No fresh water —Resolved!

Bayliss

I am resurrecting this particular discussion to share my recent experience with a blockage in the water line between my fresh water tank and the Shurflo pump.  I just completed a three-month trip (91 days, 18,700 miles, 7 Canadian provinces and 25 states....even rode out Hurricane Fiona in Nova Scotia.)  About three weeks into the trip, while in Quebec, our water pump, although running, stopped pumping water.  It was acting like there was air in the line and fluctuating between pumping small amounts or merely "sputtering" (like occurs when first priming the pump.)

The pump manufacturer (Pentair) suspected that either the pump needed to be opened up and the valves inside cleaned, or I had an air leak somewhere in the water line.  I had no water leaks anywhere and the pump was running (non-stop.)  I didn't want to take a chance trying to disassemble the pump in the middle of a long vacation, so I purchased and installed a new pump in Quebec.  No change.  I confirmed that the pump had 12V power and was properly pumping (from a bucket of water), so the pump was not the issue.

I did some more troubleshooting upon my return home this past week and discovered caulking inside the 12" fresh water intake line that attaches to the fresh water pump (strainer/filter side of the pump.)  That really surprised me.  I was anticipating plastic shavings, like others have found.  Turns out that there were plastic shavings too, but those were revealed when I subsequently tried sucking water through the same intake hose after removing the caulking.  Unfortunately, removing those blockages did not resolve the issue.  Therefore, there must be more caulking/shavings somewhere in the line between the fresh water tank and pump.  I have no idea where that is likely to be, but I plan to first check the connection at the water tank (and flush out the water tank before re-connecting the water line.)  But, before I can do that, I will need to obtain the proper connector and PEX crimp clamps.  If I don't find a blockage there, I will either removing each section of PEX along that line until I find the blockage, or replace the whole water line.  Ughhh!!

I believe that the caulking ended up in the fresh water tank due to nuCamp putting gobs of it in two locations of the fresh water fill inlet tube (see photos below.)  Something definitely was done wrong during the installation of that tube, because caulking should never have made its way inside the fresh water tank and/or water line.  [SIDE NOTE:  @ScottG has previously noted that the air vent tube connected between the fresh water inlet port and fresh water tank can become kinked, so I have included a photo of where that tube is routed under the sink in my trailer.  nuCamp secured that tube to larger PVC pipe using zip-ties, but pulled the ties so tight, that they actually restrict the air flow.  I plan to replace the ties and not make them so tight so that the air flows better (see photo.)]

REQUEST:  If any forum member(s) have ever looked at the fresh water fill tube connections on your trailer, can tell me whether caulking is present on yours?  I would appreciate knowing if this is/was a common practice by nuCamp, or if the installer for mine was trying to seal leak(s) at those connections rather than make a more secure attachment with the hose clamp.  Also, if anyone has had to replace all the PEX between the fresh water tank and the water pump, any advice you have would be helpful.  Thanks.  (Greg)

Fresh Water Inlet Hose - Caulking in Hose:



Caulking Removed From Hose:



Plastic Shavings Revealed After Trying to Suck Water Through the Same Hose.  Removal of these Obstructions has not Resolved the Inability to Pump Water from the Fresh Water Tank:



Fresh Water Inlet Hose in Compartment Behind the Toilet.  Red Arrow Shows Where I Discovered the Blockage.  The Yellow Area Shows the Caulking Around the Fresh Water Fill Inlet Tube.  Quite a Bit of Caulking Around that Connection:

 

Second Location of Caulking, Which is Where the Fresh Water Fill Tube is Attached to a PVC Pipe Under the Trailer Before it Continues on to the Fresh Water Tank.  The Blue Arrow Shows the Connection to the Tank that I Plan to Remove and Determine if it is Plugged at that Location.  The Fresh Water Line at that Location Sends Water to the Trailer Faucets, as Well as the Fresh Water Tank Drain Valve Adjacent to the Trailer Door Step:



Close-up of the Caulked Area Shown in the Previous Photograph:



Zip-Ties Securing Clear Air Vent Tube to PVC Pipe Under the Sink Cabinet Inside the Trailer.  (NOTE:  There is also a slight kink in this tube under the trailer where it goes though a hole that leads into the cabinet area, but it is not as restricted as these points appear to be.  You can see the tube and small hole it goes through in the photo above that has the blue arrow.):