Replacing the Soft Hose in a 315RLTS

[Cate&Rob]

howson
Hey Howard,
You forgot the solenoid valve on the water inlet .
Rob

[howson]

howsonYou forgot the solenoid valve on the water inlet

You're killin' me, Rob. Add the "missing" automated cutoff valve on the tank overflow line, an accumulator, and a mount for the water filter.

But not this time around...I've already tackled a bit more than I than I anticipated.

[steve&renee]

tackled a bit more...

Actually, you've earned a spot in Ripley's. Amazing stuff, Howard. Thank you for what you can do and share.

-Steve

[howson]

The Nautilus is in and, to my complete amazement, no leaks anywhere. Proves beyond any doubt that pex compression fittings are "dummy proof".

Water flow inside the camper was strong at all the faucets and shower.

Note to self: fresh water doesn't flow into the hot water tank if you have the new valve installed turned to "off". (Oops.)

Tested the fresh water drain (works great), and all the valves on the exterior work, too, with no issues (so far).

Only head-scratcher was the solid white wire going into the water pump switch on the Nautilus. Unlike almost every other solid white wire on the camper, it is *not* a ground. The wire is part of the 3-way circuit since the pump can be turned on at the Nautilus or inside the camper on the main control panel. Once it dawned on me what that white wire was (I'd taken copious pictures so I knew how it was previously configured) everything went together and worked with no issues.

The system is currently pressurized from the water pump and it is going to stay like this for an extended period (probably all night). It *should* hold the pressure--we'll see how it goes.

Some pics:







Still have some minor cleanup work to do and still want to figure out something with that exterior faucet. I'll update the pressure test tomorrow.

Howard

[steve&renee]

My background is in software. If I were reviewing your work, I'd call that some clean coding. Very impressive. Thumbs up!

-Steve

[StephenO]

The Nautilus is in and, to my complete amazement, no leaks anywhere. Proves beyond any doubt that pex compression fittings are "dummy proof".

Water flow inside the camper was strong at all the faucets and shower.

Note to self: fresh water doesn't flow into the hot water tank if you have the new valve installed turned to "off". (Oops.)

Tested the fresh water drain (works great), and all the valves on the exterior work, too, with no issues (so far).

Only head-scratcher was the solid white wire going into the water pump switch on the Nautilus. Unlike almost every other solid white wire on the camper, it is *not* a ground. The wire is part of the 3-way circuit since the pump can be turned on at the Nautilus or inside the camper on the main control panel. Once it dawned on me what that white wire was (I'd taken copious pictures so I knew how it was previously configured) everything went together and worked with no issues.

The system is currently pressurized from the water pump and it is going to stay like this for an extended period (probably all night). It *should* hold the pressure--we'll see how it goes.

Some pics:
...

Still have some minor cleanup work to do and still want to figure out something with that exterior faucet. I'll update the pressure test tomorrow.

Howard

Well done sir! How nervous were you when you turned on the water for the first time ? Hahaha. Again, amazing work, you are an inspiration for sure!

[howson]

How nervous were you when you turned on the water for the first time ?

Extremely nervous. Ran around checking all the connections like I was a dog sniffing out a mouse. I'd also put my fingers on every single crimp from the kitchen (where I started) to the myriad connections on the Nautilus before cranking up the water pressure.

I'm happy to report it's been over six hours and the pressure gauge still shows 38 psi--exactly where I left it (system pressurized by the water pump).

[howson]

Just a quick note to acknowledge my fellow moderator, Cate&Rob , as 99% of the improvements shown in this thread were "stolen" or are a direct derivative of Rob's original work and ideas. So...thank you, Mr. Farrow!

Howard

[ncitro]

Just a quick note to acknowledge my fellow moderator, Cate&Rob , as 99% of the improvements shown in this thread were "stolen" or are a direct derivative of Rob's original work and ideas. So...thank you, Mr. Farrow!

Howard

Great work! The pressure gauge is good for a lot of things, but one thing I like it most for is seeing if I have a leak. Within reason, it should sit at that pressure for a long time.

[howson]

Last post (I hope) in this thread as today I finished up with all the work associated with the soft hose replacement.

The primary last task was insulating the lines. I did this for chaffing protection as well as protection from cold weather (though I never intend on being anywhere cold!) and also to stop the propagation of heat from the hot water lines into the interior of the camper. Between insulating the hot water lines and insulating the very large hole in the floor near the hot water tank, I expect the closet area to radiate a lot less of the ambient outside temperature through this area near the bed.




I used gorilla tape from underneath to seal the hole in the floor around all the pipes and ducting, then stuffed insulation in the hole from the top. As you can also see (almost) all the lines in this area are insulated with sleeves, too. ("Frost King" sleeves from Lowes with the self-sealing sides works quite well. Peel off the yellow tape and the pipe sticks together firmly.)



