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Old 09-20-2021, 02:30 PM   #1
RFP
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Turning city water OFF overnight.... hummmmmm...

I know some people that turn their city water OFF overnight; every night. Theirs is a super-cautious preventive measure just in case something goes awry while they are soundly sleeping in the luxury of their sweet trailers. Hmmm... I know the liklihood is remote, still there is always that small chance. Hmmmmm (again).

Yesterday morning, my brother woke up to copious amounts of water on the floor of his 28-footer. Neither he nor I know where it came from, and probably wont until he gets home in ten days or so. I told him some things to do to lesson his ongoing risk based on the info available.

His misfortune got me thinking about this all over again.

So, how about this. For forty bucks or so I can buy a garden hose timer, just like the one that waters my petunias. It works great. I tell it when to turn on and how long to stay on. So simple, even I can do it.

I could just install the timer-gizmo on the campground faucet, have it already pre-programmed to turn ON at 7 in the morning (every morning) and stay on for 14 hours (OFF at 9 PM). The result is virtual ZERO chance of an overnight catastrophy with no thinking required. Ten hours of no-effort protection. I've got to think about this some more, but I'm liking the idea.

I'm pretty sure my brother will be an EASY sell!



https://www.amazon.com/Orbit-62061Z-...e&tag=21oak-20

PS: It does a great job on my petunias!
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Old 09-20-2021, 02:43 PM   #2
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Personally I think it is overkill but you should do it if it makes you sleep better at night.

Ultimately the Airstream has the same plumbing as a residential house. The only difference is it shakes around more.

Most people don't shut off the water in their house ever.

Smarter people shut it off when they will be gone for long times in case something fails.

Fact of the matter is that if your brother had shut the water off likely the same problem would have resulted but hopefully he would have seen it. At least that is the premise of your proposal.

That said we had an issue where a small pinhole leak happened in one of our pipes that had been installed from the factory against a rough edge of wood.

We didn't notice it until the water had soaked the mat since the flow was so small. Shutting off the water at night wouldnt have solved that.

Similarly at a rally this year one of our neighbors saw water dripping from the bottom of the airstream over the few days and figured out that the connection had cracked at the city water source.

All of these would not have been prevented by shutting off the water overnight and potentially the issues would have been prolonged.

I personally think the best course of action is to be diligent and aware of the areas of failure and check them every so often.

Usually these type of plumbing issues are a result of poor installation at the factory or poor maintenance by the owner.
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Old 09-20-2021, 03:03 PM   #3
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I think it would be a hassle. And are you going to do it every time you leave for an hour or so? Relax. Can't prevent eveyrthing.
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Old 09-20-2021, 03:18 PM   #4
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We rarely hookup to city water. I just fill the tank as needed and turn the pump off at night or when we leave the trailer.
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Old 09-20-2021, 03:56 PM   #5
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I do turn off the city water to hose if we leave camp.
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Old 09-20-2021, 04:05 PM   #6
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Actually, while I can see where some might think overkill, I think its an interesting idea, worthy of thought. I did have a shower valve fail once, and began leaking significantly during the night. It eventually woke us up (if you want something to be woke about), and we got it shut off before it filled the gray tank caused us some grief. I guess it strikes me as a reasonable precaution because there’s two things that I never do: I never leave my awning deployed at night or when we leave the trailer; and I never leave the trailer with the city water spigot on and the line pressurized.
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Old 09-20-2021, 04:24 PM   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Kamiak View Post
Actually, while I can see where some might think overkill, I think its an interesting idea, worthy of thought. I did have a shower valve fail once, and began leaking significantly during the night. It eventually woke us up (if you want something to be woke about), and we got it shut off before it filled the gray tank caused us some grief. I guess it strikes me as a reasonable precaution because there’s two things that I never do: I never leave my awning deployed at night or when we leave the trailer; and I never leave the trailer with the city water spigot on and the line pressurized.
You are exactly the person who would not see this as overkill [emoji12].

I jest slightly on that. Ultimately this topic is a your milage may vary type topic.

We will get as many to say yes as no.

Do what is best for you. The same problems will persist. All you are doing is trying to control the inevitable.

If you are going to shut off during the night I would suggest shutting off everytime you leave the unit. Therefore you are more in control.
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Old 09-20-2021, 04:27 PM   #8
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'hook up'?...

Never...
Our AS has a fresh water tank, I just turn the pump off at night or when unattended.

