City Water Connection

[dbp05ret]

Day 10 of  35 day shakedown  camping trip. I have been running water from my fresh water tank. Today, I moved to a different campground and decided to hook to city water. I hooked to city water with psi of 20 according to my gauge. Water pump is turned off. I turn on outside water source and turn on water in bathroom and kitchen. Water  flows through the faucets but I get lots of water coming out of the 2 overflow ports near the city water hookup port. What have I not done correctly?  Any ideas?

[KountryKamper]

Check the outside shower. If nothing there sounds like a possible leak if you have not hook to city water before.

[dbp05ret]

Outside shower just trickles with water when hooked to city water.

 

 

[Geronimo John]

Darryl and Kim:

 

I suggest you turn  off the water and then relocate the mattress and take a look in the under-bed mechanical areas  on both sides of the trailer.

 

If nothing obvious then verify your valve configurations.  Look on the curb side hatch cover that you removed.  There is an 8 X 10 sign showing the three valve configurations.  Odds are you were in boondocking valve configuration and using the system to suck water from the right rear water port to fill your tank.  If you switch over to city water, then Normal Valve configuration would likely be the settings you would want to try.  This is my best guess as a pretty new owner myself.

 

If none of the above, then were you in very cold conditions?

 

Good luck.

 

Geronimo

 

 

 

S

 

 

[Geronimo John]

I had been into the valve area a dozen times last summer and never saw the valve configuration sign.  Sure made a difference when I dropped the cover on my foot and saw the back side for the first time.

 

However, until I saw your post, I had not ever thought as to what the term "Normal" really means.   I totally understand what the configurations for "Boondocking" and "Winterization" mode means.  They are very descriptive.  But the word "Normal" does not describe to me what the condition really is.

 

Does it mean:  "When hooked up to City Water"? If so, maybe OTT would consider a simple word change.

 

Does it mean something else?

 

Does it mean City Water Mode and Something Else that is "Normal"?

 

I'll leave this to our more experienced owners to comment on.

 

 

[Geronimo John]

"Outside shower just trickles with water when hooked to city water."

 

This likely simply that you have set the pressure to only 20 PSI and the water is leaking out of the overflow as fast as it is coming in, hence there is no pressure to push the water up and out of the outside shower.

 

Normally OTT owners set their city water to 40 to 55 PSI.  20 is very low.

[Overland]

I wouldn't get too philosophical about the valve configuration.  Normal is anything that isn't boondocking or winterization.

 

Apart from the valves, normal doesn't usually include water coming out of the weeps, so my guess is a leak.  I'd check the streetside access hatches per above, and also pull out the basement matt and check the connections under there.

 

Yeah, 20psi is really low.  My regulator is set a bit over 60.

[dbp05ret]

Valve configuration is in normal. My first guess after your input is tomorrow I will set pressure at 50-60 psi. The water coming thru overflow starts immediately so it may be that I have the regulator set way too low and water pressure is not high enough to push through. So, that is what I will try in morning.

 

pull out the basement matt and check the connections under there.

 

 

 

Can you explain that? I am showing my ignorance on not knowing exactly what and where your referring to?

 

 

 

Thanks,

 

Darryl

 

 

[Geronimo John]

Thanks Overland.

 

I was confused by his use of "Over Flow Ports".  I think he is referring to the basement weeps.  I agree with you and KountryKamper.  Sounds like a pipe came loose.

 

Probably was a good thing that he was only set to 20 PSI!

 

"Check the connection under the basement mat".  I assume the basement is the rear lower storage compartment accessible from the back street side.  I was not aware there was a hatch under the mat back there.  Thanks

 

 

[Geronimo John]

With it getting dark, you may want to go back to the valve mode you were in for the past ten days, and disconnect from city water.  You'll sleep much better I suspect.

 

I have to agree with both KountryKamper and Overland that you have a pipe or fitting leak and the water you are seeing leaking out of the bottom of the trailer weep holes is the low point and result.  Good thing you were only at 20 PSI else wise things would have developed MUCH quicker.  :-)

[Overland]

That's right, the rear outside storage is typically referred to as the basement around here (the compartment above the nightstand is the attic).  There's no hatch under the matt, but if you remove it or pull it back you'll see a cutout in the floor that exposes some plumbing at the rear corner.  With some work, and a screwdriver, you can also remove the floor from the basement to get full access to all the plumbing underneath.

 

I think if you raise the pressure, you'll have a lot more water coming out the weeps.

[dbp05ret]

I did not know I could access plumbing from under the mat. I will keep you all informed if I figure it out or if I don't . The great thing is I purchased in December 2018 so things are still under warranty.

[Overland]

It's your first trip, too.  Oliver would have done a pressure test before they delivered it to you, but a weak connection might have needed a little bumping around before it decided to reveal itself.

 

I broke a water line on our first trip, too, after hitting some big bumps on a Navaho road.  There was a connection that was being stressed because the water line it was attached to wasn't fastened securely.  No problem since.

 

I recommend that everyone carry a roll of self-fusing silicone tape.  That stuff is great for temporary water line repairs.

