Water Leak

[Sf49erfan]

I searched the forum and didn't see anything similar, so here goes.  I have a 2006 Monaco Executive.  Today I noticed some water on the floor at the base of the shower.  After taking the vent screen off, I found water under the shower.  I don't see an obvious leak.  I pulled the drawer out from under the fridge and there is water under there also.  It is just a fine layer.

I am not sure how to troubleshoot this.  I am at a RV campground.  Should I try and take the coach to a business or would a mobile RV person work?  It started snowing this morning- not sure if this has anything to do with the leak.  It hasn't been leaking for long; pretty sure I caught it early.  I am seeing dollar signs line up and soooo tired of having one issue after another.  I don't see how the leak can even be traced without tearing out the fridge and shower (the shower is corian and the fridge looks "built in").

I went and purchased a carpet dryer and have that blowing on the area to try and dry it out some.  Any input would be appreciated.

Tracey

[blakeloke]

Tracey,

I would start by looking at your refrigerator water line (for ice).  It's a small 1/4" plastic line that should be accessible from the outside.  It will be a panel with vents.  The blue 1/2" line is the supply to the ice maker line.  A leak at the ice maker line is fairly common.  If that's the culprit you will see a small valve you can shut off.

Needless to say, it's important to keep the OSB wood subfloor dry.

Good luck......Blake

[erniee]

I would just operate with the water pump till you can find the leak.

[kaypsmith]

One thing that I do for trouble shooting for leaks is to wrap a maximum of two layers of toilet tissue around each pipe joint that I can get to, a small piece of transparent tape to hold it in place. The tissue will wick the water from a leak and visual inspections can help identify the source of the leak. The blue piping appears to be pex which is great for any type weather but I have found that the fittings can still crack in a freezing condition. Any water pipe that you can place a dry piece of newspaper under will also help identify where the leak starts, of course you will need to suspend it above any water on the floor. Also one other place to consider is where the vent goes through the roof, your coach is the correct age for this to happen, a simple reseal around the vent pipe cant hurt anything. You mentioned that it had started snowing, the melting snow close or even against the vent if not properly sealed could very easily be the culprit. Also, cat litter is a good absorbent to help dry up the existing water.

[Sf49erfan]

I went and bought a floor dryer and the area is all mostly dry now.  I turned off the city water.  I can't see any dripping.  The pipes that I can touch and run down are not wet.  The only "new" thing that has happened is the snow and I put a small ceramic heater in the wet bay because it appears the aqua hot is not functioning for that zone.

If the issue is one of the "pipes", wouldn't it still leak if I use the water pump?  I can survive without water as there are showers here at the campground. Inconvenient, but better than having to repair water leak damage.

I had read on the forum about the ice maker line, will try and do that once it is light outside. I need to get on the roof and get it cleaned off but it is supposed to snow today and then turn to rain.

Thank you for the input.

Tracey

[wolfe10]

Yes, if the leak is in part of your pressurized water system, it will still leak with the water pump on/shore water off.  That is unless the leak was caused by very high water pressure. Did you have a pressure reducer on the shore water connection?

And, with the pump on, if there is a leak, you will hear the pump cycling when it should not.

Not sure that a tech would have better search skills than you with a flashlight and paper towels/tissue paper around the "likely suspects".

[desertdeals69]

I had a leak that I traced to under the shower.  I found that it leaked when taking a shower.  It was the drain where it seats against the fiberglass.  I loosed the big nut and put plumbers putty around the flange and that sealed it.

[wildebill308]

Not much to add. I would look at the line for the ice maker if it is like my Line it goes outside. I had to replace my water valve to the icemaker because it froze cracked. When looking for leaks look up hill. Keep tracing back and you will find your leak.

What is the water preshure at the park like? Is it hi and do you have a preshure regulator on your shore water line? You said you had the water off. I would try turning the water pump on. It might not leak without preshure in the system. Also if the pump cycles it will indicate it is still leaking. 

Let us know what you find.

Bill

[Sf49erfan]

I ran the shower after I found the water and did not see any leak.  I don't know what the water pressure is here and no we don't have a regulator on.  I will try turning the water pump on and see what results I get.  I was tired of dealing with it last night, so just had the floor dryer on to see if it dried it up or if it was still leaking.

I am not sure how much more trouble shooting I can do as I can reach much of the lines.  It seems like the shower and fridge are built in and would have to be torn out to really get into that area.

Thanks for the input.  I will try the above suggestions.

Tracey

[blakeloke]

Tracey,

On your Monaco you should have a manifold block that supplies water to various systems throughout the coach.  This will be accessible from the basement probably in the same compartment as your freshwater hose reel.  To locate it what you'll see are blue and red PEX flex lines.  The block will have labels that tells you what lines supplies particular systems (water heater, frig, faucets, toilet shower etc.).  On the block you'll see a few "keys" that you can unsnap (hopefully still there) and use to turn off individual lines.  The red pipes are hot water supply and the blue are cold water supply.

So, if you still have a leak with supplied water from the campground or water pump, you should be able to isolate the leak through process of elimination. 

If you need more help please feel free to PM me and I will send my phone number to walk you through it.

Blake

[elkhartjim]

If you have a gas/electric refer you should have access to the rear of the refer through an outside access panel. I'm assuming you have an ice maker, turn it off and see if that helps. I'm betting the ice maker solenoid valve, shut off valve and/or the plastic tubing from the valve to the ice maker froze and cracked. What have the low temp been?

[obedb]

To me/ a pressure regulator is a must. There are parks with high water pressure that will cause a leak without one. I remember being warned by the owner of the KOA in Limon Colorado about high water pressure. Was told that city systems were being upgraded to higher pressures to help Fire Departments in Colorado. Sprung a leak in Lake City Colorado without using a regulator. Was told by the owner that local pressure was really high. A newly purchased regulator solved the problem. A cheap fix that is worth a try.

