A funny thing happened when I winterized my RV (story)

[MrLugs]

Well this is our new to us A class that we've had for about 8 weeks now. We had a c-class for 16 years so we know our way around an RV.... so we thought. We also knew it was a fixer upper and were prepared for a lot of little surprises, but the fun just never stops.
Ok, so I started to winterize, open all drains , blow out the water, bypass engaged, HW tank drained, start pumping the antifreeze....... still pumping.....hmmm...this unit sure takes more than our old unit.. that's when I noticed the big puddle under the WH drain hole. Time for some research on a one valve bypass system (thank you RV.NET) so my check valve on the HW tank is shot and there is no rear access to the WH. So I had to pull the WH out. Now this is when the fun started... the slightest stress on the CPVC plumbing and it started to snap like Jiminy Crickets hips (at the joints) unbelievably brittle. So I told my wife, guess what we're doing this weekend dear.... and the next weekend? Removing to old stuff was easy, the slightest pressure and it snapped. So we are now in the process of replacing all the water pipes with PEX, red and blue so it will look pretty. I'm using surprising few joints as the PEX can flex around the corners making rerouting a breeze with less chance of joint leaks in the future, Oh and as a bonus I flushed out the 6 gallon water heater, you would not believe the calcium that was left after I was done, most of it was dissolved by the 2 gallons of white vinegar, or floated down the driveway but I still managed to scraped together about 3 cups worth. Rving is always an adventure whether your on the road or parked in your driveway. One day I'll tell you about the leaky skylight repair, 3.5 pounds of caulking removed later.

[MrLugs]

John&Joey wrote:
Note what the OP is replacing

the slightest stress on the CPVC plumbing and it started to snap

This is different then PEX and the reason he is using it now.

See what knowledge can be lost in the process when some smart guys pick on grammar, but have no clue at all what is really be expressed or going on.

Our 1988 C-Class that we just sold had Poly-B (grey stuff) which was apparently outlawed due to it's high failure rate. We never had problems with it and it stayed very flexible. Now PEX is used in all late model RV's and the word is that is good for a minimal of 25 years while the Poly-B and CPVC is trouble in 10 to 15 years.... time will tell.

[MrLugs]

Lantley wrote:
Welcome to the forum and thanks for sharing.
As some have stated,grammar and punctuation will make your future post easier to read and understand.

Your right there, that's when I get my Wife to get in there.:) Also you can pre-assemble sections or even use the Sharkbite joints if it's impossible to get the tool in there. So far so good.

[afrescopXx]

The levil of iggerant remarcs on here is amazin. I to am amazd at the level of iggorence that be exhibetted bye sum peple wen kricising others.

Kep it to youseelf and let the others liv their lifes.

[MrLugs]

Yah my grammar sucks, thanks for pointing that out. I was tempted to fold my tent and leave but decided not to let a few Nit Pickers ruin my day.Thank God I still have spell check.

[Old-Biscuit]

Welcome......


Plumbing project in an RV.......that can be a challenge
PEX is a good replacement for that 'Thermoplastic Material' used in your 2000 Southwind.
Just make sure that those 'bends' are not too tight and are secured so that they don't rub on corners/edges.

And I like paragraphs when posts are long, involved. Does make for better presentation of info.

[John_Joey]

Note what the OP is replacing

the slightest stress on the CPVC plumbing and it started to snap

This is different then PEX and the reason he is using it now.

See what knowledge can be lost in the process when some smart guys pick on grammar, but have no clue at all what is really be expressed or going on.

[John_Joey]

3oaks wrote:

John&Joey wrote:

barmcd wrote:
Do you have the tools to joint pex? I hear those are pretty expensive.

Don't know if you feel this is expensive or not?

Clicky

Also each joint will need a collar at about a dollar each.

Not that expensive. But the extremely tight quarters in RVs sometimes make the crimping tool difficult, if not impossible, at times to use.

