Water Leak Question March 03, 2012, 09:46:22 pm Yahoo Message Number: 128939I was dry camping the other day and fired up the water heater for a morning show. I went outsidev to check on things and water was seeping out the water heater pressure relief valve and also from the bottom of the rv. I shut off water pump and heater and the leaks stopped after a bit. I have read that my water heater needs to be "burped" because it is water logged. I will try that. But were should I look for the other leak under the coach? Both leaks seem to be related. Thanks for any and all input!
Re: Water Leak Question Reply #1 – March 03, 2012, 10:03:58 pm Yahoo Message Number: 128940QuoteI was dry camping the other day and fired up the water heater for a morning show. I went outsidev to check on things and water was seeping out the water heater pressure relief valve and also from the bottom of the rv. I shut off water pump and heater and the leaks stopped after a bit. I have read that my water heater needs to be "burped" because it is water logged. I will try that. But were should I look for the other leak under the coach? Both leaks seem to be related. Thanks for any and all input! This is a design flaw with the plumbing, common to most RVs. The only plumbing pressure relief is the one in the water heater, and leakage there means system pressure hit 125 psi as the water heated up. This is far more than the plumbing design maximum. Best method is to turn off city water, turn off the water pump, then leave a hot water tap at a sink turned on until the water heater reaches temperature. This will bleed off pressure at a controlled point, instead of damaging the plumbing. The trick is remembering to do this.Steve
Re: Water Leak Question Reply #2 – March 03, 2012, 10:36:03 pm Yahoo Message Number: 128941Steve, Thank you. Does this mean that I have damaged my plumbing and caused a leak elsewhere? Is that why I saw water coming from the bottom of coach?Thanks, Bob Moore Auburn, CA.
Re: Water Leak Question Reply #3 – March 03, 2012, 10:47:22 pm Yahoo Message Number: 128942"The only plumbing pressure relief is the one in the water heater, and leakage there means system pressure hit 125 psi as the water heated up." Sounds like a good argument for a small accumulator, assuming room can be found to plumb one in.Andy Baird http://www.andybaird.com/travels/
Re: Water Leak Question Reply #4 – March 04, 2012, 08:32:17 am Yahoo Message Number: 128945Per Andy's response about a small accumulator, I had documented pressure rises to 160 in my MB before small leaks showed up in various places. Based on that, I put in an accumulator. That dropped the pressure rise to about 100, and ended the leaks. Still, however, my system was pressurizing to beyond its intended levels. I now, as habit, turn off the pump before turning on the heater. I bleed the pressure into my coffee pot, so there is no waste of water. That resting pressure with a properly burped hot water heater is enough for one cup and then some. I close the faucet and turn on the heater. Pressure now stays down at intended levels. I still have an accumulator in there but if I do things right, it doesn't have much effect. If I were connected to shore water, I have no idea what I would do...Ken F in NM
Re: Water Leak Question Reply #5 – March 04, 2012, 12:12:50 pm Yahoo Message Number: 128946Quote I was dry camping the other day and fired up the water heater for a >morning show. I went outsidev to check on things and water was seeping >out the water heater pressure relief valve and also from the bottom of >the rv. I shut off water pump and heater and the leaks stopped after a >bit. I have read that my water heater needs to be "burped" because it >is water logged. I will try that. But were should I look for the other >leak under the coach? Both leaks seem to be related. Thanks for any >and all input! Hi Bob, You've gotten advice about "burping" your water heater; hopefully that helps. I nearly always get some dripping from two areas of the water heater. My pressure relief valve seeps as the water reaches temp, even after replacing the original pressure relief valve. I also get some dripping due to condensation that forms on the propane line to the burner. As for the 2nd location under your rig, you will have to do a bit of detective work. You didn't mention the floorplan you own, but on our midbath, we do a wet spot on the ground on driver's side in the rear that is also condensation related. On our rig, that drip sometimes shows up under the rig in an area that LD sprayed a lot of some sort of foam insulation around some plumbing. I think the condensation is either on the propane line or a water line. I do not think the wet spot I see on the ground below that is from a leak, I am sure it is condensation. If you are leaking near the water pump though, you are probably seeing the pressure spike cause a problem there. Some RV Mfgs. install a backflow prevention device to prevent the water pump from being affected by the increase in pressure; LD, to my knowledge, does not. And that may be one reason folks have had problems with some of the Shurflo Extreme series of water pumps which also lack the backflow prevention device (most other pumps do have a backflow preventer)Hope you find the cause and report back to the group.Steve K.
