Maximum safe water pressure?

jonrjen · 02-17-2014, 04:59 PM

What is the maximum water pressure that would be in the safe zone on a new 5th wheel.

The reason I ask is that I have the tankless water heater on our Wildcat. The water heater requires a minimum flow of gallons of water and pressure to operate correctly.

It was even recommended that I remove any and all water flow restrictors in the trailer such as the low flow disc in the faucets in order to help with the flow of water.

Most of the water pressure regulators that you purchase will keep the water somewhere between 35-40PSI maybe as high as 45PSI.

With the current regulator I noticed that when flushing the lines if I have the sink faucet running and flush the toilet the sink flow almost turns into a trickle of water.

Our 5th wheel has 1.5 bath rooms, the outside shower and the kitchen sink as far as water flow destinations.

Would I be safe with a high flow water regulator that allows up to 55PSI?

garbonz · 02-17-2014, 05:05 PM

from an earlier post, the conclusion was that up to 60 psi is fine. Watts regulators with a gauge are high flow units and would be the choice for your application, I should think.

RVWATERFILTER Store is the place to go.

http://www.rvwaterfilterstore.com.

davel1971 · 02-17-2014, 05:43 PM

the sink slowing when flushing toilet has nothing to do with pressure, its loss of volume. You only have a certain amount of water available through the small lines.

Narboza · 02-17-2014, 05:49 PM

I think all trailers these days have PEX tubing. The pressure rating of just the tubing is 100psi at 180F and 160psi at 74F. The connections, fittings, filter, and other pieces of the water system may be less.

davel1971 · 02-17-2014, 05:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Narboza

I think all trailers these days have PEX tubing. The pressure rating of just the tubing is 100psi at 180F and 160psi at 74F. The connections, fittings, filter, and other pieces of the water system may be less.

pressures like that, you will blow everything out of the toilet, not flush it down

. I would say in the 50-55psi range would be safe and plenty sufficient, but you only have whats available from the spigot anyhow.

5erDriver · 02-17-2014, 05:55 PM

Hi

I posted this to a similar thread last year

I cannot give you a figure for what would cause a bursting situation in the water lines or fittings but Im pretty confident in saying you won't get a dangerous level of pressure from any campground that would cause it. Pex can take alot of pressure if 'correctly installed'. That being said, just like your home you really don't want the water pressure into the camper to be much above 60psi. The pipes won't suffer but seals and O rings on faucets and fittings will over time. I'll test the pressure and only put the pressure reducer on if I think it's necessary otherwise you have to run around in the shower to get wet.

Oaklevel · 02-17-2014, 06:27 PM

We run about 45- 50 PSI on the camper but I am no expert but volume is what is needed and pressure is less the issue to maintain decent flow at the faucets.

The house maintains 28 PSI when it drops below that the pump comes on & shuts off at 42 PSI & goes back to maintaining 28 again when the pump stops. Our house at 28 PSI gives us plenty of volume but would not like the camper to have that amount as it would seem to give little water.

garbonz · 02-17-2014, 08:00 PM

From the water filter store.

Excessive pressure can cause your plumbing to leak or even rupture. It doesn't take long at high pressures to cause damage, even a fairly brief "spike" can do it. Pressure regulators are installed in your water supply line to limit the water pressure going into your RV. RV plumbing is normally rated at 125 psi, but you certainly don't need to use that much. However, 60-65 psi is a very comfortable pressure for faucets and showers. Parks don't always have that much, but when they do, having a regulator designed for good flow and pressure adjustability will allow you to take advantage of that better pressure without creating a problem with standard RV plumbing systems. Many higher end RV pumps that come on RVs have 65 to as much as 85 psi. New RVs often have their plumbing systems tested to 100 psi, or so, during the manufacturing process, but we recommend regulating incoming pressure to around 60-65 psi to provide a very nice operating system. OUR REGULATORS ALL COME EQUIPPED WITH BRASS HOSE FITTINGS, READY TO HOOK UP.

Kaadk · 02-18-2014, 12:10 AM

This is probably a lousy idea, at least I thought it was when I heard it, but I'm going to throw it out there.

I was talking to another camper once who said he always suffered low pressure in his 5th wheel. To fix it, he routed his city water connection into his fresh water and ran everything off the freshwater pump instead. Unfortunately that's as much as I got out of the conversation so I never did find out how he dealt with all the problems I see with that approach, such as the overflow tube, excess wear on the pump, etc...

Rrickim63 · 02-18-2014, 12:40 AM

I usually fall asleep early, wake up ,check phone and go to bed at one

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Rrickim63 · 02-18-2014, 12:41 AM

Sorry. Responding to text messages

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jonrjen · 02-18-2014, 05:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kaadk

This is probably a lousy idea, at least I thought it was when I heard it, but I'm going to throw it out there.

I was talking to another camper once who said he always suffered low pressure in his 5th wheel. To fix it, he routed his city water connection into his fresh water and ran everything off the freshwater pump instead. Unfortunately that's as much as I got out of the conversation so I never did find out how he dealt with all the problems I see with that approach, such as the overflow tube, excess wear on the pump, etc...

On past RVs, we have on occasion been hooked up to city water that did not deliver a good shower pressure. And would turn on the water pump which would then add water and pressure from our fresh water holding tank delivering a good strong shower pressure.

Kaadk · 02-18-2014, 05:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jonrjen

On past RVs, we have on occasion been hooked up to city water that did not deliver a good shower pressure. And would turn on the water pump which would then add water and pressure from our fresh water holding tank delivering a good strong shower pressure.

I'm ok with running both. What I thought was a bad idea was re-routing his citywater connection into his freshwater tank.

jonrjen · 02-18-2014, 07:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kaadk

I'm ok with running both. What I thought was a bad idea was re-routing his citywater connection into his freshwater tank.

I agree with you!!

rockfordroo · 02-18-2014, 07:22 PM

Quote:

I'm ok with running both. What I thought was a bad idea was re-routing his city water connection into his freshwater tank.

Maybe he just FILLED the FW tank from city water. If you have the anti-freeze connection, you can hook your city water hose to that, then open the valve to the pump and back fill your FW tank. You need to be careful and not over-pressurize your FW tank. Make sure you have adequate venting available. He can probably do this once a day. Then he just runs his normal pump from the FW tank. Only issue I really see is wear and tear on the pump.

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