. We decided we would rather have the cold weather in FL rather than the cold weather in WI....

[Mike]

Try sticking your pinky finger into the vertical threaded pipe, and feel for the check valve ball.
Then try pushing it in just a bit farther. If it is easy to push, the spring might need to be replaced,
unless you try the pressure regulator as a fix. I have no idea how easy or difficult it would be to
replace the whole assembly, or if the outside shower taps have to be replaced along with it.
If it does move easily, then I doubt it's the cause of no water from city valve access, but I'm no expert.
There could be maybe something plugging it, I suppose. My guess is an inside valve is set wrong.

We usually take off south around March, but it's going to depend on the temps down there this year.
If it's cold, we might as well stay home and wait it out.

[yizit]

Thanks again. If your route takes you through Wisconsin let us know. We live in Wisconsin Dells and it is the water park capital of the world.

[Mike]

Hi, if you still want the inside plumbing pictures, I need you to pm me with your
email address. I've sent you 2 emails from here, but maybe they're being sent to your
spam/deleted folder, if you've never had email from this forum.
PM me if you still want the pics.

Mike.

[yizit]

Update.....we replaced our city water valve. It was definitely faulty. We bought the part from a local RV dealer for $13 and it took us approximately 1 hour. The area was so tight to get a wrench around the nut to loosen it. We ended up using a vise-grip. All appears to be working fine so far.

[Mike]

Good, hope it works out OK. Good info about what the fix was.
We went south last month for 10 days, and it was cold right down to the Gulf.
After some HD (heavy duty) shopping, we decided to come home and wait for warmer.
In March 2 years ago we were in southwest and it was nice, even as far north as Utah.
This year not so much, we just emailed Bryce Canyon NP and they said they are
bouncing between cold and quagmire on the trails. They don't expect it all to dry
out before mid-May.