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Old 06-06-2017, 11:00 PM   #1
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Split water hose in bathroom

So, has anyone else had this problem? Or am I just the only "lucky" one out there?

Sunday evening I was relaxing on the dinette after having cleaned up with a nice shower. Heard this loud boom/bang and then water gushing like crazy. What the *)#$#*$#$#

Discovered water gushing along the wall under the sink. Turned off the water at the outside faucet (and the electric water heater). Water inside stopped. Mopped up the walls and all that. Used the squeegee to get all the water down the floor drain.

Felt around the hoses. Neither of them had come off their connection point, however the hot water hose (next to the outside wall) had split near the top and on the wall side (therefore any photos would be pointless).

Fortunately my shower was over with. Fortunately it was at the tail end of my trip as I was heading home the next day. Fortunately I was IN the trailer when it happened. Fortunately I had multiple gallons of water with me in jugs for drinking and "just in case" situations. Like this!

I've contacted ETI and will be taking the trailer up there Thursday AM. I hope to get up there and back in the same day - we'll see. Reace says it'll be about a 4 hour repair job. He did mention they'll need to remove the storage cubby.

So, any ideas on how and why this happened? Can I expect this to happen again? Do I need to start turning off the water at the outside faucet (and the electric water heater) when I leave the trailer? I'd hate to think what I would have come back to otherwise as my grey water tank wasn't completely empty. And I'd been gone all day until about an hour before this happened.

I've not read the manuals (yet) regarding this issue so I don't know if there was a way to bypass the hot water so I could at least still have cold water for flushing the toilet and heating up to wash my hands. Does anyone know if there is a way to do this?

I thought about wrapping the hose with duct tape, but didn't know if it would be strong enough to withstand the water pressure. BTW, I had the water pressure regulator thingie hooked up to the outside faucet, so I doubt it was due to high pressure. I talked to a neighbor and he thought the pressure was rather low. He and another camper I talked to the next AM didn't have any water issues.

Yep, I'll be discussing this with Reace on Thursday and see if he has any idea why this happened.
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Old 06-06-2017, 11:41 PM   #2
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Laura,
Sounds like a freak deal, however, this illustrates why we have always shut the water off when leaving the campground. We've seen these happen at campgrounds and sometimes it is awhile before anyone notices the water flowing out your door and shuts off the water for you.
It is still possible that your pressure regulator just wasn't working and the CG pressure was too high and burst the line, but hard to tell and pex can take a lot of abuse. Or could be just a defective line with a weak spot.
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Old 06-06-2017, 11:44 PM   #3
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Maybe a bad piece of PEX, or one that got scored or was crimped improperly. I dunno. It's hard to mess up a PEX connection. Something was probably defective when installed.

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Old 06-07-2017, 01:32 AM   #4
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So, any ideas on how and why this happened?
Robert covered some possible causes. Reace should be able to tell when he sees it.

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Originally Posted by NW Cat Owner View Post
Can I expect this to happen again? Do I need to start turning off the water at the outside faucet (and the electric water heater) when I leave the trailer??
Not likely. Turning off the water at the faucet when away is probably a good idea for any RV, but I don't see any reason to turn it off at the water heater as well.

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I've not read the manuals (yet) regarding this issue so I don't know if there was a way to bypass the hot water so I could at least still have cold water for flushing the toilet and heating up to wash my hands. Does anyone know if there is a way to do this??
Yes, and it's in the manual... although all the 2016 owner's manual says is 'Place the bypass valve in the 'by-pass' position", which might not help very much.

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I thought about wrapping the hose with duct tape, but didn't know if it would be strong enough to withstand the water pressure.
Tape would be unlikely to work.
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Old 06-07-2017, 04:59 AM   #5
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I believe this is the same thing that happened to tdftexas. His hot water line blew in the same spot. It's not PEX line in that area for the early 2017s. It changes from PEX under the bed to a clear braided rubber hose as it goes from the base of the bed to the sink.
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Old 06-07-2017, 06:04 AM   #6
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I believe this is the same thing that happened to tdftexas. His hot water line blew in the same spot. It's not PEX line in that area for the early 2017s. It changes from PEX under the bed to a clear braided rubber hose as it goes from the base of the bed to the sink.
You say for the early 2017s. Is it something different now?
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Old 06-07-2017, 06:32 AM   #7
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It appears you were on city water. Were you using a pressure regulator on the supply? If so, is it possible the regulator failed?
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Old 06-07-2017, 06:37 AM   #8
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I believe this is the same thing that happened to tdftexas. His hot water line blew in the same spot. It's not PEX line in that area for the early 2017s. It changes from PEX under the bed to a clear braided rubber hose as it goes from the base of the bed to the sink.
I assume you're talking about the white lines entering the bathroom which appear to be PEX. Not sure what occurs at the turn going up to the sink. Hopefully those are also white PEX and not the clear lines.
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Old 06-07-2017, 07:10 AM   #9
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I also suggest you study the picture above and read all your manuals. Prepared with information is a great resource and can help in a lot of situations.
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Old 06-07-2017, 08:55 AM   #10
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I believe this is the same thing that happened to tdftexas. His hot water line blew in the same spot. It's not PEX line in that area for the early 2017s. It changes from PEX under the bed to a clear braided rubber hose as it goes from the base of the bed to the sink.
Does anyone else find the "boom/bang" strange? A properly working pressure regulator should have protected from any surges in the campground water supply.

I wouldn't be surprised to hear this section of line is not PEX. If it was it would either need to be damaged or defective to split. For anyone interested, PEX has universal manufacturing tolerances and is rated as follows:
160 psi @ 74°F
100 psi @ 180°F
80 psi @ 200°F

Although it does not apply in this case, as a point of reference the typical Shurflo water pumps used have their cut-out (off) set at 55 psi.

