Intermittent Shower Leak Driving Me Crazy

[ArkRVHog]

So when we run our shower we were getting drips in the storage bay directly below. My shower has a round service opening directly under the faucets where I was able to visibly confirm the leak was not originating from the fixtures or hot/cold pipe lines starting up high.

Got my endoscope out and looked for leaks in the hot/cold lines that come out below the shower "pan" in the storage bay. This same bay also has my water pump, winterizing hookup, standard water filter unit, and to one side the fresh water tank.

The photo attached is grainy but it looks like there's some fittings connecting the lines from the hot/cold fixtures above to hot/cold lines below. (Heat duct to one side/fresh water tank to the other.) But of course this is way up high...could not have even seen it without my special camera. How in the world do you even get to these fittings to check for leaks?

DW and I even poured buckets of water down the shower drain to confirm that this piping was not the source of the leak.

Sometimes the dripping is pretty aggressive...sometimes not...but water is going where it shouldn't! Anyone else have any experience or advice here? Thx!

[Reverse_snowbird]

Originally Posted by ArkRVHog

Got my endoscope out and looked for leaks in the hot/cold lines that come out below the shower "pan" in the storage bay. This same bay also has my water pump, winterizing hookup, standard water filter unit, and to one side the fresh water tank. ... advice here? Thx!

The only similar experience we had was when the piping under the shower came detached. It was a pain to take off the front panel and reattach the piping under the drain. While under there we found the black water fitting was loose also.

Since tha bay also has your water pump, have you checked that and the water filter for leaks?

[ArkRVHog]

Originally Posted by Reverse_snowbird

Since tha bay also has your water pump, have you checked that and the water filter for leaks?

That was repaired from our last big trip...ha...no leaks there.

This leak definitely coming from just below the shower...the challenge is identifying it and getting to it.

[Reverse_snowbird]

Hmmm.... You took the cover off the front of the shower near the floor, right?
Have you inspected the drain lines coming from the bottom of the shower? You might want to put someone in the shower and see if those pipes move as the person simulates a shower. Since you said that sometimes it leaks more than others, one of the unknowns is if someone moving in the shower causes the pipes to move. There's not a lot of support under most rv showers.

[ArkRVHog]

Originally Posted by Reverse_snowbird

Hmmm.... You took the cover off the front of the shower near the floor, right?
Have you inspected the drain lines coming from the bottom of the shower? You might want to put someone in the shower and see if those pipes move as the person simulates a shower. Since you said that sometimes it leaks more than others, one of the unknowns is if someone moving in the shower causes the pipes to move. There's not a lot of support under most rv showers.

As many ways as we tried to analyze this, you offer another great thought. We'll do a test with a 185 pounds in the shower and it going next time. (That's me...not the DW!) Thx for the response.

[NXR]

I had a similar leak. It only leaked while someone actually was taking a shower. The water was running down the inside of the shower, on to the "block" with the water valves, getting under the silver decorative cover, and then running out on the back side of the shower, and down to underneath the shower. When a "pond" of sufficient depth built up it leaked out and to the ground. The visual leak was not on every shower, just when enough water built up.

I slathered silicone all over that faucet "block" and it stopped. I first confirmed that was the problem by sealing it with black electrical tape.

My endoscope allowed me to finally figure out what was happening. As long as someone was taking a shower the water dripped underneath the shower but not always outside.

It turned out many people have had the same problem. One person removed the water valve assembly from the shower wall and it was filled with soapy water.

https://www.forestriverforums.com/fo...t5-214701.html

Ray

[NXR]

Originally Posted by ArkRVHog

As many ways as we tried to analyze this, you offer another great thought. We'll do a test with a 185 pounds in the shower and it going next time. (That's me...not the DW!) Thx for the response.

There's a much easier way. Dry out the floor under the shower. Then place a bunch of dry paper towels underneath, especially under the drain piping. If there's any dripping it will show up on the paper towels.

