Water system looses pressure

[Ronnyrenner]

Hello There,

I bought a used 95 Roadtrek 190 Popular in Southamerica and am travelling with the car since 7 months now. One night in Bolivia the outside temperature dropped below 0C and the water did freeze. I noticed this the next morning when no water was coming from the tap. After some hours of driving the water was liquid again and its working again. But ever since then the pump operates much longer than before. Usually the pressure in the water system was stable and the pump would only work if the tap was opened.
The car does not seem to loose water as I never could see water below the car. I reckon the water just flows back into the water tank. For testing purposes I disconnected the whole water system and only connected the cold water tap directly to the pump and this seemed to work fine.
I also followed all the lines (as far as possible) to check for possible leaks but couldn't find anything. The only thing that I noticed was the valve in the storage compartment (where you connect the city water) which seems to me to be the line which can be used to fill the fresh water tank from the city water connection. It sounds like its pulling air from there but I didn't open it yet.

Do you have any ideas how I could find out, where the pressure goes? I also noticed that there are two more valves in this storage compartment. When I open these water comes out just next to the rear tire. If I use the water heater one valve lets out cold and the other valve lets out hot water. I don't really wanna open this connections because there is almost no room to untighten the valves.

Any Idea or hint is highly appreciated

thanks and greetings from ecuador.
Ronny

[markopolo]

Welcome to the forum Ronny.
I saw your blog on the web http://www.ronnyrenner.ch/?gtlang=en - you are a real adventurer.

Hopefully someone familiar with your Roadtrek van will respond.

I can only guess that maybe the pump was damaged. Is it a Shurflo pump? If so you could contact their customer support http://www.shurflo.com/rv-products/cont ... fault.html . They have product manuals here: http://www.shurflo.com/rv-products/educ ... fault.html Maybe there is some troubleshooting information in the manual.

Roadtrek will probably be able to help you also. Email: service @ roadtrek.com They support their older units not just the new ones.

[Mike]

You've said you connected the cold water line directly to the pump, and that drew
water from the fresh tank and pumped it to the sink? Is that correct? So, it probably isn't
your pump.

I was going to say the reason I had low pressure was a badly clogged filter inside the Shurflo
water pump. Mine has an opaque plastic cover around the filter, and if you press hard
on the filter cover, and then twist it, it can be removed. Like a child-proof cap on a
medicine bottle. The filter looked like it had a layer of sludge pressed into it. When
it was cleaned, the pump worked much better and only came on when demand triggered
it.

You might try emptying the fresh tank, and/or adding a half bottle of pure white vinegar to
your water and then trying to run the taps or shower or flush the toilet continuously to
get it circulated. It could be calcium deposits loosened by the freeze/thaw.

Another idea, is stick your pinky finger up into the threaded brass tap where your connection for the city
water goes. You should feel a small spring loaded ball valve in there, that is supposed to be closed when not
in use to prevent water from draining back out of the tap. See if you can push it in a bit with your finger.
Feel if it gently pushes back down against your finger. Also, when not filling the fresh tank
from the city water connection, that red valve should be in the vertical position.

Good luck amigo!

[obiewan kanobe]

also, double check the threaded hose connection to city water. be sure the plug is sealing properly. on some motorhomes, a bad seal there will spray water out when using internal pump, or may loose pressure . there may be a cracked pipe near there also, that only leaks air or water under pressure. if you hear hissing , it may be the afore mentioned.

[Ronnyrenner]

Hey guys,

yeah, I definitely have a great adventure over here!

thanks for all the suggestions, I finally could solve the problem. The pump itself is working fine with the cold water hose and I couldn't find a filter at the pump itself. But what actually happened was that the valve to fill the water tank out of the city water connection was not closing properly anymore, so the waterpump was always pumping the water back into the fresh water tank. I eventually got a suitable valve and replaced the broken one. Now everything is back to normal!

Thank you very much for your advises!

Happy travels and hasta luego de ecuador

Ronny