City water connection

[KSH]

Hooked up my hose today, heard water running, then saw water come out the bottom of the rv. Turned off the water and pulled out the connections. Looked like to inside hose unscrewed itself from the connector on the inside. I want to replace the connector assembly since it's always been a pain to attach the water hose. Do i need to replace this whole thing? It's all cheap plastic. Or can i just replace the city water connection on the plate?

Also, is this caulking just butyl tape or something else? Attachment 1

[KHBama]

Just want to make sure, you do have a water pressure regulator on the hose correct?

[sourdough]

Can't really tell but I'd say that's probably butyl tape behind the framing for the valves. I would just replace the existing valve with another one. I suspect it comes off of the plate and you can just put another one in it's place.

https://www.amazon.com/s/?ie=UTF8&ke...l_2lcg2zab7l_e

[wiredgeorge]

Originally Posted by KSH

Hooked up my hose today, heard water running, then saw water come out the bottom of the rv. Turned off the water and pulled out the connections. Looked like to inside hose unscrewed itself from the connector on the inside. I want to replace the connector assembly since it's always been a pain to attach the water hose. Do i need to replace this whole thing? It's all cheap plastic. Or can i just replace the city water connection on the plate?

Also, is this caulking just butyl tape or something else? Attachment 18051Attachment 1

Looks like the same set up as on my trailer. When you remove the screws, note there is just butyl tape. On my trailer, the original city water connector was a compression fitting and the part on the trailer was brass. No leaks. I bought a DIRECT REPLACEMENT and that thing had a cheesy plastic fitting instead of brass and the compression fitting just would never seal properly. I found you can still buy the original units with a brass fitting:


https://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dl...=1033007603024


Using that unit, the compression fitting works just like designed; with the plastic, the inner rubber part just can't seal on the plastic rim properly and will leak.

[KSH]

Yes. Just bought a new pressure regulator. Do you think this is related? I did notice that my water hose are a bit bulged out, but it is pretty old. I dialed it in to about 50 psi. I did see it go up to just under 60 psi. Not sure how accurate it actually is.

[KSH]

Originally Posted by wiredgeorge

Looks like the same set up as on my trailer. When you remove the screws, note there is just butyl tape. On my trailer, the original city water connector was a compression fitting and the part on the trailer was brass. No leaks. I bought a DIRECT REPLACEMENT and that thing had a cheesy plastic fitting instead of brass and the compression fitting just would never seal properly. I found you can still buy the original units with a brass fitting:


https://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dl...=1033007603024


Using that unit, the compression fitting works just like designed; with the plastic, the inner rubber part just can't seal on the plastic rim properly and will leak.

Mine is all plastic fitting. On a project in the middle of no where, just want to make it a few days before heading home. It looks like my major issues was the hose unscrewing from the back. I get a slight drip from the front.

I'll look to see if i can take the that one part off the hatch by itself.

[JRTJH]

It looks like your city water/fresh tank fill ports are manufactured by JR Products. You can buy the entire package for about $20 or you can often find just the city water connection/backflow valve stem for about $15. For me, it seems "frugal" to buy the entire system and then just use what you need. The city water connection/backflow valve stem are held in place with a "C-clamp" that is located on the back side of the mounting plate. You'll need to remove the entire system to access the "C-clamp" since it's mounted in a recessed area.

If it were me, I'd replace the entire package and start fresh. Also, I'd buy a brass 90 elbow to attach to the city water fill. That will usually prevent the stress caused by the weight of the water hose pulling at an angle and prolong the life of the city water fill. Install your regulator on the campground faucet (before water enters your hose) so you protect the entire system. While the RV is "supposed to be safe" at 60 PSI, most run the regulator at 40 PSI. With heat gain from the sun "baking" the hose, pressures will rise, as you indicate by saying pressure got up to 60PSI.

If you do buy a replacement for the entire assembly, use butyl putty tape behind it and use Teflon tape on the threads where the trailer supply screws onto the new fitting.

Here are links to the JR Products component. The first is with a brass check valve/city water fitting, the second is with plastic check valve/fittings.
https://www.amazon.com/JR-Products-4...70_&dpSrc=srch

https://www.amazon.com/JR-Products-4...70_&dpSrc=srch

[wiredgeorge]

Originally Posted by JRTJH

It looks like your city water/fresh tank fill ports are manufactured by JR Products. You can buy the entire package for about $20 or you can often find just the city water connection/backflow valve stem for about $15. For me, it seems "frugal" to buy the entire system and then just use what you need. The city water connection/backflow valve stem are held in place with a "C-clamp" that is located on the back side of the mounting plate. You'll need to remove the entire system to access the "C-clamp" since it's mounted in a recessed area.

