Water leaking through the carper near the running boards!

Keep the water inside the pipes, tanks, and sinks
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liferiders
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Water leaking through the carper near the running boards!

Post by liferiders »

I tried to fill the tank from a house connection through the potable water inlet and tried to start the water pump. The motor started running and I could hear the sound of running water, but no water through the taps. Suddenly guess what..? Water starts to leak through the carpet area near the running boards!! I immediately shut the water pump. I looked underneath the motor home and I noticed water is leaking out of two small holes under the motor home (pics). Are they valves or those holes are not supposed to be there? Secondly, in order to get to the pump, do I need to remove the cabinets? Where is the leak? Did I do something wrong? In order for the pump to work, should the city water inlet need to be hooked? How to dry to carpet out, before mold starts to build up? I am worried, have any one of you ever had any leaks and got the carpet wet?

I noticed that there is no wetness near the potable water tank or the living area. The leakage is at one step down (I have marked that in the pictures). Please let me know your thoughts?

Also, why there are two water connection outlets? One on the right hand (passenger side) side of the B190, near the middle entry door (which says potable water only) and another one at the back of the van (driver side), which says city water connection? What is the difference? I filled the potable water tank through the outlet in the middle of the motor home.

Thank you..
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Planck
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Re: Water leaking through the carper near the running boards

Post by Planck »

you need to close all of the drain valves. The one by the running board is for the onboard water tank, and probably was left open during winterizing. That valve, when open should not get the carpet wet. It just runs onto the step, then onto the running board. Sources of leaks in that area are: the connecting hose from the inlet to the tank can come lose at either end. I think mine actually cracked. I replaced it with a regular piece of hose and good clamps. There is a filter at the tank outlet under the cabinet. It is screwed through the carpet to the floor with 2 screws. The filter cap has an o-ring that could leak, or the cap could be loose, or the inlet or outlet hoses to the filter could leak. When the tank is about 1/3 full, stop adding water and turn on the pump to see if you get water coming out faucet or toilet. If not, pump could be faulty. But, I am guessing your problem is that the drain valves were left open.

The connection on the other side for a hose is for when you are camping where there are water hookups. Then, you don't need to have the pump on, or use your onboard water.

I have got the carpet soaked several times with no noticable ill affects. Just keep the doors open to get air flowing, and/or put a fan pointing at the wet area.

Good luck
liferiders
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Re: Water leaking through the carper near the running boards

Post by liferiders »

Thank you for your reply. I am pretty sure I had the drain valve by the running board closed. I had it open earlier, the tank will not fill, as water was running out through the drain outlet from under the van. Skater then advised me to shut it off, which I did, and problem was solved, and I was able to fill the tank. But I am slightly confused at what you said, that it just runs onto the step, then onto the running board! Mine actually runs out through the undercarriage of the van, am I missing something here? Here is my eariler post with the picture...

http://b190.com/viewtopic.php?f=15&t=913

You can actually see the drain valve I am referring to, in one of the picture in my post above. The black little knobed thing under the cabinet, by the entry door. It is in the closed position as you could see, but yet the running boards flooded like a river, and it seemd like an avalanche of water, when I had the pump running.

Now, I dont see any leak anywhere near then potable water tank. Every thing looks dry and clean. The only area where I can feel some wetness is near the back of the van, in the compartment adjescent to the toilet. There are two valves out there. Should they be left open or closed? I may have ran the pump with both valves in the back closed (looks like a cross when, closed?) and the connections line may have burst as the pump was running and the water had nowhere to flow? or they are drain valves and should be stay closed? Please let me know your thoughts.

By the way, please excuse my ignorance. If the valve (the black knob which turns) is perpendicular (like a cross) to the tube means closed, correct? And if the valve top is parallel to the line of the tube is open, correct? Now, how should the two valves at the back of the van be, in order for the pump to work properly? Is there any other valves I am yet to find out?

Finally, is there any chance the pump outlet has some leaks or it is not hooked at the first place? How difficult is to get to the pump? Do I need to remove all the cabinets? does anyone have a picture of how it looks like? or a diagram of the connections?

