Visit our Popular Forums

devilsbox · 01-09-2018, 05:17 PM

The dealer winterized our 27FB.

We drove to NC and tried to dewinterize today. When I hooked up to city water the hot water tank filled with water so they did not isolate it apparently.

I can only see one shutoff by the tank and it was open.

The hot water has very little pressure.

The owners manual was not a lot of help with this problem.

All other trailers I've ever owned had two shut offs to isolate the hot water tank. I can only see one. Is there another one hidden somewhere?

Larry

AirstreamJim · 01-09-2018, 05:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by devilsbox

The dealer winterized our 27FB.

We drove to NC and tried to dewinterize today. When I hooked up to city water the hot water tank filled with water so they did not isolate it apparently.

I can only see one shutoff by the tank and it was open.

The hot water has very little pressure.

The owners manual was not a lot of help with this problem.

All other trailers I've ever owned had two shut offs to isolate the hot water tank. I can only see one. Is there another one hidden somewhere?

Larry

Unless they pumped the pink stuff through the entire plumbing system, there's no need to bypass the water heater when winterizing, as long as the heater is drained.

You may want to call Airstream tomorrow. They're happy to answer questions like this.

Jim

JMynes · 01-09-2018, 06:00 PM

I winterized mine a few days ago. I noticed there was only one bypass valve. I assume the big silver blob on the water heater outlet pipe is a one-way valve because once I shut the bypass valve antifreeze did not enter the water heater (I had the water heater drain plug removed).
Low hot water pressure? Maybe tap on the silver thing on the water heater outlet. If it is a one-way valve, it might have gotten a little sticky.

Bobbo · 01-10-2018, 08:07 AM

Yes, one knob will do it. It closes off the water heater inlet so water (or antifreeze) can't get in, and shunts all of the water (or antifreeze) up into the water line attached to the water heater outlet. There is a backflow prevention valve to keep that line from back filling the water heater. My Airstream is plumbed that way, and my previous RV, a Winnebago Class C, was plumbed that way. It works.

m.hony · 01-10-2018, 09:14 AM

The water heater will fill whether or not it was bypassed.
All you do is empty the water heater to winterize it.
Airstreams just have one valve to bypass the water heater.
The valve handle in line with the water line is water heater in use.
The valve handle turned perpendicular to the water supply line is water heater bypassed.
The purpose in bypassing the water heater is so you don't fill it with 6 gallons of RV antifreeze.
I don't know why you have low water pressure.
Make sure the low point drain valves are closed and all the faucets are turned off.

Bob Peahl · 01-10-2018, 09:28 AM

Regarding low pressure for hot water, I found that the mixer valve on the water heater has a small screen at the tank inlet that can clog up. Remove the valve, soak it in vinegar and all should be well.

mcomeaux · 01-10-2018, 09:48 AM

Check your Screen Cap that goes into the water pump. The dealer took mine off and the o-ring must have fallen off and they put the screen cap back loose to boot...I actually had mine in for low pressure as well. I fought it for hours bleeding the shower and all outlets till I checked the bowl. Loose cap and no o-ring...

devilsbox · 01-10-2018, 01:14 PM

Thanks for all the tips and information. I checked the screens that were mentioned and they look fine.

Everything seems to work fine on city water. No air in the system.

With the pump however there is still something wrong.

The fresh water tank is full. When we turn on the pump it never shuts off and blows air out of all the faucets. It would seem that it is sucking air somewhere but I don't see any leaks.

May be time to find the closest dealer I guess.

Larry

m.hony · 01-10-2018, 01:35 PM

The pump just isn't primed yet.
It should start pumping soon.
You may have to open a faucet to get it to prime.

pmclemore · 01-10-2018, 01:41 PM

Check to see if there is a bypass valve on your water pump. If that valve is open, then all the pump will do is pump air.

Pat

m.hony · 01-10-2018, 01:58 PM

Possibly a winterizing T left in the position to draw antifreeze from the jug, so tubing is left sucking air?
Valve handle in line with water supply line for pump operation.
Valve handle perpendicular to water supply line to winterize.

devilsbox · 01-10-2018, 04:29 PM

We've been running the pump for 2 days and it doesn't get any better. We can actually hear the air going into the water tank when the pump runs.

I don't see any valve down by the pump. There was a very small amount of water under the pump. I'm guessing the pump was damaged by the cold NH weather.

