Fresh water drains???

[gossamar]

Okay, think I have found the first glitch after getting home. I am guessing the fresh water tank has TWO drain valves, correct?? Mine only has one, and when filling tonight, water came out of the second blue line under the trailer that appears to be missing the drain valve. I also had water coming out what I am guessing is the overflow between the lowpoint drains. Looks like a trip to lowes....

[Tim D]

You should have a cold and hot water low point drain as well as a fresh water tank drain.

[gepaine]

I was surprised to find out that our 2015 Springfield has TWO fresh water tank overflows - one next to the red and blue low point drains, and one under the utility panel in the basement. (Panel where you fill the freshwater tank, connect city water, etc.)

I questioned a tech at the dealership about this who was also surprised, but confirmed that they are both overflow drains.

[Bert]

My unit is like Tim's. I have a red and blue drain next to each other for the water heater. Then a 3rd drain below the freshwater tank. The all have a threaded cap.

[gossamar]

Gepaine, hmmm, nice to hear from a fellow springfield owner. I might question the secondary blue line as an overflow as once the water was done draining out of the blue line, my water level went down to 3/4 full. Started to slowly add water back into the tank and it started flowing out of the blue line again almost immediately and the water level did not move. I went to lowes and purchased a 1/2 inch pex water valve and the clip connector and installed the valve on the open line. Now when I fill the tank I get 100% full before the water runs out of the white line between the lowpoints. I did trace that line back to the top of the tank via the access door, so I know that one is the overflow.
On a secondary note....how are you enjoying your springfield??

[gepaine]

Gossamar,

It certainly is strange. My experience with the two drains is limited to when I was sanitizing the water system at the beginning of the season, and I didn't check the tank gauge when it started to overflow. I do recall that one line stopped flowing almost immediately after I stopped filling, but the other (the one by the low point drains, maybe ??) kept flowing for quite awhile. Maybe it flowed until the level dropped to 3/4 (or is it 2/3?) full as in your case.

I'll be bringing ours home early next week to prepare for a trip, and I'll try to investigate further.

As for enjoying our Springfield, we took it out for the first time in mid-July for 2 weeks and did enjoy the comfort and convenience it offered over our previous 24-foot Cougar bumper-pull. However, I am a bit disappointed with the level of chucking we experienced. Significantly greater than anticipated. Of course, I am looking into ways to smooth that out.

[gossamar]

I have not noticed too much chucking with mine, but I do have a long bed truck and went with the B & W companion 20K hitch...not sure if that makes a difference or not...

Have you experienced any leaks with the level up system? I had one when they did the PDI in which the tech fixed, but I think there might be another one that I need to track down. Dealer is 4-hours away, so I emailed LCI to see if there was an authorized dealer closer.

[gepaine]

I e-mailed the Rushmore dealer rep about the fresh water drains. He has passed the question to his "service people" and will get back to me. I'll post his explanation when I get it.

No leaks with Level-Up, but did have the control panel replaced under warranty because the buttons were intermittent. Also, the system was about 2 quarts low when delivered. (I should check the level again to be sure I don't have a leak.)

Picked the trailer up from storage today to get ready for a 10-day trip on Wednesday. One tire still had a slow leak which Les Schwab in Coos Bay, OR said they fixed on my last trip by replacing the valve stem. Took it to the local Les Schwab today (where I bought the tires), and they found that the wheel was defective. Has extremely small holes or cracks in the metal that allowed the pressure to bleed down from 90 psi to 80 psi over a 2 week period. Dealer is going to get a replacement under warranty and loan me a wheel and tire in the meantime.

Also found that the spare tire winch was broken. It's all pot metal inside and it broke as the tire tech was lowering the spare to put it on. It will also be replaced under warranty.

The joys of RV'ing!

[gepaine]

I received the following today from Crossroads:

"Below is a detailed explanation from our lead tech as well as a print of
the tank. If you have any further questions, please give us a call. Thank
You

Attached is a picture of the fresh water holding tank for this unit. It
does say it’s for a 39MB, but is the same fresh tank for this Springfield
unit. The vent nearest the center of the underbelly is from the overflow at
the center of the tank. The vent closest to the water panel is from the
vent at the top most part of the tank, closest to the edge. At times when
the tank is being filled, once it’s full, it begins to overflow to indicate
it is full. The vent closest to the water panel does in fact stop draining
as an overflow vent due to its location on the tank. The reason the
customer is seeing the overflow, near the center of the underbelly,
continuously running water is from the center vent. Once it begins to
overflow, in some cases, it develops a “siphon” effect, and once that is
started, sometimes the tank will in fact drain half way, until the flow is
stopped, or the tank cannot drop in the top center anymore, and decides to
breath, which stops the siphon effect also.
When filling the tank, if it is left unattended after it has filled, allows
the tank to overfill/expand to the point that once the water is turned off
to fill, the tank already has pressure built up and won’t stop siphoning in
the center until the tank needs to breath. If the tank fills and starts to
overflow, and the water is shut off, then the tank will not drain as the
customer has stated."

I went back to the tech asking how to avoid a siphon, and if capping off the center tank vent would present a problem. Here is his reply:

"Correct, shut water off right away. I have had customer’s cap it off with no issues."

Hope this helps. I know it clears things up for me.

[gossamar]

Thanks for the details...takes a few times to read to understand it completely, but I guess that is what I was experiencing was the siphoning effect....