Water Pressure Regulator Location

[AbdRahim]

Originally Posted by Flanz

Depending on the regulator that you have you can buy a “rebuild” kit for it. I did this twice and found the regulator to be a pain after both rebuild kits. I end up getting a couple years, maybe three, out of the tiny RV regulator and plumbed in a residential one.

Since I did this my water pressure and flow have been outstanding. But this only works if the pressure that the campground provides is 55psi or greater. I’ve set the regulator to provide 55psi to our coach.

Which residential regulator did you use? This sounds cheaper than constantly replace expensive RV ones. I am back to using the cheap $20, with which I am not most comfortable, especially when the campground says you need one due to their very high pressure.

[Flanz]

I purchased and installed a Watts 3/4” pressure regulator from Lowe’s.

https://www.lowes.com/pd/Watts-LFN45...-Valve/3503148

[rvbiker45]

One sure way to eliminate the possibility of a water leak/busted pipe, etc, is to use the onboarding water and electric internal pump. The pump is easy and convenient to shut off when leaving the RV for awhile. The limited amount of water in the tank would, in all likely hood, not flood the RV even if a leak were to happen.
When emptying the holding tanks, top off the fresh water tank, shut off the hose bib at the pedestal. If a leak should occur, the internal electric pump would cycle and alert you to something happening, even while sleeping.

[FLJOE]

RVbiker45, when we had our motor yachts we would do exactly that. We could run off shore water when docked but always kept our fresh water tank full and ran off the water pump. A small leak, even a faucet dripping, would cause the pump to cycle on and off alerting you to the issue.

This would certainly be a more convenient method of handling the issue as compared to constantly turning the city water on and off every time you walked in and out of your coach.

[RVDUKE]

What about redundancy? Being an aviation A&P mechanic it seems to me placing the high dollar better designed reg. in the coach bay is a wise choice. When I redesign my wet bay I will move the watts reg. To that position. Since I have a few dollars in my 2009 Monaco 42PDQ Camelot I think I will hay a mid range priced regular and us that one at the park hose bibb. By have a primary regulator in the coach and a secondary one at the bibb. Buy having two in the system the reliability more the dubbed. I have a carbon filler and a water purification unit between the part Bibb and the coach.
This can also increase the longevity of the priciest reg. O.k. Just one more thing I have used the can't stop on a cloud and fix it philosophy to maintain my coach.
I suggest starting a mm (maintenance manual) IPC (illustrated parts catalog) a installation instructions manual. I have two volumes both 3" thick. I will add a post later on this subject.

God Bless you and your family.
Wayne AKA Duke:

[Granite17]

Originally Posted by Dutch Star Don

The water hose reel hoses are rated for 150 psi. I also mounted my regulator in the wet bay.

Don, can you post a picture of how
you did your regulator in the water bay for us? I like the idea of it being in the bay vs out on the post.
Interested in seeing how you transitioned current coach plumbing and adapted for the regulator.
Thanks!
John

[AZ RV'r]

I have not posted in this thread yet but here is how I have it hooked up for those of you asking for some pictures.

Starting with the camp site water I hook up a "Y" with individual shut offs. One side is clean water to the coach with all blue quick connects, the other side goes to my black tank flush using all green quick connects. I like having all the separate water "open / close" valves so there is almost no chance of any type of cross contamination and I never have the clean and black water valves open at the same time.

Moving further down I have my supplemental XL water filter, and after I attach my "Y" to the spigot its just "click, click" of my two hose quick connects and Im ready to go connect in the wet bay. I like this also because once its done I only have one set of threads that is connected and if after a while it needs replacing its really just a new "Y" and the rest stays the same. Also notice how the hoses clip into themselves to keep contaminates out and water left in the hose from running into the storage bays.

In the wet bay again I am color cordinated with my clean water blue and my black flush green.

With the black flush side, I have it from the quick connect into a second shut off valve, then into a anti-siphon or back flow so that nothing should ever come out of that tank.

On the fresh water side after the quick connects It goes into into the pressure regulator than a short section of spring hose to relieve some of the pressure and stress on the line. Onward to another shut off valve to again make sure nothing goes in or out... then terminates into the coaches water system and onward into the coach provided filtration.

With this setup it literally take me about 2 minutes to have water hooked up.
Its not perfect and may not work for everyone but if your new or old at RV'ing maybe this will give you new ideas for what works for you.

Good Luck!

[Mogulite]

[QUOTE=Tranquil Jim;4902537]Apparently, what you are missing is that not all motorhomes have pressure regulators installed at the factory. Many don't...probably far more than do IME.

So, my 2004 motorhome has a pressure regulator but the new Newmars and Tiffins don’t. Can’t be!