Underneath the camper, underneath the Nautlius Panel:



Near the water tank. The uninsulated blue line is the water tank overflow/vent line. No need to insulate that line as it will rarely (if ever) hold water.



As always, if I find there are unintended consequences (a fancy way of saying something went wrong after-the-fact) I'll update this post with the news. For readers of this thread, this mod was completed 12 Jun 2020. I've done multiple days of testing in my driveway, but the trailer hasn't been on the road (yet) so time will tell.

Howard

[steve&renee]

ncitro and steve&renee ,
That's why on aircraft all the "stuff" crew chiefs have to remember to remove (or install) has one of these:



Both switches for the pump will likely have a piece of velcro attached above the frame of the switch to allow a VENT sign to attach. When the vent is open the sign will be reversed so the switch is available.

I don't trust myself to remember.

Engineering an automated process is a much better solution. Get busy and figure one out that I can steal...um...I mean copy.

We just got back from a week on the road. I am *so* glad you posted this idea. I mounted something similar next to my leveling jack control box, and I didn't forget the vent valve once on the entire trip. Thank you, Mr. Wilson.





-Steve

[bogen2]

Water Heater / Shower / Sink Soft Hose (Not Complete!)

Before and after near the water heater. I replaced the check valve with a brass one while I was working in this area.

Again, this is not done as I ran out of crimps so there are lines still disconnected. Note I added a shutoff to the water heater input, too.

Hard to see in this picture, but what I also did was fashion a male-to-male connection from the water heater cold water inlet to the pex line (with a female adapter attached). This makes it possible to remove all the lines without cutting anything out.

howson, I am getting ready to rebuild my plumbing by removing the soft hose too - still gathering parts and ideas. I notice that the new replacement check valve you used is brass instead of plastic. I had heard that you don't want to use dissimilar metals (brass and aluminum?) in the fittings for some reason. I am using all brass fittings for my rebuild, but now I'm thinking I should be using plastic fittings for the water heater. I would rather use all brass fittings, but don't want to make an error that might cause problems down the road.

I am also thinking of removing the check valve entirely, as I understand it is just to prevent antifreeze entering the tank when winterizing. I am going to install cutoff valves on both the cold and hot connections for winterizing so I don't think I need the check valve?

I want to use female swivel fittings on both the hot and cold as you have done to make it easy to disconnect if needed. I was going to make male-to-male connectors as you have done, but wonder if perhaps using plastic (or brass) nipple fittings in the female fittings on the tank might be a better choice. Then I can just attach the swivels directly to the tank, much like the way the original check valve is connected.

I would love to hear thoughts from people with experience or more plumbing knowledge than I have (which isn't much )

Thanks.

Bob

[howson]

howson, I am getting ready to rebuild my plumbing by removing the soft hose too - still gathering parts and ideas. I notice that the new replacement check valve you used is brass instead of plastic. I had heard that you don't want to use dissimilar metals (brass and aluminum?) in the fittings for some reason. I am using all brass fittings for my rebuild, but now I'm thinking I should be using plastic fittings for the water heater. I would rather use all brass fittings, but don't want to make an error that might cause problems down the road.

I am also thinking of removing the check valve entirely, as I understand it is just to prevent antifreeze entering the tank when winterizing. I am going to install cutoff valves on both the cold and hot connections for winterizing so I don't think I need the check valve?

I want to use female swivel fittings on both the hot and cold as you have done to make it easy to disconnect if needed. I was going to make male-to-male connectors as you have done, but wonder if perhaps using plastic (or brass) nipple fittings in the female fittings on the tank might be a better choice. Then I can just attach the swivels directly to the tank, much like the way the original check valve is connected.

I would love to hear thoughts from people with experience or more plumbing knowledge than I have (which isn't much )

Thanks.

Bob

I'm about as far from an expert as one can get when it comes to plumbing, so for specific advice I'll leave that to others.

For the brass check valve...time will tell. The T&P valve is brass and I've never read a good explanation why that is OK and all the other brass fittings are not. When I dig into this area to change the water leak alarm's battery (next year) I might just take off the valve and do an inspection. I'll try to remember, anyway, and will post an update.

[Schiefswret]

Replacing the soft hose in my rig's plumbing is the next "down under" project while the coroplast is down...

Howard (or anyone who may know), do you know if any 2020 or 21 GD models have replaced the soft hoses with the type in this post at the manufacturing point?

[Country Campers]

Schiefswret

I have not heard or seen that GD has stopped using the soft hose in their units , I along with plenty of others wish that they would. On the other side of the soft hose we have not experienced any failures as of yet. This may go with the "not if it happens but when it happens" logic , but I am keeping an eye on it.

Brian