I have a mess and need help please

NinerBikes wrote:
A boyfriend with some strong hands and handyman skills could save you a lot of headaches with your rig... don't cowboys, ranchers or farm hands twist pipe wrenches anymore, for a few good home cooked meals?

LOL people don't really work like that much anymore and most horse people these days are women. I have met some very knowledgeable women around a campfire, or maybe they were telling campfire stories, who knows. I'm a smart cookie and can do most anything with the proper guidance and tools. So thank you to all because I'm new to figuring out RV plumbing and certainly didn't think I'd be working on my own trailer since I paid two asshats to do it already.

So, I have a husband who could do the plumbing work for me, but currently, he can't walk because he was hit head on in a motor vehicle accident in January and changed our lives forever. He's going through therapy to learn how to walk again.

We moved out to IA going on 4 years now and if we were back in MI, where we're from, I know a handful of great electricians. I'm driving somewhat blind out here in IA and we live very rural. We're an hour from Cedar Rapids.

NinerBikes wrote:
Replace all the o ring rubber seals in those butterfly connections, and make them snug, do not over tighten... that whole system needs to be able to move around and have a little give under there while you go bouncing down the road. If you drive dirt roads, and washboard, you're flat out just going to have more wear and tear on everything in your trailer, including all the plumbing and all the electrical, with is designed for stationary use.

I went to Menards today and took the leaky assembly with me. Turns out those colored tubes are a PEX-like system BUT those wing screw thingys are missing the o-rings. I bought new brass connectors and am about to go out and re-do that section of the plumbing. I'm going to secure and pad the pipe that vibrates against the back of the bench from the pump vibration as suggested previously. It seems to be one of the longest stretches of plumbing in there and will really take the brunt of the movement of the trailer.

Those black fittings with the butterfly wings should have a rubber gasket or O ring inside to do the sealing against the male side of the fitting, with the washer or O ring missing they leak just as you describe. The should be hand tightened only, that's why they put those wings on them, so you don't use a wrench. Nothing wrong with that per se if they are installed properly...do not use teflon tape on these as I see he did on that leaky one....

The electric is quite a mess and if you paid somebody to do that get your money back, plain and simple. If you look, there is romex house wire that goes to that outlet by the water pump, where a cord is plugged in. If you follow the cord, it terminates to other romex wires with wire nuts. That whole mess can be elminated, the outlet removed, and the wires joined in a junction box as they should be. Nothing wrong with using wire nuts to join wires, but all of those connections should be in the proper junction boxes.

Here is a proper junction box set up for 120v house wiring, and it should have a cover installed when done:



Also look at those 12v positive wires screwed to the wood behind the inverter...those should not be exposed either, a better way to do that would have been with a junction box like this:



OR at a minimum a terminal strip like this, available at any Radio Shack and many home centers:



Not worried about neatness per se, but you don't want wires flopping around. the reason for the junction box on the 120v wiring is to provide strain relief and hold the wire steady by the connection. If the wires are allowed to flop around and flex those wire nut connections they will either come loose or fatigue the wire until the breaks. This is a safety issue and should be corrected. The National Electric Code is in place to protect us from fires that start from amateur wiring jobs like this.

THIS IS VERY DANGEROUS, PLEASE READ:

I see the plug for the inverter draped over the pipe by the water pump, not plugged in. I guess that is supposed to get plugged into that outlet BY the water pump too. If you follow the wire, it is spliced with wire nuts (again, no junction box) to the plug that goes through the front of the bench that plugs into the inverter. So you have what is a known as a "suicide cord", a cord with a plug at each end. So if that plug is plugged in under the bench, and you unplug from the inverter while while you are plugged into shore power, that plug will BE LIVE and dangling from the outside of the bench.

The more I look at the pictures, the less I see that is merely sloppy and not a safety issue.

Honestly, that whole thing needs to be re-done by a guy (or gal) that knows something about electricity, proper wiring techniques, and the National Electric Code for RVs. Give that you have gone through 2 handymen, I would opt for a licensed electrician at this point.

One last comment you mentioned that the cover to the bench seat was "nailed down". First off it's against code to have any electric that is not hard-wired (ie a plug/recepticle) that is not accessible. Second, you have some water valves and a winterizing port by the pump...how are you supposed to get to those? You need some kind of a set up to make the lid to where it will just lift off...even if it had 2 screws holding it down you could remove those easy enough.