Re: Water Leak Question Reply #6 – March 04, 2012, 12:48:16 pm Yahoo Message Number: 128947"Robert" wrote: Is that why I saw water coming from the bottom of coach? --- The water "coming from the bottom of the coach" could certainly be water heater-related (and probably is), but a "wet spot" on the ground also could be "dribble" from the refrigerator's plastic condensation drip tube. I don't recall which model you have, but on my TK, the water heater and refrigerator are located very close together, and I looked for an under-coach water heater leak source for quite a while before I discovered that little drip tube! (Another "Duh!" moment; more of those recently... ;-) )Joan
Re: Water Leak Question Reply #7 – March 04, 2012, 06:37:37 pm Yahoo Message Number: 128948Joan, Thank you for the info. When I had the leak the fridge hadn't been turned on for a few days. I am going to follow all the advice, burp the water tank, turn off pump, open hot water valves, and fire up the water heater. Then I will get underneath with a flashlight, and start looking for leaks. Sounds like fun! NOT. But I gotta get this fixed so I can go to Morro bay!Bob Moore Auburn, CA.
Re: Water Leak Question Reply #8 – March 04, 2012, 06:59:48 pm Yahoo Message Number: 128949QuoteSteve, Thank you. Does this mean that I have damaged my plumbing and caused a leak elsewhere? Is that why I saw water coming from the bottom of coach? Possibly, if this has been occurring for awhile. Problem is, a drip underneath may be unnoticed since it usually will stop once pressure has lowered. In our '83, leakage was at the plastic city water inlet, so the dripping was unnoticed until hidden interior paneling developed dry-rot. Newer rigs have brass hardware there, but leakage could occur at the fittings. You may need to force it to recur just to diagnose where the leak is originating, and inspect for damage.Steve
Re: Water Leak Question Reply #9 – March 04, 2012, 11:37:21 pm Yahoo Message Number: 128950Being a retired Master Plumber for 32 years, I can tell you that an accumulator is not going to help your coach from future leaks.An accumulator tank helps to mainta
Re: Water Leak Question Reply #10 – March 04, 2012, 11:44:14 pm Yahoo Message Number: 128951As far as the water heater
Re: Water Leak Question Reply #11 – March 05, 2012, 11:42:17 am Yahoo Message Number: 128958We installed an adjustable thermostat on our WH and have it set as low as it will go. I am guessing but it would seem that since the temp is lower than the factory installed pre-set tstat you would have lower pressure.That said, we still don't get reliable temps. When camping
Re: Water Leak Question Reply #12 – March 05, 2012, 12:02:26 pm Yahoo Message Number: 128959On Mon, 05 Mar 2012 17:42:13 -0000, "jcgc50" jcgc50@...> wrote:QuoteWe installed an adjustable thermostat... Ditto, we have it set low, 117 degrees, according the aquarium thermometer on the water heater tank. Installing the thermostat stopped the relief valve from leaking.QuoteThat said, we still don't get reliable temps. Our's reads 117 to 120 degrees all the time. We leave water heater on all the time. Last month, cooking three meals a day and having the water heater on all the time, we used about 1/2 of a tank propane with the air temp averaging around 50 degrees.
Re: Water Leak Question Reply #13 – March 05, 2012, 10:04:17 pm Yahoo Message Number: 128964Quote Our's reads 117 to 120 degrees all the time. We leave water heater on all the time. Last month, cooking three meals a day and having the water heater on all the time, we used about 1/2 of a tank propane with the air temp averaging around 50 degrees. Don, were you running your furnace occasionally as well?Chris
Re: Water Leak Question Reply #14 – March 05, 2012, 11:39:52 pm Yahoo Message Number: 128965"We installed an adjustable thermostat on our WH and have it set as low as it will go... [but] When camping in cold weather the water still gets too hot for me. When camped in warmer weather with the sun shining on the WH side of the rig it sometimes does not heat up enough." It's a shame that Atwood's optional adjustable thermostat doesn't do the trick. I have one too, and found that even with it on its lowest setting, the water is always too hot for my taste. About all it does is prevent scalding. This is where my digital aquarium thermometer comes in handy: with its remote probe snuggling up against my water heater's tank, and the thermometer set to beep at my preferred temperature, I can positively assure that I get exactly the temperature I want, regardless of outside conditions. I consider it sixteen bucks well spent. :-)Andy Baird http://www.andybaird.com/travels/
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