Fresh water and drain plugs

Keep the water inside the pipes, tanks, and sinks
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nanook
Newbie
Posts: 14
Joined: Tue Jun 15, 2021 7:11 am
B190 Year: 1996

Fresh water and drain plugs

Post by nanook »

Hi all—

I am the new owner of Ms. Monroe, a 1996 B190. I am also totally new to RVs. Ms. Monroe had two previous owners, one of which took out the toilet and shower. This vastly simplifies my water issues, of course, but I would like to get the fresh water system up and running. The previous owner commented that he did not use the water system at all and just relied on water jugs.

I filled up the system to test it, and promptly found out that the faucet leaks copiously and some of the pipe joins underneath the sink are weepy. I would like to drain the whole freshwater tank without running it through this leaky faucet so I can do some repairs. Where does the drain with the ball valve underneath and behind the sink drain to? And the other 2 mentioned in other posts? The grey water tank? The ground?

Thanks!
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Millennial Falcon
Seasoned Traveler
Posts: 114
Joined: Tue Sep 18, 2018 9:14 pm
B190 Year: 1994

Re: Fresh water and drain plugs

Post by Millennial Falcon »

I'm not 100% sure if the 1996 is the same as my 1994... especially if the owner modified parts of your system. However, you SHOULD find two drain valves:

One, when you open the side doors, the "living space" doors, the aft door should be the backdrop for the sink cabinetry. From outside, look at the very bottom of that sink cabinet with the door open and there is a ball-valve. Turn it 90 degrees and the water will drain straight from the fresh-tank onto the ground beneath the van.

There is a second valve in the back of the van. Open the rear doors, and on the passenger side there should be a square-shaped access-hole engineered into the bottom of the woodwork. It's about 6 or 8 inches square, only accessible when the rear doors are open. There is another identical ball-valve handle there in the same space where the water heater tank is located. Turn that and it will drain as well. Note, this will NOT drain the water heater even though it is right beside the water heater!!!

Finally, if you are winterizing... or really want to get ALL the water out after filling the system, there are six gallons stuck in your water heater. To drain the water heater, you need to pull the water heater's drain plug (a quick youtube search will describe this easier, but here's an example video).
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skater
Site Admin
Posts: 2569
Joined: Thu Mar 08, 2007 1:00 am
B190 Year: 1991
WBCCI: 13270
Location: Annapolis, MD

Re: Fresh water and drain plugs

Post by skater »

It may not have been winterized and froze, which could lead to leaks in multiple places. Hopefully that's not the case, and it's just a limited problem.
1991 Airstream B190 - bought, 2005; sold, 2011; bought 2017
1995 Airstream Excella 30' trailer

WBCCI #13270, Washington, DC Unit
nanook
Newbie
Posts: 14
Joined: Tue Jun 15, 2021 7:11 am
B190 Year: 1996

Re: Fresh water and drain plugs

Post by nanook »

Thanks! That was very helpful. I will probably take her in and get the plumbing thoroughly checked since I really don’t know the status of all the piping or if she froze up. She spent most of her recent winters in Florida, but we do get hard freezes here in May and September so the probability of a slight freeze event is high.
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skater
Site Admin
Posts: 2569
Joined: Thu Mar 08, 2007 1:00 am
B190 Year: 1991
WBCCI: 13270
Location: Annapolis, MD

Re: Fresh water and drain plugs

Post by skater »

nanook wrote:
Thu Jun 17, 2021 1:30 pm
Thanks! That was very helpful. I will probably take her in and get the plumbing thoroughly checked since I really don’t know the status of all the piping or if she froze up. She spent most of her recent winters in Florida, but we do get hard freezes here in May and September so the probability of a slight freeze event is high.
An overnight freeze generally isn't a problem - I leave our trailer unwinterized frequently when temperature dip below freezing overnight, because it'll stay warm enough inside that nothing happens. A cold snap that keeps it near or below freezing all day can be a problem.
1991 Airstream B190 - bought, 2005; sold, 2011; bought 2017
1995 Airstream Excella 30' trailer

WBCCI #13270, Washington, DC Unit
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