On the road>>hot water spewing out the bottom of T@B400! now no hot water

krsmes
krsmes Member Posts: 88
edited March 2022 in Heating/Plumbing & Winterizing
We've been on the road since Nov 2021 (currently Mar 2022) in our 2021 T@B400.

Today we pulled in to Dead Horse State Park in Utah and we got all setup, dry camping, and I turned the water pump on and water started spewing out one of the overflow drains under the trailer.

Flipping valves on the Nautilus I quickly discovered that shutting the red switch stopped the water flow.

Being intimately familiar with every part of this trailer (including the ALDE system after the leaks/transfer fluid corrosion issues) over the past 15 months with it I immediately started tearing things apart looking for a cause.


What I found is this tee here on the ALDE Flow is where the water was coming from.  When the red switch is open and the pump is on water just flows right through this clear tube and dumps below the trailer.

So I took it off to look at it...


Digging further I see the same tee/valve contraption on the ALDE system itself, so I take it off too...


And looking inside you can see what is wrong:

The top one in my hand is the functional one (tested via blowing through it and blocking the exit) from the ALDE System side and the bottom one from the ALDE Flow side is the one that is allowing water to just flow out the top.

I'll be contacting nuCamp and or Truman to see if there is a way to get these overnighted to Moab Utah -- it really sucks to be in the cold with no hot water.  

Fortunately with that bypass switch I have water, and the ALDE is working fine so I have heat.  But I wasted a couple gallons of water trying to figure out what was wrong and there is no water available here.

I'm curious if there is a hack to temporarily solve this... what is the risk in blocking the exit port on the tee?


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Comments

  • Sharon_is_SAM
    Sharon_is_SAM Member Posts: 10,061
    edited March 2022
    That is the automatic check valve that allows air to enter the tank which prevents a vacuum as the tank empties.  Not sure how blocking it would effect the forward flow of water from the Flow into the Alde tank.

    Someone recently bypassed their Flow tank which may be an option until you can replace the check valve.  







    Sharon / 2017 T@B CSS / 2015 Toyota Sienna Minivan / Westlake, Ohio
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  • tabiphile
    tabiphile Member Posts: 470
    Hack...perhaps. You could try to replace the O-ring that is missing from the top fitting. Most hardware shops will offer a variety of O-ring sizes in their plumbing section or in their specialty item hardware bins. If you are willing to extract the O-ring from the good fitting you can measure it with verniers to determine ID/OD and thickness. If you are reluctant to potentially damage the good fitting you might use trial and error to figure out a fit. You may not be able to get the exact size, but anything close should create a seal, as long as it is not too small. 
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  • krsmes
    krsmes Member Posts: 88
    tabiphile said:
    try to replace the O-ring that is missing from the top fitting
    The top one is the functional one.
    The bottom one is missing a ball and a piece to hold the ball.
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  • krsmes
    krsmes Member Posts: 88
    Sharon_is_SAM said:
    That is the automatic check valve that allows air to enter the tank which prevents a vacuum as the tank empties.  Not sure how blocking it would effect the forward flow of water from the Flow into the Alde tank.


    thanks, this is helpful knowing the function of this part
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  • krsmes
    krsmes Member Posts: 88
    edited March 2022
    Replacement check-valves should be at the Moab post office on Saturday.  I'll post an update with pics after I install them.

    I tried to hack a solution to close off the air intake after learning it wasn't a safety value... but the water pressure was too high.  

    The way the value works is it has a little ball about the size of bb that presses up against the o-ring (visible in the one picture above) when there is water pressure.  It is held in place with a little plastic flap when there is no water pressure and lets air in through the top opening. 

    The broken one had no flap or ball left in it (somewhere in the water system now?) so water just shot out the top when turned on.

    This is a unique part to Truma/ALDE... it would take at least three other parts plus some tubing to make up this function (a 10mm tee, a check valve, and 10mm to 1/2in or 12mm? adapter) -- none of which are readily available.

    https://www.alde.us/our-products/domestic-hot-water-connection/
    (½" number 3010571)



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