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Old 09-20-2021, 04:29 PM   #9
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[QUOTE=RFP;2539485] For forty bucks or so I can buy a garden hose timer, just like the one that waters my petunias. It works great. !/QUOTE]

I recently bought a similar gizmo but it measures the gallon flow. The packaging said "For Garden Use Only". I'm pretty sure that's because just like you don't want to drink water from a garden hose, the plastics in these things can import bad stuff to your drinking water.
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Old 09-20-2021, 04:30 PM   #10
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Originally Posted by pdavey View Post
You are exactly the person who would not see this as overkill [emoji12].


If you are going to shut off during the night I would suggest shutting off everytime you leave the unit. Therefore you are more in control.

I think I said that.
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Old 09-20-2021, 04:33 PM   #11
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Originally Posted by pdavey View Post
Most people don't shut off the water in their house ever. .
We do when we go on extended trips. We do this after hearing horror stories from my sister-in-law who was an electrical inspector. She inspected many jobs that were repairs for flood damage due to broken pipes. It's cheap insurance.

We only turn off the city water in the Airstream if we are leaving it for a few days.
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Old 09-20-2021, 04:34 PM   #12
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Hi

Ok, let's say you have a dog or three. Let's say they are all *large* dogs. They work out just what the sleeping arrangements will be. The Queen Bee decides *she* wants the bathroom and hall near it. She's in charge so the other two dogs get whatever is left.

Now the Queen tosses and turns as she sleeps. It's tough being in charge of everything. Paws go here / paws go there. These are *big* paws ( she's up around 150 pounds ...). Paw lands on the pedal for the toilet. It's plenty heavy enough to get things going. Is it heavy enough to go all the way to dump into the black tank or just heavy enough to fill / overflow the toilet ..... very much a "that depends" sort of thing Either way there *will* ultimately be a flood ..... ( I have empirical data on this ....).

We run on the fresh water tank and turn off the pump at night and when we are out of the trailer .....

Bob
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Old 09-21-2021, 10:17 AM   #13
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i do turn off the city water to hose if we leave camp.
x 2
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Old 09-21-2021, 11:11 AM   #14
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When we arrive at a site i usually turn on the water pump as we set up so some initial cleaning, flushing, can be done before I hook up to the city water. I don't/didn't turn off the pump after hookup so a timer turning off the city water would just default to the pump. I suspect the pump under my bed would wake me if it started cycling but will now shut it off to reduce water source to ne.

Side note: some friends arrived at a rally about 2-3 hours from their house, opened the trailer door and the water all came out! During their pre-travel prep they accidently left the pump energized and the kitchen faucet handle vibrated open. That's more than a single point of failure but was pretty messy.
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Old 09-21-2021, 12:20 PM   #15
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Use a solenoid valve

If you want to do an easy shore water shutoff you can install a powered solenoid valve on a switch to shut off the water feed. If you can't find one easily appliance repair depots will have them for automatic washing machines and dishwashers. You can use them with a timer as well to automate use.
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Old 09-21-2021, 01:12 PM   #16
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I use an automatic manual shut off valve....💪
Down with 'gizmos'😂

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Old 09-21-2021, 02:12 PM   #17
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Quote:
Originally Posted by CRH View Post
We rarely hookup to city water. I just fill the tank as needed and turn the pump off at night or when we leave the trailer.
^^^Same here
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Old 09-21-2021, 07:38 PM   #18
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Interesting solution to a possible problem. Are any of these products rated for potable water?
Observations, many things do not say approved for potable water because they weren't tested. If the manufacturer went through the process the product would be approved for potable water
Likewise, many products are not approved for potable water because they do not meet the requirements for safe consumption. This could be as simple as an unpleasant taste to something actually dangerous if consumed.
Why pay extra for a potable water hose and void its effectiveness by introducing a non-potable water device to your system?
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Old 09-22-2021, 07:29 AM   #19
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Originally Posted by PC Conner View Post
Interesting solution to a possible problem. Are any of these products rated for potable water?
Observations, many things do not say approved for potable water because they weren't tested. If the manufacturer went through the process the product would be approved for potable water
Likewise, many products are not approved for potable water because they do not meet the requirements for safe consumption. This could be as simple as an unpleasant taste to something actually dangerous if consumed.
Why pay extra for a potable water hose and void its effectiveness by introducing a non-potable water device to your system?
Hi

Yes, the typical "appliance store" solenoid valve is rated for use with potable water. Think of the one that runs the ice maker in your fridge ....

Bob
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Old 09-26-2021, 09:40 AM   #20
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Most of the time we are not hooked up to city water. We only turn on the pump when needed. I also close the awning when we leave and at night (unless I "forget").

The few times I have tried shutting off city water when gone, I ALWAYS forget to turn it back on! Which can be a problem...
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