Troubleshooting water flow issues

[crk112]

This season I've noticed a definite reduction in water flow, mostly in the bathroom (tub, sink, and toilet). Not terrible or unusable, but enough to know something has changed.

I've observed the issue both on the 12V pump and on city water.. full disclosure, yes I'm still using one of the no-no Camco "flow restrictors" but again, same issue exists with the 12V pump. Pump sometimes sounds like it's "working harder", much like it does when I'm pumping water into lines that still have air in them, but often it clears up after a bit. I've checked the filter screen going into the pump and haven't seen any obvious blockages. I don't suspect any leaks as I can have the 12V pump on for hours and never hear it "cycle" (with the faucets closed).


My home water spigot that I've been using to fill the fresh water tank is connected to hard water, so my top suspect is hard water deposits in the pipes, fittings, and fixtures. I haven't tested my exact water hardness, but my community seems to report a general hardness of around 18 grains per gallon (so quite high). In light of this issue I'll almost certainly re-plumb one of my spigots to soft water for camper filling.
(more full disclosure though, I use bleach solution to sanitize my water system at the start and end of each season before purging the lines, which I've already observed to be detrimental to the toilet seal)

I found reference elsewhere to making 1:1 vinegar & water solution, pumping it through, and letting it sit for 24-48 hours to help dissolve the hard water deposits. Is this a reasonable thing to attempt? If so, is this safe for my water heater and anode rod? (rod still has a LOT of life left)

Thank you to all!

[chuckster57]

I would start by removing the aerators on the faucets and looking at the screens. There is also a screen at the connection for the toilet.

[flybouy]

Like Chuck suggested soak the faucet aerator parts in a vinegar solution. What ratio of bleach solution did you ue to cause the seal failure?

[LHaven]

You may want to check to see if perhaps your cold faucets (and toilet) are running slow, while your hot faucets are still running fine.

I had a problem in my rig where sediment from the sacrificial anode was migrating out the cold water line from road motion, then plugging up screens and valve filters in cold fixtures. It seems there is no intake check valve to the water heater, the intake is on the bottom of the tank where the sediment can just drop out, and there is only a very short distance to where the tank's cold intake branches off from the bulk of the cold water system. (Rather detailed thread here.) Had to remove all faucets and clean -- cold water valves were all plugged up, hot water was entirely clean (because its feed is from the top of the tank). Solution was to switch to an aluminum anode, greatly reducing sediment in mineralized water conditions. Also bought a Sharkbite check valve to install if the syndrome returns regardless.

[Todd Burton]

The last campground we were at had a pressure reducer right on the the spigot, I had to take my pressure reducer off my hose to get better pressure in our camper.

[travelin texans]

Originally Posted by crk112

This season I've noticed a definite reduction in water flow, mostly in the bathroom (tub, sink, and toilet). Not terrible or unusable, but enough to know something has changed.

I've observed the issue both on the 12V pump and on city water.. full disclosure, yes I'm still using one of the no-no Camco "flow restrictors" but again, same issue exists with the 12V pump. Pump sometimes sounds like it's "working harder", much like it does when I'm pumping water into lines that still have air in them, but often it clears up after a bit. I've checked the filter screen going into the pump and haven't seen any obvious blockages. I don't suspect any leaks as I can have the 12V pump on for hours and never hear it "cycle" (with the faucets closed).


My home water spigot that I've been using to fill the fresh water tank is connected to hard water, so my top suspect is hard water deposits in the pipes, fittings, and fixtures. I haven't tested my exact water hardness, but my community seems to report a general hardness of around 18 grains per gallon (so quite high). In light of this issue I'll almost certainly re-plumb one of my spigots to soft water for camper filling.
(more full disclosure though, I use bleach solution to sanitize my water system at the start and end of each season before purging the lines, which I've already observed to be detrimental to the toilet seal)

I found reference elsewhere to making 1:1 vinegar & water solution, pumping it through, and letting it sit for 24-48 hours to help dissolve the hard water deposits. Is this a reasonable thing to attempt? If so, is this safe for my water heater and anode rod? (rod still has a LOT of life left)

Thank you to all!

Just FYI, there are a couple different brands of softeners for use on RVs that will supply the entire system with soft water.
Had the RV Pur 10000 connected to the incoming water source on our last rv that worked great, had to recharge every 30+/- days depending on the water supply with regular table salt.

[crk112]

Good info all, thanks so much for the input!

I took the aerators off the kitchen faucet (not pictured), the lavatory faucet, and also disassembled the hose going into the Oxygenetics shower head, and found black flaky gunk in all three along with some small white particles. After simply rinsing them off the flow is already back to what I'd expect on all three fixtures. I still plan to soak the aerators in vinegar and I'll be tackling the toilet today to find its screen (it's a Dometic 310).

The pump now is running "loud" all the time like it's struggling against something that won't clear. The input screen to the pump is still clear, so I'm still searching for more blockage.

I did see the RV water softeners at Camping World the other day and am very tempted to buy one. I might have better luck with that than replumbing my house spigot to the soft water side.

flybouy, you asked about the bleach solution.. My fresh tank is around 35 gallons (it'll overflow by 37-38), and my water heater is 6. I typically use half a cup of bleach and top off both these tanks before pumping the solution through. This spring I lost track of my tasks and wound up leaving the solution for two weeks before I remembered to get back in and rinse it out. After that water wouldn't stay in the bowl, although Vaseline across the seal seems to have corrected that at least temporarily.

[travelin texans]

Originally Posted by crk112

Good info all, thanks so much for the input!