Assuming the 2017's are piped similar to earlier model trailers you should be able to bypass the hot water heater as Brian indicated. This should take any pressure off the hot water side of the system and allow you to continue to use your cold water. See picture.
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Old 06-07-2017, 09:22 AM   #11
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I find the whole thing strange, even if the piece that split wasn't PEX. My guess is still that it was a defective part. Does happen, although rare.

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Old 06-07-2017, 09:28 AM   #12
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This unfortunate event reminds me of a cautionary tale. I had a friend whose upstairs toilet valve malfunctioned during an extended absence and caused well over $150,000 in damage (and untold grief). Their insurance covered it only because someone had been periodically checking on their house. Had it not been checked and had the friend been gone over XX days (don't remember how many), the damage would not have been covered. Check your insurance coverage for your own particulars.

So now, if I am absent from my house for more than three or four days, I turn off the main valve from my city water.
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Old 06-07-2017, 10:02 AM   #13
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Does anyone else find the "boom/bang" strange? A properly working pressure regulator should have protected from any surges in the campground water supply.

I wouldn't be surprised to hear this section of line is not PEX. If it was it would either need to be damaged or defective to split. For anyone interested, PEX has universal manufacturing tolerances and is rated as follows:
160 psi @ 74°F
100 psi @ 180°F
80 psi @ 200°F

Although it does not apply in this case, as a point of reference the typical Shurflo water pumps used have their cut-out (off) set at 55 psi.

Assuming the 2017's are piped similar to earlier model trailers you should be able to bypass the hot water heater as Brian indicated. This should take any pressure off the hot water side of the system and allow you to continue to use your cold water. See picture.
are the fittings used with PEX where joints occur or right angles rated the same? For all internal water pipes does Escape use plastic fittings for joints and right angles where clamped or do they use metal fittings with metal clamps?
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Old 06-07-2017, 10:29 AM   #14
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I know next to nothing about plumbing, hoses and all that. All I know is that it split. It's clear, plastic and if I remember correctly it has a blue color line running through it. It does kind of look like it's braided. It's definitely not white. I'm not in the trailer right now to double check it. Both of the hoses going from wherever to the bottom of the sink are this type of hose. It's very flexible as in I can mash it in with my fingers.

How do you know if your water pressure regulator is defective? I don't remember what number it's set at. The needle was still pointed to whatever that number is. I think it came preset to that number.

Looking at the supplied photo and having someone else tell me to educate myself by looking at it doesn't really help as I'm clueless about what I'm looking at. I see a pair of white hoses coming from the bathroom area. But that's not what split as it wasn't a white hose, so that doesn't really tell me much.

Not everyone has umpteen bazillion years experience in using a trailer and figuring out how to solve problems when they come up. Or experience in plumbing. Or electrical. This is all new to me. When I flip a switch (or whatever) I expect things to work and I get very frustrated when they don't.

Now if you want to know how to scoop a cat litter box, I'm your gal of many years of experience!

Speaking of which ....
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Old 06-07-2017, 10:38 AM   #15
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This unfortunate event reminds me of a cautionary tale. I had a friend whose upstairs toilet valve malfunctioned during an extended absence and caused well over $150,000 in damage (and untold grief). Their insurance covered it only because someone had been periodically checking on their house. Had it not been checked and had the friend been gone over XX days (don't remember how many), the damage would not have been covered. Check your insurance coverage for your own particulars.

So now, if I am absent from my house for more than three or four days, I turn off the main valve from my city water.
That would be easy to do if you didn't live in California and didn't have desert scape in your yard . You have roses and , grass and flowers that need a little water when you are gone . Pat
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Old 06-07-2017, 11:15 AM   #16
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That would be easy to do if you didn't live in California and didn't have desert scape in your yard . You have roses and , grass and flowers that need a little water when you are gone . Pat
Which raises a good point. My sprinkler system supply line splits off right after my water meter which also has the shutoff valves to service the meter and shut water to the entire system. I have thought about installing a valve upstream of the sprinkler take-off that would allow me to isolate my house, but still allow the sprinkler system to be supplied. In this case, only a small amount of piping located in the basement would remain under pressure while we are away.
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Old 06-07-2017, 11:48 AM   #17
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Which raises a good point. My sprinkler system supply line splits off right after my water meter which also has the shutoff valves to service the meter and shut water to the entire system. I have thought about installing a valve upstream of the sprinkler take-off that would allow me to isolate my house, but still allow the sprinkler system to be supplied. In this case, only a small amount of piping located in the basement would remain under pressure while we are away.
We don't have a basement . We are on a slab foundation and the piping runs from meter into and through house . I am sure something could maybe be changed for a price . Body not capable any more to do this kind of work required and have to be more careful with funds . So ....... Pat
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Old 06-07-2017, 01:16 PM   #18
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Assuming the 2017's are piped similar to earlier model trailers you should be able to bypass the hot water heater as Brian indicated. This should take any pressure off the hot water side of the system and allow you to continue to use your cold water. See picture.
My apologies. After thinking about this more only the top valve in the diagram should be flipped to the bypass position. This should stop flow through the hot water piping. If both are flipped you still have your cold water pressurizing the hot water side of the system.
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Old 06-07-2017, 01:22 PM   #19
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Don't understand why you would need to bypass the water heater if you have shut off the hose at source.
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Old 06-07-2017, 01:27 PM   #20
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It's the hot water pipe that's split, just looking to see if there is a way they could continue to use the cold water.
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