RV Fresh Water System Repair in Yorba Linda

Because RV plumbing is rated for a fraction of what municipal supply can deliver. A typical coach system is designed around 40 to 60 psi. Campground pressure is unknown at every new site, and pressures well above 100 psi exist at hookups fed from high pressure mains.

The failures that follow are predictable. Insert fittings push off tubing, crimp rings that were marginal let go, the water heater relief valve weeps, and toilet and faucet valves start passing. Owners describe them as separate problems occurring in the same month, which they are, and the common cause is upstream.

Not all regulators are equal. Inexpensive brass inline regulators are typically fixed at a preset value and restrict flow noticeably. An adjustable regulator with a gauge lets you set the actual delivered pressure and shows you what the hookup is providing, which is worth knowing. Either is better than none, and none is what we find on coaches with mysterious repeat leaks.

By pressure decay first. The system is brought to working pressure with the pump off and the city supply closed, then watched. A system that holds is not leaking. A system that decays is, and the rate tells you roughly how large the leak is.

Then by isolation. Shutting sections one at a time narrows the leak to a branch. On coaches with accessible shutoffs this is quick. On coaches without them, we introduce isolation as part of the repair, which makes the next problem far cheaper to find.

Then by moisture metering through surfaces. A non invasive meter reads relative moisture through panelling and flooring, so the wet area is mapped before anything is opened. This is the same technique we use on delamination and water intrusion work, and it is the difference between opening one panel and opening six.

• Pressure decay test with the supply isolated
• Branch by branch isolation to narrow the affected run
• Moisture metering through wall, floor and cabinet surfaces
• Inspection at fittings, which is where the large majority of leaks occur
• Pump head and inlet strainer inspection for cracks and weeping
• Water heater relief valve and tank fitting inspection

Pumps fail in three ways. The diaphragm perishes and the pump loses prime or weeps from the head. The pressure switch drifts and the pump either short cycles constantly or refuses to shut off. The inlet strainer clogs and the pump starves, which the owner experiences as poor flow and blames on the plumbing.

Short cycling deserves specific mention because it is so commonly misdiagnosed. A pump that pulses rapidly with a fixture open is usually fine. The cause is a lack of accumulator capacity, or air in the system, or a small continuous leak somewhere downstream that bleeds pressure. Replacing the pump does nothing.

Fresh tanks fail at the fittings and at the mounting. Tank fittings are threaded or spin welded into polyethylene and they crack from vibration or from being over tightened. The mounting matters more than owners expect: a full 60 gallon tank weighs about 500 pounds, and a tank supported inadequately will eventually crack its own fittings or its shell from flexing over road input.

At least annually, and after any period of storage with water left in the system. Biofilm forms on the inside of tubing and inside the fresh tank, and it is the source of the stale taste and odour owners attribute to the tank material.

The process is a measured chlorine solution introduced to the tank, distributed through every fixture including the outside shower and the water heater, held for a period, then flushed thoroughly. Skipping the outside shower and the water heater is the most common home procedure error, since those are exactly the branches where water stagnates.

For coaches with in line filtration, filters are changed after sanitizing rather than before, since running a chlorine solution through a carbon filter both damages the filter and defeats the sanitizing. We include that sequencing because it is the sort of detail that quietly wastes an owner effort every year.