hooking up city water to camper

I went camping over the weekend and hooked up to city water for the first time. I used my regulater and I had no water pressure at all, could barely take a shower. I filled the water tank a little bit and used the pump and that worked fine so I know I don't have a clog anywher. The water pressure at the camp ground was great also. My friend had great pressure at his camper. Any thoughts anybody.
32qbbs

Reversed back-flow preventer on city side?

mattebury wrote:Reversed back-flow preventer on city side?

What ?

There's a widget installed in the water lines that prevents water from back-flowing into the campground's water supply. If it's been put in backwards, water won't be able to go into the trailer.

Somebody with your floor plan will have to chime in where to look for this device. I know that my city water is right near the baggage door on the street side and it's in that tangle of hoses. It's what keeps your water pump from spouting water out of the city water inlet.

And now that you mention it, you should see water leaking out of the city water inlet if the back-flow is in backwards. But it could still be a defective part.

mattebury wrote:There's a widget installed in the water lines that prevents water from back-flowing into the campground's water supply. If it's been put in backwards, water won't be able to go into the trailer.

Somebody with your floor plan will have to chime in where to look for this device. I know that my city water is right near the baggage door on the street side and it's in that tangle of hoses. It's what keeps your water pump from spouting water out of the city water inlet.

And now that you mention it, you should see water leaking out of the city water inlet if the back-flow is in backwards. But it could still be a defective part.

no water comes out of the city inlet, don't get me wrong, I have some pressure but very little

My other suggestion is to look for a blockage in the inlet, or a kinked hose. You should be able to see the hoses going into the water filter, one from the pump and the other from the city water. Look for a blockage in the city water hose, or something caught in the inlet strainer.

Another problem that I had was a clogged filter. Take the filter out of the housing and see if you still have the problem. That was my problem at yellowstone this summer.

mattebury wrote:My other suggestion is to look for a blockage in the inlet, or a kinked hose. You should be able to see the hoses going into the water filter, one from the pump and the other from the city water. Look for a blockage in the city water hose, or something caught in the inlet strainer.

Another problem that I had was a clogged filter. Take the filter out of the housing and see if you still have the problem. That was my problem at yellowstone this summer.

I will try that tomorrow, thanks

On ours the the backflow preventer valve is built into the city water connection. Pull the screen out and you can see it and push it in to make sure it's not partialy stuck.

The other thought i had was, if you open the water faucet to fast and get a blast of pressure won't the regulator shut most of the flow down ? just like the propane regulator does.

Mopar_Earl wrote:Did you try your city connection without the regulator? I've say if it's not the regulator, that your check valve has issues such as sticking or broke or something stuck in it causing it to not open fully.


Earl

I did hook up the city water without the regulator and the pressure was much much better, but I don't want to leave it off for any length of time because of fear of bursting lines.

Get a new regulator. Is the one you have 40PSI?

moo2613 wrote:Get a new regulator. Is the one you have 40PSI?

It is a 40-50 psi regulator

I would still get a new one, sounds like something is wrong with that one.

moo2613 wrote:I would still get a new one, sounds like something is wrong with that one.

I'll try a new one tomorrow, thanks

I bought a whole-house water regulator by Watts at Home Depot. It is adjustable, has 3/4 inch fittings for high flow rate (I bought adapters to fit the garden hose connectors ...)

I got something similar to this .... mine has a bronze and plastic housing though....
http://www.plumbersurplus.com/Prod/Watts-Regulator-N55BDUS-M1-3-4-%280007603%29/22757/Cat/189

cooksvillewildcat wrote:I bought a whole-house water regulator by Watts at Home Depot. It is adjustable, has 3/4 inch fittings for high flow rate (I bought adapters to fit the garden hose connectors ...)

I got something similar to this .... mine has a bronze and plastic housing though....
http://www.plumbersurplus.com/Prod/Watts-Regulator-N55BDUS-M1-3-4-%280007603%29/22757/Cat/189

I found a website that sells a higher pressure regulator, around 55-65 psi. for late model rv's
The one I have is 45-55, does anyone know if this is safe. Will it blow lines?

I found some interesting links that talk about allowable pressures for PEX plumbing (the type RVs use). The first (http://www.zurn.com/images/pdf/zpm07199.pdf) talks about general installation guidelines for "PEX" plumbing and gives max pressures at different temps.
The second link (http://pexinfo.com/forum/) is a forum to talk about PEX plumbing stuff.
The third (http://www.plumbingsupply.com/pex.html) is a supply house that sells pressure regulators "factory set" at 45 psi.