If it were me, I'd replace the entire package and start fresh. Also, I'd buy a brass 90 elbow to attach to the city water fill. That will usually prevent the stress caused by the weight of the water hose pulling at an angle and prolong the life of the city water fill. Install your regulator on the campground faucet (before water enters your hose) so you protect the entire system. While the RV is "supposed to be safe" at 60 PSI, most run the regulator at 40 PSI. With heat gain from the sun "baking" the hose, pressures will rise, as you indicate by saying pressure got up to 60PSI.

If you do buy a replacement for the entire assembly, use butyl putty tape behind it and use Teflon tape on the threads where the trailer supply screws onto the new fitting.

Here are links to the JR Products component. The first is with a brass check valve/city water fitting, the second is with plastic check valve/fittings.
https://www.amazon.com/JR-Products-4...70_&dpSrc=srch

https://www.amazon.com/JR-Products-4...70_&dpSrc=srch

The assembly is manufactured by B&B. If you look closely at the OP's photo you can see it on the bottom. My unit and the B&B unit he has is installed with a compression fitting and it doesn't screw on. The water tank hose is held on by a radiator clamp on my unit. Again, if the city water connection uses a compression fitting, you really don't want a plastic valve as it just doesn't seal and current B&B replacements are plastic; older are brass just like in the eBay auction in my previous post.

[JRTJH]

Originally Posted by wiredgeorge

The assembly is manufactured by B&B. If you look closely at the OP's photo you can see it on the bottom. My unit and the B&B unit he has is installed with a compression fitting and it doesn't screw on. The water tank hose is held on by a radiator clamp on my unit. Again, if the city water connection uses a compression fitting, you really don't want a plastic valve as it just doesn't seal and current B&B replacements are plastic; older are brass just like in the eBay auction in my previous post.

thanks ...

[bill-e]

I use this for my water connections, easier to install and connect to than the elbow and does the same job.



Camco Flex Hose connector

[KSH]

Originally Posted by JRTJH

thanks ...

Does it matter what brand i replace it with? Is the issue the screw holes lining up?

[JRTJH]

From the information I have, JR Products bought B&B around 2008. As the older B&B branded parts were sold, they were replaced with JR Products branded components. So, while there are still some B&B branded items in salvage stores and on EBay, current inventories in most RV parts houses are all JR Product branded. The city water fill "stem" with backflow valve is part 2P-A. (see my photo).

It doesn't matter which you buy (B&B or JR Products), they're all interchangeable. If you buy from a local RV parts store, it'll probably be branded as JR Products (newer stock). If you look on EBay, you can probably find a salvage company that's selling the older B&B branded parts, usually at a premium price (plus shipping).

I'm adding a couple of photos of the package I have. If you notice on the back of the insert, just above the IPC, you'll find the logo, "Made in the USA by: B&B" along with the JR Products logo just to the left.

You can buy the entire panel, city water fill and fresh water tank fill, on Amazon at the links in my previous post or you can buy the city water stem at any local RV parts store using JR Products part number 2P-A.

As a note, I have a 2014 Cougar. The city water/fresh water fill on my trailer is identical to yours and is marked B&B just like yours. When my city water fill started leaking, I bought a JR Products replacement with the brass body. It fit "exactly" like the one that I removed. In fact, I saved all the old parts as "spares" just in case something might break or stop working.

If you buy the entire panel, it is an "exact OEM replacement" and as far as I know, the screw holes are in the same location whether the panel is marked JR Products or B&B. They come from the same molds and the same assembly line.

ADDED: CAMCO and Valterra are competitors of JR Products and their components may or may not be a "direct OEM replacement". I know that many do fit "close to the same" but just as many don't even come close, so if you buy something other than JR Products/B&B, you may not get the result you want.

[wiredgeorge]

JRTJH, Have you actually replaced one of city water inlets? I just did it last month. The old one leaked where the hose threaded in. I stand by my statement that the brass fitting is ABSOLUTELY necessary to get the screwed on compression fitting to seal. The plastic city water inlet may be billed as a direct OEM replacement but it doesn't cut the mustard and I am sure it costs them a few pennies less than plastic.

