Mysterious water

[Treblemaker]

Today I found a puddle of water on the outside wall behind the water pump. The pump has not been used since Nov when we winterized. We are currently camped at a site with city water. I found a bit of water a week ago but thought maybe when we washed the camper the exterior hatch seal had leaked a little. It looks like it may be coming from behind the refrigerator wall in our 2015 21. We checked the frig vent area, all is dry in the compartment. Any ideas? Or how we can access behind the wall? Thanks!

[Treblemaker]

I am still finding water every 3-4 days in the same location. Trying hard to figure this out. Drain in the outside fridge vent goes into a small receptacle which currently has about 1/2” of water in it and seems to be working. The fridge has a bit of ice inside on the fins and is running at around 36 degrees. I was thinking there may be a drain issue with it, but I can’t seem to find one. The city water comes in close to the same area, but if that were the cause it seems we would have water all the time in that spot. I am so stumped and frustrated! Any ideas would help. I literally slopped up 2 full paper towels of water again today. The pump has not been used since last November and was winterized, and we have been on city water for 2 weeks.
Thanks for any ideas!

[Ron in BC]

I'm not sure if your 2015 is the same layout as my 2019 21C.

On mine, facing the fridge, just above the floor, under the fridge closest to the dinette I have first an area of paneling with my gas leak detector and then a low cupboard.

On mine I can remove the gas detector and shine a light in and see the area where you suspect water might be coming from. The back wall of the cupboard is only thin paneling and if you have to access the area a bit of wiggle and jiggling will get the back piece out. Maybe with a minor bit of damage.

Ron

[WillyB]

I'm always very suspect of plastic pump assemblies, plastic fittings and plastic hoses/connections. If every 3-4 days your getting a couple paper towels worth of water I'd look at cracked fittings and such. A minor drip every 3-4 hours can make for a lot of water of 3-4 days.

I'm guessing here but I'd place a paper towel by each and check every 3-4 hours for an indicator on the towel. I have a pool and have used that method to find "hard to find" leaks many times.

[Ron in BC]

Good suggestion if it's not already been done.

Ron

[Treblemaker]

Thanks to both of you! At least we have a place to start! We took off the panel to the under-refrigerator cupboard-all is dry and looks good. (Getting my head and hands in to check was rather comical according to my hubs but some things are necessary!) We are leaving it accessible to check for any moisture periodically until the problem is isolated. We did find that the peg lines had not been secured, the fastener was there but had not been attached, so that can be remedied as well. We are placing paper towels and microfiber towels under all the pump fittings even though it hasn’t been used. Worth a try. Now I at least have hope that we can get this figured out! Thank you again for the ideas!!

[Ron in BC]

Originally Posted by Treblemaker

(Getting my head and hands in to check was rather comical according to my hubs but some things are necessary!)

I've been tempted to snap a photo in those circumstances but have been told in no uncertain terms what my fate would be if I did.

Another small thing to try is to isolate the under pump area from the wall area by making a "dam" out of masking tape and seeing which side the water shows up on.

Good luck

Ron

[Treblemaker]

The masking tape dam sounds like a great idea! I am on it!

[Eggscape]

Just to be safe I try to remember to turn off the city water supply if I am not near the trailer. I would rather not come back to it full of water due to a poor connection that has popped off.

Most of the time we just fill the water tank and use that making sure the pump switch is off when we are not there.

Good luck with your search

[Phlip]

We've experienced 2 "clean" water leaks, both focused around the toilet/shower closet. The first leak appeared to be insufficient sealant applied around the middle/center band where the screws join the white plastic top & bottom wall lining. This leak migrated & pooled in the battery disconnect/electrical compartment & under the dinette table. Fixed by running a thin film of sealant around the lining joint, additionally tightened the exposed screws and applied sealant around the heads.
The second leak was also in the toilet/shower closet, rain water leaking from the outside in thru the bathroom fan vent stack. Fixed by re-applying sealant on the roof where the stack makes contact with the fiberglass shell. If you can't isolate the leak from other posted suggestions you might want to check & reseal all the caulked areas on the roof where cutouts or holes were made for vents or accessories (ie air-con, solar wires etc.) Water travels in mysterious ways.

[John in Santa Cruz]

Originally Posted by Eggscape

...Most of the time we just fill the water tank and use that making sure the pump switch is off when we are not there.

^^ this!

[Civilguy]

It sounds like the source of the water is uncertain. I presume it's not raining, so the source is either the fresh water system or, less likely, perhaps the refrigerator.

You might start diagnosing the source by thoroughly drying the pump assembly, then periodically wiping the underside of the pipe joints with a dry tissue as the city water supply will pressurize the discharge side of the pump assembly, possibly even weeping past the check valves though this is less likely.

If the floor gets wet again, but the pump and piping remain dry, then you can start reviewing other potential sources.

[7Gentex]

Originally Posted by John in Santa Cruz

^^ this!

Agreed.

Try shutting off the city water after filling the fresh water tank.

Use onboard water for a bit and see if the water still appears.

Might be a pressure thing, a water pump check valve item, or............

Isolate and identify.

[Ron in BC]

Originally Posted by 7Gentex

Agreed.

Try shutting off the city water after filling the fresh water tank.

Use onboard water for a bit and see if the water still appears.

Might be a pressure thing, a water pump check valve item, or............

Isolate and identify.

I agree, isolating items is a good trouble shooting technique.

Disconnecting the city water is a good idea. It might even be that when a tap is opened or closed there's the equivalent of a low key water hammer that's just enough to trigger a small leak.

But first step, isolate the wall area from the pump area and see which side of a masking tape dam the water's on.

Ron

[davidmurphy02]

I assume this goes without saying, but since I haven't seen it mentioned - you are hooked up to city water in a campground, do you have a pressure regulator on your water connection?

[Treblemaker]

Thanks to all of you and your great suggestions! The leak has been isolated! Looks like it is in the connection to the water pump closest to the outside wall. Overnight I set a tiny plastic container under that and had water in it this morning. All other areas are dry. The connection is tight, but we are going to see if it is cracked underneath enough to cause that slow leak. It seems to only happen overnight. We have a regulator on the city water and also run our water through a Frizzlife water filter, so not tons of pressure coming through but apparently enough overnight, The fresh water tanks are still empty so presuming the check valve is still fine. I can’t thank all of you enough for guidance on this!

[WillyB]

[Ron in BC]

So where the vinyl hose connects to the 90* elbow?

I can't make out what sort of clamp in on the hose. Is it a pex clamp or a conventional hose clamp? I've never used a pex clamp on vinyl hose and if that's what it is I'd change to to a screw type hose clamp.

If it's a hose clamp I'd use a heat gun or hair drier before tightening it down.

Well, it appears the problem is minor, no cracked water pump, no leaks coming down the wall etc. and a bit of a learning experience.

Ron

[Treblemaker]

It looks like the leak is where the plastic connection on the pump screws to tighten; it is very tight now. That is why we are wondering about maybe a slight crack on the lower side in that fitting on the pump. When we disassemble, once we figure out how to remove that weird clamp, we will put a more readily accessible one on. (I think Hubby mentioned a radiator style clamp but not for sure.) if that connector is cracked we will see if it can be replaced. Just grateful the problem is isolated and solutions are in sight!

[Mike G]

Maybe it could benefit from some plumber's tape in the threads. Just a guess.