[elkhartjim]

There is a RV Park in San Antonio with a sign that is about 5 feet square, "Caution, pressure regulator required, 125# pressure at faucet".

 

[Sf49erfan]

@blakeloke-

I turned the water off to the coach last night and the leak appeared to have stopped.  I turned the water back on to the coach this morning and the leak started again.  As best I can tell, the leak is between the vanity/sink and shower.  The vanity/sink is to the left of the shower. When I look under the shower I can see water starting to pool to the left.  I can't see a leak and it is a very difficult area to access.  Not sure how a repair person can access the area without tearing up my shower- which is corian type material.  Anyway, I can shower at the campground until I can get the leak fixed.

It would be awesome to be able to turn off the water to that section but still have water to the rest of the coach.  I have seen the area you are talking about and the key is still there.  I will try and get into it and do some trouble shooting.

Tracey 

 

@Elkhartjim- the low temps have been down to approx 10 degrees.  I left the water dripping to try and prevent any freezing lines.  I am wondering if when I put the heater in the wet bay there was something frozen that thawed and started leaking.

[jleamont]

Tracey, I believe you can shut the hot and cold off to the vanity area. As Blake mentioned above in the bay with your Aqua Hot is a manifold with red and blue hoses and a key clipped to the top. Just shut the water off to the area in the coach with the problem. I would strongly recommend purchasing a regulator ASAP.  

[jleamont]

Also, I would recommend removing the refrigerator outside access panel and shut off the water to the ice maker. The cover is exposed to the outside temperature and it is vented, therefore that water line is likely to freeze as the temperature in that cavity is not much warmer that outside.

You can access the rear of the shower faucet from the interior wall behind the faucet. Our coach has a mirror that unscrews on the kitchen wall. The plumbing is right there and is accessible from the Kitchen. Depending on your floor plan I'm sure there is a hidden access. 

[elkhartjim]

3 hours ago, sf49erfan said:

@Elkhartjim- the low temps have been down to approx 10 degrees.  I left the water dripping to try and prevent any freezing lines.  I am wondering if when I put the heater in the wet bay there was something frozen that thawed and started leaking.

At 10 degrees for several hours, the plastic tubing running to the ice maker most likely froze and cracked and each time the ice maker cycles a small amount of water could be leaking.   Are you still making ice? Like jleamont said, the rear of your refer is basically exposed to outside temperatures.

[Sf49erfan]

I took the panel off that area you are talking about.  There was nothing leaking there. The ice maker is off.  The leak only shows up when the water is on from the campsite.  I haven't tried using the pump, but assume it would still leak.  When I turned the water back on this morning, there was no water pooling under the fridge, it was pooling in between the shower and vanity.  The wet bay is outside this area and the basement heater hasn't been working in that area.  The temps had been ok, but then were low teens for two nights before i could get the little heater in there.  I ran the faucets to prevent them from freezing.

In the picture below, the water is pooling to the left of the shower, basically beneath the woodwork shown, but in the opening under the shower.

I am not mechanically inclined and my husband is out of town working, so it will have to wait until I can get someone to look at it, which means the snow needs to go away and the ice under the rv needs to go away also.

Tracey

 

[blakeloke]

Tracey,

For not being mechanically inclined you're doing a great job pinpointing the problem area under not so ideal conditions.

Narrowing down to the vanity area is a good start.  Try this: hopefully your vanity cabinet has a "false" or removable floor so you can look at supply and drain lines.  Take a spare wood screw and screw it into the cabinet floor through the felt cover.  About 3/8" of so should be good.  Then pull up on the screw to lift the floor.  I learned this trick from Ernie Ekberg, fellow member and friend, when he was changing out our tile and carpet floors to engineered wood.

As Joe mentioned above, there are access areas in our coaches.  Finding them is the fun part.

Blake

[drallabrl]

Tracey,

I have 2007 Monaco Exe.  To deal with the ice maker line; go to the manifold behind the door in the water service bay and turn off the valve to the ice maker.  By doing this you can reduce the possibilities where the leak is coming from.  My leak was not coming for the ice maker line but the cold water dispenser in the refrigerator.  When the water pressure is low the water dispenser will just drip. 

Dry the chipboard/wood is very important.  I recommend some heat; get a ceramic heater with a fan (about $15 at Walmart).  Turn it on high and let the warn air dry the floor/wood. 

Regarding the shower, Have someone stand in the shower with the water running.  There are time the P-Trap will not leak until there is pressure on it.

The toilet paper is a great idea to find leaks.  Just make sure it is above any damp areas.

Bob

[Sf49erfan]

So, it appears that the leak is coming from the valve? of the shower.  The picture below is a picture of where it was leaking and running down to the floor.  Going to have the shower apparatus (handle and valve) changed.  It has had a slow drip from the handle into the shower since we bought it. Thanks for all the help.

[kaypsmith]

Congratulations, I love when a plan comes together.

[wildebill308]

Glad you found the leak. Now pay yourself a nice bonus that you could have payed someone else to find the leak. Good Job.

Bill

[jleamont]

Im curious what part of that is actually leaking. The white colored collars are equipped with the O-rings I mentioned before, from experience they deteriorate and leak. It could really be just that simple or the valve is leaking.....

[manholt]

Plastic to Brass, not a good seal.  I have a on/off brass ball valve in my outside water line, it's FLEX and uses a special tool to crimp a metal band over the FLEX line that the brass in out fitting is inserted.  That's 50psi in line.

Carl