I think you'll see most are cinched on, so someone got in there. For the truly impossible shark bites can be used.

[gbopp]

willi4nd wrote:

jsmart wrote:
We have an older class A, what would make the pipes brittle like the op describes.

Chlorine breaks down PEX over time, causing it to become brittle.

Sunlight also breaks it down but in the case of RV's this is most likely not the cause

Maybe the builder received a bad lot of plastic pipe? Usually very little chlorine used to sanitize the water system.
And, the amount in a municipal water system shouldn't harm the plastic pipe. JMO

[Lantley]

Welcome to the forum and thanks for sharing.
As some have stated,grammar and punctuation will make your future post easier to read and understand.

[3oaks]

John&Joey wrote:

barmcd wrote:
Do you have the tools to joint pex? I hear those are pretty expensive.

Don't know if you feel this is expensive or not?

Clicky

Also each joint will need a collar at about a dollar each.

Not that expensive. But the extremely tight quarters in RVs sometimes make the crimping tool difficult, if not impossible, at times to use.

[summerhouse]

Welcome to the forum!!!
I appreciate you sharing your repair adventures and experiences. Even if I don't need the information at this moment, I appreciate reading it. It makes me better prepared for when things crop up, as we know things will.
As for the grammar police.....c'mon! I would rather everyone feel free to post, and reply to posts without feeling they are opening themselves up to criticism for spelling, punctuation, paragraphs, and run on sentences, etc.
We are a positive, supportive RV community!!! Aren't we??????

[willi4nd]

jsmart wrote:
We have an older class A, what would make the pipes brittle like the op describes.

Chlorine breaks down PEX over time, causing it to become brittle.

Sunlight also breaks it down but in the case of RV's this is most likely not the cause

[John_Joey]

barmcd wrote:
Do you have the tools to joint pex? I hear those are pretty expensive.

Don't know if you feel this is expensive or not?

Clicky

Also each joint will need a collar at about a dollar each.

[barmcd]

Do you have the tools to joint pex? I hear those are pretty expensive.

[John_Joey]

MrLugs wrote:
Well this is our new to us A class that we've had for about 8 weeks now. We had a c-class for 16 years so we know our way around an RV.... so we thought. We also knew it was a fixer upper and were prepared for a lot of little surprises, but the fun just never stops.
Ok, so I started to winterize, open all drains , blow out the water, bypass engaged, HW tank drained, start pumping the antifreeze....... still pumping.....hmmm...this unit sure takes more than our old unit.. that's when I noticed the big puddle under the WH drain hole. Time for some research on a one valve bypass system (thank you RV.NET) so my check valve on the HW tank is shot and there is no rear access to the WH. So I had to pull the WH out. Now this is when the fun started... the slightest stress on the CPVC plumbing and it started to snap like Jiminy Crickets hips (at the joints) unbelievably brittle. So I told my wife, guess what we're doing this weekend dear.... and the next weekend? Removing to old stuff was easy, the slightest pressure and it snapped. So we are now in the process of replacing all the water pipes with PEX, red and blue so it will look pretty. I'm using surprising few joints as the PEX can flex around the corners making rerouting a breeze with less chance of joint leaks in the future, Oh and as a bonus I flushed out the 6 gallon water heater, you would not believe the calcium that was left after I was done, most of it was dissolved by the 2 gallons of white vinegar, or floated down the driveway but I still managed to scraped together about 3 cups worth. Rving is always an adventure whether your on the road or parked in your driveway. One day I'll tell you about the leaky skylight repair, 3.5 pounds of caulking removed later.

I enjoyed your post, keep it up!!!

Good news is once you fix the problems you will own a rig that you know inside and out, an won't be afraid to take it out on the road.

Others just sit in front of their computers posting smart @ss remarks because they lack the skills to fix their rigs and are the owners of driveway queens leaving them lots of time to talk about RV's. Hmmmm....did I run that all together.