Warning to all recent Escape owners!

[tdf-texas]

It seems that Escape is being stupid again. A thread asking how to fix a water leak included a picture of the water connections that made the hair rise on the back of my neck. Escape is back to using PVC hoses in hot water service again!
https://www.escapeforum.org/forums/f...tml#post422586

Use of PVC hoses for hot water service in the US was banned long ago due to the propensity of the hoses to burst due the thermal expansion of the hoses. Escape tried using them before in 2017 21s and forced Reace to make his famous round the US trip replacing all those hoses because they were bursting.

Take a look at the pic below. Notice the white PVC hoses in the picture. They are not rated for hot water use but are connected to the hot water PEX supply.

If your trailer has these hoses connected to hot water service, you must replace them immediately! It will be a sad day to find water running out the trailer door due to a burst water hose.

[rotorbudd]

Bet they ran out of the correct T fittings and hose and said "screw it just use these I found"
when they start leaking I doubt they will someone from the factory to fix it.

[cpaharley2008]

Where is the location where this picture was taken inside the Escape, I have a 2022 E19 and need to look at this.

[tdf-texas]

Not my trailer but it looks like the water connections to the outside shower.

[Mike G]

DougO said it was the supply line to the kitchen faucet.

[tdf-texas]

Originally Posted by Mike G

DougO said it was the supply line to the kitchen faucet.

Oh, that makes it worse as the kitchen sink gets hot water used more often than an outside shower.

The more hot water that goes through the PVC hose, the sooner it will burst. First indication will be a bubble on the hose somewhere or a leaking connection of the hose to the end fitting. After that, it's all down hill.

[Eggscape]

This is what the the tag states.

[MrLynn]

Just looked under my sink. Don't see anything like that in the feed to the sink or the feed to the external shower—not under the bed by the water heater, either. All Pex.

[tdf-texas]

The problem with braided PVC tubing is that although it is rated at high enough operating pressures and temperatures, it is that the ratings are inverse to each other. The higher the operating temperature, the lower the operating pressure before failure.

So a braided hose that is rated for 150 psi at 70 deg F might be only rated for <40 psi at 120 deg F.

If you go to a hardware store and look at the sink hoses for sale, you will find that they are all polymer hoses with a stainless braided jacket. They used to sell the PVC braided hoses but removed them from the market due to people using them on hot water connections even though they were stated "for cold water use only".

[tdf-texas]

Originally Posted by MrLynn

Just looked under my sink. Don't see anything like that in the feed to the sink or the feed to the external shower—not under the bed by the water heater, either. All Pex.

Not all Escape trailers will have this problem - but it's worth the few minutes to check in case you are one of those who do.

[cpaharley2008]

here is my set up, the white hoses go to passenger side shower.

[tdf-texas]

Here are some past threads to read on this subject.

https://www.escapeforum.org/forums/f...wer-19712.html

And what started as a leaking hot water hose in the 21 bathroom
https://www.escapeforum.org/forums/f...oom-10450.html

ended up with Reace doing a road trip to fix the problem.
https://www.escapeforum.org/forums/f...tml#post200948

Braided PVC hose (sometimes called braided vinyl hose) drastically drops in pressure rating as the operating temperature increases.

[Chris R]

Originally Posted by tdf-texas

It seems that Escape is being stupid again. A thread asking how to fix a water leak included a picture of the water connections that made the hair rise on the back of my neck. Escape is back to using PVC hoses in hot water service again!
https://www.escapeforum.org/forums/f...tml#post422586

Use of PVC hoses for hot water service in the US was banned long ago due to the propensity of the hoses to burst due the thermal expansion of the hoses. Escape tried using them before in 2017 21s and forced Reace to make his famous round the US trip replacing all those hoses because they were bursting.

Take a look at the pic below. Notice the white PVC hoses in the picture. They are not rated for hot water use but are connected to the hot water PEX supply.

If your trailer has these hoses connected to hot water service, you must replace them immediately! It will be a sad day to find water running out the trailer door due to a burst water hose.

what a mess of plumbing parts, beside the wrong hoses. The time it took the installer to assemble and connect all those parts was way more than getting the correct parts to start with. Oh sigh!

[cpaharley2008]

I'll replace my outside shower lines with reinforced stainless lines, found here https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07K649TMC...NsaWNrPXRydWU=

$20 fix cost.

[Fender]

From what I understand past problems occurred by using PVC hoses that were clearly labeled as being suitable only for cold water.
These hoses don't seem to have that disclaimer and state only "For Use With Water only in Accessible Locations".
Is there a chance that ETI is using them because they are deemed suitable for both hot and cold water?

Also, I'm wondering about driver's side outdoor shower. Are they using the same hoses and are they accessible for replacement?
As a soon to be E19 owner I'm trying to keep my to-do list up to date!

[Ron in BC]

Originally Posted by Chris R

what a mess of plumbing parts, beside the wrong hoses. The time it took the installer to assemble and connect all those parts was way more than getting the correct parts to start with. Oh sigh!

Could you please share what parts you'd use to accomplish the same functions.

Ron

[gbaglo]

Quoted posts about bursting hoses are from 2017.
How do we know from a picture that those hoses have not been improved and can now handle higher temperatures?

Do we?

[Rossue]

Yep, all anecdotal from a former forum moderator such as yourself. Believe it or not.

[Rockhead]

Originally Posted by gbaglo

Quoted posts about bursting hoses are from 2017.
How do we know from a picture that those hoses have not been improved and can now handle higher temperatures?

Do we?

Why take chances

[tdf-texas]

As the temperature of the PVC increases the pressure that the PVC can withstand will decrease. The chart below will illustrate the pressure derating of PVC as temperatures increase.

Operating
Temp (°F) De-Rating Factor
73 1.00
80 0.88
90 0.75
100 0.62
110 0.51
120 0.40
130 0.31
140 0.22

https://pvcfittingsdirect.com/temper...atings-of-pvc/

This forum seems to always bring out the "best" in a few of our members - they always have something derogatory to add to the conversation.