We were getting ready for work this morning when I stepped (barefooted) into some water. I turned on the light and we had a pretty good puddle right in front of our kitchen counter in the center. We fiddled around and found a small leak at the connections from the feed line hoses and the lines coming down from the faucets.
This is the third water leak we have had. Our first was in the wall at the shower faucet. The second one I found the other night when I was sitting on the commode and flushed. After flushing, I heard this "drip.....drip.....drip? I got up after finishing my business and started looking around the valves on the commode. When I flushed it again, though I heard it under the sink. That one was a loose connection, which I was able to tighten because of the "handles" on the PEX connections.
We fiddled a bit more with the lines under the kitchen sink and there we found it was definitely the hot water line. So, I turned off the hot water at the manifold and we went to work. In the afternoon at work, wondering for sure what it would take for me to fix the leak, having never worked with PEX connections before, it dawned on me that we seemed to have pretty strong water pressure at our site in the mobile home park. When watering the yard with an oscillating sprinkler, we only have to turn the water on about 1/2 of a turn on the valve.
That made me think that it might be likely that we had too much pressure and that I ought to buy a water pressure regulating device. I didn't find the one like Howard and Linda have, so I just bought a $12 one to get us by until I do find one. It is supposed to be set at 45psi, and I'll bet our water pressure in the coach is now about half of what we had before.
My guess is that part of the reasons for my plumbing leaks may be related to the pressure being too high. So, I strongly suggest everyone buy at least an inexpensive one to keep from creating leaks, or worse, blowing out a hose.
Terry
Waggin Tails said
08:11 PM Sep 16, 2011
Thanks for sharing. Good info.
RickandJanice said
07:04 AM Sep 17, 2011
Terry, I have used the less expensive regulators for the past 20 years we have had an RV and never a problem. I have thought of buying a better type of regulator but can't warrant the expense when the "cheap" ones have worked so well. I currently have one that Camping World sells that is called a "High Flow" regulator that hold the pressure at 55 - 60 lbs and gives a much better flow rate. It was about $15 and works just like the one you have but does give allow allot more flow which is nice during a shower.
Terry and Jo said
08:03 AM Sep 17, 2011
Thanks, Rick. I can see a trip to Camping World is again in order. (We were there just last week to buy an outdoor grill.) The 55 to 60 lbs of pressure would be a lot better than the 45 psi that we got yesterday. The 45 doesn't even really let the toilet flush properly, and the little spray nozzle on the side isn't near as effective either.
Terry
granny said
09:14 AM Sep 17, 2011
Wow thanks for sharing this Terry. We are new to this and this is only the 2nd weekend that we have been in our new 5er. My husband had this same question about water pressure and how much are we comfortably able to have. Will pass on this info and we need to make another trip to Camping World as well. The first trip there was overwhelming with choices but fun! We have the inspection on our s/b next week and praying that the appraisal comes in high enough that we can close Oct 10 as scheduled. We will then be living in our 5er fulltime but still working. Thanks again for all the advice provided on this forum. And let's hope this solves you leak problem!
Interesting that you brought this up, Terry. We'd never considered that high water pressure could be an issue in here but, suddenly, I realize it could be the cause of a 'noise' issue we're having with the bathroom faucet. Food for thought. Thanks everyone for the suggestions you've made.
Terry and Jo said
11:57 PM Sep 17, 2011
Bill,
Thanks for the link. I've now bookmarked that one on my browsers. I've been looking for a good source of filters on the web. You have helped me a lot.....again.
Terry
The Bear II said
10:43 AM Sep 19, 2011
I was plagued by a leak on the hot water side of the bathroom sink faucet connection. I tightened each time and it was good for a couple of trips and then started leaking again. After about four times of this, I took everything apart and added some teflon tape. No leak for several years.
I'm blaming vibration and hot/cold expansion for causing the leaks. I'm guessing this connection must have less holding friction than the other connections in the 5th wheel and would loosen over time. The teflon tape prevents it from loosening.
We were getting ready for work this morning when I stepped (barefooted) into some water. I turned on the light and we had a pretty good puddle right in front of our kitchen counter in the center. We fiddled around and found a small leak at the connections from the feed line hoses and the lines coming down from the faucets.
This is the third water leak we have had. Our first was in the wall at the shower faucet. The second one I found the other night when I was sitting on the commode and flushed. After flushing, I heard this "drip.....drip.....drip? I got up after finishing my business and started looking around the valves on the commode. When I flushed it again, though I heard it under the sink. That one was a loose connection, which I was able to tighten because of the "handles" on the PEX connections.
We fiddled a bit more with the lines under the kitchen sink and there we found it was definitely the hot water line. So, I turned off the hot water at the manifold and we went to work. In the afternoon at work, wondering for sure what it would take for me to fix the leak, having never worked with PEX connections before, it dawned on me that we seemed to have pretty strong water pressure at our site in the mobile home park. When watering the yard with an oscillating sprinkler, we only have to turn the water on about 1/2 of a turn on the valve.
That made me think that it might be likely that we had too much pressure and that I ought to buy a water pressure regulating device. I didn't find the one like Howard and Linda have, so I just bought a $12 one to get us by until I do find one. It is supposed to be set at 45psi, and I'll bet our water pressure in the coach is now about half of what we had before.
My guess is that part of the reasons for my plumbing leaks may be related to the pressure being too high. So, I strongly suggest everyone buy at least an inexpensive one to keep from creating leaks, or worse, blowing out a hose.
Terry
Thanks, Rick. I can see a trip to Camping World is again in order. (We were there just last week to buy an outdoor grill.) The 55 to 60 lbs of pressure would be a lot better than the 45 psi that we got yesterday. The 45 doesn't even really let the toilet flush properly, and the little spray nozzle on the side isn't near as effective either.
Terry
We have the inspection on our s/b next week and praying that the appraisal comes in high enough that we can close Oct 10 as scheduled. We will then be living in our 5er fulltime but still working.
Thanks again for all the advice provided on this forum. And let's hope this solves you leak problem!
Here is where I buy from RVWaterFilterStore.com.
Bill,
Thanks for the link. I've now bookmarked that one on my browsers. I've been looking for a good source of filters on the web. You have helped me a lot.....again.
Terry
I'm blaming vibration and hot/cold expansion for causing the leaks. I'm guessing this connection must have less holding friction than the other connections in the 5th wheel and would loosen over time. The teflon tape prevents it from loosening.