[Mike and Carol]

20 PSI is pretty low. I have my pressure regulator set for 60 PSI.

 

Occasionally when my fresh tank is full and I’m hooked up to city water I will get a steady trickle from my fresh tank overflow. It’s happened two or three times over the last few years. When it does, I turn off the city water and use the water pump for a few minutes then switch back and the trickle stops. It must be a valve issue somewhere, but since it happens so infrequently the fix is easier than troubleshooting/fixing! Mike

[dbp05ret]

After waking up and walking the dog, I decided to examine all areas for a possible leak including the basement. All seems in place. I then started reviewing in my head what the possible problem could be that would preclude the city water connection from working as advertised. I am thinking that since I have water in freshwater tank that maybe I need to turn off the water pump first and completely drain the faucets before I hook up city water. As it was, I would just turn off the pump and connect city water and then turn faucets on. Maybe there is a check valve that won't allow city water to flow in faucets until fresh water tank water has cleared. Thus, causing the city water to be blocked and drain through the street side weep holes. Mike and Carol's last post made me think that could be the issue. I have yet to have the guts to try it again. Any input before I try this would be appreciated.

[Overland]

The city water connection goes straight to the taps - for water to get from there to the fresh tank, it has to force its way backwards through the pump.  That's what Mike's talking about above.  There's a check valve on the pump that can leak, letting city water go past and into the fresh tank.  If that happens with a full fresh tank, then water will come out of the overflow by the door.

 

You should probably clarify where the water is coming out.  You said the overflows by the city water inlet.  The only overflow is from the fresh tank and is located just rear of the front door.  It has a white mushroom fitting on it.  All of the stainless clamshell openings are weeps to let condensation out.  I'm assuming that you mean the latter.

 

I'd hook back up and look again for the leak.  Sometimes things look tight but aren't.  But I suspect that if you don't see the leak at an elbow in the rearmost corner, then you'll have to pull the basement floor.  That is, logically, the only other places for a 'city water only' leak would be the connection to the inlet or the check valve in line behind it.

 

Actually, come to think of it, I think everything beyond the check valve, which includes that elbow above, is pressurized by the pump when drawing from the fresh tank.  So the leak has got to be either at the inlet or the check valve.

[dbp05ret]

Water comes out of the 2 weeps on street side near  where the outside shower is located and basement is located. It happens almost immediately when turning city water connection on. I own a LE II.

 

 

[Mike and Carol]

We always travel with water in the fresh tank. When we have city water I just hook up, leaving the water pump off, and things are fine. The occasional time I get overflow from the fresh tank is when I turn off city water, use the pump for a few minutes, turn the pump off, turn the city water back on and problem is fixed. Mike

[DavePhelps]

The first place I would look are the check valves (back flow preventer) just inside from the city water and fresh water tank inlets. On my Ollie, these are brass and when our trailer was at Oliver waiting to be picked up, they both froze and cracked (City Water & Fresh water Tank). Luckily, the damage was determined at our first night shakedown when water came pouring out of the weeps. This back corner is vulnerable to freezing, at least on our Elite 1 it is. We do not have to mess with the valves when in boondocking mode or hooked up to City water. If you can not visually see the leak, maybe when you get home, you could run some compressed air through the City water inlet (50 psi or less) and listen. A lot has changed with plumbing layout and valve type over the years so hard to give best advice to you. If you've been in freezing weather though, check the weak links first, starting with those check valves. Good luck.

 

Dave

[GaryJona]

I had the same situation and it was as Dave said a cracked connection on the check valve right against the inside back of the storage compartment. We had to crawl into the space or my friend Lee did i'm a bit rounder than he is and found the leak which as you described when you put the city water or either connection on it would run water out the weep holes. Had to take it apart and replace the check valve connection. I would look at this point or the connection right on the inlet portion cause when the water is on it flows in the lower form of the outer haul. Thanks Gary

[Overland]

Now you guys have me thinking that's a weak spot in the design.  I'm wondering if moving the check valve further downstream wouldn't be wise.

[Ken_Judy]

I have hull #381 and had water flowing from the weep holes under the basement about a week after delivery.  I brought it back to Oliver and they replaced a brass fitting which had a split in it.  Ritchie said it may have been over tightened or possibly a bad batch.  I heard of the same thing by the owner of a hull in the 390's.  I am bringing #381 back tomorrow for the same that happens now when filling up the fresh water tank.  (there are two brass fittings) in that area.

[Ken_Judy]

Is there an adjustment on the Ollie to raise the water pressure or are you talking about an external water pressure regulator?  Thanks

[dbp05ret]

I have been using an external water pressure gauge. I am going to try again in a few days when I move to a campground in Georgia. I will likely turn psi to around 50 and see what happens. If it still leaks, I will go back to filling fresh water tank and using it.. Thanks for info Ken on #381 and #390 or so. I have #412. I made an appointment 2 weeks ago for March 18 to take care of a warranty issue. If it is still leaking, I will get it fixed. Richie and Jason have always been very supportive and I have confidence that if broke it will be fixed. If a trend exist, they will probably replace both. Thanks! Darryl

[topgun2]

Ken_Judy  -

 

The pressure regulators being discussed are all external in that there is no internal adjustment on the (or in the) Olivers.  The main reason for these regulators is that some sources of "city water" have very high water pressure levels such that if the Oliver's (or any other camper for that matter) plumbing were exposed to that high pressure, pipes and/or fittings could be damaged.

 

Bill