Water pressure

[tantle1961]

I purchased a Watts 520022 RV/Boat Duo Exterior Water Filter with Garden Hose Fittings.

What is the maximum water pressure (PSI) this product is rated?

The water pressure coming out of the ground faucet is 70 PSI.  I put a fixed pressure regulator which reduced that to 40 PSI.  After I connect the filter, that reduces to 32 PSI.  Now am a down to a little more than a trickle coming out of the kitchen faucet.  If my RV is rated to accept higher, will the filter be damaged at a higher pressure?

 

[Hammster]

There are a couple of reasons for a trickle at the faucet. Not sure if you've checked but sometimes there are several screens at the outlet of the faucet. Remove all but one and flow should improve. The RV's plumbing can handle 55-60 psi so a higher pressure regulator would be fine and would also make for better flow. Filter can handle 55-60 psi no problem.

 

[lynnmor]

The water pressure coming out of the ground faucet is 70 PSI.  I put a fixed pressure regulator which reduced that to 40 PSI.  After I connect the filter, that reduces to 32 PSI.  Now am a down to a little more than a trickle coming out of the kitchen faucet. 

I suppose that you have a cheap cylinder shaped regulator.  Some of those things can have a very low flow rate under some conditions.  Simply buy a better regulator.

 

[grashley]

There are TWO factors in flow rate.  One is Pressure, the other is Volume.  For instance, if your particulate filter was nearly blinded (full), your volume would go way down. (unlikely, sine you just installed them!)  If you have a cheap (less than $10) pressure regulator, it may well reduce volume significantly.  If the diffusers on your faucets are clogged, they will reduce volume.

Start with the Pressure regulator.  Remove it from the system and check flow.  At a known 70 psi, this is safe to do. 
If the problem persists, check the faucets.  Remove the diffuser  (Unscrew the thingie where the water comes out) from one faucet and test flow.  If good flow, clean (toothbrush or vinegar) or replace the diffuser.  Check other faucets the same way.

If flow is still poor, disconnect the filter output hose, and check flow there.  If poor, check filter input flow.

This should identify the area to search - pressure regulator, faucets, internal plumbing, filter,  or ground faucet.

Decent adjustable pressure regulators with a gauge are available for around $35 and up.

 

[Rene T]

Another place to look at is the filter screen at the RV inlet where you connect the water hose. They've been known to clog up but not too often.

 

[John From Detroit]

I would set your regulator at 55 PSI.. to 60..

The filter can easily take 60, possibly 90 but without googling the specs I can not be sure.. 60 however is for sure.

One thing I used to do when I had restrictive filter is two regulators one at as I recall 70 the other at 50 worked great.

 

[Snowbird1957]

Don't know if you solved your problem but I'll post this for future readers who are looking for a solution.

I recently purchased a 2008 Rockwood Ultra Lite.  Love the trailer so far and it pulls really nice behind my 1/2 ton.

We just arrived at our winter abode in Sun City (near Phoenix) a week ago.  We've experienced low water volume coming out of all taps and the shower since we left home a week and a half ago.  So here's the steps I went through:

I checked the flow from the hose when I first arrived.  There was lots of pressure and volume.  So I knew it wasn't my pressure regulator that attaches to the water supply end of my hose.  (I ran the water for several minutes to make sure the water ran clear.  Glad I did, because the water had probably been sitting in the section of pipe to my RV site since last April.  It ran brown for a minute or two).

I checked the cone shaped screen at the trailer water connection.  It was about 20% clogged so I cleaned that and replaced it.  This still didn't solve the problem.

Next, I checked the water filter, which I hadn't replaced yet.  It is the typical clear plastic canister style that you'd find in a home.  I just removed it and used the water without a filter.  Although the filter needed replacing, this didn't improve the pressure.

I checked the aerators in the taps next (2 in the bathroom and 1 kitchen).  They were somewhat clogged with calcium debris.  I replaced the kitchen aerator and soaked the bathroom aerators and shower head in CLR.  This improved the water flow a little but the volume was still unacceptable.

Having travelled for 4 days to get here, I've connected and disconnected the water several times.  I connected the water when I arrived here and disconnected it once to clean the screen filter at the trailer connection.

So today I started looking at the water line inside the trailer.  Since I couldn't get access to the line behind the hot water tank for inspection, I grew a little despondent, thinking I may have to just hire a plumber, or run CLR through the lines (I haven't researched running CLR through the lines.  This may not be advisable.  I don't know either way).

Sometimes the solution is the simplest one.  I began thinking that maybe my line was sucking air somewhere but that didn't make sense to me.  If there was a leak, the pressure would be from the inside of the line and would leak water, not suck air.  I've heard the the water tank pump might suck air if it is cracked, but I'm using city water so I had to rule that out.  The water line did make kind of a noise from behind the water tank when we turned on the hot water and I thought that might be the problem.

So, in a last desperate effort, I turned off the water and once again ran the hose to double check the pressure.  Still lots of volume and pressure.  I reattached the hose to the trailer and...  lo and behold, problem fixed. (no, there were no kinks in my hose.  I checked that earlier).

I assume that there was an air lock somewhere in my system and just removing the hose and reconnecting it somehow fixed the problem.  I always run water through the hose before connecting it as I described earlier.  Then I run the taps inside until all the air has finished sputtering out.  And I run the hot water for several minutes to fill the tank and purge the line before turning the gas heater on.  So why I would have had an air lock is beyond me.  Perhaps one of you can explain? 

In hindsight, it may very well have been the outside shower, which I had not purged yet, but did so just before removing and reconnecting the supply line which I believed solved the problem.  Any thoughts on this?

The moral of the story - try all the simple things first.  Purge all of your lines and don't forget the outside shower.  And try disconnecting and reconnecting your water supply.

 

[lynnmor]

Snowbird, it wasn't an airlock, there is no such thing.  What you have is a cheap pressure regulator.  They will act as you said, having good flow when disconnected but variable amounts of flow when under pressure.

 

[Gary RV_Wizard]

I don't know what the current plumbing codes require, but I would be greatly surprised if that filter could not handle upwards of 80 psi. However, increasing the pressure to 60-70 psi isn't going to help much, if any.  A fine grade (1 micron) filter in that size and that can remove gardia cysts and such has a max flow rate of about 2.5 gpm (gallons per minute).  That's when new; the rate decreases as the filter traps sediment from the water.  So you are maybe getting 2 gpm thru the filter and most people think that is a rather anemic flow rate, especially in the shower.  To improve flow, you can get a larger gpm capacity filter or put two filters in parallel (doubles the flow).

** Last I knew, the RVIA standards for RV construction required a water pressure test of 85 psi. I think the residential housing codes are higher, probably 100 or maybe even 120 in some regions. The Watts filter claims to meet all plumbing codes.

 

[John From Detroit]

"What is "Good flow"  How long to fill a 5 gallon bucket (or any size bucket include time and size)

You should be able to fill a 5 gallon bucket in LESS THAN 2 minutes.

 

[Gary RV_Wizard]

In my opinion "good flow" would fill that 5 gallon bucket in 1.0-1.5 minutes.

 

[John From Detroit]

I agree Gary but if it takes more than 2 minutes you have a problem. I was basing it on 2.0GPM flow rate for an Oxygenetics shower head.