Fresh water tank has slow drip

[Scott59]

I have just set up camp in our first trip this year. We have a 2017 International Serenity 30. I have noticed a small drip coming from the bottom side of the fresh water tank at at small plate that is screwed in to the tank at the end right next to the white plastic drain valve. I never use the fresh water tank and I thought it was empty. The tank gauge reads zero percent full and when I open the drain valve no water comes out. I would say in 18 hours about 1-2 gallons of clean smelling water has dripped out.
What is under that 6” square plate where the drip is located?
I’m thinking the back side of the drain valve is leaking and that is what I will find behind the 6” square plate. What is puzzling is how there was any water in the tank to allow it to drip?
I have looked at all visible plumbing lines inside and see no leaks.
Could there be a water system check valve that is broke allowing water into the fresh water tank as I am hooked up to city water? Then a bad drain valve is letting the water drip out onto the ground?
Any thoughts out there?
My winterizing method is antifreeze but I did not blow out the city water inlet.
I hoping that the issue is a small amount of water was actually in the fresh water tank which froze this past winter and broke the drain valve??
I’m going to keep watching it to see if the drip finally stops. If it doesn’t the source must be from a water leak that somehow is visible at the fresh water tank, under this plate.

[afk314]

I just replaced my FW tank this spring after a year spent tracking it all down. I have a 2013 25RB.


It is possible that a faulty check valve can allow water to migrate from your city connection to your fw tank. Lots of posts about this here. It isn't uncommon so it should be a good hypothesis for how water is getting there in the first place.


Second, what you see under the trailer is not the tank. The tank has a cover, sometimes plastic and now metal, that completely covers it and protects it. Some trailers have a port cut into the tank cover which allows one to access some of the plumbing. Mine did not have this port, many do. It is almost always very close to the plastic white drain. You can remove the cover and then examine what is happening inside.



Next, you need to diagnose the leak. This can be quite difficult and you should be patient as long as you can live with the leak. It could be the FW drain component (the drain itself, the hose, the hose clips, etc) or it could be above the tank and the fact that you have migrating water from the city connection to the tank is not causal of the leak! Finally, as in my case, it could be a crack in the FW tank itself and a fair bit of work is involved. Maybe you are under warranty, that would be nice if this is the outcome.


Keep us posted,
Adam

[lsbrodsky]

I also had to replace my FW tank on my 2012 25FB this year and the indicator was a drip like yours. After the tank was removed I could see that the tank was cracked at the drain valve connection. The method of attaching the drain fitting was unsatisfactory and another example of Airstream lack of quality. My dealer said they see this more often than you would think.
How you are getting water in there is a different issue. I did not want to undertake removing the belly pan and looking for the problem; I just hauled the Airstream to my dealer. It took them 11 weeks to get it repaired, including waiting for a new tank from Jackson Center.
Larry

[Al and Missy]

Disconnect your city water and see if the leak stops. As Adam says, What you see from the outside is not the tank, but a cover. It is possible, maybe even likely, that the fresh water plumbing is leaking somewhere and ending up at that cover as it is the lowest point around.

Al

[afk314]

Another point to consider here - if you've had a lot of water pool above the cover, you might observe a leak for quite awhile even though there is no water coming into the trailer! In my case, the fw tank cover was fit quite well and so I only had the slowest of drips (a drip ever 10 seconds or so). But I assumed that the leak was real-time and this led me down a wrong path. You should assume you have a pool of water above the tank cover. Once you unhook from city water it may still leak! Give it some time. A day is usually enough to tell.



My tank replacement also took about 10 weeks. I, too, had the dealer do it. Way to much plumbing for me to get involved with. While they were at it, I had them replace the FW tank drain from that crappy plastic to an aluminum drain.

[GMFL]

Here is my blog posts on the Fresh Water Tank swap. It has detailed photos of the inner guts of that tank area.

http://www.airforums.com/forums/blog...lacement-2929/

http://www.airforums.com/forums/blog...t-part-2-2930/

[crispyboy]

It is likely you have a fitting that is leaking since your trailer is so new. Put some water in the tank and pull the inspection plate to find and fix the leak or it seems that you will wait many weeks for a dealer to find and fix the leak.
My trailer is 25 years old but had to replace the tank in the off season. The tank had a crack in the top.

[Al and Missy]

The drain valve is at the lowest point of the tank but that may not be the actual low point if the trailer is not level. Put some blocks under the opposite wheels to ensure the drain side is lower. Pull the plate you mentioned and try to see where the water is coming from. If you open the drain valve while the trailer is tilted and no water comes out it is not likely that the source of the water is the tank.

Find your water pump. Mine is under the floor in the hanging locker, accessible by removing the lift-out locker floor. The output side of the pump is exposed to city water pressure. If that has loosened, it could be the source of a leak while on city water or while on the tank but pressurized by the pump.

Al

[The Ice Man]

Fresh water tank has slow drip


Ours is a 2011 27FB and I experienced the same drip you describe after returning from our Thanksgiving Rally. We use our FW tank more than we use city water. A trip to the repair facility turned up a crack in the tank where the white exterior drain plug line enters the tank. We didn't have the access plate so the repair involved cutting one and then plastic welding the tank. Total bill was $270.00.

[Scott59]

Thanks to all that have replied, some excellent insights from all of you and very appreciated!
The leak stopped completely by the next morning and has not returned e en as we have used the trailer now for 3 days. I’m now thinking this was water that had pooled somewhere as we had driven through a hard rain about 3 hours before I noticed the slow drip.
To. Confirm I will put water in the fresh water tank and see if it begins to drip again, if so I would say it’s the drain valve most likely or less likely a cracked tank. As of now it has not dropped in 3 days. Thanks again.