This is a picture of the spare I bought. This is the actual piece pictured:

[JRTJH]

Originally Posted by wiredgeorge

JRTJH, Have you actually replaced one of city water inlets? I just did it last month. The old one leaked where the hose threaded in. I stand by my statement that the brass fitting is ABSOLUTELY necessary to get the screwed on compression fitting to seal. The plastic city water inlet may be billed as a direct OEM replacement but it doesn't cut the mustard and I am sure it costs them a few pennies less than plastic.

This is a picture of the spare I bought. This is the actual piece pictured:

As a matter of fact, yes I have replaced B&B city water inlets, more than once. Actually, I'd guess probably 40 or 50 times over the past 10 years. We all have different experiences and different levels of understanding about RV's and products/parts for them. I'll say that you go to an extreme to say, "brass fitting is ABSOLUTELY necessary..." but if, in your experience, that's what you've found, I'll agree that you need to use "brass fittings". If you go back and read my first post, I included links to both the BRASS fitting and the PLASTIC fitting, since both are available, both work (depending on the application and apparently skill level) and both are manufactured and marketed by JR Products (aka: B&B). To be precise, the price difference between the plastic and the brass fitting is $3.17 on Amazon.

[wiredgeorge]

I guess replacing the old city water inlet must have been outside my skill limits as it just deformed the compression washer against the thin plastic edge. I actually bought one of the plastic ones billed as direct replacement and was unable to get it to seal. Of course I have only worked with compression fittings a few times so it was probably my lack of skill in screwing one on. I was trying to point the guy in the right direction and not start a debate. Think this will be my last post in this thread. Hopefully, if the OP buys the plastic piece he has more experience and skill that I did but since he was asking, suspect he may be just a newby to compression fittings... Cheers!

[KSH]

Thanks guys. I've never bought anything off ebay. Do you have a link to that one? I want brass, but don't want white. Looks like i can't have that from jr

http://jrproducts.net/index.php/cata...20Connections/

[KSH]

This the right stuff?

Dicor BT-1834-1 1/8" x 3/4" x 30' Butyl Seal Tap

[JRTJH]

Originally Posted by KSH

Thanks guys. I've never bought anything off ebay. Do you have a link to that one? I want brass, but don't want white. Looks like i can't have that from jr

http://jrproducts.net/index.php/cata...20Connections/

Originally Posted by KSH

This the right stuff?

Dicor BT-1834-1 1/8" x 3/4" x 30' Butyl Seal Tap

To answer your questions:

I do not believe that JR Products (B&B) makes a brass valve city water connection in black. When all the trailer manufacturers changed to plastic body valves, they also stopped using brass fittings on their plumbing lines and started using a plastic "donut" washer/gasket type connection. If you have plastic compression fittings on the "trailer end that connects to the city water port" then you should not have any problems with leakage. Typically, the problem with leaks comes from trying to connect an older brass fitting to the newer plastic valve body. Essentially, you need to keep the two fittings the same: ie: Brass to brass or plastic to plastic. You can sometimes fit a plastic connector to a brass valve without leakage, but not a brass connector to a plastic valve. My guess is that since you have black components, your trailer is newer than about 2014. I'd almost bet that all of your connectors are plastic compression fittings and the "brass/plastic" is not a factor for your trailer. Brass fittings were eliminated on most applications in about 2008 or 2009 on most trailers.

The white components are still available to fit both the older style brass or the newer style plastic fittings, but the black components were never built with brass in the "open face black panel". The only brass fittings I've ever seen are in the panel with the locking door. That panel is not interchangeable since it's about 1" taller and 2" shorter than your panel.

The only black components I've found are all plastic. You might email JR Products and ask if they have them available. My guess is they'll tell you black brass city water connections without a door are not available.

Next, yes, the butyl putty tape is usually available at any RV repair/parts center. It comes in a roll and the 1/8" or 3/16" thickness in 3/4 or 1" width will work. If the gap is "wider than the putty, just double the thickness by applying two laps around the perimeter.

[KSH]

Thanks. I ordered 1 black one with the brass and door and white one to use as parts of necessary. My house inside is a plastic connector, so are you saying I'm better off with a plastic body instead of the brass?

[JRTJH]

I don't believe you will be able to fit the black panel with the door in the space you currently have on your trailer. If the panel photo that you posted in post #1 is your panel, then the size of that panel is not the same as the size of the locking door panel. You'll probably either have to mondify your trailer opening or not be able to use that panel.

As for your fitting being the plastic compression connector, you shouldn't have any problems with leakage.