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Foiled Again · 10-18-2013, 03:54 PM

I'm embarrassed to tell this story on myself. One of the very first mods I did on the new Eddie Bauer 25 FB was to replace the wimpy shower head with a water saving Oxygenics shower head. (Camping World now has an off brand that looks the same, but I found the original for LESS on Amazon.)

Many have noted that the hand control at the shower head doesn't completely turn the water off - and whether or not it's supposed to allow a feeble flow or no flow is a debatable point.

I had this same type of head in "Foiled Again" and NEVER had a problem. I rarely shower with the head in the wall hanger since I often don't want my hair to get wet AND it's easier to rinse behind the knees (etc.) by using the "hand held" feature. Well.... this summer I've three times left the water at the valve on and ploinked the head down in my toiletries basket. The first two times the white water drain was open... but the campground I was staying at had LOTS of iron in the water. I came home from work and found that most of the bottom half of the shower looked like it had been under iron colored water for years. We're talking solid red-brown here. I knew Barkeepers Friend would take the Iron off, but was afraid it would be too abrasive to the fiberglass. I made a paste of about 1/3 can of the stuff, pasted it on the affected area, kept it slightly wetted down, and gently used a small microfiber rag to work on the tough spots. It took a week to get the residual grit out of the bottom of the shower and I really need to wax the shower again. The third time... happened while I was at Annapolis for a conference. I overslept, rushed through my morning abulations and didn't get back until 7:00 at night. Sewer solution ON but water gates both closed. (EXPLETIVES DELETED). The shower was filled to overflowing, and water was draining across the hall into the toilet area. I immediately opened the white water drain, then went in and attacked the water in the trailer.

The only good news, was that I think I caught the problem JUST after the overflow started AND that I hadn't leveled the trailer perfectly from side to side. Almost ALL of the water was in the toilet side of the bathroom, and (WHEW) quite a bit had drained down through the hole where the toilet water supply line passed through the floor... and out through the belly pan. (I did put very tiny relief holes IN the belly pan when I got the unit Just so any trapped water could drain out. Having 8 rolls of TP on the floor of the bath in the cupboard did help absorb a lot of the water too. About 3 dozen microfiber work towels mopped up the rest. I did figure out how to access the water heater from the inside (remove 2nd drawer in bedroom, then pull off backing piece of tiny floor closet) and set my hair dryer on medium heat to dry the plywood under the water heater. I was terribly worried about the rest of the floor staying wet so I opened the outside access door (floor covered with aluminum plate... grrr! But I finally figured out how to remove the wire cover next to the door and found the wood dry under there WHEW!) I couldn't get under the Airstream itself until today. Pulled back the corner of the belly pan and whew, no moisture - just a spider the size of a small mouse EEEEEK.

So, more worries about cognitive decay.... Though I really know that in each instance I was concentrating on the NEXT thing I needed to do ... and was running late.

Corrective action? I superglued the on/almost off button into ON. In the old unit I usually turned the water off at the valve but have just recently gotten into the habit of using the button. The second thought? If you're going away from the Airstream for several hours, you always put the awning down... wouldn't it be a good idea to turn the water supply off at the same time? After all a dripping faucet in the bath or kitchen could lead to the same mess I faced.

I've always wondered why home bathtubs and sinks have an overflow built in, but kitchen sinks don't... with NO overflow protection in Airstreams NO Running water is your only real safety margin... Adding an ON light to the water pump isn't a bad idea either.

Once again have fun learning from my mistakes!

Paula

SteveSueMac · 10-18-2013, 04:48 PM

Sorry to hear that but I have to say thank you for the lesson! Now that you say it, it just makes so much sense! Easy enough to do. Hope I remember this on my next trip a half year out :-(

:-)

Silver Otter · 10-19-2013, 07:50 AM

Oh, Paula, what a tale! I've just installed an Oxy in ours, and we love it. We all learn So Much from your posts. I appreciate your suggestions, including weep holes in the belly and turning off the city water when you leave home for a time. It sounds like you are 'back on the horse' and recovering from your adventure in the ditch this summer. Hugs from the Blue Ridge.

Tater · 10-20-2013, 09:15 AM

A light for the pump would be very good. In our FC 25, we forgot to switch to off. The bumps on the road jostled the sink faucet enough to turn it on. At our potty stop, we opened the door and water was everywhere. So an on light would be a good idea as Paula said.

mandolindave · 10-20-2013, 10:03 AM

Having had a few leaks, I run the sink faucet for a few seconds to lower the water line pressure, before leaving.

mefly2 · 10-20-2013, 11:04 PM

Or, a checklist ... not only for pre-departure, but for all departures from your AS (or home for that matter). Simply put one on the door, but the key is to develop the habit to always follow the checklist ... we are working on that with both members of this team.

ROBERT CROSS · 10-21-2013, 05:30 AM

I hate it when bad stuff happens....

We learned the leak lesson a few years back.
Never thought about the WP being on 24/7 after getting set up at the site.
That is until getting up very early one morning to the sound of the pump ticking away and the bathroom floor flooded and the hallway soaked. A fitting under the bathroom sink had separated, it finally cracked after being cross threaded at install.

Marine-Tex emergency repair.

Our Classic does have a WP light on the monitor board and in the B-room next to the water hater switch.
I now switch it off every time I see it lit and no part of any being is wet, T-bowl is clean, we are sleeping,(hot h2o too), or away for awhile.

AS stopped installing a light?.......good move.

Bob