FINALLY a decent Shower

[TxTravelingRN]

After suffering from decreasing water pressure in 3 month old Rockwood TT I decided to explore causes/solutions.

A spent water filter seemed to be the cause as the decrease in pressure was gradual and progressive. I was literally down to a trickle with wide open shower. The water is very muddy with high sulfur content here in West Monroe, La so the filter lasted only a short time. I removed it but will replace it when I can find and order that particular filter. The WaterPur canister is now empty rather than removing the filtration system.


Water pressure immediately improved but still not as high as I would have preferred. I installed an outside filter to minimize sediments entering TT until I can replace the KW1 filter. Pressure diminished slightly with outside water filter but not as profoundly as in-house WaterPur filter.


I next replaced the OEM shower head with an Oxygenics system as I've read many recommendations for this system. This too seemed to increase the water pressure in the shower. Unfortunately, I still had slightly low pressure in the commode and sinks.


I next replaced the inexpensive regulator furnished when trailer purchased. It is adequate for most systems but didn't work for me as it restricted PSI too much and couldn't be adjusted.


I installed a Valterra adjustable water pressure regulator and adjusted the pressure to 52 psi and have VERY good pressure now.


NOW I can shower and rinse and not feel like soap/shampoo is still in my hair. I'm considering adding a second or larger water heater to have more available water for the grandkids when on the road. There's plenty of water for 1-2 people but would never be enough for 5-6 people on the road.

[Ford Idaho]

What do the KW1 filters cost?


DuPont Standard Whole House Water Filtration System-WFPF13003B at The Home Depot


DuPont Pleated Poly Whole House Cartridge (2-Pack)-WFPFC3002 at The Home Depot

[TxTravelingRN]

Originally Posted by Ford Idaho

What do the KW1 filters cost?


DuPont Standard Whole House Water Filtration System-WFPF13003B at The Home Depot


DuPont Pleated Poly Whole House Cartridge (2-Pack)-WFPFC3002 at The Home Depot

The KW1 filter is about $30 plus shipping. Darn expensive IMO. I'm researching for a replacement system that uses carbon blocks instead of paper/cellulose that is common and also has 5 micron filtration and higher rated GPM. I want one that will filter out not only sediment but VOC’, bacteria, etc. without dropping my water pressure to an useable amount. So far I haven't found one that does as good a job but I don't want to replace a $30 filter every 3 months either. I'll probably have to make a compromise to get an adequate system with a cheaper filter replacement cost.

[Mtelkman]

A bare minimum filter size to remove a Giardia cyst is 4.0 micron. Most would say that 4.0 microns is even too big to reliably do the job. To effectively remove bacteria you would need a 0.2 micron filter. The FR1 states it has a 5 micron rating if I remember correctly so it won't effectively remove either Giardia cysts or bacteria. A filter would need to be significantly more restrictive to additionally keep viruses or organic chemicals out.

Let me make this clear: The FR1 filter is ONLY a taste/odor/sediment/rust filter.

The problem is that a filter small enough to filter out cysts and bacteria is subject to very rapid clogging and will restrict water flow unless it is a very large filter which would be too large for an RV. Your FR1 filter may stop a few of the bigger protozoa and bacteria, but not reliably. If you want to keep the FR1, I suggest installing a pre filter to filter down to 30-100 micron in size before it can clog the FR1. That should keep the FR1 from clogging as fast. That said, the FR1 filter is labeled as 2.5gpm. Your new Oxygenics shower head flows at 2gpm. If the FR1 gets even slightly clogged it won't flow enough to operate the shower head by itself at peak performance. Turn on the sink at the same time and it only gets worse.

If you want to stick with the 5 micron size, you may want to look at this:
DuPont Whole House 10-inch Carbon Filter WFPFC8002 Only $6.89

[Weezer]

Originally Posted by TxTravelingRN

After suffering from decreasing water pressure in 3 month old Rockwood TT I decided to explore causes/solutions.

A spent water filter seemed to be the cause as the decrease in pressure was gradual and progressive. I was literally down to a trickle with wide open shower. The water is very muddy with high sulfur content here in West Monroe, La so the filter lasted only a short time. I removed it but will replace it when I can find and order that particular filter. The WaterPur canister is now empty rather than removing the filtration system.
Attachment 46220 Attachment 46221

Water pressure immediately improved but still not as high as I would have preferred. I installed an outside filter to minimize sediments entering TT until I can replace the KW1 filter. Pressure diminished slightly with outside water filter but not as profoundly as in-house WaterPur filter.
Attachment 46222

I next replaced the OEM shower head with an Oxygenics system as I've read many recommendations for this system. This too seemed to increase the water pressure in the shower. Unfortunately, I still had slightly low pressure in the commode and sinks.
Attachment 46223

I next replaced the inexpensive regulator furnished when trailer purchased. It is adequate for most systems but didn't work for me as it restricted PSI too much and couldn't be adjusted.
Attachment 46224

I installed a Valterra adjustable water pressure regulator and adjusted the pressure to 52 psi and have VERY good pressure now.
Attachment 46225

NOW I can shower and rinse and not feel like soap/shampoo is still in my hair. I'm considering adding a second or larger water heater to have more available water for the grandkids when on the road. There's plenty of water for 1-2 people but would never be enough for 5-6 people on the road.

I don't know which water system you're on; city, parish, or well water. We're on Greater Ouachita Water outside the city limits of WM, LA and we do not have muddy, high sulfur content water. If we had a complaint with ours it would be that there's too much chlorine in it.

