I've got plumbing again!!

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wpflum

Well-known member
Joined
Jul 10, 2008
Posts
164
After having almost the entire plumbing system out of the beast for a few months I finally got it all hooked back up again last night.  It was late so I didn't get a chance to see how well the 'sprinkler' system will work but I'm going to give it a try tonight.  This is the first time I've worked with PEX tubing and it was a lot easier then sweating copper and I didn't have to worry about burning the beast down in the process  ;) but I am worried that I'm going to find leaks everywhere, hence the 'sprinkler' comment  :D

I'm keeping everything I can cross, crossed  ;D

If anyone is outside around 7pm eastern and hear some faint vulgarity coming from the direction of Eastern Pennsylvania that will be me getting wet and inventing new swear words on the fly  ;)

Now maybe I can find out if either the gray or black water tanks leak and if the water heater works, assuming I can get it to light  :)




 
John In Detroit said:
May the force be with you and the leaks..... In somebody else's rig

I guess if the black water tank leaks it will mean the camper is on the dark side then  :D
 
Missed it by 'THIS' much......... :D

Connected up a hose and turned on the water and got a leak immediately, crap..... wait, the crimp ring was never crimped....turn off water, crimp ring.
Turn water back on, hear gurgling in bathroom, figure the faucets are open, check them...nope closed...now I hear dripping outside...CRAP..CRAP..CRAP..where is it...could I have the valve to drain the tank and the valve to fill it from city water open..check them..nope..CRAP..Climb outside and see water pouring from the panel right below the bathroom...are my crimps or soldered fittings leaking that bad???  Grab flashlight and look...nope dry as a bone...where the heck is the leak...wait there is another copper pipe going from a tee where I hooked up the pex line to...where does it go??  Goes to the toilet and is hidden way under the bathroom deck....get on belly and cram as much of me as I can into the opening behind the bathroom...there it is, or at least there is where the water is coming from. 
Turn off water, unhook feed line from toilet and tee and pull it out...yup 1/2 inch split there too.  Of course this line is smaller than the ones I was able to get pex to copper adapters for so off to Home Depot for parts, figure I can still get it together tonight to test it some more....cell phone rings...wife left some meds in the van and I have to get them to her before she leaves for work at 9:45pm...look at clock, 8:45, crap.....spend 15 minutes at HD figuring out how I'm going to do this then back with parts...clean up garage so old man can use it and find his tools..grab kids and head for home.

With just the quick look during the leak search I didn't see any leaks at the pex fittings so maybe I got those right  :eek:  Hardest problem now is to fish the pex tubing under the bathroom and up through the small hole in the floor behind the toilet.  I pulled a cord through when I pulled the copper out so I'm hoping it wont be too difficult.  Since the tee fitting I have to work with is just inside the opening an opening under the back side seat that is about 10 inches high and 1 foot wide, I'm going to cap it and bring the pex tubing out about a foot and cut into the line feeding the tee back further so I can have a bit of room to use the crimp tool.  I REALLY like working with this pex and I hope my luck with leaks holds up after I fix this again  ;D

One question, the original copper tube feeding the toilet came up through a hole in the corner of the fiberglass floor/wall unit and was caulked with silicon which was riding up a few inches from the actual surface and not sealing much.  Does anyone know of something I can use to close up this hole other than caulking it?? Some kind of rubber seal or something??



 
Thanks for your story.  While I hate to hear about all of th leaks and troubles, it did make me feel like I am not alone when it comes to fixing things around the house, farm, boat, or RV.  I had a house commode so plugged up today that it required complete removal.  It was definately a 'black water tank job'.
 
Finally got the line run for the toilet and capped off the unused side of the tee at the sink.  Good news is that every pex joint is dry as a bone, bad news is that the copper connection at the toilet leaks.  Figures, the hardest place to work in has the leak  ;)  At least I think its the feed line, I can't see it directly and it could be the plastic tubing on the other side of the valve.  I have to pull the toilet out again and see if I can tighten up the fitting, bent over double and turning a wench in an 8 inch wide opening from the top of the toilet doesn't lead to a very tight fitting  :eek:

I noticed, when I had the toilet off earlier, that the two plastic tubes in it are black inside and when I did try to flush I got alot of black crap in the bowl so I think I'll pick up some at Home Depot and replace them while I have it the toilet off again.  It is possible that the leak is comming from one of the tubes and this way I'll remove that possibility.  Also the tubes are held in place with those round wire spring clamps and I see a failure point there as well especially if the metal is loosing its 'spring' so I'm going to put hose clamps in instead.

