Shreds of Plastic in Water Pump Filter

[Spike]

We recently arrived at our one-year anniversary of owning an Elite II, and I have been completing some maintenance and modification tasks—among them, a fresh water sanitation and flush of the fresh water tank. (I followed some good advice on another thread about how to do this. I used the bleach-followed-by-vinegar method.)

 

I am somewhat embarrassed to admit that this was the first time that I checked the filter that is in the plumbing line just before the water pump. Opening it, I discovered several shreds of plastic. This was before I completed the sanitation and flush. I wondered how they got there, dumped them, rinsed and replaced the filter before thinking that I should have taken a photo of them to post on the forum. However, after the last flush of the fresh water tank, I opened up the filter again to find a few more shreds of plastic in the filter.

 

I’m wondering if others have found similar material in their filters and come up with an explanation of their origin. I’m thinking now that mine might be residue from the modification completed on my fresh water tank by my local RV repair shop: They installed the kit provided by Oliver to replace the intake hose to better access the water.

 

Anyway, I’d be interested in learning if others have found similar material in their filters and their thoughts about the situation. It DOES seem that the filter is doing its job: My pump is still pumping. I will be checking my filter much more frequently from now on.

[John E Davies]

It's normal to find that at the first cleaning, check it every few months, if debris still keeps appearing, then you should worry a little. I expect it will clear up on its own.

 

Probably the guy who drilled your tank was not real careful about the chips. I would have used a shop vac while drilling, to catch most of the shreds.... or sucked them out of the hole afterwards.

 

John Davies

Spokane WA

 

 

[topgun2]

As John said - this is nothing to worry about in the short run. During manufacturing of the tank and its installation there are plenty of opportunities for "stuff" to get in both the tank and plumbing lines. However, once they are filtered out you shouldn't have much else getting in there unless you get your water from questionable sources. Given the relatively low water pressure used in most RV's it just might take a bit of time to flush whatever might be in there.

Bill

[Mainiac]

Those little "bits" of plastic are why you shouldn't use a hacksaw to cut plastic pipe. A razor knife leaves a whole lot less "bits". My guess is yours were a results of the holesaw used on you tank. You might want to raise your tongue and flush your tank several times. Might as well sanitize the system while at it...

[Spike]

You might want to raise your tongue and flush your tank several times. Might as well sanitize the system while at it

 

Raised, sanitized, and flushed many times. (See my original post.) Thanks, though; I have learned much from this forum.

[Overland]

It’s normal...

 

Normal, probably; but acceptable? These bits of plastic can lodge anywhere in your plumbing lines, and in places that can be cleared only with great difficulty. I suspect that this is why some people complain about slow fresh tank drains. Mine just dribbles. It wouldn't take much for Oliver to add a step in production to vacuum out the tanks.

 

 

[Cash]

I had similar experience with particles of plastic material. The first time was within 6 months of owning our 2017 (YACHT OLIVIA)...I noticed that our toilet was flushing slowly on city and water pump service. While at the 2018 Oliver Rally, I called its attention to Jason and his crew and they brought me a new valve, which I replaced once at home a week later. Then after returning home from the Rally, our faucet in the bath was slowing down using both city and water pump service. I then called Oliver and Jason sent me a new faucet for the bath, which I replaced myself.

 

Now about one year later, I am down to a trickle both on city and pump service. I thoroughly troubleshot the water pump (including checking the very clean water filter between the fresh water tank and pump) and all the line valves and discovered that that wasn't the problem -- my seldom used outside shower fixture flowed strongly on either service. (This was actually the first time I had checked the filter - not thinking to check during the first toilet pump filter debris.) Soooooo...my only conclusion is that there was debris in the water lines between the pump and faucet fixtures, and toilet valve. I suppose now the only solution is to replace all the fixtures (including toilet valve). Perhaps the faucets have capsules to replace, where the debris may have been trapped?

 

I am at a loss here. I just called and left a note for Jason on his cell phone - hoping I'll receive a call as I need to use my RV in about two weeks for a very important client show/visit. My touring season is also starting with my artists and will be on the road quite a bit. I don't want to have to tell my client(s) I am using bottled water or from an outside water source to flush my toilet and wash my hands, etc. How embarrassing will that be? They all know my YACHT OLIVIA is a class-act, high quality piece of art and technology and will probably laugh and poke fun.

 

Hoping for a quick and low cost solution or, a miracle?

[Overland]

I'd check your faucets and toilet for calcium buildup. While the plastic bits are certainly an issue, I think calcium deposits are more of a problem than we think. I suspect that hard campsite water combined with periods of disuse leads to water evaporating in the pipes, leaving a hard scale that will build up and then pop loose from vibrations, clogging the fixtures. I haven't had a clog yet, but I did take a look in some pipe that I replaced for other reasons, and sure enough, it was coated with tiny flakes of calcium.

[bhncb]

Your quickest solution Cash may be to use the winterizing procedures to draw a gallon of white vinegar into the entire system and let it sit for a few hours. Then flush until taste is gone. May need to repeat depending on severity of the calcium build up. What ever solves your problem, your next priority should be to obtain a water softener.

[thirddoor]

Resurrecting an older thread. We've had our Elite II for a year now, never had trouble with the water system, except the pump seemed to be pretty loud (our first RV, so no other experience to draw from) and the flow was never what I would call strong.

