Help! 320S Boondock Edge water leak!

AskingForAFriend

Hello Everyone!  
I have a question about a “new to me” Tab 320S Boondock Edge, and this is my first time posting on this forum, so please be patient with me…I sanitized and flushed the freshwater tank without any apparent issues.  Then I attached a hose to the city water inlet (using a water pressure regulator), and turned on the hot water tap in order to fill the boiler in the Alde system. I flushed this once, then filled it again.  I then filled my freshwater tank (using the fresh tank fill port, not the city water port). The next morning, there was a fairly large amount of water (about a quart) which had drained onto the driveway behind the driver’s side tire. I crawled under the trailer, and it appears the water was coming from the largest black drain tube behind the driver’s side tire. There are 5 drain tubes in this location, and only the large one (circled in red in the photo) was wet.

I think this is the drain for the pressure relief valve.  I believe the other drains are hot and cold water line drains (yellow arrows), glycol drain (blue), and the boiler drain (green). I’m wondering if anyone with a similar rig can confirm if I have identified these correctly, and if anyone might have an idea why water discharged from the pressure relief drain line? Is it anything I have to worry about? Thank you for any help you can offer…

AskingForAFriend

Forgot to mention that this is a 2019 320S Boondock Edge!

pthomas745

All of these drains in the years before the Nautilus were "gravity drains".  Wherever the little "spout" is...the physical drain valve is directly above it, in 90 percent of the cases. So, if you go into your Alde compartment, you will be able to see what valve is above what "spout".

So, go in there and look.  I'm guessing the two white "spouts" are the hot and cold low point drains.

The red plug is your glycol drain, which you should not mess with until you drain your glycol.

The "green" arrow points to your Famous Yellow Flapper Valve, which is the pressure relief valve for the plumbing and drains the Alde tank.

The Red Plug: When you look inside the Alde compartment, the "plug" in the floor will have two clear tubes and one black tube. 

The black tube comes from the Alde Auto Air Bleed Valve. If the bleed valve fails, it can eject Alde glycol through that tube and under the trailer.

One clear tube comes from a red valve fitting on the side of the Alde.  The valve is designed to open when you drain the Alde tank, to prevent a vacuum that would prevent the tank from draining.  It "might" be possible for some condensation to form in this line.

The other clear tube is the Alde expansion tank "overflow".  If the Alde tank sloshes around while in transit, etc, glycol can escape the tank and out of this tube.  Some glycol in this tube is normal.

So, the black tube could be wet from condensation, but you really should check the other valves in the Alde compartment to make sure they are closed.

Picture below of my 2017, showing the closed valves.

And, welcome to the Forums!

Bayliss

@AskingForAFriend, I have a 2019 320 S Boondock Lite.  To complement the information and photograph provided by @pthomas745, the below photo may help you.  It identifies the location of those drains, both above and below the floor.

Based on your description of where the water puddle was located, it would not seem that the source was the Safety/Drain valve (yellow flapper) for the hot water tank, which is the green arrow in your photo.  That could open if there was too much pressure, but that can probably be ruled out since you used a pressure regulator when you filled the Alde tank and pressurized the water lines.

However, if you suspect that the Safety/Drain valve drain may be the source of the water you observed on the ground, it is possible that the Safety/Drain valve is defective, or failing, and may need to be replaced.  But, before considering that, I would recommend opening and closing the yellow flapper valve a few times, basically to "exercise" it.  It could just be that a gasket/seal inside that valve did not seat properly the last time it was opened, thus causing a minor leak.  Sometimes, just opening and closing the valve a few times can fix that.

I am assuming that you did not turn on the Alde and heat the water tank.  Is that accurate?  I ask, because if you heated the water, the Safety/Drain valve may have opened to relieve pressure in the tank.  Again, opening and closing the yellow flapper may solve the leak issue.

AskingForAFriend

Thank you pthomas745! I realized after i sent the first message that I had neglected to include it is a 2019 320S Boondock Edge. Here is a picture of the Alde compartment.

For ease of reference, I am resending the picture I originally sent:

I am quite certain that the fluid which drained out was water.  It didn’t have the slick, oily feel of glycol, and it evaporated completely from the cement driveway, without leaving any stain or residue.  
I agree with you that the yellow arrows in my picture point to the hot and cold water drain lines.  And the blue arrow points to the red capped glycol drain line. The green arrow in my photo points to a drain which appears to connect to the line with the flapper valve, which I thought was the drain valve for the boiler?  When I raise/open the yellow flapper valve, water releases from this line.
 I do see the plug inside the Alde compartment which has two clear tubes and one black tube running through it.  The plug is black, not red, but I can see two clear tubes and one black tube running up to it, and it appears to line up with the large black spout on the underside of the camper, where I believe the mystery water discharged from.  

Inside the Alde compartment, there is a brass colored fitting on the side of the Alde system, which my manual says is an Automatic Air Vent. It gives rise to the black tube which joins the two clear tubes and exits through the plug in the floor. One of the clear tubes is clearly the overflow tube for the glycol reservoir.  The other clear tube is connected to a white plastic Christmas tree shaped attachment on the side of the Alde unit, which my manual identifies as an Automatic Check Valve.
At this point I am thinking that the discharge of mystery fluid/water may be an issue with the check valve failing.

Sharon_is_SAM

So the Automatic Check Valve / Non-Return Valve let’s air into the boiler to allow for emptying.  IIRC, we see water in that line from time to time, but, AFAIK, the valve is intact.

AskingForAFriend

Thank You, Sharon_is_SAM! That makes sense!