A boyfriend with some strong hands and handyman skills could save you a lot of headaches with your rig... don't cowboys, ranchers or farm hands twist pipe wrenches anymore, for a few good home cooked meals?


Replace all the o ring rubber seals in those butterfly connections, and make them snug, do not over tighten... that whole system needs to be able to move around and have a little give under there while you go bouncing down the road. If you drive dirt roads, and washboard, you're flat out just going to have more wear and tear on everything in your trailer, including all the plumbing and all the electrical, with is designed for stationary use.

2oldnslow wrote:
I hear you on the can cozy - that is much too important a tool to be used for cushioning!

I would find a piece of foam (like pipe insulation) to put in there. If you clamp it to the bench it may still make a fair bit of noise and may even cause leaks down the road. Those pumps move around a bit while working.

Excellent advice! I have to run into the city today for some other errands and am taking this with me to find higher quality plumbing. This is a photo of the assembly between the tank and the pump. It's ALL leaking, no matter how tight/loose/more pipe tape..none of it is working. Those butterfly type connectors leak plain and simple.


I can check this forum from my phone so if y'all have some suggestions for plumbing to replace what I've shown, I will have access to Menards and Lowes while in the city. I live over an hour away from the city so advice will be helpful. Thank you.

2oldnslow wrote:

I would find a piece of foam (like pipe insulation) to put in there. If you clamp it to the bench it may still make a fair bit of noise and may even cause leaks down the road. Those pumps move around a bit while working.

Sound advice.... :W

Iowa Cowgirl wrote:

It's mounted on the floor under the bench seat. It's mounted on two thick rubber mounts. I found the culprit to the noise. One of the pipes is vibrating and hitting the vertical backside of the bench. I ran the pump when I was draining the tank (again) and found the vibration. Should I clamp the pipe to the bench or just pad it between the pipe and wall. I shoved a can cozy between the two and it stopped the noise but hey...I need that can cozy for my beverages!!! lol Please advise.

I hear you on the can cozy - that is much too important a tool to be used for cushioning!

I would find a piece of foam (like pipe insulation) to put in there. If you clamp it to the bench it may still make a fair bit of noise and may even cause leaks down the road. Those pumps move around a bit while working.

Iowa Cowgirl wrote:

gotsmart wrote:
I'm still working on "why is there an AC outlet right next to the pump?" :h

Okay here's the tea:
....
Unfortunately, that never came to fruition and I'm not sure why it's there now as my fridge won't run off just the batteries like I wanted while in transit.
....
I think you've all given me some great ideas to work with to repair or replace the plumbing. I'm going to start there as I really don't want a mold problem.
Question: since I dried out the sub flooring where the original leak occurred and flooded my trailer, will that ensure no mold growth now?

Alternating Current and water do not play well together (should the pump or piping fail and leak). The contractor should have used a GFI outlet. I recommend removing the outlet or disconnecting power to it and orphaning the outlet where it is.

I googled: mold killer
This product from Home Depot seems to be pretty good. It also is available in a hand-held spray bottle.

MrWizard wrote:
If I'm looking at the above picture correctly
The water pump is mounted on one of the vertical panels of that cabinet/bench ?
The panel is acting like a sounding board aka speaker cone
On the floor with Thick rubber mounts would be the quietest

It's mounted on the floor under the bench seat. It's mounted on two thick rubber mounts. I found the culprit to the noise. One of the pipes is vibrating and hitting the vertical backside of the bench. I ran the pump when I was draining the tank (again) and found the vibration. Should I clamp the pipe to the bench or just pad it between the pipe and wall. I shoved a can cozy between the two and it stopped the noise but hey...I need that can cozy for my beverages!!! lol Please advise.

I found the culprit to the leaking. It's this cheap, stupid valve thingy!


It's also leaking again at the origination of the plumbing that attaches to the tank. I thought I got it stopped but it's leaking again. I've decided to replace the plumbing from the tank to the pump.

This is the inverter. How ridiculous is it to be sticking out the front of the cabinet?! I plan to move it back inside and replace the paneling where the hole for the inverter is. This was supposed to part of the original set up to run my fridge off the batteries while in transit UGH!