Dale and Terry get a '66 Tradewind

[Bubba L]

Slats, I think anything you install, should be designed to be removed, if ever needed. When we renovated our 66, I tried to make all connection points accessible in the event things needed to be removed in the future. That’s not to say I remember how things went together. But believe me, all can be removed without much effort. Good thinking on your part. Good luck and stay safe.

[Slats]

Thanks for the encouragement. Lord knows it is hard to keep the vision of a finished project in mind as we go along. This picture out of an old Airstream brochure helps to keep me focused, though.

[dbj216]

Soon you can host a candle light dinner with fancy china and silverware in your Trade Wind. A great goal to keep in mind.

David

[Slats]

My wife is not sure she can pull off that hairdo, though.

[steinVT]

Looking good. I like your dinette layout.

One suggestion, from your first picture showing the top view of the pump and tank (from post #700) , it looks like you are venting the tank through the floor. I did exactly the same thing on my Safari. On our first big trip, it managed to empty about a third of the fresh water as the water sloshed forward as we braked.

I ended up adding a valve to the vent, only to be closed during travel. On my current project, I think I will try to incorporate either a roof vent or at least a vertical loop into the floor drain. More than once I have forgotten to open the vent and then wondered why my pump was working so hard. - Mark

[dbj216]

Hello steinVT: My former 66 and my son's 69 and my 75 and the wife's 86 all vent the fresh tank through the fill tube. The 66 and the 69 vent through the cap. These trailers also had a fresh tank drain hose that went straight down through the floor, and shut off with a valve.

Slats said he will describe his plumbing layout later. Probably right after he figures it out. : )


David

[Slats]

Originally Posted by dbj216

Slats said he will describe his plumbing layout later. Probably right after he figures it out. : )

You hit the pex on the head with that one David, out of the ballpark. I've been sitting around mixing valves around with the same adroitness I apply to mixing metaphors. Atomic_13 had already clued me in about sticking a valve on my vent line, so I was planning on adding one. If you go back in his thread to the point where he was plumbing in his fresh water tank, you will see that he at first had no valve and later thought the better of it. I owe him big time for all the help he has lent along the way. Kansas City is a pretty good place to rebuild an Airstream. With Atomic and Airparts close by, you don't need much more. But,needless to say and as David has so perceptively predicted, I have reconfigured my valve/drain/vent arrangement. I have drilled a 3/4" hole in the floor for the drain and am now committed to a plan. Although, being a man of no particular moral fibre, I could always change my mind and, if so, plug the hole. Stay tuned.

[Slats]

On the serious side, I was wondering: could I eliminate a hole through the floor by just installing a back flow valve on the vent line?

[Atomic_13]

Great progress, Dale. Mark’s pilot testing of the floor drain vent was the inspiration for me subsequently adding a valve as well. I too had considered a oneway check valve but remember the fresh tank needs to vent while filling (when air is being displaced by the incoming water) and while draining (when the water is displaced by air to prevent a vacuum). Thus, you’ll need air flow at all times (except when towing).

[Slats]

Ah, yes. Why didn't I think of that? I guess because I didn't. Actually, I did, sort of. I earlier contemplated joining my vent and drain lines but nixed that idea for much the same reason. Too bad the left and right sides of my brain are on such strained speaking terms. So now, instead of plugging a hole I didn't need, I'll drill a hole that I do.

[Slats]

The freshwater tank is finally hooked up. I reconfigured my original valve layout to centralize the valves. Unfortunately, I had already drilled a hole for the drain when I decided on the improvement. But that is the beauty of pex; it bends. I was likely looking for something to rationalize buying that new heat gun the other day. I took Atomic's advice and stuck a valve on my vent line. I also decided to run the vent through that 2X4 down south to the neighborhood of the drain.

[islandtrader]

I have not filled my tank yet...but it is my understanding on the original type water inlets that they are big enough to let air out when filling. That being said I did put a extra outlet on the top of my fw tank.

[Slats]

Being a victim of flashy improvements, I replaced my original fresh water inlet with one that brooks no air; thus my self-imposed need for a vent.

