Sink faucet debris catcher?

[tooltruckguy]

We have a 2017 Crusader 295 RST that we purchased last Nov. 30 day warranty expired while in storage. Put water back in trailer today and get only a trickle out of kitchen dink. Everyplace else great pressure. RV service guy at dealer said to check the debris strainer in base of faucet. Any idea what to look for? I have no idea what it looks like.

Thanks.

[cavie]

Originally Posted by tooltruckguy

We have a 2017 Crusader 295 RST that we purchased last Nov. 30 day warranty expired while in storage. Put water back in trailer today and get only a trickle out of kitchen dink. Everyplace else great pressure. RV service guy at dealer said to check the debris strainer in base of faucet. Any idea what to look for? I have no idea what it looks like.

Thanks.

It is not a debris catcher. It is called a strainer. It is in the end out the water spot. It unscrews. It will come out in your hand and usually has 3 parts to it. Clean and replace. Should be one in all you sink faucets.

[tooltruckguy]

Thanks for the speedy reply. I checked and that isn’t the problem. With the strainer removed still just a tiny trickle.

[cavie]

Originally Posted by tooltruckguy

Thanks for the speedy reply. I checked and that isn’t the problem. With the strainer removed still just a tiny trickle.

Next step is to remove the faucet and see it you have good water supply and then just replace the cheap junk that came with the RV.

[5picker]

The thing on the end of the faucet is more often referred to as an aerator rather than a strainer. In any case if removing that and cleaning or leaving out to try didn't help, the next step is to remove the supply hoses from the bottom of the faucet and see if you have proper flow there.

You can run the water into a bucket and if it flows OK then you possibly have debris in the faucet cartridge.(s) Some of the cartridges are removable depending on faucet type.

If you have poor flow from the supply lines, you need to look for kinked or damaged plumbing line.(s)

[emm-dee]

I had poor water flow in the kitchen. Found via a forum post there is a “flow limiter” in place. Threw it away and now have excellent flow, even with the strainer in place.

Here’s a pix of the culprit (the yellow thingy, not the dime which is there for perspective)

[tooltruckguy]

After further trouble shooting, problem seems to be in the faucet head itself. Plenty of pressure with end of sprayer head of faucet removed. Not sure if I can replace just that part. Need to be a contortionist to remove whole faucet assembly.

[MillMitch]

try back flushing the faucet head and see if that helps (I would try that outside). Might try soaking in vinegar, but if it's a new camper, that shouldn't be it.

[Larry-NC]

You know, we experienced folks do a bad job of telling newbies how to de-winterizing their trailers. We tell them to flush the system first, then undo the water heater bypass and fill the water tank, but we never remember to tell them that Step 1 is to remove all the faucet aerators and spray heads: kitchen, lavatory, inside and outside showers before starting, and not to return them until everything has been flushed. Hard to do the toilet, but if they flush all the others first, it will probably be okay.

Larry

[cariboo camper]

Originally Posted by Larry-NC

You know, we experienced folks do a bad job of telling newbies how to de-winterizing their trailers. We tell them to flush the system first, then undo the water heater bypass and fill the water tank, but we never remember to tell them that Step 1 is to remove all the faucet aerators and spray heads: kitchen, lavatory, inside and outside showers before starting, and not to return them until everything has been flushed. Hard to do the toilet, but if they flush all the others first, it will probably be okay.

Larry

Not sure why remove aerators, spray heads etc., could you explain why. Also having trouble with kitchen hot water flow, resigned to the fact it is junk and will have to replace.

[BobHanke]

One other place to look if you have the pull out faucet head. Disconnect the hose where it connects to the main assembly. Kind of a choke point where it connects and can easily get blocked by debris. I found some plastic film stuck in mine that could have been Teflon tape or some wrapping material from the water tank during assembly of the rig.

[Larry-NC]

Originally Posted by cariboo camper

Not sure why remove aerators, spray heads etc., could you explain why. Also having trouble with kitchen hot water flow, resigned to the fact it is junk and will have to replace.

A problem that's discussed on these forums nearly every day in the spring arises as follows.

