1988 Excella, fixing water, hot water and leak

[BjornHolte]

Hi all, awesome forum.

I just restored my Excella 1988 to an awesome place for my family, but the water system has multiple failures.

1 No hot water at all. Heater fires up. I set the bypass valve to normal. No hot water, but cold water in the shower, and both sinks. Both when running from the garden hose or water tank.

Bypass valve broken? Any tips how to figure out what is wrong?

2 When using pump and water tank, water pours out of the water intake for the garden hose in the back. So very little water in the sink when pumping from the tank.

Assume it is a defect backwater valve or is this thing to be adjusted?





3 The bottom plug is leaking from freshwater tank. Any quick fix suggestions? just plumber tape?




Life is too short to not enjoy it in an airstream
Bjorn

[GGR]

Hello,

We inherited a 1989 Excella and are having the same problem with water pouring out of the water intake for the garden hose when the pump is on. I was told it is likely a bad check valve. Did you find out which part to replace? I've read some are located in the pump itself and others are visible near the plumbing pipes themselves.

Best,
GGR

[TG Twinkie]

If you are refering to the city water connection. The check valve is inside that connection.
You can replace the connection. Or just buy a plug to screw in where you would connect the hose. Screw it in tight. Problem solved.

[GGR]

My leak is at the non-pressurized water intake not the city water intake and only leaks when the pump is turned on.

I spoke with a mechanic at our local airstream dealership. He said he would guess the water is pouring out of the water intake (non-pressurized port) because there is a clogged or kinked water tank vent hose. This could be difficult to thoroughly check out because it may require dropping the pan. He said the hose should be small and clear, 1/2 inch, 5/8 inch, or smaller coming off of the water tank.

It could also be a faulty backflow valve/check valve in the water pump itself. Our Sureflo quad water pump replacement was $100 on Amazon because our local dealer has been having a difficult time finding a supplier since COVID. He said when hooked up to city water and the pump is off, if the water doesn't pour out of the intake and only pours out when the pump is turned on, it would lead him to believe the backflow valve in the pump is still good. We are going to try a new pump first because that is much easier than tearing everything apart looking for a clogged tube.


If the system is leaking from the city water intake at the back of the trailer, it's probably a faulty check valve located where the hose screws onto the camper. Ours is leaking from the other water intake though.

[TG Twinkie]

Is the water coming out where you would normally connect a hose for city water?
If so the check valve is bad or has some gunk on it.
There is no way the pump could be pressurizing the fresh water tank.

[John&Vicki]

Probably bad valve in the pump. There’s lots of information on the forum about how to correct it without replacing it.

Cheers,
John

[BjornHolte]

Hi, I just added a end plug on the intake (hose/city water inlet in the back).

The picture I posted is a valve preventing to high water pressure when connecting it to city water. I don't think it has a back valve function.

I am not sure where the back valve is infact, so the easy solution was to just get a end piece for a garden hose and snap it on when not using it.

There is a small drain valve too, but it is clogged, so no water leaking out there at least

I still have water leaking out of my fresh water tank, so it might have frost damage.

Bjorn