I took the aerators off the kitchen faucet (not pictured), the lavatory faucet, and also disassembled the hose going into the Oxygenetics shower head, and found black flaky gunk in all three along with some small white particles. After simply rinsing them off the flow is already back to what I'd expect on all three fixtures. I still plan to soak the aerators in vinegar and I'll be tackling the toilet today to find its screen (it's a Dometic 310).

The pump now is running "loud" all the time like it's struggling against something that won't clear. The input screen to the pump is still clear, so I'm still searching for more blockage.

I did see the RV water softeners at Camping World the other day and am very tempted to buy one. I might have better luck with that than replumbing my house spigot to the soft water side.

flybouy, you asked about the bleach solution.. My fresh tank is around 35 gallons (it'll overflow by 37-38), and my water heater is 6. I typically use half a cup of bleach and top off both these tanks before pumping the solution through. This spring I lost track of my tasks and wound up leaving the solution for two weeks before I remembered to get back in and rinse it out. After that water wouldn't stay in the bowl, although Vaseline across the seal seems to have corrected that at least temporarily.

I'd recommend using "plumbers grease", found at most hardware stores, rather than Vaseline on the toilet seal or any other rubber seals. Petroleum products on rubber tends to destroy the rubber.

[LHaven]

Originally Posted by crk112

I did see the RV water softeners at Camping World the other day and am very tempted to buy one.

Keep in mind that "hard water" is only a subset of "mineralized water." Water softeners address only a few of the total dissolved solids your water system may have, but the remaining solids still cause anode wear and crystals on metal fixtures. I did this dance previously.

Before investing in an RV softener, invest $10-20 in a reliable electronic pen-size TDS water meter at Amazon and test TDS on both sides of your home softener to make sure an RV softener will address your problem.

I will say though that the black gunk looks like something quite different from my sediment problem. Is there any smell of sulfur?

[crk112]

Originally Posted by crk112

Pump sometimes sounds like it's "working harder", much like it does when I'm pumping water into lines that still have air in them.

Originally Posted by crk112

The pump now is running "loud" all the time like it's struggling against something that won't clear. The input screen to the pump is still clear, so I'm still searching for more blockage.

Lo and behold there was air in the lines Ran a bunch of air out the outdoor kitchen fixture and afterward I had a lot of air come out of the tub faucet too ... once I ran a gallon or so of water out of that it cleared out and the pump sounds normal again. Golly

Originally Posted by travelin texans

I'd recommend using "plumbers grease", found at most hardware stores, rather than Vaseline on the toilet seal or any other rubber seals. Petroleum products on rubber tends to destroy the rubber.

Thank goodness for this advice before I replaced the seal! Thank you!

Originally Posted by LHaven

Keep in mind that "hard water" is only a subset of "mineralized water." Water softeners address only a few of the total dissolved solids your water system may have, but the remaining solids still cause anode wear and crystals on metal fixtures. I did this dance previously.

Before investing in an RV softener, invest $10-20 in a reliable electronic pen-size TDS water meter at Amazon and test TDS on both sides of your home softener to make sure an RV softener will address your problem.

I will say though that the black gunk looks like something quite different from my sediment problem. Is there any smell of sulfur?

No smell of sulfur. The mysterious black gunk isn't something I could easily identify. (almost like tea leaves?) I have a hard time speculating what it is or where it came from.

I used the garden hose sprayer on JET to backspray into the water heater drain and got a LOT of white mineral sediment out, but nothing like the black gunk. I didn't note anything like that coming out of the fresh tank either when I drained it.

Upon closer inspection, replumbing that spigot to the home water softener will be a lot simpler than I originally though, so I might still go down that path instead. Especially since the softener has a bypass on it in case I need to use that spigot for yard/garden watering. (I don't even remember where I heard that soft water is bad for plants or lawns... my hastas all have hard water spots on them )


I know this is repeated a lot but it's fantastic to have this forum and all your experience to draw upon. Not to get too sappy but I want everyone to know how much you're appreciated. I'm four years in and still feel like a newbie sometimes... being able to bounce these things off you folks who have all been there before really takes a lot of stress out of dealing with issues I've not had to deal with before.

That said, THANK YOU for helping us newbies continue to have a great camping experience.

[TakingtheFifth]

Originally Posted by crk112

Lo and behold there was air in the lines

Upon closer inspection, replumbing that spigot to the home water softener will be a lot simpler than I originally though, so I might still go down that path instead. Especially since the softener has a bypass on it in case I need to use that spigot for yard/garden watering. (I don't even remember where I heard that soft water is bad for plants or lawns... my hastas all have hard water spots on them )

When I replumbed my spigot, I added some valves to allow me to select the type of water I needed-softened or hard. The valves are in my basement. It's nice to be able to wash my car with soft water as well, but when I water the lawn I'm not killing plants or using more salt.

Using the bypass on the water softener will affect the whole house (water heater, washing machine, etc) so that may not be a suitable solution for you.

[Meyers-Gaw]

I suspect those sediments we get in the fresh water system are consequences of mixing water from various sources. Though I use a carbon filter when I fill the FW Tank, I need to clean those sediments out of the aerators every year. And there is some when I empty the tank after trip. Occasionally grey/black, mostly white sometimes iron orange.

I am Very Protective of my water system, having experience providing potable water in the Army.

[flybouy]

Quick question, when you replace your carbon filter do you run water thru it before connecting to the trailer? I've seen them run black for several min. before flushing out the carbon dust.

[crk112]

I use the carbon filter any time I'm away from my home spigot but I didn't consider using it at home since my home water is already filtered.

I flush the black out of the filter before connecting the hose to it, but admittedly it's usually only 10-15 seconds. Seems like I'm flushing black out of it every time I hook it up.