City Water Valve Blowout

First trip last week using water. Water tank full using trailer pump - nothing hooked up to the city water connection. Pop goes the valve - screen with rubber gasket gone/ nowhere to be found. Spring/check valve found about 10' from the trailer. The same thing happened at home while checking the water system out but all parts were found. Any solution to this ? I called the dealer that day and the "regular" parts guy was not there---"All the ones we carry are made of brass and are about $35, we'll be glad to ship you one out." Thanks but no thanks! I'm calling back Monday to reach out to the "regular" guy. Is there another issue here or is it the seemingly cheap plastic valve at work? We finished our trip by finding another hose washer to stuff in the city water connection and use the city water with no problems.

Same thing happened to us last year -- seems that this is a common problem. Our dealer shipped us out a replacement brass valve at no charge. Good luck!

Here you go, about $15 and high quality: http://www.mcmaster.com/#brass-check-valves/=7xojdv

John

We replace our plastic city-fill port with a nice brass unit. A garden hose ball valve or a test plug, will get you by too.

Well, so much for my "local" dealer taking care of me. Talked to service and he told me just to drop off the old one and they would give me a new one. The old one has to be sent back to the manufacturer. 2 1/2 hr away I told him---guess I'll just buy one myself. He was perfectly content with that response. I asked of a better valve available and was told this plastic valve was the industry standard-- not a mention of the brass ones in stock I was told of. That warm fuzzy local dealer hype is quickly waning. A $1 plastic valve sent back to the manufacturer? Not worth the postage. I truly think if I had bought the unit out of state I would have gotten a better response. I will be talking to my salesman Tues. to let him know my opinion of this situation. I talked to Heartland CS and was told to bring the unit in to my local Brand X dealer to see if it is under warranty. Reasonable request but not worth it ---drag it to the dealer, have them look at it on their schedule, get approval to replace parts from Heartland......... for a 2 min. fix I can easily do. I've already renailed sagging/loose trim pieces, applied some foam pipe insulation on the water lines in hopes of reducing the annoying drone which resonates through the frame throughout the trailer while the pump is on, replaced the self tappers on the stabilizer jacks which seem to shear off flush with the frame with real hardware. I've spent a few bucks of my own and spent a FEW MORE to buy this unit new in Feb 2010. Two three day local trips(within 45 min.) under our belt. I distinctly remember my salesman pitching what an advantage it is to buy local. I noticed today there is about a 1/4" gap between the bath sink and the outside wall which was not there when new. Probably another thing not worth worrying about..... Jack, thanks for the McMaster find! Decent price and they are not known for "discount" pricing. I've ordered from them before--quick shipping.

When mine went out I called Heartland CS and told them I would put the new one on and they just sent me the new piece, no questions asked. Not a big deal to replace the old one.

I would go with the brass one if you are going to the trouble of replacing it. A lot of people on this board have had their OEM plastic check valve fail. Why replace a broken part with one that almost certainly has the same destiny?

McMaster has good pricing on most of their parts and sundries. Some of the more sophiscated products do tend to be priced a little higher than you can find elsewhere. The best thing about McMaster is they have nearly everything in stock and you get it the next day. Just as importantly, their products are all high quality. You don't have to worry about Chinese junk.

John

Are we talking about the innards or the outards on the city water fitting? I had to go out and look at mine. The housing is brass behind the UDC wall, not plastic.

I though we were talking about the city water inlet check valve. My check valve behind the UDC on the city water inlet was also brass. I figured I just got lucky with my unit as many people have reported that their plastic check valve blew apart. Sounds like they use both plastic and brass huh?

That would be my guess, unless they're saying the guts of the brass valve are blowing out. I think the internal "plunger" is a white plastic, if I recall correctly.

Mine came with a plastic one... It blew out after two weeks, H/L sent me a new one, replaced it and it went bad the 1st time out in the 2nd season, I think I forgot to back flow the anti-freeze, or not??? then Alan (2010augusta) sent me a link of where to buy the brass one (e-bay) I installed it about two months ago, and now, so far i have had no problems....

Tom

Talked to my salesman this past Tues.--said he was going to make a couple of calls and get back to me. No response as of today. Another three day trip starting tommorrow. Went to my real "local" other brand dealer and bought a new brass bodied valve. A little pricey but no wait and I supported my "local" dealer. The old valve is all plastic of the same manufacturer as the new one.