Filling water tank-again.

[Bobbie54]

1. No kinks that I can locate. Is there a diagram of the plumbing somewhere?
2. Works fine on city water. I do know which is which.
3. Have not yet tried snaking out the gravity fill line as I'm not sure what to use to do that. No plumbers snake around (and would need a brand new one to be willing to use it for that). Suggestions?
4. I had this problem initially and a slow gravity fill worked. Very slow. Still suggests a slowdown somewhere.

 

[rubicon327]

Have not yet tried snaking out the gravity fill line as I'm not sure what to use to do that. No plumbers snake around (and would need a brand new one to be willing to use it for that). Suggestions?

I don’t mean an actual plumbers snake. Just try a piece of flexible vinyl tubing. It’s a short run. The end should end up in the tank if no restrictions. Might be a 2 person job to tell though since you might need to go by feel/sound down at the tank as someone threads the tubing down in the city water fill line.

https://www.lowes.com/pd/EZ-FLO-3-4-in-Inner-Diameter-x-10-ft-PVC-Clear-Vinyl-Tubing/1000365037

 

[Bobbie54]

I tried a piece of unused drip line 1/4 in and it goes in and then angles down but I don't know where it is going. Still didn't help with filling but may not have pushed in far enough. There is a black hose that may be the into-tank hose? hard to tell. I can try putting it in further. Would that be the inlet?

 

[rubicon327]

I tried a piece of unused drip line 1/4 in and it goes in and then angles down but I don't know where it is going. Still didn't help with filling but may not have pushed in far enough. There is a black hose that may be the into-tank hose? hard to tell. I can try putting it in further. Would that be the inlet?

You need a hose that is flexible to make the curvature of the fill pipe yet rigid enough for you to be able to push it in against some resistance without kinking up. The fresh water fill should look like the pictures that Glenn and I attached. Large diameter corrugated tubing. Unless ETI changed something. I have no idea what this black hose you refer to is. Just push the tubing into the outside gravity fill port and see if you can get it down into the tank easily.

 

[Bobbie54]

It goes in about 1 yard and then hits something but I can't see if it is in the tank or not, it isn't visible even with a flashlight.

 

[Greg and Kathy]

If you go inside and look around the hot water tank area you should see the hose. It is a short run from side of trailer to floor then tank. It may be blocked. I have heard of plastic getting stuck when they cut the holes and neglect to remove the cuttings.

 

[Centex]

1. No kinks that I can locate. Is there a diagram of the plumbing somewhere?....

FWIW attached is an EDITED version of a diagram I downloaded from this forum. With apology, I didn't note the original post so can't give proper attribution.

As originally posted this diagram did not include the Water Heater Bypass plumbing/valves; I've taken the liberty of adding that.

 

[Hawkeye Ed]

Bobbie,

Jane and I will be camping at Ebey State park next Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday nights. Bring your trailer by and we'll diagnose the problem.

If water's running back out the fill and your fresh water tank isn't full, there's probably a blockage in the fill hose that prevents water from filling the tank. The blockage may allow a little bit of water to pass which is why you can get a bit of water, but not much, into your fresh water tank. We'll check the vent hose, too.

 

[Bobbie54]

If you go inside and look around the hot water tank area you should see the hose. It is a short run from side of trailer to floor then tank. It may be blocked. I have heard of plastic getting stuck when they cut the holes and neglect to remove the cuttings.

I can see the hose. It is opaque. Can't see where the tubing stops (it stops hard- if it were in the tank I think I would feel resistance but not a hard stop. So maybe blocked but no idea what to do about that. Some water gets through. (Unless I've made it worse.) That hose is sealed in place.

 

[Bobbie54]

Bobbie,

Jane and I will be camping at Ebey State park next Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday nights. Bring your trailer by and we'll diagnose the problem.

Great! Will do if I don't find a fix first.

 

[flynfrfun]

I don't know exactly what the connection to the tank looks like. Is there a molded in nipple for the fresh water hose to connect to? Or does ETI just drill a hole in the top of the tank and use expanding foam or something to seal the pipe into the tank? If that's how they do it, maybe some expanding foam or caulk got where it shouldn't have?

