No Water Pressure

The friendliest place on the web for anyone with an RV or an interest in RVing!
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.

UK-RV

Well-known member
Joined
Apr 25, 2005
Posts
822
Location
UK
Here we go again. LOL

Before we left our last campground, we added bleach to our fresh water supply.

We were advised to do this and travel for 4hrs or so for it to slosh around - but figured the 200 miles we had would be OK.

When we got to this CG, we drained the Fresh tank the once by running all the taps - and the pressure coming thru was fine.

However, today, we have hardly any pressure at all coming thru the taps and toilet wand - even though the city water hose feels hard with pressure coming into the RV.

As I hadn't refilled the fresh tank yet to keep flushing the bleach thru (it was raining all day yesterday), I decided to fill the tank and try the pressure using our own supply and the water pump (fully disconnected from city supply) - still no pressure coming thru.

What could be wrong ?

Could the bleach have dislodged a load of crud in the fresh tank which is now blocking the pipes - if so, how do we (meaning non technical me) sort out the problem.

Advice gladly received (again)

Paul
 
Paul,

A quick check would be to unscrew the cap on the end of the taps in your kitchen and bathroom sinks. Inside the cap will be a mesh screen that would catch any crud and would slow the flow significantly. You can remove the mesh to clean it. You can also turn a tap on after removing the cap/screen to see if you have a decent water flow.
 
Thanks Tom

Didnt know about those caps - but have now checked and they are fine.

I decided to run the outside shower to see if there was an air block in there, but that just trickles out too.

Paul
 
BTW Paul, I wouldn't necessarily expect the bleach to have dislodged any crud per se. The main reason for adding it is to kill off any nasty things living in your water/tank/system. FWIW there's no real reason for the RV to be in motion while sanitizing.

If you really drained all the water out of the system, your pump has probably lost prime. Read this procedure to re-prime.
 
Tom said:
If you really drained all the water out of the system, your pump has probably lost prime. Read this procedure to re-prime.

That wouldn't explain why he has no pressure when on city water.  It has to be something common to both the onboard pump and external city water feeds.  I also doubt that the bleach had anything to do with the problem.  You didn't shut off the wrong valve after draining the tank, did you?
 
You're right Ned but, since this is Paul, there's no guaratee he turned on the spigot at the post  ;)
 
LOL - very good  ;D

OK, I unscrewed the water hose (coming out) from the pump - all I got from that pipe was a trickle of cold water and then nothing.

I turned the pump on with it undone and it pumped water (from in pipe) thru and out the (exit pipe) opening, so at least the pump is working (you can here it anyway).

Next, I decided to use the two drain levers located in the sewage bay (NO, not the grey/black ones  :)).

The cold water one just trickled out - where it would usually rush out at pressure (Ive jusy hooked to city water and it does rush out).

The hot just trickled out too and took a while to actually come out hot.

??

Paul
 
You didn't shut off the wrong valve after draining the tank, did you?

I only flushed thru the taps, and left the drain valve alone.

I dont know if it makes a difference, but when we did flush thru the taps, the flow stopped (as if the tank was fully empty) but it still showed 1/4 full on the sensor.

But, the sensor could be wrong of course, except the fresh one has been the most accurate to date.

Paul
 
Since you drained the water system, you may just have a lot of air in the pipes.  How long did you wait for water to flow?
 
Ned

We've had the taps "running" for an hour now

2 running cold and 1 on hot

Paul
 
This is puzzling,  First, the odds that the bleach knocked something loose are fairly close to lotto odds,  A long shot at best.

And though I don't know your coach about the only thing common to both city and on-board water systems on my coach (that is common flow) if you are checking at the dog shower (outside) is 2 inches of tube on the back of the valve (I knwo, I blew the line that is exclusive to the city inlet,  between it and the diverter (Quick fill) valve,  So I've been all over that compartment this week)

My guess is something is open somewhere and you are loosing pressure.  Low point drain perhaps or that quick fill valve is mis-positioned and allowing water to circulate back into the tank when using on-board and just a trickle of city water through
 
Checked all valves, levers etc and nothing open - even thought it could be the water inlet opening cap not screwed back on but that is OK.



Who was it that spoke about making our adventures into a Comedy film ?

Something I forgot to mention earlier (nothing to do with the problem though) .......

When I had to go into the bay for the water pump, I had first to bring in the main slide.

I started the engine and pressed the button for the slide and it came in a few inches but, no matter how many times I toggled the switch, it wouldnt come in.

I thought, Oh Great another motor gone bad, until I went outside the coach and noticed the bay door had swung up and was stopping the slide - thankfully, the door and slide are both OK  :-[ :-[ :-[ :-[

I had a bit of a laugh to myself at that one !!

Paul

 
Paul,
I'm just guessing now (but that's what everyone else is doing at this time too :D), but I'll bet it's 1) you have a valve in the wrong position, or 2) there is a leak on the inlet side of the pump that's sucking in air instead of water, or 3) you've got a pressure regulator somewhere in the line that's stuck closed, or 4) the pump isn't priming properly due to too much 'head' pressure in the lines coming from it. l suggest you close all the taps, and slightly open the cold water faucet on the outside shower, then run the pump. Once (and IF) you get water to flow there, you should be able to open the rest of the faucets and get good flow. Failing that, if you have a wet/dry vacuum cleaner, you could try to suck a prime through one of the faucets. Hey, we're reaching here... Don't laugh!
 
It has to be more than the pump as he isn't getting water from the city supply either.  I still think it's a valve or valves in the wrong position(s).
 
One thought.....

We had the wand replaced to the toilet a few weeks ago, and that pressure has been great.

But, at about the same time as our pressure troubles, the wand has broken again - I understand it is supposed to create a vaccuum in the toilet system after it has been used.

Could that have anything to do with it ?

Paul

Failing that, I guess Im gonna have to suck on the shower hose so, before I spend 3hrs getting sore cheeks, how long should I have to suck. (I cant believe Im having this conversation)
 
Paul,
The toilet sprayer and the toilet itself share a water supply, and there is a vacuum breaker to prevent siphoning back into your fresh water supply. So, no, that wouldn't have anything to do with it. If you are going to suck on it, make sure the pump is OFF so you don't  drown yourself by accident ;D If it takes more than a few minutes and you don't feel any suction, there's a leak or open valve somewhere.
 
OK

Itried sucking on the shower hose - the bleach is definately still there, yuck.

Unfortunately, it didnt make any difference.

I was just sucking air and could hear it whitling into the hose from this side of the taps.

I assume that if the taps are closed, an air leak on the hose side wouldn't affect the system?

I will try a few phone calls to a few dealers for ideas too.

Paul
 
Paul,
The shower hose won't work. It has a valve on it that allows it to drain out when you shut off the water, so that's the whistling sound you hear. You'll have to do it through one of the actual water faucets. sorry about not mentioning that - just forgot.
 

Forum statistics

Threads
131,749
Posts
1,384,212
Members
137,520
Latest member
jeep3501
Back
Top Bottom