So again....why do I need an after market regulator? Seriously. If I need one, I want to get one.

Thanks all

[TJ]

[QUOTE=Mogulite;4905584]

Originally Posted by Tranquil Jim

Apparently, what you are missing is that not all motorhomes have pressure regulators installed at the factory. Many don't...probably far more than do IME.

So, my 2004 motorhome has a pressure regulator but the new Newmars and Tiffins don’t. Can’t be!

So again....why do I need an after market regulator? Seriously. If I need one, I want to get one.

Thanks all

If you have a reliable pressure regulator built into YOUR coach, you don't need one. The rest of us who do not have a pressure regulator built into OUR coach do need one. I have owned three coaches (two of them Newmars) over the past 10 years and NONE of them had built-in pressure regulators.

Not quite sure why you are insisting that we have one. If we did, we wouldn't be spending the time and money installing and/or using an external one.

TJ

[Mogulite]

Sorry... didn’t mean to be condescending. I was thinking that maybe I’m misinformed. I won’t have access to my manual, where I can double check it, for another couple of weeks.

Just think that it’s unusual if I do in fact have a regulator built in, that no one else has mentioned that they also have one built in. I must be mistaken about my coach having one.

Again, sorry if I offended anyone. Just trying to learn. Only been at this for a couple of years.

[TJ]

After a little online research, I found a spec sheet for a 2004 National Tropi-Cal 370...

https://www.rvroundtable.com/wp-cont...heetjuly03.pdf

...and found a reference to a "pressurized water fill with regulator."

I don't know exactly what that means, but it appears that you may, indeed, have a pressure regulator that was factory installed. If so, consider yourself among the fortunate. At least IME, that is a rarity.

If it were me, I would try and find the "regulator" and verify that it really is a full-system pressure regulator. And, if it is, I would try to determine determine what the pressure setting is. Having that information would be very useful.

Since I have personally experienced several RV parks with water pressure exceeding 100 PSI, I believe it is essential to know whether any pressure regulator you are using...built-in or external...is working correctly in order to protect the coach plumbing.

TJ

[tnedator]

Originally Posted by Tranquil Jim

In general, Stuart, I think you are correct regarding the fixed pressure regulators. That said, I have found that the Fairview 55 sold by the RV Water Filter Store to be an exception. It has very good flow; every bit as good as my Watts 263A adjustable. As the name suggests, it is fixed at a nominal 55 psi.

TJ

I have/had one of these. About two weeks ago when I went to to add a little water to my tank for the drive up to my dealer to drop it off for some warranty work, I had no water flow.

I disconnected my hose, and nothing. I would tun on the water and get a little spit of water and then nothing. I had it hooked up with guages before and after and after a Y, so I took all of that off and tried again, and when I turn on the spigot, there would be a little spit of water (probably less than an ounce) and then nothing.

David at RV filter store put me in contact with the manufacturer/dealer of the fairview who issued a call tag to pick it up, which they received this past Monday. After I heard nothing and no replacement was shipped, I reached out over the weekend for an update, and just received an email stating that they would ship a replacement today, but they found nothing wrong with mine.

So, I'm not sure if whatever was messed up was "jarred" loose in transit and it started working or what. I still like the idea of it, but will make sure I always have another regulator with me in case the next one fails.

One possibility I might do is hard wire a Watts in the wet bay and then use the Fairview on the pedestal protecting the hose/reel. Then, if the fairview fails, I can remove it and still have the Watts protecting the coach.

Alternatively, I might go with Watts in the wet bay and keep a pressure gauge mounted to my Y, and whenever I hook to the pedestal I can check and see if the pressure is high enough that I need a regulator to protect the hose.

[Oversoul]

Originally Posted by Tranquil Jim

Not a bad idea! However, I'd probably forget to do that more than I would forget to remove the pressure regulator when I disconnect to leave a site.

TJ

I visited a KOA last month and they clearly state that their pressure is above 90psi. They recommend all hookups use a regulator & IF by chance you don't have one, you can get one at the office to use.
When I told the park manager how thoughtful they were for providing regulators when needed the response I got was, "No problem. We don't buy them. These were all left behind by customers who forgot them at their hose bib."

[tnedator]

Originally Posted by Oversoul

I visited a KOA last month and they clearly state that their pressure is above 90psi. They recommend all hookups use a regulator & IF by chance you don't have one, you can get one at the office to use.
When I told the park manager how thoughtful they were for providing regulators when needed the response I got was, "No problem. We don't buy them. These were all left behind by customers who forgot them at their hose bib."

I ask this and as a punishment, will probably forget mine on my next trip, but how do you forget it?

I guess maybe if you disconnect the hose and reel it in (or roll it up) and then forget to go back and get the other stuff on the bib.