minor catastrophe on 1st trip

[ebemis]

Have no worries HockyFam! Your rig will be just fine because you were there to address the issue!

Add me to the list of many other who experienced their water filter spin off! We had it happen at about 2AM one night in a Georgia campground. Fortunately the wash rooms had laundry so I was able to use EVERY towel we had to dry best I could....dried them in the laundry....repeated all night long. Once we got home that POS filter went right in the garbage and now I use the "in-line" style outside seems to work just fine. Use the Damp Rid when you park the rig and close it up and you won't have any problem with mold or water rot, I think that happens more when you DON'T dry and Damp Rid after such fun events!

Side note, I never did but a camping friend encouraged me to and now its a religious event...while hooked up to utilities, if we leave our rig for any length of time other than a brief walk, we shut the water supply off and then just turn it back on when we return....just food/water for thought!

[hockeyfam]

Should I be surprised that I called the dealer yesterday and they never called back? Guess people were right that rv direct doesn't care after you plunk down the money and leave!

Nothing smells foul or moldy inside the camper or in the compartments. We are home and will have to decide which way to go with this dumb filter. Looks like bypass or outside mount would work!

Thanks for all the great responses!

[ebemis]

BTW..once I removed mine from the rig (just rented the crimper from HD and inserted a PEX section of pipe with a union to the original piping in its place) I did manage to get a closer look at the thing. It appears by the plastic cylinder, that there are "teeth" that are intended to engage some kind of notch in the white plastic body. It would make sense that water pressure INSIDE the cylinder would tend to exert downward pressure (thanks to the angle of attack on the threads of the mating surface) thereby having the plastic cylinder "lock itself in" to the white plastic head. On my particular mating surface (threads in the white plastic head) I could find no such tooth at all....no piece of it anywhere in the cabinet where it exploded....nowhere nohow...no piece of plastic tooth anywhere. SO this seems to me to be the reason the thing unwound itself, nothing to stop it from doing so.

IF you must have a water filter inside, my personal recommendation would be to take that one out and instead install one of the GE whole house type ones from HD or Lowes as others have mentioned.....those have MUCH shallower threads and if you feel anal about completeness...just check the cylinder's tightness after a road trip to ensure it hasn't "rattled loose."

Me personally...I feel better having no such "potential major leaking point" inside my trailer..or more importantly inside a cabinet! I have had no problem with the external Camco In-line Filter, you can buy new ones cheaply on Amazon, or even at ACE or WalMart.

Whatever you decide, I still recommend the Damp Rid at least a few storage cycles just to be sure you suck out as much moisture as you can from cabinets and flooring. I hung the plastic bag ones inside storage compartments, from the bed rail and also put the big bucket ones down on the floor. I was AMAZED at how much water found its way to each of the Damp Rid containers...After two storage cycles, now I only seem to collect normal"atmospheric" water content from the wonderfully enjoyable Florida Humidity!

[RACKMAN]

So is this issue with the bowl unscrewing itself happening only if the actual filter is installed and/or hooked up to campground/city water? Just wondering because I don't intend to use the filter as we only use the TT water for washing etc and we will only be dry camping in the bush utilizing the TT fresh water tank. We bring bottled water to drink. So am I safe or is this yet another issue I have to address before our maiden voyage in 2 and a half weeks...man, running out of time with non-stop issues here...water pump leak, toilet issue, etc, etc.

[hockeyfam]

I watched the canister unscrew itself without the filter in it. We were hooked up to the campground water supply with low to moderate water pressure. Initially it spun itself off with the filter installed. After we took it out it happened again. Not cool!

[keep camping]

I removed mine and put a 3 inch piece of plastic pipe, threaded at each end in its place. Ours was almost impossible to unscrew at the end of the season so I just trashed it. Usually fill water tank at campground and drain when leaving, we always bring drinking water from home.

[SKnight]

Mine did the same thing. Luckily mine is outside in the control panel where water won't cause damage.

Here's the safe bet, it has to unscrew a good ways to actually leak, leave the wrench on in such a manner that if it unscrews it will simply hit the wall and stop. Use a zip tie on the canister under the wrench to keep it in place. That's how I finished my last camping trip with that filter.

I like the thought of having a filter, wasn't too keen on the blue external ones though. Since I'd have spent money tying the lines together to dispose of the filter, I decided to install a better filter unit. Here's what I installed.

GE 3/4 in. Inlet Whole House Water Filtration System-GXWH04F at The Home Depot

It doesn't come with a filter allowing you to pick your own. I got these.

GE Carbon Replace Filter 2-Pack-FXWTC at The Home Depot

Much higher flow rate, cheaper and I feel better filters. Plus, the housing isn't showing signs of leaking.

Oh, and I installed this filter setup for cheaper than the FR-1 filter element.

[Slympicins]

Would be even better if installed outside of the TT altogether. It was to much of a pain to drain when winterizing (did that several times while winter camping). There is no place I would want that thing inside our TT!


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[ebemis]

RACKMAN...have no worries focus yourself on camping and having fun, just be AWARE of this pesky little filter and its possible behaviors!

