Now I really did it!

[ROBERTSUNRUS]

Hi, today I was trying to do too much at once. I was going to sanitize my fresh water tank. Add some water, add some bleach, and finish filling tank. Well today we had more than usual water pressure at our house, I left the water running in the filler neck while removing the air in all of the lines. I suddenly heard a rush of water and ran out of my trailer to shut off my water hose. There was so much water pressure that the vent couldn't handle it and the water flowed out of the filler. The bottom of the tank looked swollen, but it has been like that for quite a while. The support straps aren't enough. I was previously thinking of adding some cross beams to hold the center of the tank straight. Panic, I noticed water leaking from the center of the tank; D&*#@* I must have split my tank open and we were going to leave in a few days. "honey, I have some really bad news, our fresh water tank is leaking". What to do, what to do? C&G is on vacation and will George Sutton be able to fix it if we pass his way? Well, I decided that one stupid mistake deserved another, so I jacked my trailer up in my driveway and removed the tank. Let me tell you, this is not a fun job. To save pain and get as much done as possible, I didn't take any pictures of this disaster. After everything was removed, we [wife and I] found no leaks or damage to the tank. What we did find was all kinds of sharp metal objects that were left there by the factory and might have in time cut through the tank. We removed all the sheet aluminum trimmings, rivet pieces, and hole saw cutouts that were under and around all sides of the tank, not to mention the trash that was found on top of the tank. To undo some of the pipes, you need to be a contortionist or hard headed. [guess which one I am] I had to cut one PEX tube and one clear drain tube to fully remove the tank. I already replaced these and will be re-installing my tank tomorrow. [sans shrapnel] Our conclushion is that the extra pressure had forced water past the filler connection at the tank and the water ran down to the middle of the tank where it would probably drip all night long. And that since I haven't seen or removed one of these tanks before, I didn't know what to expect. What ever you need to do to these tanks isn't accessable, therefore my other two tanks will remain with non-working sensors.

[ROBERT CROSS]

Condolences sent.....DTDT although I didn't remove the tank, went inside grabbed a 6pac of Honey Brown and proceeded to rationalize.
Day later the drips stopped the tank was full, my "repair procedure" confirmed.

Bright side...you likely stopped a problem down the road, every time I delve into an "inaccessible" place I find more Cr@p.

SOP I guess... sad but true.

[GREENovaters]

Wow, and I'm thinking of dropping the freshwater tank on my '95 moho to find a leak....

[Gringo]

The fresh water sensor is the only thing we've found smoked on our new 27FB so far. I was thinking of replacing it. Now I am thinking of just living without it. That tank's not much worry, anyhow.

[Gene]

Bob, glad you to could get things solved and get all that crap out of there. Sorry to hear it was such a monster job. Glad to hear you didn't have get a new tank. If this makes you feel any better, I bought a starter for my riding mower that I didn't need a couple of weeks ago because I misdiagnosed the problem.

Those sensors are a bad joke. We had ours adjusted once or cleaned or whatever they did. I don't know why they can't make a system that works. By now we kind of know what's in the tanks and the monitor gives us some info, though not always correct.

Where are you going?

Gene

[Goal15]

Bob, you didn't by chance take a picture of all the junk that could be sent to JC? There really isn't much excuse for that other than lack of pride in workmanship. I realize that there are many issues that folks here find fault with in terms of systems that could be better, craftsmanship that could be more prideful, etc. but not cleaning up after oneself on the jobsite.... that's something totally within the scope of control.

[MrUKToad]

Shame you had to do all that work but good to see that you take all the positives; I guess you have to in order to stay sane in this life. The fresh water sensor is playing up on our (new) 28' International. The general view is "leave well alone" so I will for now. I'll probably mention it to the dealer before we store for the winter; it is, after all, a warranty item.

[FreshAir]

It has always been my policy to have ALL trailer AND TV maintenence completed at least 2 weeks before departure or I just grit my teeth and pray. If I delve into anything some what major I always seem to 'screw up' something mostly to haste. Besides I have almost any tool that I would need along with me. I know that's extra weight and taken space. But it's 'me'. I remember a time about 20 years ago on a high school band trip for our son when the band director sent a student to me that had a malfunctioning trumpet valve. Of course I had a tool for the repair. "How come that you carry so many tools, sir?" the young man asked. I replied that I have always driven classic or vintage vehicles and unless it's a major breakdown I am ready. I don't want anyone messing with my car or trailer!
Neil

[ROBERTSUNRUS]

Hi, well I got the tank back in and it wasn't a fun job. What I didn't know before starting this job was: are my tanks black, or is this some protective cover? The tank is white and the huge black thing is sort of the holder. But they are plumbed together, making it really hard to work with. I wanted to re-design some of it while it was out, but I couldn't find anything else that would work. After getting my tank back in and adding some water it started to drip in the middle again. Well if that's the way it's going to play, then it will just have to drip!!!! Now my water pump won't work. Checked it all out and as a good mechanic would do, I took my pump out and all apart for inspection; Done that for nothing. [free education] It seems that for some reason, the last PEX crimp was leaking and my water pump was sucking air. I am not taking the tank out again. I located the the suction leak. I had to cut an inch off of my PEX and re-crimp it. This time I could tell it was tighter, even though my crimping gauge said the first crimp was OK. The leak was from the green and white filler hose at the grey elbow. I removed the hose repositioned it and tightened the clamp pretty tight. It still leaks. I tightened the clamp really tight and it still leaks and it will just have to stay that way for now. I looked for a leak in the hose but can't find one and we tested the grey elbow and it wasn't leaking. Maybe if there was enough room for a mouse to get in there and tell me where it is exactly leaking I could fix it. As fast as my wife and I found rivet pins, hole saw cut-outs, sharp pieces of aluminum sheet metal stuck in the styrofoam sides, we tossed them in the trash. I also found a few feet of yellow house wire on top of my tank. I guess my real purpose for removing the tank was to remove all of the trash.