This past week has been hard on the airstream, sitting out the blizzard in PA with high winds and 0 degree temps and then below 0 temps in VA.

IAC we've got an appointment at a dealer near Knoxville on Monday.

Thank you all for the comments, I've learned alot. I Will post when I find out exactly what the problem is.

Larry

m.hony · 01-10-2018, 04:30 PM

Is there water in the tank?

pcskier · 01-10-2018, 04:45 PM

You didn't say if the dealer winterized with antifreeze, or just blew compressed air through the system. If compressed air only, they likely bypassed the water heater after draining it when the blew out the system, then turned it back into service mode for your convenience when unwinterizing.

If they did not use antifreeze; and your water pressure is fine on City Water; and your water pressure is not there when trying the pump; and there is some water under the pump: Then I'm going to suspect that they blew out the lines, but did not adequately evacuate water from the pump, and it froze and is damaged. In this case, a new pump should be on the dime of the dealer who winterized it. You took it to them to do that for you so you would avoid that. They failed.

One other possibility is that the suction line of the pump is not tight, or the strainer is cracked, allowing air to pull instead of water.

CruizinDux · 01-10-2018, 05:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pcskier

You didn't say if the dealer winterized with antifreeze, or just blew compressed air through the system. If compressed air only, they likely bypassed the water heater after draining it when the blew out the system, then turned it back into service mode for your convenience when unwinterizing.

If they did not use antifreeze; and your water pressure is fine on City Water; and your water pressure is not there when trying the pump; and there is some water under the pump: Then I'm going to suspect that they blew out the lines, but did not adequately evacuate water from the pump, and it froze and is damaged. In this case, a new pump should be on the dime of the dealer who winterized it. You took it to them to do that for you so you would avoid that. They failed.

One other possibility is that the suction line of the pump is not tight, or the strainer is cracked, allowing air to pull instead of water.

I agree with PC, but just to add...maybe remove the cap/screen at the pump inflow and pour in some h2o, replace and tighten cap and turn on pump. Also i have 2' poly pipe attached to 1/2" male adapter that i attach to the incoming hose side and manually blow back water to the tank when winterizing. ..may a couple of siphon sucks to draw tank water to the pump...nose down with the trailer attitude so maybe it doesn't run back so quickly. Quick re attach and fire pump. If still a nogo, then like PC said you have pump damage. You mentioned some moisture at the pump base...this may be indicative of freeze caused crack in the pump housing.

Bob

devilsbox · 01-10-2018, 05:32 PM

I'm not sure if the dealer used compressed air, I assume they did. They did use anti freeze for sure.

Yes there is water in the hot water tank. On city water everything is normal and I actually fired up the tank on gas and we had hot water. No issues.

At the time of winterization the dealer also fixed a pesky water leak near the tank that only appeared when the water was heated with gas. So I wanted to check that. It appears to be fixed.

When I disconnect the city water and run on the pump you can hear the air bubbling in the water tank. There is a little pressure and we do get a small amount of water when on the pump but also lots of air.

After all I've learned the past two days I believe the pump is the culprit. The dealership in Knoxville said if it was it would be covered under warranty.

This will give us a chance to explore the Knoxville area. :-)

Larry

Bobbo · 01-10-2018, 07:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by devilsbox

We've been running the pump for 2 days and it doesn't get any better. We can actually hear the air going into the water tank when the pump runs.

If the pump is pumping air INTO the water tank, the water lines on the pump are reversed. The pump should NEVER pump air INTO the water tank.

CruizinDux · 01-10-2018, 09:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bobbo

If the pump is pumping air INTO the water tank, the water lines on the pump are reversed. The pump should NEVER pump air INTO the water tank.

Bobbo..as they say, the devil is in the details. As hard as that is to vidulize, as my pump house hoses are screwed down and i can't imagine how they could be reversed...you're spot on.

Bob

Bobbo · 01-11-2018, 07:28 AM

You said the dealer winterized the trailer. He probably removed the pump and when he reinstalled it, he put it in backwards.

devilsbox · 01-11-2018, 01:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bobbo

You said the dealer winterized the trailer. He probably removed the pump and when he reinstalled it, he put it in backwards.

I'm very sorry, I meant I can hear air going into the HOT water tank when the pump is running.

The pump is pumping a tiny bit of water and alot of air. It's gotta be the pump or the intake hose. We'll find out Monday.

Larry