Ray

[pmsherman]

If you have drips only when the shower is running, there's only two places where it can come from.
1. The shower drain
2. The faucet assembly
3. The floor/walls of the shower


No plumbing leak will not leak when water isn't running. (Wow - three negatives in a single sentence!) When water isn't running, water pressure is highest which causes any leak to drip faster. You've verified that the drain isn't the problem which indicates that it's most likely the faucet itself. The feed lines attach directly to the valves then the valves output sides are connected together before going to the hose nipple. I suspect that your leak is in that part of the faucet.




Phil

[Semperfi24]

Originally Posted by pmsherman

If you have drips only when the shower is running, there's only two places where it can come from.
1. The shower drain
2. The faucet assembly
3. The floor/walls of the shower


No plumbing leak will not leak when water isn't running. (Wow - three negatives in a single sentence!) When water isn't running, water pressure is highest which causes any leak to drip faster. You've verified that the drain isn't the problem which indicates that it's most likely the faucet itself. The feed lines attach directly to the valves then the valves output sides are connected together before going to the hose nipple. I suspect that your leak is in that part of the faucet.




Phil

I was going to chime in similar to what Phil said. If the pipes supplying the water was the issue, it would leak whenever you have water pressure (hooked up to water a campground). Since it only leaks while it is in use, the leak is somewhere "after" that.

One question I have, is it every single time the shower is used? In my fifth wheel, we discovered that water can run along the seem (horizontal) where the shower walls "connect" to the shower base, and if the trailer is slightly off on level (only side to side) it would run out of the shower and drip down into the living room, the pass through storage, etc. It was "exiting" right where the shower door met up with the walls/base, in that corner, water would run under. So I sealed it up and havent seen an issue since. But it took a while to figure out where it was coming from, because it wasnt everytime (because it was based on leveling, and you arent exactly the same each time you level it). Plus the floors in our rv arent level to each other. The lower level of the fifth wheel and the upper level of the fifth wheel are never both perfectly level at the same time, its one or the other. So I always leveled based on the lower level (where the fridge is), leaving the upper level (where the shower is) to be slightly off, allowing the water to run out of the shower. Sometimes I would level from the top, sometimes from the bottom, depending on whether I was doing it, or my wife was running the controls (if it was me I would put the level next to me on the upper level, if she was doing it, I'd be standing outside the door on the ground and use the lower level). Eventually we realized it was whenever I leveled it from the top, so we compared with my level. That was where it dawned on me that if the leveling of the trailer is a factor, the water was running out the side. That is the tricky thing about water, tracking it down can be incredibly challenging. Good luck with the fix, you have received a lot of good ideas on what to check and how to check them.

[The2002Wanderer]

I had a similar leak in the showeer of my Isata 3. When the dealer looked at it they knew immediately what to do as it is a common problem: floor of showere flexes putting stress on pvc drain whiuch cracks and leaks under the weight of person in shower. Solution dealer employed was cut out cracked PVC, replace pvc elbow and install a section of flex tubing in drain line wwith hose clamps. Never had a leak since. Wondering why mfr does install flex drain line to start with?

[cincia]

I can't help with the leak but have a tip for once you get the leak fixed. I saw on our shower that the shower floor flexed quite a bit in certain spots while we were in it. ASAP I opened up the little access panel on the front, measured the height from the floor of the tt to the bottom of the shower, and built several wooden supports to put in there. We still have some small areas where the shower floor feels soft if you step right on that area but it firmed up the shower floor considerably and was an easy fix. I was afraid that having that much flexing in the shower floor would lead to something cracking or leaking. good luck.

[ArkRVHog]

"I saw on our shower that the shower floor flexed quite a bit in certain spots while WE were in it." (My emphasis on WE.)

You must have a deluxe sized shower to hold more than one person...wink.

But seriously, reinforcing these showers is certainly a good idea and not too difficult. Thx.