No leaks from the Black and Gray tanks but I'll keep my fingers crossed!

Oh, did I mention that the water heater WORKS  ;D


I haven't been able to confirm if it did since I've never been able to fill it up with water before and it was a great relief since if it was broke I'd have to buy a new one before the end of May and I'm not sure I could have swung 3 or 4 hundred until then  :-[

I'm going over today to try and fix the toilet and if that goes well, crosses every crossable body part possible, I'm planning on trying the heater.  Tomorrow I'll start on the problems with the front corners and overhang but I don't feel like starting more woodwork today  ;)

I'm not as concerned about the heater since the first trip will be at the end of May and the second in August but I thought I'd better make sure it works just in case we get a cold snap out west during the May trip.  ???

Anyone familiar with the weather in the midwest like to chime in and let me know what I can expect at the end of May?? 

I've only been out during the summer=hot so I not sure what to expect. ???


Bill

 
Late May in Indiana can be a bit dicey, meaning there can be some cool days and nights, but generally not really cold. 

I am not a plumber.  You recall the story of the Midas touch?  Well, when it comes to plumbing everything I touch changes, but not to gold.
 
Ok, found and fixed, keeping fingers crossed, the leak at the toilet.  I picked up a mirror on a stick from Harbor Freight so I could see the fitting when I turned on the water, sure enough I see water comming out at the rear of the connector a sure sign I don't have it tight enough.  Using the mirror I'm able to get a wrench on the body of the valve to hold it while I tighten it with another, seeing it made a BIG difference.  Turn on the water and presto, no leak at the rear...but wait..I still see a fair amount comming down from the side of the valve..nuts!!  Pull off toilet AGAIN and remove valve assembly from base, looks like valve is split on an angle and held together by four bolts and the water appears to be comming from one of the seams.  Apply a bit of shop air and I can see the water bubbling through one side.  Disassemble the valve and find that a flat o-ring is a bit worn so dig around the shop and come up with a round o-ring of the same size...cross fingers and reassemble valve with new ring.  Put some water in the feed tube and then apply shop air...wipe water off face with sleeve and try again without looking down at it... appears to be holding.  Take the valve assembly back into camper and hook up to water line and turn on feed valve...No Leaks  ;D


Now I'm at the point where I can put the toilet back together and back in the camper BUT I had noticed on the last reinstall that the toilet seat and lid were 'loose' where it attached at the toilet top but since I'd already had it fastened down I figured I'd just live with it but now that I had it back out I'd try and tighten it.  Looks like the seat was never really fastened down, I can lift the hinge up at least 3/4 of an inch on one side and a half on another so I don't know if they tried to install a new seat and couldn't get to the nuts to tighten or what but now the nuts and bolts are corroded and I can't spin them on or off.  Right now the toilet is sitting upside down with a generous wetting of PB Blast loosener sprayed on both nuts.  I'm going to try to get them off tomorrow, if they wont move I'll cut the bolts off with a dremel and look for a new seat/lid. 

Anyone know if these seats are standardized or will I have to try and get one for the specific toilet??

Its a Thetford Agua Magic Starlite, if that matters.

One other question, how much of a problem will I have if the seal between the sliding valve and the flapper isn't 100 percent.  It doesn't seem to hold water, a slow dribble when filled and I cleaned out the groove as best I could.  A 'valve' kit is 53 bucks from the local RV place and even the parts guy said it was over priced  :eek:  so I'm kinda thinking of seeing how much of a problem it would be before getting the parts.
 
Oh yea, tried the heater but so far a no go.  I can get the pilot to stay on if I keep the bypass plunger in but it wont stay lit after I let it up no matter how long I hold it in.  I'm not sure if that means the flame sensor is bad or something in the valve is stuck.  I've tried banging around the valve to see if whatever is stuck might unstick but no luck  :(

It a Dyna-Trail furnace model NT-16,  I'm going to go through the manual I have but I'm at a loss right now.

Any ideas?
 
Wpflum...I'm pretty sure the toilet seat and lid are standard fittings.  Just make sure you buy is for the appropriate bowl style...round our elongated.  One tip, before you turn the water on to test all the faucets, remove the aerator from the faucet spout and let the water run free and clear for 30 seconds or so.  You mentioned black crud, which is probably old rubber washers, that crud and other stuff can significally impact the water flow if the aerators are clogged.

