Uh-oh...

... the floor is wet!

 

I had a losing battle with the park water supply. I couldn't believe it was low- ultimately I discovered it was set to 10 psi instead of something higher than about 40 psi. After all doesn't Camping World and (at half the price!) Walmart make a lot of money selling regulators so we don't put more than 40 psi city water pressure inside the coach?

The water pump and a lot of plumbing parts seem to live under the jack knife sofa along with the 50 gal fresh water tank. I saw a couple valves attached to the tank and discovered there was a supply shutoff valve and a low point drain valve. For whatever stupid reason I left the drain open (it's for emptying the tank) then went outside and checked something. I saw water pouring out thru sloppily bonded fiberglass covering forward of the black tank. Sort of pouring out but it's not a clear path and seems to get deflected on the way toward the ground. Back inside and close the &^%$ drain!

I spotted a strainer under the sofa which was installed between the water tank supply line and the water pump. So I undid the twist-lock top and found myself holding a fistful of plastic curls and chips. This loose plastic debris was from drilling the fresh water tank (nice job Thor- wish I could get away with not cleaning up my mess) wasn't blocking anything... just added to the surface area of the strainer.

While I was admiring my clever deduction of the strainer not being blocked (still ignoring the obvious that the park water pressure was set low) I saw water was accumulating under the sofa at an alarming rate. Well, duh... the fresh water tank was draining into the coach while the strainer cap was off. "Think that might be a clue, dude?!"

I shut off the water supply (much akin to 'closing the barn door after the horse is gone') and got the cap back on the strainer. With the system closed up again I opened the water tank supply line and with the water pump power on, water was accumulating at the same alarming rate. Uh-oh. Mrs. Bowman's little boy may well have broken something. 

And now the water pump was cycling every minute or so- in this instance cycling means that the pressure in the line from the pump outlet to the valves (2 sinks + shower + outside shower) and to the water heater to the same 4 valves is decaying while all those valves are closed. With the fresh water pump turned on, the system was no longer able to maintain pressure so the pump was cycling. That can happen cuz of-

• a leak downstream of the pressure side of the pump, or...
• debris in the outlet check valve of the pump allowing water to bleed back toward the tank, or...
  
• maybe (please be right!!) it was just accumulated water creeping out of whatever low spot it had settled and was gradually flowing out toward the bathroom wall and then toward the bathroom door. Yeah, right.
  

2 days later water was still accumulating on the floor at the bathroom door - any thought it was water that had accumulated when I had things open when I cleared the strainer kinda went out the window. 

The strainer had done a stand-up job protecting the pump for something like 5 years, so my first guess is a leak... entirely possible with me poking around in there disturbing Tut's Sacred Tomb. Or (perhaps the easiest repair) it could be a failed check valve on the water pump from the plastic debris I had disturbed. 

I proposed bailing out of Rose Valley RV Ranch and getting someone competent to get into impossible positions to find what I now assume is a leak or maybe a water pump with a leaky check valve. The Admiral extracted a promise that once repairs were done we'd get out of Benson again. So Saturday before noon we stowed everything and fired up the Vegas for the drive back to Benson. 

As we were about to leave I called our friends at Lightning Fast RV Repair (Dave Thompson and I studied different curricula but at the same school in Inglewood, CA about 2,000 years ago; I suspect he was there about 15 years after me). I left a plea for help and got a call the next day saying they'd have Tim-the-fixer over late Tuesday morning to get things looked at.

Now we get to the interesting part: as we drove back toward Lordsburgh and then on I-10W to Benson we noticed the floor was dry for the first time in days. Yeah, we kept the pump off except when we needed water pressure for the toilet or basin, so it may be that it was accumulated water after all. Or it may be that there is a real leak on the pressure side of the pump and it wasn't on long enough during the drive back to bleed enough water to seep out onto the floor. Dunno.

Whatever, Tim will take a look and we'll go from there. 

We'll also ask him to repair the flip-up counter extension I damaged when I stepped into air at the door and ripped it partially loose to keep myself from falling down the rabbit hole. Oops. And yes, the Admiral had said before we left "we need a temporary floor we can set over the well of the steps so we don't fall". I know! I know! The first rule of being the Captain is "always do what the Admiral says!"

And I neglected to mention- the Rose Valley park's water supply at the site has really good flow rate but only at 10 psi. Apparently they expect us to connect the water to the RV's city water connection and use the RV's water pump to get usable pressure. Good plan except when the city water line is plumbed separately and doesn't go thru the pump to avoid damaging the pumps check valve... which of course won't be damaged by the low 10 psi water line. All very circular which happens when people are following different rule books.