[ArkRVHog]

So I had previously changed my showerhead to be one that allows you to switch the water off at the shower head...not the faucets. We have determined there there must be some weak waterline connections that don't like that strategy as when we don't use this function, we don't get drips below. Use it and we do experience some leaking below the shower from somewhere at a fitting.

Here's the popular product we use....Camco 43714 Shower Head Kit with On/Off Switch and 60" Flexible Shower Hose (White)

Solution...quit using this switch function...though it was nice not having to adjust hot/cold water faucets when dry camping and trying to preserve water. Oh, well!

[Reverse_snowbird]

Originally Posted by ArkRVHog

Use it and we do experience some leaking below the shower from somewhere at a fitting.

You might want to take the panel off that's at floor level and using your flashlight, see if the leak is still there when you don't use the shutoff feature and use the shower. You don't want to find out later that the leak was still there. Sometimes an endoscope helps.
If it's not leaking water, that would be the best outcome.

[pmsherman]

Originally Posted by ArkRVHog

So I had previously changed my showerhead to be one that allows you to switch the water off at the shower head...not the faucets. We have determined there there must be some weak waterline connections that don't like that strategy as when we don't use this function, we don't get drips below. Use it and we do experience some leaking below the shower from somewhere at a fitting.
......

Think about how the shower fixture works. You have two water lines coming to the fixture which are attached to the shutoff valves. The output sides of the valves are connected together in a T fitting with the third leg feeding the threaded pipe that you attach the flexible hose to.

If there's a leak before the shutoff valves, you will have a water leak whenever the water lines are pressurized. Your leak which occurs only with the valves open and the hose shutoff closed limits the leak to the T assembly. Flowing water exerts less pressure on the walls of a pipe it's flowing through than when it's not moving (static). This is known in fluid dynamics as Bernulli's law.

If your shower faucet is the OEM unit installed when your rig was built, It most likely has plastic pipes forming the T to feed the shower head. I strongly suspect that you have a minute crack in this part of the fixture that leaks only under the increased static pressure that occurs when you shut off the water using the hose shutoff. The cure for this problem is to replace the shower valve assembly.


Phil

[ArkRVHog]

Originally Posted by pmsherman

Think about how the shower fixture works. You have two water lines coming to the fixture which are attached to the shutoff valves. The output sides of the valves are connected together in a T fitting with the third leg feeding the threaded pipe that you attach the flexible hose to.

If there's a leak before the shutoff valves, you will have a water leak whenever the water lines are pressurized. Your leak which occurs only with the valves open and the hose shutoff closed limits the leak to the T assembly. Flowing water exerts less pressure on the walls of a pipe it's flowing through than when it's not moving (static). This is known in fluid dynamics as Bernulli's law.

If your shower faucet is the OEM unit installed when your rig was built, It most likely has plastic pipes forming the T to feed the shower head. I strongly suspect that you have a minute crack in this part of the fixture that leaks only under the increased static pressure that occurs when you shut off the water using the hose shutoff. The cure for this problem is to replace the shower valve assembly.


Phil

I have replaced the fixture in addition to the new shower head (with on/off switch.) I have an access panel just below the on/off valves and have confirmed that I get zero water dripping from the fixtures/piping just above it. My pressure leak has to be coming from somewhere below this.

[pmsherman]

Originally Posted by ArkRVHog

I have replaced the fixture in addition to the new shower head (with on/off switch.) I have an access panel just below the on/off valves and have confirmed that I get zero water dripping from the fixtures/piping just above it. My pressure leak has to be coming from somewhere below this.

I had a similar leak in my shower that neither I or the dealer could find for many years. It wasn't until I had to replace the faucet that I discovered that one of the feed lines to the faucet had a high water pressure leak caused by an incorrectly installed clamp at the end of the pex tubing. The only way to discover this was to take 3 squares of tp, roll them up into a long tube and tape them around the pex pipes just below the faucet. After a few minutes, the wet tp quickly showed me where the leak was.


Phil