Reed & Karen's Blog -

[KarenLukens]

Our Cobb is our only BBQ that we carry now because you just can't beat a good charcoal flavored Tri-tip :)

 

[Overland]

New cooler?  It looks like a Pelican, which is what we have and ours works great.  It seems to fit the front tray just right - what size is it?

[KarenLukens]

New cooler? It looks like a Pelican, which is what we have and ours works great. It seems to fit the front tray just right – what size is it?

It's the 45 quart. It does fit perfectly, but so perfectly that I've got to modify the box to get to the drain cap. The Pelican is way better insulated then the Yeti. But the drain on the Yeti is easy to get too and it's a plug that just needs to be cracked open to drain. So that's my next project... Deciding the pros and cons for a drain, or put the Yeti back in there...

[KarenLukens]

The other thing is that the Pelican only fits in with the door opening up and away from the jack. It is a perfect fit :)

[KarenLukens]

 

OK, I'm pulling the water tank fix over here to keep everything together. I've talked to Jason and they are looking into it on their end, and I'm going to start talking with them about a permanent fix. I have it worked out, I just need to get started. So you can see here where the water level is by the dark line on the side of the tank. This is at 38% with the trailer perfectly leveled all the way around. Look center top of the pic, the tank is on the right.

 

Being, we were just filling the tank, we had our hands full... Karen held the flashlight and one end of the hook pole to hold the vent hose over, while I had the phone in hand for this pic, way down inside, while pushing the bottom of the hook pole into place and trying to get a good shot... So she could say, Smile :) ... We didn't have an extra hand to move the electrical cable out of the way to show the level in this next pic, but you can figure it out from the other. What it does show is where the water enters and exits the tank along with the level meter. Notice the water level if you can :) I will get a better pic in a few days. Threading and putting in a pic up tube will be easy, it's just getting everything out of the way to get to that fitting will take a bit of work. Also notice the water level in relation to the water pipe.

 

Reed

 

[KarenLukens]

OK, I'm pulling the water tank fix over here to keep everything together. I've talked to Jason and they are looking into it on their end, and I'm going to start talking with them about a permanent fix. I have it worked out, I just need to get started. So you can see here where the water level is by the dark line on the side oif the tank. This is at 38% with the trailer perfectly leveled all the way around. Look center top of the pic, the tank is on the right.

 

 

[attachment file=57538]

Being, we were just filling the tank, we had our hands full... Karen held the flashlight and one end of the hook pole to hold the vent hose over, while I had the phone in hand for this pic, way down inside, while pushing the bottom of the hook pole into place and trying to get a good shot... So she could say, Smile :) ... We didn't have an extra hand to move the electrical cable out of the way to show the level in this next pic, but you can figure it out from the other. What it does show is where the water enters and exits the tank along with the level meter. Notice the water level if you can :) I will get a better pic in a few days. Threading and putting in a pic up tube will be easy, it's just getting everything out of the way to get to that fitting will take a bit of work. Also notice the water level in relation to the water pipe.

 

Reed

 

[attachment file=57541]

 

 

 

So the disappearing post issue happens on the last post of a page... Take 3

[KarenLukens]

Sorry about the double pics but the whole post  disappeared, so I had to copy, paste and usually put the pics in again... Not this time, go figure :)

 

The bottom pic is a brighter pic of the same place. It is hard to see the water line... I saw the spelling errors above but don't want to have the page go blank again, so please forgive me for letting it go this time :)

 

To me it looks like the water level is right at the top of the pipe, giving it just enough room to suck in air to the pump from the small gap being left open at the very top of the pipe.

 

Reed

[Try2Relax]

Reed, when trying to do those​ photos my trick is to do video, review, pause, screen capture, it's not like your trying to print 16x20s.

 

What I don't understand is the need to side extract the water. You mention installing a pick up tube, why Oliver doesn't just install one in that top corner, cut a 35°angle on the end and insert it until it hits the bottom, they can then put a 90° where it exits the tank, there is plenty of clearance above the tank at this location.

 

This is a power draw system, not a gravity feed, so there is no reason to try to get it from it's lowest point and as you demonstrate unless you can get the tongue up over your head and shake it out your never going to gravity drain the tank for winterizing.