• A natural consequence of the tiny water heaters in trailers is that they develop crud.
• If the heater isn't really thorougly flushed during winterization or de-winterization, the crud gets into the hot water lines when water is turned on in the spring.
• The crud (minerals from the water, a little sand) clogs the aerators, usually at the kitchen and lavatory sink.
• Newbies start a thread complaining of low pressure (really it's low flow) at just one sink.
• The problem is almost always that the aerator is clogged with the crud. If they unscrew the aerator and run water through it backward, the problem is almost always solved.

I understand that this particular case does not involve the aerator. But the problem could have been avoided nonetheless.

I am a guy who fixes everything. I would never throw away a faucet (except the ones that are corroding in our 2007 trailer). Today's faucets all have an easily-replaced, inexpensive cartridge (two if there are two knobs).

• Take out the old cartridge.
• Run water through a towel to flush the line
• Rinse the cartridge thoroughly to remove any crud
• Reassemble the faucet
• If that doesn't fix it, get a replacement cartridge at Lowe's or Home Depot

Quicker and easier and cheaper than standing on your head to remove/redo connections and remove/redo mounting fittings. I've been laying on my back looking up at sinks for 60 years, with cabinet door latches biting me in the back. I now avoid it whenever possible.

Larry

[nomad297]

Originally Posted by emm-dee

I had poor water flow in the kitchen. Found via a forum post there is a “flow limiter” in place. Threw it away and now have excellent flow, even with the strainer in place.

Here’s a pix of the culprit (the yellow thingy, not the dime which is there for perspective)

This is not a restrictor — it is a check valve. This is the type of check valve that is usually placed inside of the spray head where the hose connects. While it may restrict the flow some, and some are made with integral restrictors (this one is not), restriction is not its purpose. All kitchen faucets with pull-out heads have these, and they often cause poor flow at the head if the water pressure is low.

If you have good flow at the hose with the head removed, pull this check valve out of the head and see if that helps. They are just held in by friction with o-rings, so they will pull right out. I usually just stick one side of a needle nose plier in the middle of them and jerk them out. Sometimes I have to screw a screw into the center of them to grab it, then pull it out.

It’s worth a shot.

If you have poor flow at the hose with the head removed, I will post how to take care of that.

Bruce

[nomad297]

Originally Posted by nomad297

If you have poor flow at the hose with the head removed, I will post how to take care of that.

I will just post this solution now, while I can:

Always work from the head back towards the supply. If you think it may be debris in the faucet cartridge or supply lines, blow them out by disconnecting one of the supply lines and aiming it at a bucket. Put your finger over the end of the sprayer hose, or kink the hose, then turn the faucet on. Water will feed through and blow that stuff out. If you still have the problem, do the same with the other supply line.

Bruce

[rjshiflet]

Our Cardinal has a pull-out faucet head with sprayer and we had terrible flow early in our ownership...unless I pulled the head out for spraying, then it was fine. I discovered the counter-weight under the sink (in our island) was placed wrong and was causing a kink in that hose...thus restricting the flow.

I loosened the weight, moved it six inches then tightened it - problem solved. You might check that while you're checking other issues.

[nomad297]

Originally Posted by rjshiflet

Our Cardinal has a pull-out faucet head with sprayer and we had terrible flow early in our ownership...unless I pulled the head out for spraying, then it was fine. I discovered the counter-weight under the sink (in our island) was placed wrong and was causing a kink in that hose...thus restricting the flow.

I loosened the weight, moved it six inches then tightened it - problem solved. You might check that while you're checking other issues.

This is a common problem with all pull-out kitchen faucets, and your solution always takes care of it.

However, the OP has stated that he is getting good flow with the head pulled off, so I doubt this, or the solution in my second post above, will help — unless he just happened to be holding the hose in just the right place for it to be un-kinked when he checked it with the head removed — then your idea is possible, but my second post would still be irrelevant

Bruce

[tooltruckguy]

Thanks for all the replies. I soaked the faucet head in vinegar for a while and it seems to have fixed the problem. It did hurt the finish on the faucet head, but at least it works. I checked for kinks in pull out line, but it is fine.

I have a new faucet head coming from Amazon tomorrow. I ‘ll jeep the old one as a spare.

Thanks again for your help.