From my own personal experience I can attest that there are many folks on these boards with excellent ideas and feedback. When you read many of the threads and get yourself thinking about them, you can end up scaring yourself and then your camping becomes STRESS instead of the FUN it is supposed to be....DON'T let this happen to YOU! ;-)

For me, I now think like Slympicins....keeping my water filter OUTSIDE my rig provides me piece of mind and I sleep better without the fear of a middle of the night THUD followed by rushing water INSIDE my rig!

[Slympicins]

Originally Posted by ebemis

RACKMAN...have no worries focus yourself on camping and having fun, just be AWARE of this pesky little filter and its possible behaviors!

From my own personal experience I can attest that there are many folks on these boards with excellent ideas and feedback. When you read many of the threads and get yourself thinking about them, you can end up scaring yourself and then your camping becomes STRESS instead of the FUN it is supposed to be....DON'T let this happen to YOU! ;-)

For me, I now think like Slympicins....keeping my water filter OUTSIDE my rig provides me piece of mind and I sleep better without the fear of a middle of the night THUD followed by rushing water INSIDE my rig!

I totally agree. Camping is to be fun not stressful. This forum is designed to help others from going through the stresses we already went through thus creating, more fun. Not everyone will experience the same issues as others but it sure helps those who are, or haven't been, ready for those issues to pop up. I know from reading about other folks issues has helped me tremendously. Hadn't read about the filter issue before mine failed. It really wasn't a huge problem since I was standing close. Had we taken the dog for one of those long walks it could have been really stressful. Camp on and have a no stress trip!


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[Windywest]

I just took my water filter and associated bracket housing out yesterday. The FR units water systems are supposedly pressure tested to 100 PSI, how they did that and didn't have a leak in my case is a mystery. I will sleep a lot better knowing that the filter and related fittings aren't slow leaking, creating water damage in areas I can't see and usually don't check every trip. http://www.forestriverforums.com/for...tml#post643793

[VinceU]

Believe it or not - Every component in the system is rated to 125 psi, even that goofy inlet filter. To wit: the relief valve protecting the System is set to open at 125 psi.

[Windywest]

The components are OK, it's the putting together of the components that are the issue. On further examination in my case, they screwed a 90 degree 1/2" male to male elbow into the outlet of the water filter housing, but the female fitting that screws into it has 3 tightening "wings" that fit too close to the filter housing. When the filter housing was on, you couldn't tighten the fittings anymore since the wings on the female fitting hit the side of the housing. Someone tried to fix it by using a lot of teflon tape on the male elbow into the canister socket, worked for a while but eventually started to leak. Glad I found it before it caused some real serious water damage, but only found it by noticing the demand water pump buzz in the middle of the night when nobody was using any water (a good pressure test). If I had been on city water for any length of time and not noticed it, I could have had water damage.

[rockfordroo]

[QUOTE]To wit: the relief valve protecting the System is set to open at 125 psi. /QUOTE]

Hey, I wasn't aware of a safety valve (other than on the HW heater). Where's it located and what's it look like??

[Slympicins]

I'm afraid any sustained water pressure over 60 psi would blow out the plumbing system in these TT's. Have my reducer hooked up every time. I'm not pushing my luck and make a sprinkler system for the CG grass.


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[VinceU]

[QUOTE=rockfordroo;645220]

To wit: the relief valve protecting the System is set to open at 125 psi. /QUOTE]

Hey, I wasn't aware of a safety valve (other than on the HW heater). Where's it located and what's it look like??

Funny you should ask....It is on the water heater. Just like residential they are required to have Thermo/Pressure relief valves. Will open on temp or pressure over 125 psi. It will simmer when the water heater raises temp from 70 or normal household temp to 130 or its setpoint,due to water expansion. Difference being a "safety valve" will open at the setpoint and then blowdown for 20-30 psi. That's a lot of water relief, not used in a RV.

[rockfordroo]

VinceU - I'm not sure saying the HW Heater safety valve opens at 125 psig is equivalent to saying every component in the TT's plumbing is good to 125 psig. These things aren't built to the ASME Code!

[Witch Doctor]

Originally Posted by OldCoot

A/C is an oversized dehumidifier. That's why your A/C has water draining out of it constantly.

Can't believe you finale listen to me, who know what is next.......

[VinceU]

Originally Posted by rockfordroo

VinceU - I'm not sure saying the HW Heater safety valve opens at 125 psig is equivalent to saying every component in the TT's plumbing is good to 125 psig. These things aren't built to the ASME Code!

Rockfordroo they may well be. The chassis are fed regulated, electric is NEC and at least state of Indianna, they almost all carry RVIA certs. Remember the relief valve is the only over pressure device to protect all the piping. It must meet the standard of its safety device. Pex tubing is ANSI and rated over 200 psi. And last but not least my clear covered 10" Water Pur filter is rated to 125psi, stamped proudly on it. It alone carries lots of approvals, just don't have them here. These toys are heavily regulated to high standards, assembly and accuracy is another subject. Our discussion is "rated to".

[rockfordroo]

VinceU - I won't say you're wrong, but I'm hard pressed to believe that the POS valve below is rated for 125 psig.