 

 

[KarenLukens]

I mentioned the top feed to Jason when we picked up the trailer... As it is, I can see why they recommend to use antifreeze in the tank to winterize... We're giving our house to our niece for her and her kids, so we can go full-time in Goldilocks :)

 

I'm going to check the angle of the exit line today, because if it's going up, then that will be the root cause for air to be sucked in as soon as the water hits the top of the port. If the pipe goes down it will gravity fill to the bottom of the port, so hopefully it's got enough play to move down :)

[DavePhelps]

The fresh water tank design has been a issue for me from the start. I posted something about it a long time ago but it didn't get much traction. I assumed because most folks must use hookups and are not boondocking. AFAIK, the tanks come from the factory with the inflow and outflow bungs already glued to the tank. You can see from the pic that as soon as the water level reaches the top of the lower outflow tube, the water pump will start sucking air and loose prime. I talked to Oliver about installing a suction tube at that lower connection that could be bent down to reach the bottom of the tank, but that didn't seem to interest them. To do the work now, I need to pull the hot water tank to get access (I have the smaller Elite), there is just no room to work. It would be so easy to do before hand at the factory, I guess that has been the most frustrating part for me. Now, like everyone else I have to raise the front of the trailer. Not so huge a deal, but you do need to raise it up quite a bit to get at most of your water, which makes being in the trailer not so pleasant. Like Reed, I just have to fill it more than I would like to. Also, the fact that it is hard, if even possible to completely drain the FWT, I myself would not put RV antifreeze in there. Maybe I worry too much, but I just don't want any of that in water I may be drinking. If Oliver

 

ever does decide to change the design, I may take another trip back for the upgrade. Anxious to see what you come up with Reed. I drilled out a brass compression fitting that would screw in to the bung so a 1/2 copper tube could just slide through. I was going to bend the tube down a bit so it would rest on the bottom of the tank. But being a relative newbie at this, and not wanting to open a can of worms, and with the very difficult access problem, I abandoned the project.

 

Dave

 

 

 

[DavePhelps]

Here's a pic of someone's mod I got off the web. Apparently this is not an issue unique to Oliver. It's a soldered setup, not the compression fitting I was talking about earlier. I'll post that pic as soon as I can find the patch cord for my camera..... This, or something like it might work.

[Raspy]

Dave,

 

That general idea looks doable.  The inside piece could be cut to just clear the bottom of the tank when screwing it in and then a PEX line crimped on.

 

It seems like Reed may have more of a problem than that because he seems to only get down to about 30% and that lower fitting looks lower than that.  I know it would begin to suck air and spurt at the faucet at some point, but his, and possibly yours ,seem worse than others.

 

If all tanks are the same, with the fittings the same distance from the bottom, we could just make up a bunch of fittings and make sure everybody got one.  And Oliver could copy them, or they could begin to pull from the top of the tank.

 

I'll test mine tomorrow or Saturday and see what I get.  I haven't noticed the problem yet.

 

John

[Raspy]

Reed,

 

Can you measure your tank outlet fitting and see if it the same as Dave's measurement shown above?  'll measure mine too and we can see if there is a difference.

 

We might be able to make up some new fittings and be done with it.

 

John

 

 

[KarenLukens]

Here’s a pic of someone’s mod I got off the web. Apparently this is not an issue unique to Oliver. It’s a soldered setup, not the compression fitting I was talking about earlier. I’ll post that pic as soon as I can find the patch cord for my camera….. This, or something like it might work.

 

Thanks Dave :)

 

Especially for backing me up on this. The coper tube will not work in this tank because the input is too close to the side of the tank and it needs to spin in, to thread it in. I'm going to measure the distance from the edge and bottom then, where you see the copper pipe coming out of the fitting, I'm going to thread the inside of that fitting and put in a short 3/8" nipple that's just long enough to allow the next fittings to fit through the hole. Then an elbo, then a really short nipple that will clear the edge of the tank and the bottom and thread into the fitting. This last nipple if I can get it sitting on the bottom, will have a divit cut into it to keep it open for the water to flow into :)

 

I didn't get into it today, we spent the day in town and then went to Truckee for dinner in the high mountain fog :)

[Raspy]

It looks to me like the fitting shown will work if cut correctly to just clear the bottom of the tank, as long as the port is no closer to the side than the bottom.  That fitting would be easy to make and it will fit through the port.

[KarenLukens]

It looks to me like the fitting shown will work if cut correctly to just clear the bottom of the tank, as long as the port is no closer to the side than the bottom. That fitting would be easy to make and it will fit through the port.

Yup, just have to add 1 1/4" to make it thru the hole and point down before starting to thread. Making the part will be easy :)

[Raspy]

The fitting on the tank appears to be 1/2" pipe thread and it looks pretty tight there.  So maybe the new pickup  could have a piece of PEX already crimped on that was about a foot or so long to get it out to where it could be coupled.  I have a very good PEX crimp tool that will get into tight places.  It's about the shape and size of a medium Channel Lock.

 

We could just cut the pickup line back where it was accessible, and take out the old fitting.  Mark on the new one with a felt pen where it should end up with the pickup facing down.  Crimp on the short piece of PEX.  Screw it in and connect it to the cut suction line.  Done.  One place to be careful is to not over-tighten the new fitting and crack the tank.  Those welded on fittings are a bit delicate.  Best to use some proper pipe dope, like Rector Seal #5  and not teflon tape.  Some people refer to me as the "Pipe Dope", but we don't have to go into that.

