Inline filter under kitchen sink

[SeaLevel]

When we got our AS last December, we had the dealer put in the inline filter under the kitchen sink. Earlier this summer on our month long trip we stayed for almost two weeks at a campground that had not so great water - ended up with rust stains in the shower and toiler that I had to deal with.

I want to take out the filter and put in the straight pipe that they left under the sink for me. What is the best way to seal the threaded joints?

Teflon tape, pipe joint compound, or both?

[Tree]

Both work - but I wouldn't use both together.

[Morgan guy]

That filter only acts on water used at the sink and has no impact on water in the shower. If you want to filter all campground water you will have to install and inline filter on the city water line coming into your AS.

[overlander63]

There are seals already in the fittings, and adding additional sealant is not only unneccessary, but may prevent the seals that are there from working properly.

[PaulnGina]

I can't comment on your particular plumbing fittings, but in general you'd use teflon tape OR compound on a threaded connection, not both.

Regarding filters, we use a filter on the input to the trailer, then have another on a separate spigot at the kitchen sink to use for cooking, coffee, drinking, etc. Seems to work very well.

[SeaLevel]

Thanks all. I ended up using just pipe joint compound. It's not really a sealant. It's a lubricant that helps you fully tighten the threads. The kind I used is non-toxic, and I only used it on the threads - not letting any get on the inside. The biggest problem was getting to the darn thing. Could they make it any harder to reach?

I could barely reach the connection in the back, and needing to also hold two pairs of pliers was quite challenging. I almost had to remove the sink.

We have always used a filter on the city water inlet, and we don't use the kitchen sink for drinking, or for coffee/tea, so I decided to just eliminate it now and not have to worry about it again.

[Al Boondy]

Originally Posted by SeaLevel

I could barely reach the connection in the back, and needing to also hold two pairs of pliers was quite challenging. I almost had to remove the sink.

Too late now, but if you ever find yourself fighting fittings under a sink or lavatory again there's a tool that will make the job MUCH easier.
It's called a basin wrench and they are cheap and available at most hardware stores.

[SeaLevel]

Thanks! That looks like a great addition to my toolbox, so I might still pick one up. Although it doesn't appear to be leaking, I suspect I didn't tighten it as much as I should have.

[PaulnGina]

Those basin wrenches are great to have. Hopefully you won't need it very often, but when you need it, it is invaluable.

[Bgibbs]

The filter under the sink is a poor quality filter and is mainly a sediment filter. I just purchased a 1 micron sediment filter and a .5 micron carbon block filter to put outside to filter all the water and installed a.4 micron filter with a separate faucet for the sink. I got the outside filters from RV Water Filter Store. The filter under the sink is a Seagull IV and it removes virtually everything bad from the water. The specs are pretty impressive. There were several forum members recommending it.

[Mgieselman]

Originally Posted by SeaLevel

When we got our AS last December, we had the dealer put in the inline filter under the kitchen sink. Earlier this summer on our month long trip we stayed for almost two weeks at a campground that had not so great water - ended up with rust stains in the shower and toiler that I had to deal with.

I want to take out the filter and put in the straight pipe that they left under the sink for me. What is the best way to seal the threaded joints?

Teflon tape, pipe joint compound, or both?

The straight pipe doesn't need tape, it's a compesssion fitting.

The water filter does not tape on the water filter side at both ends.

[gandttimes]

Originally Posted by Morgan guy

That filter only acts on water used at the sink and has no impact on water in the shower. If you want to filter all campground water you will have to install and inline filter on the city water line coming into your AS.

It also only works on the cold water side.


George