I'm not sure if there is a specific rubber washer/grommet for where the riser emerges from the floor.  I'm sure HD, Lowes or Ace will have something you could 'make-do' with.  Otherwise,remove all traces of old caulk,  clean the are well with rubbing alcohol and use a silicon or ruberized caulk around the pipe.  You could cover the hole with a  cover plate, like those used on shower arms.

BT
 
I was thinking it might be the thermocouple but since I'm not that familiar with these heaters I wasn't sure.  Is there anyway to test them?

As to the feeder tube that is what I'm going to do although since the hole is in the corner and the valve I installed is just slightly above it I wont be able to put one of those covers on so caulking will have to do.  The black stuff comming out is from the toilet itself, I can see it in the feed tubes inside the toilet when I have it upside down.  I was going to replace the tubes but one goes into the top of the toilet through a plastic housing so I'd have to disassemble the entire toilet to replace it, I'll live with the black crap  ;)
 
You ever have one of those lives  ::)

The bolts on the toilet seat/lid didn't loosen up after soaking and I managed to break off one trying to snap it loose.  The other nut I planned on using the dremel I lugged over to the farm in its nice plastic carrying case to cut it off....well at least I had a nice case to work with, the dremel unfortunately was sitting on a workbench at home...note to self always CHECK the contents of a tool case BEFORE leaving home  ;)

I did have the arbor and abrasive disks I was going to use so I chucked the arbor up in a drill and went to work 15 or so disks later I was able to chisel off the nut and remove the seat.  :)

The rest went easy enough, I re threaded the bolts with a die and dug up some washers and nuts, applied some black grease to the threads so hopefully I can get the nuts off again in the future and assembled the toilet and voila a nice tight seat/lid...I'm Happy  :D

Place toilet back on floor flange and attach the feed line...Check.
Put rear nut on and spin it down by hand..check........wait...brain flash...I didn't hook up the one plastic hose that goes up to the bowl top since it was in the way of the seat bolts......AAAAARRRRRRRGGGGGGGGG....Reverse above and take toilet back out to the bench..hook up hose...reverse-reverse above and actually get toilet in place and tightened down...fire up the pump and BINGO...no leaks that I can see....I am once again HAPPY  ;D

I reattached the water hose and filled up the tank about half way so I'd have water to play with if I needed it and unhooked and drained the hoses.  Turn on pump and wait for it to cycle...and wait...and wait...and wait...something's wrong...now whats wrong....must go to my happy place...must go... wait I remember that the tank had been real low when I last turned on the pump could I have sucked air and somehow vapor locked the pump...Turn on the cold water faucet and let it go until it just trickles...turn on pump and hear it cycle and slow down as pressure builds up then it stops...Yea!!!  All is good and I'm once again happy  ;D

Wait..I hear dripping and now I see a wet spot near the pump...happy place...happy place...where the H@#L is that happy place.  :mad:

Start digging and find out that one of the pipe connections going to the pressurized water tank, the kind you prefill with air to keep the pressure steady, is dripping and so is the hose connecting to the adapter that is connected to it.  Unconnect the hose from the pump and flip the tank over...ten minutes of searching for the right wrench and another 5 to take it apart and add more Teflon tape and I back assembling the system again.  Now to test...turn on pump...sounds strange kinda faint and slow...maybe I have it locked up again...open faucet...just a brief surge and then a dribble...turn on pump and a small stream flows and the pump still sounds weird....close faucet and listen for pump to start straining as the pressure builds...wait...wait...wait...all I hear is the pump getting fainter and fainter....now what!! 

Is the pump bad or is it the converter???  I measured the 12 volt line and it appears to be 10 volts and the converter seemed a bit on the hot side.  I had all of the lights on and the pump going so maybe I got it too hot and it dropped to 10 volts???  Would a Shureflow (sp?) pump be that picky of the voltage level??  or am I missing something else.  ??? 

AND WHERE THE #%$^&@*$# is that HAPPY PLACE!!!!!!!!!!!!!  maybe I need to lubricate the way to it with something containing alcohol....... :)
 
Turns out I wasn't missing anything.  My converter turned toes up on the output the pump was on.  I'm guessing age and underrating for the camper finally did it in.  No problem since I was going to replace it anyway with a spiffy new 4 stage one, just pushes up the install date by a few weeks.  :)

 
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