City water filling Fresh Water Tank!

Creativepart · 01-11-2016, 12:20 PM

So, this morning I find water coming out of my fresh water tank cap - I'm connected to the campground's water to my city water inlet (2015 Forester 3051s Class C motorhome). I checked the fill gauge and it shows my fresh water tank full, but it was at 1/3rd full when we arrived yesterday.

I think there is a check valve or a valve built into the head of the water pump that is supposed to keep this from happening. But I'm not sure.

I used the fresh water dump valve to drop the fresh water tank level to 1/3rd again and I'm checking to see if it fills up again.

Any ideas of what to do next if it continues to fill the fresh tank?

As an FYI, when we got here I didn't attach the pressure regulator to the city water hose. But after I saw the water leaking from the fresh water tank I did add the pressure regulator and after a few hours with the pressure regulator in place water was still leaking from the fresh tank cap.

youroo · 01-11-2016, 12:27 PM

Run your F/W pump and Hope it resets the Pump checkvalve!

Youroo!! PS this is with the City water unhooked and also run a water outlet,then turn it off and let the pump build Full pressure!

Creativepart · 01-11-2016, 12:55 PM

Thanks, I should have done a better search for this before posting. I found an identical thread and it shared that same answer.

Giving it a try now and hoping this fixes the problem. But if not, it's under warranty and I'm sitting for nearly 3 weeks at a CG in Tucson that's full of RV repair folks and right next door to the Lazy Days RV service center. So, it shouldn't be too big a problem to deal with.

Creativepart · 01-14-2016, 01:40 AM

Circling back on this to help inform others.

So, after discovering this issue and finding on here that I needed to use the pump and freshwater tank for a while to "reset" the check valve in the pump I did all that.

But the freshwater tank filled up again and started leaking water out of the city water cap.

So I just disconnected the city water, turned the pump back on and just used the freshwater tank for two full days. Once the FW tank was empty, I reconnected the city water connection and this time the FW tank has NOT filled back up.

So it took running the pump for some time to get it working again.

pmsherman · 01-15-2016, 03:09 AM

It's a good thing that it fixed itself. I called Lazy Days around a week ago and they told me that it would be mid February until they could get a service technician to spend 3 minutes or less looking (eyes only) at a hydraulic jack that might have a problem.

Phil

youroo · 01-15-2016, 06:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Creativepart

Circling back on this to help inform others.

So, after discovering this issue and finding on here that I needed to use the pump and freshwater tank for a while to "reset" the check valve in the pump I did all that.

But the freshwater tank filled up again and started leaking water out of the city water cap.

So I just disconnected the city water, turned the pump back on and just used the freshwater tank for two full days. Once the FW tank was empty, I reconnected the city water connection and this time the FW tank has NOT filled back up.

So it took running the pump for some time to get it working again.

Glad after 44Gal of water usage from the F/W Tank the pump reset! Do you have a W/D in your unit? That seems like a Lot of water usage in 2 Days!

Youroo!!

Papicamper · 01-22-2016, 07:54 AM

EXACT same thing is happening to me in last three days (first time I put any amount of water in F/T). The park we're in turns water off if temps go way below freezing so I "stocked up" the afternoon before. Everything woks fine but there is the [repeated] slow filling up of the F/T...and subsequent overflow running.
I tried emptying a lot of the F/T water and it looked promising but then went back to filling up again.
The only thing listed I have NOT done was to physically disconnect the city water (might there be a vacuum issue?) and run pump a bit, etc. I will try that tonight...meanwhile, while we are not there, the city water is turned off.
Where is the check valve located? I had a suspicition about it and/or the "Gravity/City" 90 degree valve/switch. Have not looked inside yet. Any further ideas appreciated. BTW: Cedar Creek 36CKTS. Thanks!

5picker · 01-22-2016, 08:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Papicamper

EXACT same thing is happening to me in last three days (first time I put any amount of water in F/T). The park we're in turns water off if temps go way below freezing so I "stocked up" the afternoon before. Everything woks fine but there is the [repeated] slow filling up of the F/T...and subsequent overflow running.
I tried emptying a lot of the F/T water and it looked promising but then went back to filling up again.
The only thing listed I have NOT done was to physically disconnect the city water (might there be a vacuum issue?) and run pump a bit, etc. I will try that tonight...meanwhile, while we are not there, the city water is turned off.
Where is the check valve located? I had a suspicition about it and/or the "Gravity/City" 90 degree valve/switch. Have not looked inside yet. Any further ideas appreciated. BTW: Cedar Creek 36CKTS. Thanks!

You need to disconnect the city water hose and run the pump for it to be effective in clearing the pump's check valve. The check valve is built into the pump head.

