Need Help-No Water Flow

[summerj]

Hello All - I have been an active student here on these forums and all of you have been a wealth of information to me. I am fairly new to Airstreams.
I recently acquired a 1998 19' Bambi that has been in storage most of its life. I am in the process of restoring it

New problem: Just yesterday the water flow stopped throughout the trailer. I had great flow with the house hose connected up until now- Now when I connect the water supply hose to the trailer and turn the water on - It flows for 3-5 seconds and then stops with kitchen and bath sink. If I turn the water supply off then back on I get the same 3-5 seconds of good water flow.- then Nothing.

Side notes :I rebuilt the kitchen mixer valve due to faucet leaks 3 weeks ago and it worked like new after that.

There is a screen on the street water hose connection to prevent large objects from getting into the water supply.

I followed the supply line into this valve- i am wondering if its getting stuck?

[summerj]

sorry - Having problems uploading picture

[mimiandrews]

Originally Posted by summerj

There is a screen on the street water hose connection to prevent large objects from getting into the water supply.

I followed the supply line into this valve- i am wondering if its getting stuck?

Have you checked that screen? Gunk in the water supply hose, faucet, etc. can get trapped in a screen and might act the way you describe.

The device in the picture appears to be a water pressure regulator. I have no experience on what those do when they malfunction, so can't help you there.

Best of luck. Enjoy your trailer!

[blkmagikca]

This type of behavior seems like there is something foreign in your lines that is acting like a floating stopper. When water is flowing, it too flows until it gets to a point where it is obstructed (such as a smaller diameter to pass through) as may be the case of an elbow or valve.

When this occurs, are all faucets (bathroom and galley) stopped? What about the hot water tank, when the faucets are blocked, can water flow out of the hot water drain cock? You may need to remove the drain cock and use just a nylon plug screwed in lightly.

[blkmagikca]

Also, what about the check valve? I have had issues with mine and replaced it with a ball valve, which means that it is no longer an automatic valve, but must be switched over manually.

[sfalvo]

I had this happen and it was the screens in the faucets that had calcium buildup in them preventing the water flow. You might check there as well.

[J. Morgan]

My guess is the pressure regulator is malfunctioning.

Might just be that a small port is blocked.

If the unit will com apart, and you dont tear any gaskets doing so you may be able to pull off a cheap and fast save.

[J. Morgan]

As mentioned above, the check valve is a real possibility also.

[summerj]

Thanks everyone-
I filled the fresh water tank and turned the pump on- Everything Flows fine out of both sinks when operating on fresh water tank. I am guessing its the OEM pressure regulator . Its 16 years old so probably bad. I removed it and took it apart . No trash in it that I could see.
Thinking about deleting it.
Not sure why this is needed if there is a built in pressure reg. on hot water heater. I also use a pressure reg. on city hose.

Any Thoughts?

[J. Morgan]

I hear tell that you can add a regulator on at the hose bib...

It just fits between the hose and the trailer.

Easy cheesy!

[A W Warn]

The pressure regulators that fit on a hose bib are not very good. From my experience, they seem to be flow restrictors rather than than pressure regulators.

I have had the same issues you have when I failed to flush out the water heater before first use in spring. The scale/corrosion from the WH got in the faucet screens and flow was slowed to a drip, but the toilet still flowed.

If it turns out that the pressure regulator valve is bad, you should be able to get an exact replacement for the valve you show in your picture for around $50. You can order through Lowes and Home Depot, or your local plumbing supply should have them. You will need to get the model number and manufacturer's name off of the tag.

[TG Twinkie]

I use an external pressure regulator. I bought it from Gemplers. It is not one of those cheap units made for a drip irrigation system. This is a quality brass unit. Has worked fine for 3 years. When and if it does fail. It will be easy to replace. Don't have to tear into the plumbing inside the coach.

[jkcru]

I have had backflow preventers jam closed because the hose fitting extended to far into the coupling and lock the preventer in the closed position

[blkmagikca]

I concur with A W Warn.

My experience with outboard regulators is that (1) they do fail and jam closed - it happened to me several years ago; and (2) they restrict the volume which is a pain if you try to shower. You DO need to have a pressure regulator - we were at a rally where the water was supplied from fire hydrants and the pressure was enough to cause damage to any plumbing system that did not have a proper pressure regulator.

As well, debris in the water supply can cause the check valve to malfunction - in my case it was stayed open causing water to exit the street connection when the pump was active. After 3 check valve failures in 2 months, I replaced the check valve with a ball valve. This means that I have to manually open and close the valve. As a safety precaution, I have an external anti-siphon valve to prevent back flow to the street supply if the campground doesn't have one on their spigot.