How to Repair a Broken Drain Line Fitting

[RBrownlow]

I have a 2016 Forester Sprinter 2401W. On my last trip I noticed a water leak coming from the area of the fresh water drain access panel. I removed the access and discovered water dripping from one of the two capped off water lines dropping down from the floor area alongside the fresh water tank. I hardly touched the dripping line and it broke off at the 90 degree fitting. See my picture taken looking straight up into the water tank area. Replacing the broken fitting has turned out to be very difficult since the crimped on hose clamp is not accessible from either the water tank area or under the shower in the bathroom. The operator's manual does not explain what these lines are for but looks like one is hot and the other is cold and I assume they are used for winterizing ( I live is SoCal so winterizing is a foreign concept to me). At this point in the repair process I'm ready to simply plug this fitting and move on but something tells me to ask for help before I do. Doe anybody out the know what these lines are for?

[ejohnson1144]

Do you have a fresh water holding tank

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[JLeising]

Sounds like the "low point drain" lines, but the ones on our 2012 Solera "S" are below the kitchen sink area just behind the steps.
I would just plug it...

[RBrownlow]

Originally Posted by ejohnson1144

Do you have a fresh water holding tank

Sent from my LG-H910 using Forest River Forums mobile app

Yes, in the picture the fresh water tank is to the right out of sight. These two line hang down right next to the tank and are capped off right next to the fresh water tank drain.

[RBrownlow]

Originally Posted by JLeising

Sounds like the "low point drain" lines, but the ones on our 2012 Solera "S" are below the kitchen sink area just behind the steps.
I would just plug it...

Thanks for that tip, I didn't think about them being low point drains. That's why I come here with my problems. I think I'll just plug it like you say.

[mnoland30]

What about the guy you sell your RV to next year? He may move to Colorado, and then he'll be in serious trouble. Or what if you get unusually cold weather? Even Florida freezes sometimes, and I saw snow in Tucson once. If you just plug it, any water left in the system will be in a rigid fitting, which will crack instantly if frozen.

I'd buy a 90 degree SharkBite fitting that pushes on to the tubing. They work great. You could probably just cut the tubing still on the 90 degree fitting, or use a Dremel with a cutting blade to cut the crimped ring.

[ejohnson1144]

That's why I don't buy used anything.

[pmsherman]

There's usually two low point drains. One is for the water lines, the other for the fresh water tank. If this is the water line drain, then it should be sealed to withstand at least 75psi of pressure (assuming you use a pressure regulator providing 50psi) to provide a safety margin for a pressurized system that builds pressure as the water in the pipes warms up on a very hot day.

The fresh water tank drain usually has much less pressure on the drain joints.

Your picture doesn't indicate if the elbow is intact or broke off above where the drain hose attaches. If it's intact, then you have a few options.
1. attach a new hose iwth a spring clamp
2. Attach a new hose with a crimp clamp if you can get a manual crimping tool on the clamp
3. Attach a new hose with a hose clamp. With this option, I'd also try to fill the joint with silicone seal because the hose clamp usually doesn't usually provide as good a seal as the crimp clamps

If the elbow is broken, then it will require replacement, a more difficult task because you'll need to get to the other side of the elbow.

Phil

[newRVer]

Oh and if anyone has not mentioned it yet, I would not replace the broken fitting with another plastic elbow because if it broke once it's likely to happen again. I would use a brass elbow instead which is what I did when repairing my hot and cold water lines to the outside shower where both elbows broke within days of each other.