2013 Solera 24RS water pressure problem

[Tranquil Jim]

Help!

We're on the road for the first trip of the year and are experiencing very low water pressure. I de-winterized the water system per instructions (I used air to blow out the system last fall) and believe all the valves, etc. are in the correct positions.

Park water pressure is fine, but pressure in the MH is low; useable, but low. The water pump, however, will barely provide any water at all from the FW tank.

I'm wondering about the water filter as being the culprit. I did remove the filter cartridge as part of the winterizing procedure last fall and put a new cartridge in a couple of weeks ago. I did not use a Water-Pur cartridge as the local RV store had a different brand. My nearest Forest River dealer is 45 minutes away.

Is it possible that the generic cartridge (which appears to be the same size, physically) is different enough to cause the low water pressure? Any thoughts or ideas here? I'm stumped.

Tranquil Jim

[TURBS]

I'd start by checking your screens at your taps and then remove your low flow restricters

TURBS


"Sabre owners united"

[Nats]

You should be able to pull the filter cartridge pretty quickly and see if that solves the problem.

I have seen others post on this forum with problems the same as yours due to a filter cartridge that had a very high pressure drop.

[Tranquil Jim]

OK…mea culpa…probably! The screens are all clear and the pressure reducer at the park tap is fine. I discovered the bypass/normal valve near the water filter compartment was in "bypass." Changing to "normal" made a significant improvement in the water pump/FW tank flow.

Still, neither outside nor FW tank flow is what I remember it to be before I replaced the water filter. So, the question still stands; "can a generic water filter cartridge make a significant flow difference vs a genuine Water-Pur cartridge?

TJ

[Tranquil Jim]

Originally Posted by Nats

You should be able to pull the filter cartridge pretty quickly and see if that solves the problem.

I have seen others post on this forum with problems the same as yours due to a filter cartridge that had a very high pressure drop.

Sorry…didn't see your post before my last one. I was assuming that the system would work without the cartridge installed and that is my next step. Was hoping to avoid doing that because of the cramped access to the filter jar.

Sounds like others have had similar problems. Anyone know of cartridge brands besides Water-Pur that work OK?

TJ

[Nats]

I used one of these:

OMNIFilter Whole House Replacement Cartridge

[bubbles]

Originally Posted by Nats

I used one of these:

OMNIFilter Whole House Replacement Cartridge

That filter should be ok. However; sometimes those filters do not open both ends of the filter center tube so those should be installed with the sealed center hole down. Your's may not be this way.

[Nats]

Originally Posted by bubbles

That filter should be ok. However; sometimes those filters do not open both ends of the filter center tube so those should be installed with the sealed center hole down. Your's may not be this way.

The center of the filter is open at both ends. The filter housing seals the bottom hole on the filter so the water has to flow through the filter.

[Tranquil Jim]

Well, it was apparently the bypass/normal valve after all. After 73 years, the old noggin doesn't always remember things very well. The "lady of the coach" says the water pressure is about what it always has been. And…she's most often right about a lot of things.

Just to check, I bit the bullet and removed the new filter cartridge. In the process, I remembered that I had kept the old Water-Pur filter (in a sealed Zip-Lok bag) for a spare since it had only been in use for about 6 months and surely didn't have anywhere near 10,000 gallons of water through it (the recommended change interval is 1-year/10,000 gallons). I reinstalled the old Water-Pur filter and there was no noticeable improvement over the Watts Flow-Pur filter I had replaced it with.

Re-positioning the bypass/normal valve was the answer. Should have spotted that before I even started asking questions. That 73-year-old noggin again!

Many thanks for the helpful suggestions. The Solera forum is a great resource and I appreciate all of you.

Blessings,

TJ