[ROBERTSUNRUS]

Hi, I took a few pictures today so you can see what it looks like.

(1.) This shows the tank out and ready to put back in. On the left bottom, is the infamous tank sensor. The two brass fittings are the low point drains and they are very hard to get to to unscrew the fittings. The brass elbow on top is the filler vent. Underneath that is the grey filler elbow. To the right of that is the water pump suction pipe. And on the far right it the tank drain tube.

(2.) A little closer look at the same area of the tank.

(3.) All wrapped up with duct tape for re-installation.

(4.) This is the mess you have to work with when you take your tank out and put it back in. Try to get all three hands, that you need to do this job, while laying on the floor and having about one cubic foot area to do it in.

[Airslide]

Bob.. Im sorry you are going through this right now. What a pain in the butt. I wish I was closer and could help you with that project. It doesnt sound fun but we could get it done twice as fast.

Whats up with all the trash in there? Do the guys purposely throw that stuff down there and laugh about it?

Crazy.



Vinnie

[Gene]

Bob, sounds like you've done a pretty fast job considering you've never done this before. How was getting the belly pan off like? Did the propane lines get in the way? I hope to never go through something like you have. Kudos for the courage to attack this monster.

Gene

[ROBERT CROSS]

Originally Posted by Airslide

Whats up with all the trash in there? Do the guys purposely throw that stuff down there and laugh about it?

Crazy.



Vinnie

They just don't CARE!

Bob,

Sorry you had to go thru the the experience. I can remember a few times in my fix'n life where EVERYTHING seemed to go rong!
I'm sure glad I had an intervention before attempting the repair on my minor vent line leak at the tank connection. I could just barely get one hand on the connection and could tell it wasn't crimped properly, not likely to separate, just LEAK.

Hope the whole thing didn't interfere with any AS plans.

Keep us posted...

[FreshAir]

I guess our vintage coach was more lovingly built. I have not yet found any build debris.
Neil

[withidl]

Although this experience did not happen to my ASCL, it is applicable to over pressuring any bulk tank as just a small psi increase on bulk tanks puts tremendous strain on them. When I worked for Texaco, pressure testing 12,000 gallon bulk storage tanks for leaks was done with a maximum of 5 psi, as any more risk splitting the tank.

My son was driving our “back-up” 1993 Buick LeSabre on a trip last November. He stopped for fuel and because it was cold and windy he put the nozzle in the tank and got back in the vehicle. The automatic nozzle shutoff failed. He became aware of the failure when he looked in the mirror and noticed fuel spraying around the nozzle from the filler pipe. He quickly got out and shut off the nozzle (estimated 3 to 4 gallons lost) and was reimbursed for the fuel loss by the station attendant.

He didn’t think much of the incident until a week-or-so later as I passed the Buick in the driveway I noticed the smell of fuel. I mentioned it to him and he told me of the incident and surmised that some of the fuel was still caught in the vehicle body and evaporating. A couple of days later the smell increased so I investigated and found a 1 inch long hair-line “tear” in the tank bottom literally above the exhaust pipe with fuel dripping on the pipe. The over pressure of the fuel not being able to escape had split the tank bottom.

Had to R&R the tank with a salvage one costing $75 and our free labor.

[ROBERTSUNRUS]

Originally Posted by Airslide

Bob.. Im sorry you are going through this right now. What a pain in the butt. I wish I was closer and could help you with that project. It doesnt sound fun but we could get it done twice as fast.

Whats up with all the trash in there? Do the guys purposely throw that stuff down there and laugh about it?

Crazy.



Vinnie

Hi, Vinnie. Watch what you wish for, I should be close to your house tomorrow. Leaving in the morning right after the street sweeper goes by.

Originally Posted by CrawfordGene

Bob, sounds like you've done a pretty fast job considering you've never done this before. How was getting the belly pan off like? Did the propane lines get in the way? I hope to never go through something like you have. Kudos for the courage to attack this monster.

Gene

Hi, Gene. I'm still getting ready and can't waste time. Fortunately all three tanks have there own black casket and the only aluminum belly pan runs from the back of the fresh water tank to the rear bumper. I didn't have to deal with any propane lines. Would have been nice [nicer] if I could have raised my trailer another six inches, but we don't want it too high when the time comes for us to have island property.

Originally Posted by ROBERT CROSS

They just don't CARE!

Bob,

Sorry you had to go thru the the experience. I can remember a few times in my fix'n life where EVERYTHING seemed to go rong!
I'm sure glad I had an intervention before attempting the repair on my minor vent line leak at the tank connection. I could just barely get one hand on the connection and could tell it wasn't crimped properly, not likely to separate, just LEAK.

Hope the whole thing didn't interfere with any AS plans.

Keep us posted...

Hi, Bob. I think that they don't care where all the trimming and trash goes because most people will never see it. Maybe Karma for those at the Airstream factory, will be a trashed new car or truck that is very close to being a lemon, but not quite qualify. And before they complain about the sloppy workmanship. [as my Mom used to say] "Maybe you [them] should try looking in a mirror." And as other's have said, [might get moderated] we're going, Hell or high water!