If you're at that private CG near the interstate I think you're on a private well. If you're on WM city water, coincidentally the mayor just announced yesterday that he has approved a major project to improve the water quality. I agree that if you're on city water, it's not "drink a glass from the tap" inducing, but that's not mud per se, it's just discoloration. Mud would involve dirt/soil.

[TxTravelingRN]

Originally Posted by Weezer

I don't know which water system you're on; city, parish, or well water. We're on Greater Ouachita Water outside the city limits of WM, LA and we do not have muddy, high sulfur content water. If we had a complaint with ours it would be that there's too much chlorine in it.

If you're at that private CG near the interstate I think you're on a private well. If you're on WM city water, coincidentally the mayor just announced yesterday that he has approved a major project to improve the water quality. I agree that if you're on city water, it's not "drink a glass from the tap" inducing, but that's not mud per se, it's just discoloration. Mud would involve dirt/soil.

I stand corrected. The water is not "muddy" but is very discolored. I stayed in most hotels in WM prior to purchasing the RV and they all had discolored water that smelled like sulfur and tubs were discolored from impurities in the water. I don't want those impurities going into my RV and staining my sinks, shower, commode and getting into my furnace. Yes I'm staying in the campground near the interstate; didn't realize it was well water here. If well water then I need to be even more careful in preventing contaminants into the RV as who knows what is in this water supply.
Glad to hear the mayor is working towards improving the water purity here.

[dcheatwood]

So is your water still stained after all your efforts? Just wondering if clogged filter was staining water.

[TxTravelingRN]

[QUOTE=Mtelkman;542244]A bare minimum filter size to remove a Giardia cyst is 4.0 micron. Most would say that 4.0 microns is even too big to reliably do the job. To effectively remove bacteria you would need a 0.2 micron filter. The FR1 states it has a 5 micron rating if I remember correctly so it won't effectively remove either Giardia cysts or bacteria. A filter would need to be significantly more restrictive to additionally keep viruses or organic chemicals out.

Let me make this clear: The FR1 filter is ONLY a taste/odor/sediment/rust filter.

The problem is that a filter small enough to filter out cysts and bacteria is subject to very rapid clogging and will restrict water flow unless it is a very large filter which would be too large for an RV. Your FR1 filter may stop a few of the bigger protozoa and bacteria, but not reliably. If you want to keep the FR1, I suggest installing a pre filter to filter down to 30-100 micron in size before it can clog the FR1. That should keep the FR1 from clogging as fast. That said, the FR1 filter is labeled as 2.5gpm. Your new Oxygenics shower head flows at 2gpm. If the FR1 gets even slightly clogged it won't flow enough to operate the shower head by itself at peak performance. Turn on the sink at the same time and it only gets worse.

If you want to stick with the 5 micron size, you may want to look at this:
DuPont Whole House 10-inch Carbon Filter WFPFC8002 Only $6.89[/QUOTE

I've been reading information at this site: https://www.rvwaterfilterstore.com/WCInLineFilters.htm

I looked at 2 and 3 filter systems but will probably just use an outdoor in-line system and an additional 5 micron charcoal block filter in-RV. That should by an "ok" compromise to prolong the life of the more expensive FR1 filter or equivalent. Not sure if I'll keep the WaterPur system or change to another one that has filters in more abundant supply. I might use an under-the-sink or pitcher-style water filter for drinking water.
Thanks for the info.

[TxTravelingRN]

Originally Posted by dcheatwood

So is your water still stained after all your efforts? Just wondering if clogged filter was staining water.

I've had no staining. Water is coming through pure enough to drink albeit with slight taste variation.

[Timex]

Originally Posted by TxTravelingRN

After suffering from decreasing water pressure in 3 month old Rockwood TT I decided to explore causes/solutions.

A spent water filter seemed to be the cause as the decrease in pressure was gradual and progressive. I was literally down to a trickle with wide open shower. The water is very muddy with high sulfur content here in West Monroe, La so the filter lasted only a short time. I removed it but will replace it when I can find and order that particular filter. The WaterPur canister is now empty rather than removing the filtration system.
Attachment 46220 Attachment 46221

Water pressure immediately improved but still not as high as I would have preferred. I installed an outside filter to minimize sediments entering TT until I can replace the KW1 filter. Pressure diminished slightly with outside water filter but not as profoundly as in-house WaterPur filter.
Attachment 46222

I next replaced the OEM shower head with an Oxygenics system as I've read many recommendations for this system. This too seemed to increase the water pressure in the shower. Unfortunately, I still had slightly low pressure in the commode and sinks.
Attachment 46223

I next replaced the inexpensive regulator furnished when trailer purchased. It is adequate for most systems but didn't work for me as it restricted PSI too much and couldn't be adjusted.
Attachment 46224

I installed a Valterra adjustable water pressure regulator and adjusted the pressure to 52 psi and have VERY good pressure now.
Attachment 46225

NOW I can shower and rinse and not feel like soap/shampoo is still in my hair. I'm considering adding a second or larger water heater to have more available water for the grandkids when on the road. There's plenty of water for 1-2 people but would never be enough for 5-6 people on the road.

So far,(knock, knock) I have not had the issue of discolored water. We bring water from home to drink. I too had horrible water pressure and did all the things as well to help the pressure. It wasn't until I got the same adjustable regulator that the pressure has increased to acceptable levels. The BOSS thinks I fixed something(I'm not telling my secret) but just remember the hot water tank empties quicker and the gray tank fills quicker too!