Vinyl Hose Connections

[bellis]

bellis You will want to begin looking at all vinyl hose to pex connections as they are not secure. Initially I didn't think I had vinyl hose in my Imagine (other than at the pump) where I discovered its hidden behind a panel in the furnace/sink area and connected to a pex fitting under the rig. This past week while camping with some wonderful Grand Design owners in PA, a hose under the floor blew and sure enough, it pulled off the pex fitting. While I do not have an issue with a properly specified vinyl hose, I do have an issue with the vinyl hose clamped onto a pex fitting versus a more aggressive barbed fitting that should be used with vinyl. Rob from Cate & Rob has outlined this extensively so no need to go into great detail.
I pulled the rig to my parents place in Ohio and extended the PEX to above the floor and under the furnace area to install shutoff valves with pex on one side and a barbed fitting on the other to properly attach the vinyl hose.

Anyway, a much needed mod which if the RV industry did this right would not be necessary.

FYI: The vinyl hose that is in my Imagine is specified to operate at up to 150 psi.

Jim

Jim: I recreated your post under plumbing for more discussion.

I took a couple pics....I didn't know those hoses were vinyl. I assume the white, red/white, and blue/white hoses in my picture are all vinyl?



Here is a shot of under the kitchen sink. At the very bottom...is that the connection that blew for you?

[Guest]

Jim: I recreated your post under plumbing for more discussion.

I took a couple pics....I didn't know those hoses were vinyl. I assume the white, red/white, and blue/white hoses in my picture are all vinyl?



Here is a shot of under the kitchen sink. At the very bottom...is that the connection that blew for you?

There is no vinyl hose behind my docking station but there is below the floor to connect to the docking station. Also the connection that blew was below the floor under the furnace/kitchen sink area. No vinyl at my hot water tank above the floor as well.

This hose is vinyl and is appropriate for potable water. We need to be careful what we are replacing where it must be suitable to carry water for consumption. Another sad finding was removing the panel at my furnace area which was stapled in place rather than screwed in.

Jim

[Jlawles2]

bellis The white with colored checkering hoses are Vinyl. The solid colored hoses are PEX (from what I can tell). There are some solid colored hoses that are Vinyl which are easily identified as the outer surface is shiny and you can see the checkering from the string reinforcing on them. I also think the inside is a white or at least a different color than the outside where PEX is a uniform color throughout the wall thickness.

[TedS]

The blue hose is reinforce polyvinyl.

[bellis]

I recognize the pex....not sure I love that they have compression type fittings on them. Would much prefer a sharkbite or something that I know is going to hold up. Looks like I have vinyl hoses everywhere!

[Jlawles2]

bellis The shark bite are know to release over time without notice. For the clamps Rob (Cate&Rob) has completely replumbed his 303 using them with great success.

[ThePowells]

I recognize the pex....not sure I love that they have compression type fittings on them. Would much prefer a sharkbite or something that I know is going to hold up. Looks like I have vinyl hoses everywhere!

Kinda like this?

[bellis]

bellis The shark bite are know to release over time without notice. For the clamps Rob (Cate&Rob) has completely replumbed his 303 using them with great success.

Can you link the thread were they replumbed everything? I can't imagine. Sounds like a huge pain!

[Jlawles2]

bellis here's what I found. https://gdrvowners.com/forum/operati...lection-303rls

[Guest]

There is nothing wrong with a properly installed vinyl hose of the proper specification. When I purchased the PEX clamps at a Jayco dealer they told me they have about a 15% failure rate on the improper PEX to Vinyl hose connections where they mentioned this is the RV standard. A perfect case of everyone is doing it wrong so it must be ok.

Two corrections are needed to really be a leader in quality.
1) Use the proper barbed fitting with screw clamps on vinyl hose
2) A factory installed high quality regulator into the docking station to provide protection on the city water side

Jim

[bellis]

bellis here's what I found. https://gdrvowners.com/forum/operati...lection-303rls

Thanks!

There is nothing wrong with a properly installed vinyl hose of the proper specification. When I purchased the PEX clamps at a Jayco dealer they told me they have about a 15% failure rate on the improper PEX to Vinyl hose connections where they mentioned this is the RV standard. A perfect case of everyone is doing it wrong so it must be ok.

Two corrections are needed to really be a leader in quality.
1) Use the proper barbed fitting with screw clamps on vinyl hose
2) A factory installed high quality regulator into the docking station to provide protection on the city water side

Jim

Ya, I have a regulator I put out near the water connection myself. Just like an EMS or surge protector on the power side....I don't see the RV industry putting these in standard.....they should....everyone needs one....but they are trying to keep prices "down". For those of us who use them....if the RV industry would do it....the economy of scale and buying power alone would probably get it to use cheaper (built into the cost of the RV) than us buying it ourselves at MSRP.

I'm still chewing on this....or perhaps I just have too many mods running on our rig at the moment /smile Either that or try to bribe Cate&Rob....how much to work on an imagine?

[Cate&Rob]

bellis

There is much folklore in the world of RVs . . . the value of an inlet water pressure regulator is one of these things. Once the water passes the inlet check valve, the inlet pressure regulator has no affect. In the usual process of connecting the water hose and then turning on the water heater, a system water pressure gauge will show a pressure rise due to water heating of beyond 70 psi. If the air cushion in the water heater has been absorbed into the water, the pressure relief valve will often pop open . . . this happens at 140 psi.

Other than protecting the inlet hose from the very unusual situation of high campground water pressure, the pressure regulator is doing nothing for the RV. For those who put the pressure regulator at the RV end of the hose, it is doing absolutely nothing other than adding a flow restriction.

Rob

[Guest]

Rob,
Regulators and check valves are installed in homes where the regulator is not located at the street. A similar approach would work in an RV.

Jim

[Cate&Rob]

Rob,
Regulators and check valves are installed in homes where the regulator is not located at the street. A similar approach would work in an RV.

Jim

If a home has a check valve on the incoming line, it will also have an accumulator tank to absorb water expansion from heating. The same thing will work in an RV. After I installed the accumulator tank, I can see on the system pressure gauge that pressure increase due to water heating is now minimal.

Rob

[Guest]

If a home has a check valve on the incoming line, it will also have an accumulator tank to absorb water expansion from heating. The same thing will work in an RV. After I installed the accumulator tank, I can see on the system pressure gauge that pressure increase due to water heating is now minimal.

Rob

I certainly agree Rob. I'm planning on installing the accumulator tank as well. Another item that would help to protect a rig and which also should be included in the build. Before adding glamor items, a rig should be built to be problem free where modeling the home in certain systems would be ideal.

Jim