[DavePhelps]

OK, it's all coming back to me. You are right Reed about not being able to screw in the soldered fitting as the pickup tube would hit the side of the tank. That is why I came up with the compression fitting idea, although there are still some unknowns about that. With the compression fitting, the pickup tube could still be rotated after the 1/2" threaded side of the fitting was screwed into the tank. Length of the pickup tube (inside of the tank) would not be as critical here as one could just rotate it until one side of the tube was just touching the tank bottom. Then the compression ring and nut could be tightened down to lock it in place. Then a transition fitting to attach the exterior portion of the copper tube to the pex in the trailer. Questions I had was whether I could even get the bent copper tube through the tank outlet fitting, and was the thread on the compression fitting the same as on the tank fitting? I didn't want to find a bad answer after I removed my hot water heater and who knows what else to get into the area. I also experimented with nylon plugs drilled through for a pex pickup tube, but could find no adhesive that would bond the two together..... Really hope we can all come up with a solution here! Thanks for bringing this issue to light again.

 

Dave

[DavePhelps]

Here's another pic of the compression fitting idea I got off the web. I planned to bend the tube differently than in this pic but the idea is the same.

 

Dave

[KarenLukens]

The fitting on the tank appears to be 1/2″ pipe thread and it looks pretty tight there. So maybe the new pickup could have a piece of PEX already crimped on that was about a foot or so long to get it out to where it could be coupled. I have a very good PEX crimp tool that will get into tight places. It’s about the shape and size of a medium Channel Lock. We could just cut the pickup line back where it was accessible, and take out the old fitting. Mark on the new one with a felt pen where it should end up with the pickup facing down. Crimp on the short piece of PEX. Screw it in and connect it to the cut suction line. Done. One place to be careful is to not over-tighten the new fitting and crack the tank. Those welded on fittings are a bit delicate. Best to use some proper pipe dope, like Rector Seal #5 and not teflon tape. Some people refer to me as the “Pipe Dope”, but we don’t have to go into that.

Actually I was thinking of using the rectumseal True Blue. I like #5 and have used it forever but I'm thinking it might need a better sealant then #5 this time because it's plastic to brass, which is not something that I usually deal with. Am I over thinking? I've got #5 on hand and am coming from being an avid Nylog user on gas and steam pipes, so that's why I was thinking the blue.

[KarenLukens]

Here’s another pic of the compression fitting idea I got off the web. I planned to bend the tube differently than in this pic but the idea is the same. Dave

 

That would work as well but I think that the compression fitting shown looks like 3/8" pipe thread and would need to be 1/2", but it looks like a good idea. You want the end of the tubing facing down to get the most water out of the tank with around a 1/8" gap off of the bottom along with being situated as close to the edge of the fitting into the tank as possible because the tank is blocked up from the bathroom side and tilts towards the fitting :)

[DavePhelps]

If you guys can find an adhesive that will glue pex to anything, I would like to know about it. I asked several plumbers and they knew of none. Although this mod is not a typical use of the material.  I tried JB Weld for plastic, West Systems epoxy, silicone, and polyurethane sealant, none worked. And yes I did wipe all parts down with MEK before gluing them together. It will have to stand up to vibration and temp changes, no pressure concerns to speak of. Do you think the compression fitting is problematic?

 

 

 

Dave

[KarenLukens]

If you guys can find an adhesive that will glue pex to anything, I would like to know about it. I asked several plumbers and they knew of none. Although this mod is not a typical use of the material. I tried JB Weld for plastic, West Systems epoxy, silicone, and polyurethane sealant, none worked. And yes I did wipe all parts down with MEK before gluing them together. It will have to stand up to vibration and temp changes, no pressure concerns to speak of. Do you think the compression fitting is problematic? Dave

Instead of gluing the pex, just use another comp fitting on the outside and thread it to the pex connector and then crimp it on like normal. The copper may crack down the road someday from the vibration but that can be said about the brass also :)

[DavePhelps]

I must not be visualizing this correctly, plumbing is not a strength for me.... But, it seems like if the comp fitting screws to the tank outlet, the pickup tube needs to run completely through it, half bent down in the tank, and half sticking out to reconnect to trailer plumbing. This is not how comp fittings are designed to be used and requires modification. I must be missing something big here. If you put something together, please send pics!

 

Dave

[DavePhelps]

Here's a pic of my test setup with 1/2" copper tube. Will the comp fitting screw into my tank fitting? That I could not figure for sure until I took it all apart.... Left side hopefully screws into tank, rt. to trailer plumbing.

 

Dave