Seeking rialta shower drain advice

[IowaReino]

Hi- looking for current info- older threads do not cover this. My shower drain won't drain to pump. How can I trouble shoot it? I've already done all of this:
* I took of and cleaned the shower drain filter, took off and cleaned the pump side filter (neither were blocked),
* I used a hose to force water from shower drain to pump- didn't work. (pump makes noise when power applied)
* I put an air hose in the pipe and blasted air from pump side into shower pan- it bubbled a blast of air.
* I put the air hose in the shower pan drain pipe and blasted air toward the pump. Felt no air and no water at pump end of line. Air backed up into shower pan.

Cannot figure why line is blocked in one direction only. What would you suggest next? is there a valve or something in line that is preventing the water flow to the pump? How would I get at it?
Thanks-

[cbrown154@me.com]

I had a Rialto and I had to pull out the strainer in the shower. If you blasted air and water through the pipes, I believe those are one-way filters. In any case you’ve probably done some damage to the pump. You may have to replace the pump.

[Bertiboo]

I had a Rialta for several years and I knew there were some long threads on the RialtaTech group on this topic like this thread: https://groups.io/g/Rialta-Tech/topic/2327489#10753 There are also some resources on the Baldy site, rialtainfo.com.


I cant think of a reason why your hose seems to have a one way plug, unless maybe there’s a midstream filter that’s plugged. But when you do get past that everyone agrees you have to prime the pump with water after having everything apart.

In our case I recall I eventually gave up on having a working shower drain, disconnected the drain and just let the shower drain onto the ground. Not an eco-friendly solution, but we used the shower very rarely.

[Peder_y2k]

Have you tried a drain auger?

[Bertiboo]

An auger wouldn’t likely work since the Rialta has a non-standard drain setup. It is a very low profile unit with the floor lower than any rear wheel drive motorhome. Because of this the shower drain doesn’t use gravity, it must draw the water and pump it upwards to get it up to the top of the grey water tank. And even though the grey tank is right beside (forward of) the shower, the drain pump is 3-5 feet aft depending on the model. The drain doesn’t use abs or other standard drain pipe, but rather an immediate right angle then flexible softer tubing that curves up/back to the pump and wouldn’t accept an auger.

Thinking along the same line though, if you detach the pipe from underneath the motorhome (after removing some rusted on covers) you might be able to fashion some sort of softer pipe cleaner from some wire to push through the pipe to the pump end. The wire would need to be of a gauge to be stiff for pushing, but flexible for curving, maybe like an electricians wire-fishing tool.

[Bertiboo]

One more thought on the check valve or one way filter, it should be mounted to allow flow towards the pump, not away. That allows the pump to stay primed, but water to be sucked from the shower end. I wonder if the simple answer for Iowareino is that a check valve is installled backwards since you said it blocks flow towards the pump.

[CGAZ Paul]

Hi! I'm very familiar with this situation. I too had the same problem. Cleared all pipes, strainer basket, etc. (btw: That filter needs to be cleaned about every 12 showers) You will notice the drainage slowing down - once you get it working.
Being that you have checked/cleared everything the only thing left is to get the head part of the pump. No need to replace the pump motor. The "head" part is screwed on with 4 screws and is where the incoming/outgoing drain line is attached. This pump is the same model pump as used in the fresh water system. The pump head is around $40 give or take. Very easy to replace. It has the new diaphragm in it. I have the Rialta HD but this part of the rig should be the same in all of them. Just remove the old "head" and screw on the new one. The motor stays behind and has the motor shaft. Nothing else to that part as long as it works. Since I replaced my pump "head" it works like a charm. Once the drain starts slowing down - clean the filter. My filter plastic housing broke so I had to replace it with a similar (but better) unit. Easy to clean and I get more showers. I am one who actually uses that shower. I love it!!!

[Randyyyy]

Are you sure you cleaned the filter that is located under the floor of the closet?