Papicamper · 01-22-2016, 10:24 AM

Thanks for tip! Will do so tonight!

youroo · 01-22-2016, 10:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Papicamper

EXACT same thing is happening to me in last three days (first time I put any amount of water in F/T). The park we're in turns water off if temps go way below freezing so I "stocked up" the afternoon before. Everything woks fine but there is the [repeated] slow filling up of the F/T...and subsequent overflow running.
I tried emptying a lot of the F/T water and it looked promising but then went back to filling up again.
The only thing listed I have NOT done was to physically disconnect the city water (might there be a vacuum issue?) and run pump a bit, etc. I will try that tonight...meanwhile, while we are not there, the city water is turned off.
Where is the check valve located? I had a suspicition about it and/or the "Gravity/City" 90 degree valve/switch. Have not looked inside yet. Any further ideas appreciated. BTW: Cedar Creek 36CKTS. Thanks!

Did you read Post# 2?

Youroo!!

Papicamper · 01-22-2016, 08:03 PM

Yes. I read #2.
Tonight here's what I did and thought it worked but then no joy.
1. Disconnected city water
2. ran pump with sink faucet open
3. repeated #2
4. closed sink faucet
5. reconnected city water after cycling city/gravity valve
6. thought it had worked but still filling F/T slowly.

Will repeat procedure tomorrow in daytime.

designfly · 07-23-2017, 01:59 PM

2015 Coachmen Pursuit 31BD Motorhome - water pump issue

We have also issues with freshwater filling while hooked to city water.
This seems to be a very explainable issue, but why does this happen?
Does the pump have a design flaw or is it the plumbing?

I wish we could get an explanation from some one fluent with this issue.

I am thinking of replacing pump...any thoughts or input would be appreciated

cldickerson · 04-04-2021, 01:42 PM

I purchased a new FR Wildwood X-lite and experienced the fresh water tank filling from the very first day. Being a full-timer and living in my RV I didn't want to take it back to the dealer if it was avoidable so I began researching alternatives. One suggestion was to replace the pump, another to install a on/off valve, and yet another to install a check-valve. Here is how I did it...

My fresh water pump is located below the sink, accessible from a cabinet by removing a small panel:

The panel is left side of image. Notice also the antifreeze fill hose in the upper-right corner. Below is a better image of the antifreeze fill hose:

Upon removing the panel, the fresh water pump will be exposed:

Notice the valve (currently in the upward position). This is the antifreeze fill valve. The hose to the rear of the valve goes to the fresh water pump. The hose forward of the valve goes to the fresh water tank, and the hose coming out of the top is the antifreeze hose depicted in the previous picture.

The valve is normally in the horizontal position, connecting the pump to the tank. To winterize, you would place the valve in the upward position so the pump would pump antifreeze throughout the system. All you have to do to solve the fresh water tank filling is first make sure the antifreeze tube is tightly plugged and turn the valve up.

What you have done is taken the water that was leaking back through the pump from the city water and diverted it from the fresh water tank to the antifreeze hose, which is plugged. Problem solved!

Now, when you go off city water and want to use your fresh water tank, all you have to do is turn the valve back to the horizontal position. This solution may not work for you if you do a lot of boondocking but I live in my RV full time and rarely put it on the road. By following the above procedure, you don't have to cut any lines or purchase any valves. It's just a quick and dirty fix!

5picker · 04-04-2021, 04:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cldickerson

I purchased a new FR Wildwood X-lite and experienced the fresh water tank filling from the very first day. Being a full-timer and living in my RV I didn't want to take it back to the dealer if it was avoidable so I began researching alternatives. One suggestion was to replace the pump, another to install a on/off valve, and yet another to install a check-valve. Here is how I did it...

My fresh water pump is located below the sink, accessible from a cabinet by removing a small panel:

The panel is left side of image. Notice also the antifreeze fill hose in the upper-right corner. Below is a better image of the antifreeze fill hose:

Upon removing the panel, the fresh water pump will be exposed:

Notice the valve (currently in the upward position). This is the antifreeze fill valve. The hose to the rear of the valve goes to the fresh water pump. The hose forward of the valve goes to the fresh water tank, and the hose coming out of the top is the antifreeze hose depicted in the previous picture.

The valve is normally in the horizontal position, connecting the pump to the tank. To winterize, you would place the valve in the upward position so the pump would pump antifreeze throughout the system. All you have to do to solve the fresh water tank filling is first make sure the antifreeze tube is tightly plugged and turn the valve up.

What you have done is taken the water that was leaking back through the pump from the city water and diverted it from the fresh water tank to the antifreeze hose, which is plugged. Problem solved!

Now, when you go off city water and want to use your fresh water tank, all you have to do is turn the valve back to the horizontal position. This solution may not work for you if you do a lot of boondocking but I live in my RV full time and rarely put it on the road. By following the above procedure, you don't have to cut any lines or purchase any valves. It's just a quick and dirty fix!

Good plan for those whose antifreeze inlet is plugged tightly. Mine goes to an outside connection port with a snap in cap. It would never hold pressure. I could screw a $.50 hose shut-off into the port and achieve the same result.

You may also like: