On a just completed first trip in our 2005 Winnebago Adventurer, we could not get enough water pressure at any of the campgrounds to run a faucet, let alone take a shower. Turning the water pump on provided plenty of water, however it's my understanding the pump is not necessary when connected to an outside water source. Is there something wrong, or am I not doing something I should be doing?
Why is there no water pressure when attached to city water?
- Thread starter dpbain1
- Start date
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John Canfield
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Check that the winterization valves are in their normal position and the city water and tank fill valve is operating correctly.
ArdraF
Well-known member
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- Posts
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dpbain1, Yes you are correct that you do not need the water pump when connected to city water. It's primary use is when you're not hooked up to the campground faucet. [Note an exception is when you're in a place with extremely low water pressure and you want to give it a boost.]
ArdraF
ArdraF
PancakeBill
Well-known member
I have a similar situation, I need to use the water pump for good pressure. I have a gauge before and after the big filter, good pressure, then there is a T where the water pump inserts, I changed out the inlet, still no luck. I figure there is some kind of blockage between the inlet and the T. You may have a similar situation.
Rene T
Site Team
Check the inlet screen fitting where you hook up the hose to your RV. Also check all the faucet screens. You may have got into some sandy water and plugged up all the screens.
Note: If you do find your screens are plugged, you may want to drain your water heater because sediment may have settled in there. Be sure to shutoff your electric element so you don't burn it out. Don't turn it back on until you flush out all the air through one of your faucets.
Note: If you do find your screens are plugged, you may want to drain your water heater because sediment may have settled in there. Be sure to shutoff your electric element so you don't burn it out. Don't turn it back on until you flush out all the air through one of your faucets.
Gary RV_Wizard
Site Team
Either the inlet screen is clogged or the inlet check valve is stuck closed. Either of those conditions prevents water from entering the city inlet. You can remove the screen (temporarily, at least), but the check valve is needed as soon as you disconnect the city hose. You can substitute a hose cap when you remove the city hose, tough.
Rene T
Site Team
Gary RV Roamer said:
As a follow up to what Gary said, after removing the screen at the water inlet of your RV, take something like a ball point pen, pencil or the back end of a drill bit and just push on the ball a little just to verify that it's not stuck shut and that it's free to open and close.
I haven't looked yet, but I doubt that it might be a clogged screen or closed check valve. The hose connection in the Winnebago (mine at least) is the same for both city water as well as for filling the holding tank. There's a handle that you switch from either "city water" or "water tank fill" and the water tank has been filled with no problem numerous times while we were out.
Rene T
Site Team
dpbain1 said:
The tank could be filling very slowing without indicating a problem. It will only take a few seconds to check the screen and check valve. Don't forget to check ALL the screens at each faucet. Another thing you could do is open one of your low point drains and turn the water on. See if you get a lot of water flowing. If you do, then it's probably your faucet screens which are plugged.
Gary RV_Wizard
Site Team
If you can get water into the tank via the city inlet, but not to the faucets, maybe that fill/use valve is stuck in the "fill" position even though the handle turns. We've heard reports of that problem before, but usually it gets noticed because the fresh tank overflows after awhile.
The water system inlet design is pretty simple. The city inlet and the pump both Tee together and feed the same distribution system from their respective sources. The fill/use valve routes the incoming city water around the pump to fill the tank, and may also block off the path to the distribution piping when it does that. It depends on the type of valve Winnie chose for the fill/use selection and I don't know the details of yours. You can get plumbing schematics from Winnie, I think. Check here:
http://www.winnebagoind.com/resources/manuals/
The water system inlet design is pretty simple. The city inlet and the pump both Tee together and feed the same distribution system from their respective sources. The fill/use valve routes the incoming city water around the pump to fill the tank, and may also block off the path to the distribution piping when it does that. It depends on the type of valve Winnie chose for the fill/use selection and I don't know the details of yours. You can get plumbing schematics from Winnie, I think. Check here:
http://www.winnebagoind.com/resources/manuals/
Rene T
Site Team
dpbain1,
Did you ever fix your problem? If you did, what did you find?
Did you ever fix your problem? If you did, what did you find?
Bill N
Well-known member
dpbain1 said:
I had the same problem and when it happened at two different campgrounds (two days in a row) I figured it had to be in my system. Turned out I was using a water pressure regulator right on the RV park hydrant and the regulator was pretty much stuck closed. If you are using a regulator, remove it from the system and hook up directly to the hydrant.
Gary Hageman
Active member
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- Jul 8, 2014
- Posts
- 31
I was using a regulator on the hose and unknown to me my unit already had a regulator installed.
Gary RV_Wizard
Site Team
The city inlet often acts as a regulator of sorts, actually more of a "flow restrictor" than a real regulator, but it still drops the pressure. No harm in having your own regulator in series, though, and it protects the hose from bursting.
Better quality hoses have burst strengths in the 200 psi and up range, so they don't really need much protection. Not sure about the common Camco potable water hoses, though. The 5/8" model is listed as "premium" and "300 psi", but they don't say much about the cheaer 1/2" size that most people use.
Better quality hoses have burst strengths in the 200 psi and up range, so they don't really need much protection. Not sure about the common Camco potable water hoses, though. The 5/8" model is listed as "premium" and "300 psi", but they don't say much about the cheaer 1/2" size that most people use.
PancakeBill
Well-known member
Well if you have 2 40 PSI regulators in series, shouldn't you still have about 40psi to the system? I can see a little drp due to some restriction, but at 40 and below it seems the regulator should just pass it through.
Sr Fox
Well-known member
The key word is "should" and qualify that with "if all is working well". Take both regulators out of the line and hold your finger over the end of the hose without connecting it to the RV. You should be able to estimate the pressure. If if seems okay, add a regulator to the end of the hose and see what pressure drop you get if any.
Bill N
Well-known member
Gary RV Roamer said:
Gary, you ditched your high school graduation photo and changed to one of more recent vintage. Still looking sharp. LOL
