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Old 03-19-2021, 12:21 PM   #1
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Fresh water tank filled itself!

Last week I spent one night at an RV park. The fresh water tank was empty. I connected to city water. I use an adjustable regulator so I know the water pressure was 45 psi. The next morning the fresh water tank was heavily dripping water out of the overflow. I turned on the bathroom and kitchen faucets and drained the 45 gallon fresh water tank.

I can only presume the fresh water pump somehow allowed water to back fill the fresh water tank from the city water inlet. Imagine if it hadn't overflown I would have never know. Not only would I have been hauling 360 lbs of water I would imagine that much weight in the tank could cause the tank to break loose while driving.

The only thing I can think to do is replace the diaphragm in the pump. It only happened the one time but I'm not sure I can trust it to not happen again.

Anyone ever seen this problem?

Dustin
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Old 03-19-2021, 03:24 PM   #2
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A couple of thoughts come to mind here.
The fresh water tank is designed, and hopefully supported enough to hold a full tank of water while in use. Unless there is an issue with your tank supports, you shouldn't have to worry about the tank being full.
However, you sure don't want it filling when connected to city water.
I don't know which water pump you have, but most modern RVs have a pump with an integral check valve. Generally, older pumps don't have the check valve, and there is separate one upstream from the pump.
I would get the make and model of your pump off the side of it, and look up parts available. I don't think the diaphragm would have anything to do with backflow.
Perhaps some foreign material got into the system and caused the valve to stick. Always use a water filter. Perhaps it froze? I had that happen to an older camper.. when winterizing, the water pump didn't get used to pump antifreeze, so water was left in it, and cracked the housing.
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Old 03-19-2021, 04:15 PM   #3
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I had a similar problem and I ran the pump for a few minutes and that flushed out whatever was keeping the check valve from closing.
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Old 03-19-2021, 06:48 PM   #4
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Russb View Post
I had a similar problem and I ran the pump for a few minutes and that flushed out whatever was keeping the check valve from closing.
This the typical fix.
You could also add a check valve at the pump to prevent city water going through.
I added a valve at he pump, we never boondocked, if we needed the pump I'd open the valve.
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Old 03-20-2021, 09:44 AM   #5
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I don't have a pump/city water valve. The outlet on the pump is "Teed" into the fresh water line that feeds the trailer. The fresh water tank is only filled with a hose from the outside. No valves. I always use an inline water filter and pressure is set to 45 psi. I'll get the pump part number, and an exploded view diagram. The answer is either, pump bad internal check valve, leaking diaphragm or debris that entered the system "somehow". However, since I'm going to have to take things apart, I think I will add a selector lever that allows me to fill the fresh water tank via the city water inlet and keep it shut off the rest of the time. I don't want to be hauling extra weight by accident.
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Old 03-20-2021, 11:00 AM   #6
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Internal Bypass/check valve

Here's what I found out.
My pump:
MODEL* 4008-101-A65* * s/n 289729* * 12 VDC* *3 GPM* 7.5 amps* *Manuf date: /31/2018shut off pressure* *55 PSI

The bypass / check valve is easily accessible from the front so I'll just replace it, $13.00.

Here's some text from the operating manual:

OPERATION This pump is designed for intermittent duty only. The pump operates normally up to about 40-psi, where a spring-loaded by-pass valve opens, allowing flowback from the output side to the input side, providing smooth, steady flow with virtually no cycling, all the way down to a trickle. As a faucet is opened backup, the pressure will drop, the by-pass will close and full flow is again obtained. This allows good flow, even with today’s restrictive showers and pullout sprayer faucets. Performance will vary, of course, depending on the voltage to the pump; lower voltage = lower flow, higher voltage = higher flow. Remember your electrical safety: It is always best to shut power to the pump

ABOUT THE BY-PASS
NOTE: By-pass adjustment should only
be performed by a professional technician with proper gauges and equipment.**The by-pass is a spring loaded diaphragm that opens up allowing water*from the discharge side back to the inlet*side. The by-pass is set to begin opening*at about 40 psi and creating full by-pass*at about 62 psi (lower pressure pumps*will vary depending on the by-pass and*pressure shut-off settings). The pressure switch on the pump is set to shut
off at 55 psi. If the switch or by-pass*are adjusted too much, the by-pass and*switch shut-off can overlap and THE PUMP WILL NOT SHUT OFF.*

here's the manual
https://www.pentair.com/content/dam/...v/911-1008.pdf
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Dustin and Doris

2018 Crossroads, Sunset Trail 33CK,
38', 7600 lbs empty, 8300 lbs loaded.
2016 Tundra: 5.7L with towing package with added "Roadmaster Active Suspension"
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Old 03-25-2021, 04:22 PM   #7
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Your diagnosis is correct, the check-valve to stop backflow into tank is in the pump, and maybe leak just due to a grain of sand, or an algae growth needing cleaning/ bleaching? So Yes, drain tank, remove/ disassemble/ inspect/ clean pump and determine if it needs a repair kit... a 2018 is new enough to have a kit available and be worth rebuild (if needed?), but (suspect) I would also PLAN on proper bleach/ sanitize procedure?
LUCK
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Old 03-25-2021, 08:15 PM   #8
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There's a back-flow preventer in your fresh water pump. It's designed to stop this, but it can fail. It might be fixed by: quick on/off of the pump, a few times; disassemble the pump and repair or replace the valve; replace the pump if it's not repairable; install an in-line back-flow preventer. That's what I did with mine.
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