Water Pump Question, Etc.

LTRVing · 01-23-2016, 02:12 PM

I have a 2013 FR 3170DS, which we bought used in November 2015. We took it out for a short 3 day trip in November and things went fairly well. We've had a few bumps, but have gotten through them mainly with help from this Forum.

So, we are now on our first long trip south and have never used the water pump with on board water, having used city water connections exclusively. We did use the pump to winterize without any problem last fall. I posted a question earlier today since we have just fair water pressure and asked about using on water to supplement the pressure issues.

So, upon arriving yesterday I dumped our black (water waste only) and grey tanks and left the grey tank open by mistake, which wasn't discovered until after the following took place. I filled our fresh water tank, 10-15 minutes, until water came out the overflow under the coach. However, the indicator in the coach said that the fresh water tank was empty??? Where did all that water go, if not into the fresh tank. (Yes, I put water into the correct fill spot).

City water had been used to load the cold and hot water systems, the hot water tank being bleed fully. With city water off, I primed the water pump using the winterizing line and got a smooth hum and draw, with water smoothly coming from the cold open sink line. The line was switched over and it drew for a few seconds and then started to sputter from the kitchen sink.

It sputtered continually for about two minutes or so, then went dry with nothing coming from the sink. I tried to fill the fresh tank and in a matter of seconds the overflow ran again. I went under the coach and opened the low point drain and NOTHING came out, just a few ounces of antifreeze. (Shouldn't that been diluted by 55 gallons of water?)

I then carefully worked a coat hanger into the low point drain and there was no obstruction or indication of water.

Can anyone fill-in the blanks for me, surely I messed or missed something.

youroo · 01-23-2016, 02:32 PM

Put away the coat hanger! Since you used your Pump to Winterize you have/did turn a valve or two somewhere! Now you need to back track your Valve turning! Really? fill up your F/W tank,take the Hose from city water OFF the RV,turn on your Pump and if you have turned the valves Back where they were BEFORE you winterized it should have Water again!

Youroo!!

LTRVing · 01-23-2016, 02:39 PM

The only valves that I turned were the hot water tank bypass and the valve that allows the water pump to draw from the gallon of antifreeze. That's it, just those. If there is a valve somewhere that needs to be turned, I have no idea where that would be.

CAT-RN · 01-23-2016, 02:45 PM

I wonder if the water you see coming out is coming out the low point drains ?

Russell.

LTRVing · 01-23-2016, 02:48 PM

After running the fill hose for 10-15 minutes, water came from the overflow, not the low point, as it was closed off. I had to unscrew it to open it. Not enough water to match running a hose for 10-15 minutes by any means.

Mikegjax · 01-23-2016, 02:57 PM

Water level indicators are notoriously inaccurate. Also, it is easy to push the wrong test button (don't ask me how I know that

). If you can see your tank check the level visually. I suspect it is full.

LTRVing · 01-23-2016, 03:24 PM

Weird, now opened the low point and voila a ton of water, shut it off. Turned on the pump, 30 seconds, dry. Opened low point again, nothing, not a drop. Something in the tank is plugged I would guess, don't even know if prior owner ever used it. Will drive it a bit when we leave this park in a few days, and see it if loosens something. Any other ideas? Thanks.

LTRVing · 01-23-2016, 03:45 PM

BTW the fresh water tank indicator (double checked the correct button) still shows empty.

dmdrj5 · 01-23-2016, 04:03 PM

Are you opening the "low point drain" or the drain on the actual fresh water tank?

Don

dmdrj5 · 01-23-2016, 04:28 PM

If you are drawing ok from the antifreeze line, then try filling a 5 gallon bucket and drawing from that. If you are drawing water good with the valve in that position, but not in the tank position, then you may have a loose connection somewhere in that line which is drawing in air.

Good luck,
Don

Dwilcox · 01-23-2016, 07:12 PM

Look for a valve after the antifreeze tees in to the intake line and where the pipe disappears into the floor to the FW tank. It might be off, also I am assuming to closed to antifreeze hose valve.

