Question concerning H20

[airjeff]

My newby brother and his wife are visiting Palm Springs with their new 78 Argosy, 23 foot.
When hooked to to city water, a drain hose next to the fresh water hook up will start to drip and then flow freely. We have tried to track it down, think maybe the water regulator is faulty. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

[1973Argosy]

On my 73 there are two faucet valves in the bathroom closet floor, one is the hot water drain and the other is main line drain. Sounds to me like one of the valves is open.

[WineStream]

Can also be the over-pressure bypass faulty or stuck open. Both of the Airstreams that I owned from the 70s had these in the system.

With my 77, I once connected to water at a park that had extremely high water pressure. The pressure regulator protected the Airstream itself but the city water pressure was so high that the over-pressure bypass would open and dump water on the ground. In that case, I filled my fresh tank and just ran the water pump.

You could try this as well (run the pump) and see if water still flows out where it is coming from when connected to city water. If water still comes out when using the water pump, then check for open valves as mentioned above by 1973Argosy. If no water coming out, then replace the bypass valve or try an external in-line pressure regulator. You can buy and external reg. at a camping store and usually Walmart, Target, Kmart, etc.

[airjeff]

Both valves were closed, we opened and closed for fun. Still full drainage when city water on.

[mimiandrews]

Could there be another drain valve, perhaps at a low point in the fresh water system?

[rvb]

My '77 argosy has a low point drain valve on the inside next to the city water inlet with a small discharge hose out the bottom. If you have a check valve this should be on the trailer side of the valve. Check the water line for a drain valve and check to see if it is closed all the way.

[bibbs]

Some dripping might be normal, as when the water heater heats up the water expands. Yours sounds more serious, do you use an external water pressure reducer as well?

[airjeff]

We have tried all the suggestions so far without success. Now, overnight the water tank is also draining slowly through the outlet next to the city water hookup. Globlins are surely involved. Checking the schematic, it may be some retrofit by the PO. Going to try again today. Thanks for all the suggestions.

[Bill M.]

Not sure what you mean when you say the fresh water tank is draining though the outlet near the water hookup. But if the fresh water tank is draining through the fill hole then you have a failed check valve between the pump and the city water supply. I think the pump is actually the check valve.

[airjeff]

The best we could figure is that the check valve failed. The water system did not resemble the schematic on the manual, lol. So as a temporary fix, we removed the faulty check valve and replumbed slightly. No dripping when tank being used. No drainage when city water used. Temporary fix, right, will work for the rest of their trip. Thanks to all for the suggestions, kept us in the right track. You all are the best.

[featherbedder]

My city water hookup started dripping, simple fix, inserted blow out plug no more drips. haven't used city water hookup in yrs.

[skip crowe]

This is our first time doing this. We are in Greensboro, N.C. and heading to
Florida, Keys on Feb. 22nd. Should we wait until we get further south to do this?
And, upon coming home, (March 10th) just watch the weather, to see if we need to winterize it again?

[1973Argosy]

Originally Posted by skip crowe

This is our first time doing this. We are in Greensboro, N.C. and heading to
Florida, Keys on Feb. 22nd. Should we wait until we get further south to do this?
And, upon coming home, (March 10th) just watch the weather, to see if we need to winterize it again?

I would fill with water and check all systems the day before the trip and run the furnace if weather dictates. On the return trip I would drain all systems before leaving. Decided once to wait until I made it to destination to fill and check systems, had a busted line under the kitchen sink. Ruined the first day and half of our trip with the repair.