Too many questions and too many concerns. Please don't be turned off by ignorance. thank you..
"A Good traveler has no fixed plans and is not intent on arriving"
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liferiders
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Re: Water leaking through the carper near the running boards

Post by liferiders »

Planck, in one of your earlier posts, you have mentined....

"The 12 volt pump is under the rear closet. It can be seen and sort of accessed when you open the passenger sider rear door and look in the hole at the bottom. There are also two drain valves in there that need to be closed and another drain valve for the storage tank inside the rear side door down at the bottom."

So is there a third drain valve at the back, which I may have missed? I could see only two, which were almost sitting next to each other on the floor, when you look through the hole in the cabinet next to the toilet, by the rear door. Now, I will look for any other valves in the back, when I get home today. Hopefully, that will fix the problem. Can't wait to get back home from work :)
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Planck
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Re: Water leaking through the carper near the running boards

Post by Planck »

Liferider

Sorry I confused you. I thought the front tank water drained out on the running board, but you are right it drains out underneath. There are only 2 valves at the rear, making a total of 3 valve, including the one by the side door. Hope everything is working okay now.
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skater
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Re: Water leaking through the carper near the running boards

Post by skater »

Unless you're severely off level I wouldn't think the drains at the back would show up by the side step. And those drains should go outside anyway.

I'd check around the filter near the side of the tank - open the cabinet doors under the sink and you'll see the pipes. The line from the tank will have a plastic filter housing with a metal screen in it, and it's not unusual for people to forget to dry that out, causing it to freeze and crack. The leak could also be the pipe from the tank leaking, or it could be the pipes going to the sink. In my first trip with the B190 I found that the connections to the faucet were loose, which of course led to them leaking. Hand-tightening them was plenty for the rest of the 5 or 6 years I owned the camper.

Another possibility is the tank itself is leaking...
1991 Airstream B190 - bought, 2005; sold, 2011; bought 2017
1995 Airstream Excella 30' trailer

WBCCI #13270, Washington, DC Unit
liferiders
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Re: Water leaking through the carper near the running boards

Post by liferiders »

Today, I hooked the city water connection and turned the water on. The leak is from one of the valves going into the hot water heater tank at the back. I immediately turned the water off. Now I need to open the enclosure where the heater is situated and look closely what is going on. Hopefully I dont have to replace the tank. Have anyone had any leaks from the hotwater heater inlet valve? Thanks for all your inputs and responses. I really appreciate your help.
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skater
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Re: Water leaking through the carper near the running boards

Post by skater »

liferiders wrote:Today, I hooked the city water connection and turned the water on. The leak is from one of the valves going into the hot water heater tank at the back. I immediately turned the water off. Now I need to open the enclosure where the heater is situated and look closely what is going on. Hopefully I dont have to replace the tank. Have anyone had any leaks from the hotwater heater inlet valve? Thanks for all your inputs and responses. I really appreciate your help.
Anything is possible. With a little luck it'll just be loose or something like that.
1991 Airstream B190 - bought, 2005; sold, 2011; bought 2017
1995 Airstream Excella 30' trailer

WBCCI #13270, Washington, DC Unit
liferiders
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Re: Water leaking through the carper near the running boards

Post by liferiders »

Finally figured out the problem..broken water line. Not sure where I will find those joints. But I think I will be able to find something at the local plumbing shop. thanks for all who helped.
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skater
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Re: Water leaking through the carper near the running boards

Post by skater »

Looks like they've had some issues there - see the mold in the background.

Look for the QEST brand (I think that's what it is) fittings. Unfortunately the pipe used isn't made any more, though you can find fittings on the web if you don't want to use the QEST brand. There was a huge lawsuit over this pipe and the company that made it had to re-plumb a huge number of houses during the 90s, but the lawsuit didn't cover RVs.
1991 Airstream B190 - bought, 2005; sold, 2011; bought 2017
1995 Airstream Excella 30' trailer

WBCCI #13270, Washington, DC Unit
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