2007 28' International CCD
West Hollywood
, California
Join Date: Mar 2008
Posts: 141
So, I made this sometime ago. It's a chromed but BRASS cast inlet on sturdy plastic base plates.
At close inspection, it's far from the most beautiful thing. But I can easily unscrew the center portion to pull it out.
It now allows me to easily inspect the regulator.
I didn't feel like to patch the original hole (3~4 inch?) with aluminum and attach the brass part to the aluminum directly. It wasn't going to be easy for me to find aluminum patch and get it cut in graceful manner for me. Perhaps this may be better; the plastic baseplates may act as thermal break, so my heated hose and the internal plumbing would stay somewhat warmer.
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Never be afraid of DIY. Remember, amateurs built the ark, and professionals built the Titanic.
1979 23' Safari
1954 29' Liner
Orange
, California
Join Date: Feb 2005
Posts: 3,850
Quote:
Originally Posted by Astroboy
So, I made this sometime ago.
Astroboy,
More details, please.
Bill
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Bill Kerfoot, WBCCI/VAC/CAC/El Camino Real Unit #5223
Just my personal opinion
1973 Dodge W200 PowerWagon, 1977 Lincoln Continental, 2014 Dodge Durango
1979 23' Safari, and 1954 29' Double Door Liner Orange, CA
2007 28' International CCD
West Hollywood
, California
Join Date: Mar 2008
Posts: 141
Basically, the base plates consists of cutting board (from Target or Wallmart), cut with 6-inch hole saw by electrical drill. The middle smaller hole is cut by 1 3/8 (or may have been 1.5?) inch hole saw.
__________________
Never be afraid of DIY. Remember, amateurs built the ark, and professionals built the Titanic.
2007 28' International CCD
West Hollywood
, California
Join Date: Mar 2008
Posts: 141
3 machine bolts with countersank oval head are used for the middle. 6 machine bolts with pan head are used for peripheral. The 2 pictures (burrowed from the web) below don't have consistent colors but I found the ones that are in identical STAINLESS STEEL. Definitely go for stainless steel; little pricier but you want to minimize rusting and corrosion of dissimilar metals. (Chromed brass with Stainless Steel ain't as bad, I think.)
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Never be afraid of DIY. Remember, amateurs built the ark, and professionals built the Titanic.
2007 28' International CCD
West Hollywood
, California
Join Date: Mar 2008
Posts: 141
This is the cast brass water inlet, originally from marine application (made by Perko). Outside input is regular garden hose thread, inside output is 1/2 inch plumbing thread (male or female, I forgot... Sorry).
2007 28' International CCD
West Hollywood
, California
Join Date: Mar 2008
Posts: 141
I don't remember what I used, but some sort of adapters (pics below are INACCURATE but you get the idea), male to female, or female to male. (And I'm out of town right now = not near my trailer)
You need 2 of different kinds.
-> [CITY WATER FAUCET]
-> [OUTSIDE HOSE] output in hose Thread
-> input in hose thread [PERKO CHROMED BRASS INLET] output in 1/2" plumbing thread
-> input in 1/2" plumbing thread [ADAPTER #1] output in hose thread (so convert back again!)
-> input in hose thread [MARSHALL BRASS WATER REGULATOR] output in hose thread
-> input in hose thread [ADAPTER #2, slightly different] output in 1/2" plumbing thread
-> input in 1/2" plumbing thread [Airstream's INTERNAL PEX PLUMBING] (finally!)
Again, please note: the pictures below are INACCURATE.
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Never be afraid of DIY. Remember, amateurs built the ark, and professionals built the Titanic.
Good thing, my campground was selling them for $8 each. I got another extra as an backup(, but I don't imagine I'll be needing it for the next 20 years?).
__________________
Never be afraid of DIY. Remember, amateurs built the ark, and professionals built the Titanic.
2007 28' International CCD
West Hollywood
, California
Join Date: Mar 2008
Posts: 141
Somehow, the above water regulator also acts as an backflow preventer (1-way check valve) when one is boondocking, pumping from fresh water tank and pressurizing the plumbing from the inside. Perhaps, it may puts on undue stress on its diaphragm (does it even use diaphragm? I'm not sure how it is designed internally.)
OPTIONAL: Camco Backflow Preventer in 1/2" plumbing thread (to be installed after the regulator, before the PEX plumbing).
2007 28' International CCD
West Hollywood
, California
Join Date: Mar 2008
Posts: 141
Additional info:
I used the 2nd circular plate (from thick black cutting board) to act as the backing plate behind the exterior aluminum, and the 3rd circular plate (from very thin cheap white plate) as a final layer to hold and sandwich the t-nuts in between. Only so that t-nuts won't de-attach and fall inside from future repeated screwing and unscrewing. 2nd and 3rd plate are fastened to each other by a few WOOD screws.
Then, this composite of backing plates are cut in half, so I could install from outside.
__________________
Never be afraid of DIY. Remember, amateurs built the ark, and professionals built the Titanic.
2007 28' International CCD
West Hollywood
, California
Join Date: Mar 2008
Posts: 141
TIMED OUT ON editing the above post.
Additional info:
I used the 2nd circular plate (from thick black cutting board) to act as the backing plate behind the exterior aluminum, and the 3rd circular plate (from very thin cheap white plate) as a final layer to hold and sandwich the t-nuts in between. Only so that t-nuts won't de-attach from 2nd plate and fall off inside within the wall. This would allow repeated screwing and unscrewing in the future. FIY, 2nd and 3rd plate are fastened to each other by a few WOOD screws.
Then, this composite of backing plates are cut in half, so I could install these from outside of the trailer.
All this involved a lot of drilling and with many different sized bits.
Tips:
- The challenge was in aligning the locations of many holes consistent among: Brass inlet, the exterior plate (1st), the interior plate (2nd). I didn't and coundn't do them so accurately; if I flip or rotate the plates, my holes didn't line up.
- The cutting circular plates from plastic cutting board is more like 'melting the cut by friction'. I spinned the hole saw at hi-speed in opposite direction so it won't bite into the plastic and get stuck.
- I used a cardboard boxes as a table when using hole saw.
- I used tip of solder to melt and to smooth out the edges of circular plates.
Enough writings for the day, got get off my laptop. Perhpas too much boring info.
Thanks for reading.
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Never be afraid of DIY. Remember, amateurs built the ark, and professionals built the Titanic.
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