[dbj216]

It is a fancy fresh water tank plumbing scheme. I like your new layout better.
You're gonna have to label all those valves and operating sequence. How to fill the tank, how to prime the pump, how to fill the tank with city water hook up, how to drain the tank, when to shut the vent valve. All the valves need numbers.

David

[Slats]

OK, David.


#1 - the first inline valve downstream from the pump.
#2 - the the branch valve to the the tank.
#3 - the branch valve to the drain.
#4 - the second inline valve downstream from the pump.
#5 - the valve on the vent line (always open, except when moving).



Normal operation: #1 and #4 open; #2 and #3 closed.


Fill tank from city water inlet: #4 and #2 open; #1 and #3 closed.


Drain system: #4 and #3 open; #1 and #2 closed.


Drain tank: #2 and #3 open; #1 and #4 closed.


You will have to tell me, should you be so kind, how and why to prime the pump, as well as what combination of open and closed valves will enable the process.

[dbj216]

I suppose there will be a pop quiz tomorrow morning. I better learn all the valve operation sequences. Homework tonight.

The question my be, "How do you set the valves to fill the fresh water tank with city water?" Or: "What happens with the fresh water tank is full from the city water valve settings?"

David

[Slats]

Much like a fish who gives no thought to why a worm, normally a creature of the dirt, would be dangling on a hook out in the middle of a lake, I lunged at David's original invitation to explain my valve configuration. Smiling as he reels me in, he now lobs another morsel my way. But even now, while the contest between fish and fisherman is on, the fish somehow dimly suspects fate has already declared the winner, that he will shortly be flopping around in the bottom of David's boat. But, being a fatalist, what can he do about it? As it turns out, nothing. So I'll bite again, David. Because in the end it won't matter.


So, back to the bait; the question of how to fill the tank from the city water inlet, a question already answered in the above review of differing valve positions for differing purposes. So we'll just get on to the second question, the one that sets the hook: "What happens with the fresh water tank is full from the city water valve settings?" Or, the question David's politeness kept him from posing: "What happens when a squirrel darts past you into into the woods, with your dog in hot pursuit, and you mindlessly run after Rover, forgetting your unattended, rapidly filling tank?" Aside from abruptly halting, doing a classic dope slap on the forehead and exclaiming, "Oh, ****", I'm not sure. I would hope that the open valve on the vent line might turn it into a drain line, but then there is the question of how the now unvented tank would allow itself to drain. Maybe the tank just explodes and relieves me of any further need to contemplate this stuff?

[Slats]

Or, on the serious side, wouldn’t a check valve in the city water fill line solve my exploding tank scenario? My city water inlet already has a built-in check valve.

[dbj216]

Slats the valve man!

Yep, your new city water inlet likely has a check valve built in so when you run your pump, you don't empty your fresh water tank out the city water inlet port.

And if you left the valves open to fill the fresh water tank with city water while chasing Rover, your tank vent line would allow excess water out as the city water pressure would force it out. Unless of course Slats the valve man forgets to open valve #5 when setting up.

But no worries. The polyethylene water tank will likely hold 60 psi water pressure, the likely setting of the pressure regulating valve in the city water inlet. The tank might look more like a balloon, but not rupture. You probably installed a separate manually adjustable pressure regulating valve you personally set to 55 psi. You'll call this valve #6.

Don't forget to label the water shut off valves to each of your faucets and the toilet. And the water heater bypass valves. And the low point drain valves. And the gas shut off valves to each appliance. How about numbers on the propane shut off valves at each tank, and the switching valve from curb tank to street tank. And the valve stems on the trailer's wheels. And the all important dump valves to drain the waste water tanks. Maybe we can get your operator's manual up to maybe two dozen valves with sequence instructions for every function.

Your Trade Wind will win the most valves contest for sure.

David

[Slats]

Not much progress of late, other than redoing the seating/eating/sleeping front area after the sight of the leftover plywood I previously put in place bugged me too much to leave it alone. So I bought a new sheet of 4X8 birch plywood, out of which I fashioned everything you see here. Buying a nice Milwaukee cordless jigsaw helped smooth the process. After adding the cleats upon which the table edges will rest when the pedestal is lowered, I'll move on to making a table top