JonV
Well-known member
We've been plagued with plumbing leaks since last fall. We had things patched up, with varying degrees of success, at a Camping World in Florida during the winter and new ones have been popping up since then.
We're back in Canada now and with all the rain we've had here I've had lots of time on my hands to dig into the problems. Many of them where were with the over-sized plastic hoses attached to the plastic PEX fittings. I don't know much about PEX tubing but the stuff I picked up at Lowes was made up of 2 different layers or material.
I've found that the folks at Lowes can be, and usually are a HUGE help.
(I think the one fellow at Lowes was starting to look forward to our chats!
)
On the advice of my new found Lowes friend I got rid of any ot the steel crimp rings that Heartland used and were accessible to swap out. In their place I used the PEX compression rings. (they appear to be made of copper) Also based on his recommendation I did NOT buy any PEX tools at Lowes. Princes Auto is nearby and they carry tubing cutters and a crimping tool needed to "squash" the compression rings and it works with both 1/2" and 3/4" PEX. The Princess Auto tool costs about 50% of what an individual tool costs and does the job of 2.
So... The original crimp rings are gone, the clear plastic hose is gone, the plastic elbows and t's have been replaced with drinking water certified brass and now the leaks are gone as well.
A BIG addition ($) I made was to install a cold water/hot water manifold so that if there are any further leaks the individual water line can be isolated for repair and the rest of the trailer still has water.
A side benefit to the changes have made been a noticeable increase in water pressure. (another side benefit is that I now have more tools than when I started and we all know "he who has the most tools wins!")
The leaks all started with hoses on the hot water tank bypass valve which I have removed and I haven't replaced that part of the system yet. That sounds like a job for Monday. When I do that I'll also install low point drains on both hot and cold water systems. Once it's all complete the OSB floor in the basement will be coated with West System expoxy, I figure if it will keep wooden sailboats together and watertight it will protect OSB from a plumbing leak. (the felt like stuff that was in the basement is long gone)
A coat of paint to make it pretty and it will be a (bad) memory...
We're back in Canada now and with all the rain we've had here I've had lots of time on my hands to dig into the problems. Many of them where were with the over-sized plastic hoses attached to the plastic PEX fittings. I don't know much about PEX tubing but the stuff I picked up at Lowes was made up of 2 different layers or material.
I've found that the folks at Lowes can be, and usually are a HUGE help.
(I think the one fellow at Lowes was starting to look forward to our chats!
) On the advice of my new found Lowes friend I got rid of any ot the steel crimp rings that Heartland used and were accessible to swap out. In their place I used the PEX compression rings. (they appear to be made of copper) Also based on his recommendation I did NOT buy any PEX tools at Lowes. Princes Auto is nearby and they carry tubing cutters and a crimping tool needed to "squash" the compression rings and it works with both 1/2" and 3/4" PEX. The Princess Auto tool costs about 50% of what an individual tool costs and does the job of 2.
So... The original crimp rings are gone, the clear plastic hose is gone, the plastic elbows and t's have been replaced with drinking water certified brass and now the leaks are gone as well.
A BIG addition ($) I made was to install a cold water/hot water manifold so that if there are any further leaks the individual water line can be isolated for repair and the rest of the trailer still has water.
A side benefit to the changes have made been a noticeable increase in water pressure. (another side benefit is that I now have more tools than when I started and we all know "he who has the most tools wins!")
The leaks all started with hoses on the hot water tank bypass valve which I have removed and I haven't replaced that part of the system yet. That sounds like a job for Monday. When I do that I'll also install low point drains on both hot and cold water systems. Once it's all complete the OSB floor in the basement will be coated with West System expoxy, I figure if it will keep wooden sailboats together and watertight it will protect OSB from a plumbing leak. (the felt like stuff that was in the basement is long gone)
A coat of paint to make it pretty and it will be a (bad) memory...