MNtraveler · 01-23-2016, 10:30 PM

Check your water filter and canister for an obstruction. Try various faucets and the outdoor sprayer to see if water comes out anywhere. That might help isolate an obstruction.

I don't see that you confirmed that you had flipped the pump back from winterize to normal mode.

What happens if you connect to city water? Do all the water lines run? Will water come out the low point drain on city water? If so, you can isolate it to the pump or adjacent lines and valves.

If you out 30-40 gallons into the tank and didn't see it come out of the faucets or in the ground, it's still there. A simultaneous level sensor fault could be trying its best to throw you off the right trail.

Land of 10,000 Lakes
2016 Forester MBS 2401R

LTRVing · 01-23-2016, 10:54 PM

Ok, I just came accross some info on the web. Underneath the bay which houses the water filter there are two pipes the extend through that bay and below the coach. Getting underneath one has a screw on cap and one has nothing on it, but has an inline valve in the bay. Is it so that the line with the inline valve is the low point drain? What about the one with the cap? If this is so, I was told during the demo that the capped line was the low point drain, now I find a thread that says that is the drain for the hot water. Frustration is present, no explanation when you purchase, no documentation explaining any of this ! If this is correct filling the tank ran on the ground, when I thought it was overflow. Assuming this is correct, is there an overflow?

MNtraveler · 01-24-2016, 12:45 AM

The one with an inline valve and nothing on the end is the fresh water tank drain. You can verify this by partially filling then draining the tank.

The other one with a cap is a low point drain. There should be two, one blue (cold) and the other red (hot). There might not always be two there but there must be at least one of each somewhere in order to winterize. Be aware that one could be covered with spray insulation foam or pure road dirt and might be hard to find. Many people have trouble finding these including my TV dealer!

Land of 10,000 Lakes
2016 Forester MBS 2401R

MNtraveler · 01-24-2016, 12:52 AM

Be sure you have studied the owners manual plumbing section. If you don't have it, you can get it from the FR app here:
Forest River RV Owner Digital Kit by Tweddle Group Technologies
https://appsto.re/us/hbcp2.i

DougP47 · 01-24-2016, 01:12 AM

Have you check the hose attached to the wintering fitting. There must be a hose gasket there. The fitting could be tight but if you don't have a gasket it sucking air. It only takes a little to cause a problem. Ne other thing is you water tank full? Open the pressure relief to see if you have water coming out. If it's no full the pump could be filling that. Hope this helps.

LTRVing · 01-24-2016, 07:57 AM

Thank you all, feel a bit like an idiot. I will do some serious looking today, weather will be better and I'll be able to look around. Duh...Low point system drain and fresh water drain aren't the same. Will look for hot water red drain as both of those are blue. Will do a little fill test and report back. Thanks again for the help.

Did grab the manual, never got one. Thanks.

Harkerr · 01-24-2016, 01:39 PM

Somehow water from the tank is not flowing freely to the tank. Maybe a kinked hose or other blockage. You could disconnect the hose and check it out. There also may be a check valve in that line. Could be stuck.

MNtraveler · 01-24-2016, 04:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Harkerr

Somehow water from the tank is not flowing freely to the tank. Maybe a kinked hose or other blockage. You could disconnect the hose and check it out. There also may be a check valve in that line. Could be stuck.

...not flowing freely to the pump...

Land of 10,000 Lakes
2016 Forester MBS 2401R

LTRVing · 01-24-2016, 07:30 PM

Wasn't able to do to much today, I closed the inline valve on the pipe running through the bay without the end cap below the coach and added water for about a minute. Turning that valve did drain that water, confirming that was the fresh water drain. I'll need to turn off city water, add more water and test the pump, and go from there. Thanks again for the help, Forum is the source of tried and true knowledge.

Any prerequisite or anything else to be aware of during this test process?

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