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Old 10-24-2015, 06:34 AM   #1
sandy43
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Underbelly leak. Suggestions?

I've have a leak, I think coming from my fresh water tank when over filled. I found that when I hook up the water to the rv it's transferring water to my fresh water tank. When the tank is completely full water spills into the underbelly. Is their a valve of some sort that's suppose to correct this problem? All other fittings are ok. The leaking water builds up under the gray tank. I looked their first, even filled up the gray tank till it appeared in the shower, no leaks.

What suggestions would you have? If I knew for sure where the waters coming from, I feel I can fix it. I hope I explained this correctly. Thanks
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Old 10-24-2015, 07:38 AM   #2
JRTJH
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When filling the fresh water tank (FWT), have you noticed a vent on the side of your trailer where the overflow water discharges when the tank is full?

The FWT has a "vent/overflow" tube that should be vented to the trailer sidewall. On some "keep it clean and pretty" builds, the manufacturer may have installed the vent to port out the coroplast... If so, there should be a fitting to which the tube is connected.

The other end of that "vent/overflow" tube is attached to an opening near the top of the FWT. My guess would be that the tube is not clamped tightly onto that fitting.
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Old 10-24-2015, 07:43 AM   #3
Steve S
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Check the clamps on your vent tube, I once wasn't paying attention while fill up the water tank and the pressure blew one of the vent clamps off.
I had water leaking the same as you describe and did a little looking before I figured it out
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Old 10-24-2015, 09:39 AM   #4
sandy43
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I checked for overflow tube and can't find one. I do have a vent tube (for air flow) that's next to the fill tube (where you stick a water hose in) and it follows the fill tube all the way to the FWT.

All I'm able to see is the bottom of the FWT. The tank itself sits in a closed metal casing, at least on the sides and partial bottom. I can see where all the tubes going in and it looks ok. I'm plum stumped

As far as vent tube clamps, their tight and secure. If their is a problem with connectors at the top of the tank, I don't know how you could get to it without dropping the FWT. Thanks guys for responding.
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Old 10-24-2015, 10:25 AM   #5
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There is a check valve in the water-pump inlet that either has failed or has debris stuck in it. This will cause the city water connection to backfill and overflow the fresh water tank. This does not solve your vent location problem, but most likely is the cause of your leak. Look inside a cabinet that is closest to the city water connection or the water-pump compartment and follow the input line up as far as you can to locate the vent tube. (hopefully) Good luck and let us us know what you find, Hank ................ short term solution is to leave the FWT drain open so the tank does not fill and hope there are no water restrictions in your area.
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Old 10-24-2015, 12:13 PM   #6
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Check valve in the pump inlet, never thought of that. I'll tear into that tomorrow. When you say "cabinet that is closest to the city water connection", are you saying a cabinet in side the RV or the cabinet that all the hook-ups are located? Thanks
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Old 10-24-2015, 02:31 PM   #7
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This is quite interesting.

I own a 2008 Cougar Model 291RLS and have had AND STILL HAVE a problem with water leaking into my underbelly pan on occasion that neither I NOR A DEALER (who I asked to ‘look into it’ last month (September) have been able to find and remedy.

As a result, I have simply been careful when filling the fresh water tank – to avoid overfilling – when I leave for camping. (I always ‘leave’ with a full tank of fresh, city water).

FIRST: Here’s my ‘workaround’:

The fresh water tank in my Cougar holds 60 USG/227 Liters. My filling procedure:

1. I always drain the FWT to ensure it is completely empty, and replace the cap.

2. Then, I start and ‘run the hose’ for a few minutes to purge it.

3. Then I go down into the basement of my house and ‘NOTE’ THE READING ON THE WATER METER. (‘Dial Type’, one Full Sweep of the Meter’ is 100 Liters, each ‘tick’ is 1 liter).

4. I SHUT OFF the House’s Main Water Supply Valve.

5. I then put the hose into the water tank filler tube.

6. I then go back down into the basement, turn on the water and WATCH THE METER until I get the desired amount of water in. I generally UNDERFILL a bit - say put maybe 210 to 215 liters in.

7. As soon as I hit that target, I shut off the Main Water Valve.

8. Go outside, shut off the outside tape valve and remove the hose from the trailer filler inlet.

9. Go back down into the basement and turn the mouse main valve back on.

Anyway, that’s the workaround.

Background:

Back in September, I had the trailer in at a dealer to have some work done (‘squirrels’/wire damage, and I wanted to have some Horst Miracle Probes installed at the same time) and I asked them to test the Fresh Water Tank to see if they could find the/a source of a leak and fix it if found.

They tested and called me up and said ‘Nada. They could find nothing!’

So, I asked them to completely fill and test the GALLEY TANK as I seem to recall suspecting that I managed to get water to pool into the underbelly pan once when I filled the Galley tank until the water rose up into the galley sink.

So, they ‘tested’ and again replied, Nada!

Crap!

So, I got my trailer back.

Filled up the FWT FULL this time untilwater came out the overflow tube.

Checked: no problem with pooling.

Went/did my camping.

Came back.

Decided to winterize the trailer.

As part of that process, I decided to COMPLETELY FILL AND FLUSH all the tanks – Galley, Grey and Black.

Black and Grey – No Problem.

Filled the Galley Tank through the galley sink drain…

Tried to actually…

Did not seem to want to (come up through the sink drain)…

Stopped adding water.

Went outside and looked at underbelly pan.

BIG BULGE!

AND water leaking through a ¼” ‘emergency drain hole I had previously drilled in the underbelly pan at the lowest point of the bulge ‘long ago’ to allow drainage, just in case’…

Go figure.

Anyway, just thought I’d add my experiences here as I seem to have similar problem and don’t have an answer but MAYBE, if someone who understands what going on under there in the plumbing, they can come up with something that might help solve BOTH our problems.

Maybe you might want to try a Galley Tank Complete Fill Test and/to see if you might ‘duplicate’ my problem? Might help?
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Old 10-24-2015, 09:01 PM   #8
hankpage
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Quote:
Originally Posted by sandy43 View Post
Check valve in the pump inlet, never thought of that. I'll tear into that tomorrow. When you say "cabinet that is closest to the city water connection", are you saying a cabinet in side the RV or the cabinet that all the hook-ups are located? Thanks
I'm not sure how your unit is set up but you should be able to access the back side of the city water connection. On my Cougar the water pump is located under the fridge behind a removable panel. ( try not to laugh as you picture this) If I lay on my back and shimmy my head and one arm into that compartment with a flashlight - I can trace the vent tube up to where it connects to the fill port with a hose clamp. After trying to tighten that clamp in that contorted position I realized I could remove a few screws on the outside of the water connections and gently pull it away enough to tighten the clamp .... butyl tape and replace the screws ... no more leak inside from the top of the vent tube when tank is full. .... I do not have a utility compartment , my connections are mounted right on the outside skin. Hope this helps, Hank
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Old 10-26-2015, 05:34 PM   #9
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I finally discovered my problem. I made a complete schematic of the water/plumbing system. After learning what went where, I injected some blue food dye in the winterize hole (antifreeze hole). It settled about 18" from the pump intake. I then hooked up the city water connection and watched as the blue dye slowly went into the pump intake and continued to the FWT. Bingo, I found the problem. The check valve didn't hold. Hank led me in the right direction, Thanks.

I did not dig into the pump to repair or replace. It's a Shurflo pump and looks rather complicated. When the test light says it's getting close to full, I turn the outlet valve (under the trailer) and let some out. It took about 5 days with city water pressure to fill the FWT.

It might be easier to re-place the pump than repair it. I have to look into that. Many thanks to everyone.
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