However, on our latest trip, the water pressure took a very noticeable drop. On Jason's advice, I checked the water filter and it was half full of the white plastic shards. Cleaned it out and reinstalled, but the problem persisted.

Turns out, the 1' of braided hose connecting the fresh tank to the pump was also packed with the plastic. That particular section is more constricted than the other pipes leading from the tank, so the debris more easily lodged there.

Difficult to remove, but managed to make a pipe cleaner from some stainless wire I had in the tool kit. Once the shards were out, water pressure is much better AND the pump is much quieter.

[bhncb]

Likely not the last you've seen of this. Don't be surprised if you also run into trouble draining the tank at some point. Keep a compressed air supply handy.

[John E Davies]

thirddoor, thanks for posting the pic of the suction hose, I think it would be prudent for everybody to remove that one at least once to see if it is obstructed. I am adding it to my Honey Do List.
 

I agree with bhncb - that is a lot of material and you may experience more blockages until it is all gone. At the very least check the filter every few months for a while.

John Davies

Spokane WA

Edited July 20, 2020 by John E Davies

[Mike and Carol]

I had an issue with the toilet having a very slow water flow.  Cleaned out the connector hose behind it and problem solved.  Mike

[Ray and Susan Huff]

2 hours ago, Mike and Carol said:

I had an issue with the toilet having a very slow water flow.  Cleaned out the connector hose behind it and problem solved.  Mike

Did the toilet supply line have plastic shards as previously mentioned?  If this is a common occurrence would it be prudent to ask Oliver to check the water system for plastic before taking delivery?

[Patriot]

✅ During our predelivery inspection I asked our delivery specialist to remove the small water filter near the pump. It did have a tiny amount of plastic shavings in the filter cup which we naturally had him clean out. After a (4) day stay at David Crocket we drained our fresh water tank the night before we left. I will check the filter and braided hose for plastic shavings and monitor our water pressure and see how things go. 
Thanks thirddoor.

 

Edited July 20, 2020 by Patriot

[Landrover]

3 hours ago, Susan Huff said:

Did the toilet supply line have plastic shards as previously mentioned?  If this is a common occurrence would it be prudent to ask Oliver to check the water system for plastic before taking delivery?

It should be part of there quality control. I won’t get into that again

[Mike and Carol]

2 minutes ago, Landrover said:

It should be part of there quality control. I won’t get into that again

Agree.  It’s a known issue and not difficult to remedy.  It’s been discussed here a lot.  Something that should be “cleaned up” before delivery.  Mike

[thirddoor]

If the plastic shards are coming from the fresh water tank, it's hard to imagine they made it past the hose and filter and pump.

Jason has indicated that this is a problem they've had in the past, and that they have systems in place to mitigate, but has escalated the issue to quality control. (Oliver service, and Jason specifically, has been absolutely exemplary in ALL our interactions, by the way)

Seems like most people only get a few shards in their filter (though, I bet they haven't checked that connector hose).
Hopefully we're an outlier case.

[WhatDa]

529 had a few filters worth of shards, haven't checked that hose though.  One of the reasons we don't use the freshwater tank for drinking.  

[Galway Girl]

Hull 505 - Checked the filter each trip out, and had a few shards every time.

Today noticed a bigger drop in pressure, and increase in noise and time to fully charge system and for pump to shut off.  

I took off the braided line from pump filter and found a larger plug of plastic shavings in the line.
It was actually a fairly hard plug to remove, I used a long BBQ skewer and pipe cleaners strung together to push out, then blew out with compressor.

Unfortunately the filter outlet NPT thread was stripped. (Maybe at the factory as I had never taken that hose off before.)  
I ordered a new filter assembly to replace the old one and will be very careful putting on the metal coupler to the plastic NPT.

I notice some photos show the hoses that connect to the filter are with plastic threaded couplers, not braided metal.

Will reassemble tomorrow.

After re-assembly I tested for water flow rates.  My wife was very impressed at how much water the pump now delivers.

We had gotten to the point that using the shower function on either the Kitchen or BR sink was useless...now they are all acting like real shower heads.

Jason also approved a warranty replacement of the part even though it was EXACTLY on Hull 505's 1st birthday.
Thanks Jason and the Oliver team!

 

Edited August 14, 2020 by ctshort09

[Overland]

That's why we call these 50-year trailers.  It takes that long to get all the plastic shavings out of the tank.

My hoses have the plastic connectors.  I assume Oliver uses whatever comes with the water pump kit, but maybe not.

Edited August 11, 2020 by Overland

[Galway Girl]

Does anyone on this thread know how to get off the "white elbow" connectors?

I would like to take off the 90 degree elbow at the drain valve? 

They don't look the same as some shark bite connectors, so I've never tried taking the elbows off.

Found this and it looks like the same brand..

 

Edited August 11, 2020 by ctshort09

[Overland]

I haven’t had any luck. You should be able to press the ring and slide them off but I can’t do it even with a tool. 

[mossemi]

I’m sure this is a silly question, but did you twist the screw cap counter clockwise before pushing the collet towards the fitting and then pulling the pipe as the instructions on the package indicate.

Mossey

[Overland]

Not a silly question for me, since this is the first time I’ve seen instructions. I’ll give it a try since I’m planning to replace all those push connections on mine. 

I’ve looked at those connectors a dozen times and wondered why they have a push ring if I can’t get it to do anything, and why in the world do they have that bulky ribbed band around them. Never thought to twist the band, lol. Seems obvious once you know. 

Edited August 12, 2020 by Overland