why is this plumbed this way?

[cojer]

i'm getting ready to redo a little plumbing and i'm wodering if this configuration is the "normal" way to do this. i'm not sure what the run around the pump is all about or if it even needs to be there. there is a drain there, which i understand but then there is the line that goes around the pump. anybody have an explanation for that?

[Melody Ranch]

I think thats the line "in" to fill the fresh water tank. The valve in that line has to be closed if you plan to use city water supply pressure. When city water is connected to the inlet ...the water cannot flow thru the pump to fill the water tank....so it has a route around the pump. If the valve is forgotten in the open position you can still have water pressure to the supply points inside. BUT, as I recently found out....you are filling the tank to the point of overflow and damage. The valve in the other line should be the tank dump overboard control...normally closed.

[Inland RV Center, In]

Originally Posted by cojer

i'm getting ready to redo a little plumbing and i'm wodering if this configuration is the "normal" way to do this. i'm not sure what the run around the pump is all about or if it even needs to be there. there is a drain there, which i understand but then there is the line that goes around the pump. anybody have an explanation for that?

The "red" hose splices, are not true "drinking water" hoses.

They will add a taste to the water that you may not like.

Andy

[cojer]

but if you're hooked up to city water wouldn't it make more sense to just put a valve between the pump and the T where city water comes in i mean you should put a regulator there where the city water comes in, and you just use the pressure from that line right? you're not using the pump if you're hooked up to city water are you? i guess i just don't see why you would want to fill your tank that way if you have a fill spout which i do...am i making sense?

[TG Twinkie]

Does the part that is laying on the towel (hose connection) connect to the tank? I notice the valve on the right goes to a pipe thru the floor, so that is the drain.
Where does your city water line come into the trailer?
Is the tank in your trailer steel or Plastic? How is it filled, with a set up kind of like the way you fill a gas tank on the TV? Or is it a hose bib type connection?
Another guess is that the valve on the left is for winterizing the system.
Is there a hand water pump on the sink? A lot of older units had a hand operated faucet on the counter near the sink, you just rocked the handle back and forth to pump water. Obviously it only worked for cold water.
My '69 Travel Queen truck camper has this type of hand pump.
If you have no power, you can still get water from the tank by opening the valve on the left and hand pump the water.

[TG Twinkie]

I fail to see the big deal about the red hose (Andy mentioned it earlier). Nearly all of my life there have been times when I was thirsty and went over picked up the garden hose that had been laying on the ground; ran the water thru it long enough for cold water to come out and had a drink.
I don't think I've suffered any drain bamage from it.LOL
There are a lot of piping systems in cities and towns that still have lead piping. If you've ever drank from a public fountain, (or filled your fresh water tank from a public faucet) it could be supplied thru a lead pipe.
I think life is too short to be concerned about this kind of stuff.

[mwells4654]

I agree with you TG Twinkie - we have sanitized ourselves into sickness.

[cojer]

Originally Posted by TG Twinkie

Does the part that is laying on the towel (hose connection) connect to the tank? I notice the valve on the right goes to a pipe thru the floor, so that is the drain.
Where does your city water line come into the trailer?
Is the tank in your trailer steel or Plastic? How is it filled, with a set up kind of like the way you fill a gas tank on the TV? Or is it a hose bib type connection?
Another guess is that the valve on the left is for winterizing the system.
Is there a hand water pump on the sink? A lot of older units had a hand operated faucet on the counter near the sink, you just rocked the handle back and forth to pump water. Obviously it only worked for cold water.
My '69 Travel Queen truck camper has this type of hand pump.
If you have no power, you can still get water from the tank by opening the valve on the left and hand pump the water.

yes hose connection (the bad tasting red one) connects to the plastic water tank that i spent ALL DAY trying to plug a couple of leaks that have rotted the floor...anyway yes gas tank type filler the city water comes in around the corner in other words it's not shown in the pics..i would show you a picture but my camera crapped out on me today...aaauuuggh...anyway the line leaves the pump and just a little further down the line is where the city line taps in...no hand pump just your regular type o' modern faucet. so my guess is that this was just old plumbing that was just kind of left as is when the p.o. dropped in a new pump and does not need to be there when i redo it, other than a drain. that will stay both those valves are froze up anyway i couldn't even turn them with pliers. that makes sense though twinkie about the run around for a hand pump. thanks for the input. and just in case you were wondering the red garden hose connections are going away as well, because the only water i drink is bottled water from the alps that i pour through a reverse osmosis triple charcoal filter.........just kidding

[wasagachris]

Cojer is that pump 12VDC? It looks like the PO wired it up with romex which is usually 110VAC. I would throughly inspect all of the rest of his wiring "repairs". You certainly don't want to get the two systems mixed up.

[cojer]

Originally Posted by wasagachris

Cojer is that pump 12VDC? It looks like the PO wired it up with romex which is usually 110VAC. I would throughly inspect all of the rest of his wiring "repairs". You certainly don't want to get the two systems mixed up.

yeah it's kind of funky ..it is 12v wired with romex. there are alot of old wires that were connected to something at one time that are no longer but still sticking out of the walls and what not. alot of half-assed repairs . i've got everything pretty well figured out as far as what goes where and what is just there. alot of aluminum wire...it's just kind of crazy and sloppy right now. but all in all she's pretty sound. i'm just going through everything to tidy and tighten things up just a bit, so we can go camping. colin has a new axle coming my way and i will get the front put back in as a make do for now then probably next winter i'll do a frame off with her.