Talk to me about the plumbing

[John Mo]

This is in my 2009 Sightseer...

I have a leak between my hot water bypass valve and the hot water tank. It only leaks when under pressure, so my weekend was mostly saved by bypassing the tank.

It's leaking right at the connector. It's a white knobby looking thing, but I don't know much about RV plumbing except that it's probably PEX and nothing like the PVC and CPVC I'm used to tinkering with. Can that joint be tightened or am I removing and replacing it? I didn't have my tools (just a weekend trip ) and even if I had, I don't think I would have ventured into putting a wrench on it with the tank full anyway.

Thanks, John

[hoppers4]

John, you certainly can't hurt anything by tightening it. I removed mine, took the guts out and reinstalled it, so it can certainly be tightened. You'll have to loosen the hose/pex plumbing on the other end to prevent kinking.
FYI, the reason I gutted it was that I was looking for a reason for temperature variation and different shower flow rates. Solved this problem by replacing the shower valve with a pressure balanced valve. I don't use the bypass valve to winterize so don't need the additional flow restriction this check valve inserts.
If simply tightening it doesn't fix the leak, you may have to remove it and stick some teflon tape or plumbers sealant on the joint

[tderonne]

I can help a little....

Lines are PEX. Fittings are a brand called "Flair-It".

They don't simply unscrew and come apart. Nor will tightening probably fix anything. They can theoretically be reused, but the line will more than likely have to be cut and the short piece of PEX on left on the fitting be removed very carefully (heating and cutting maybe?). The only leaks I've ever had were cracked fittings.

I have used other PEX fittings, Shark-Bite and regular band crimp, to fix/change the plumbing. Not too hard really, if you can get at the stuff you're working on.

On edit, if you're talking about the check valve fittings leaking, they are normal pipe threads. I was talking about the PEX fittings used within the PEX tubing system.

[Clay L]

My Sightseer plumbing fittings do simply unscrew and come apart. There are no crimp PEX fittings.
I replaced the bypass valve because it had an internal leak that allowed cold water to flow into the hot water output line.
I used a pair of pliers to tighten the fittings slightly beyond hand tight and have no leaks.

[John Mo]

OK, sounds like I can take a wrench to it and at least see what I'm working with inside the fitting.

The joint that was leaking is at the inlet of a right angle fitting. It was downstream from the bypass valve and ahead of the water heater fitting itself, which is metal. Is that a check valve there at the inlet to the hot water tank? That makes sense. Looking at it I wondered what kept heated water from expanding back into the supply line. No problem there. It's a tight spot to work in and loaded with electrical wiring, but I think I can get a wrench on it and figure out what's going on.

Too bad it didn't act up sooner. Warranty ran out two weeks ago. While it was sitting at the shop.

[Clay L]

Quote:

Originally Posted by John Mo OK, sounds like I can take a wrench to it and at least see what I'm working with inside the fitting. The joint that was leaking is at the inlet of a right angle fitting. It was downstream from the bypass valve and ahead of the water heater fitting itself, which is metal. Is that a check valve there at the inlet to the hot water tank? That makes sense. Looking at it I wondered what kept heated water from expanding back into the supply line. No problem there. It's a tight spot to work in and loaded with electrical wiring, but I think I can get a wrench on it and figure out what's going on. Too bad it didn't act up sooner. Warranty ran out two weeks ago. While it was sitting at the shop.

I have attached a drawing of my water heater and associated plumbing. The two check valves shown are brass and screwed right into the water heater.
Public :: Water heater diagram picture by ClayL - Photobucket