 

[Bobbie54]

I don't know exactly what the connection to the tank looks like. Is there a molded in nipple for the fresh water hose to connect to? Or does ETI just drill a hole in the top of the tank and use expanding foam or something to seal the pipe into the tank? If that's how they do it, maybe some expanding foam or caulk got where it shouldn't have?

The latter. And it is an opaque tube so I cannot tell.

I'm going to try to fill it with a slow trickle and see how it does. We got water in in October though slowly. Have to get a hose so it won't be today.

 

[Brian B-P]

I don't know exactly what the connection to the tank looks like. Is there a molded in nipple for the fresh water hose to connect to?

There are no nipples moulded into typical RV tanks (because that would be specific to the RV layout and these tanks are generic). Some waste tanks have a specific outlet location so the bottom can slope down to the drain, but generally not fill locations.

Or does ETI just drill a hole in the top of the tank and use expanding foam or something to seal the pipe into the tank?

I certainly hope they didn't do anything like that. Fittings are normally installed in these tanks by cutting a hole and spin-welding a fitting to it; that's what Escape does for other tank connections.

Example: spin-welded fittings including a hose barb for filling

It would be almost impossible to mess up the installation of a spin-welded fitting in a way which would block flow into the tank.

If that's how they do it, maybe some expanding foam or caulk got where it shouldn't have?

There shouldn't be any foam or caulk anywhere near this fitting... but it wouldn't be the first time an inappropriate product was used in Escape plumbing.

 

[Bobbie54]

There are no nipples moulded into typical RV tanks (because that would be specific to the RV layout and these tanks are generic). Some waste tanks have a specific outlet location so the bottom can slope down to the drain, but generally not fill locations.


I certainly hope they didn't do anything like that. Fittings are normally installed in these tanks by cutting a hole and spin-welding a fitting to it; that's what Escape does for other tank connections.

Example: spin-welded fittings including a hose barb for filling

It would be almost impossible to mess up the installation of a spin-welded fitting in a way which would block flow into the tank.


There shouldn't be any foam or caulk anywhere near this fitting... but it wouldn't be the first time an inappropriate product was used in Escape plumbing.

Here is what it looks like. Assuming that is it.

 

[rubicon327]

Here is what it looks like. Assuming that is it.

Yes that larger corrugated hose is the gravity fill and the clear vinyl is the vent line. It’s hard to tell from the photo but is the gravity fill heading upward before it goes down to the floor? That would be a problem.

 

[Brian B-P]

Here is what it looks like. Assuming that is it.

That's the fresh water fill and vent all right, with the city water inlet beside it.

This threw me at first because I was hoping for an image of the fitting into the tank, but this is the inlet fitting in the wall of the trailer, seen from the inside.

I agree with Dave - if the hose goes up from the inlet before going down to the tank, it's going to be a problem. The fix may just be to re-route it a bit, ensuring an all-downhill trip to the tank.

 

[Bobbie54]

Yes, sorry, they look a lot alike. Here is the connection from floor to tank. It does not go noticeably up. But I am going to try a longer hose that reaches the downturn,

 

[flynfrfun]

Maybe its an optical illusion but in the first pic it looks like two different types of hose? The green & white corrugated becomes white hose. Any chance two types of hose are somehow pushed together right there? Or is this type of hose expandable like the stinky slinky?

 

[Brian B-P]

Here is the connection from floor to tank.

That shows foam sealant, but that should just be around the hole in the floor, and have nothing to do with the hose connection to the tank. Unfortunately it hides the actual tank connection.

The visible hose clamp will hold the hose onto a pipe connected to the tank fitting, or to the tank fitting itself (depending on the type of fitting).

It looks like it might be practical to loosen the clamp, remove the hose, and see if there is any blockage in the tank connection or on the hose.

 

[Bobbie54]

I tried a piece of quarter inch hose that goes in about 3 feet and filled to level 3 on the gauge. Now will see if it leaks or not.

It was going in pretty slowly but if that works I'll try a long piece of wider hose.