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Old 11-15-2019, 01:41 AM   #1
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Water System Problems

The water system in our new to us 97 DSDP had not been used in 3 years so I decided to sanitize it and make sure it was good to go before we head to he Smokies for Thanksgiving. Filled the tank with the recommended bleach solution and let it sit overnight. Next day I went to open the low point drains and I only got a fast drip from the holding tank, very little from the cold water drain and nothing out of the hot water drain. I did not have access to an air supply to blow back through the lines to "unclog" what was clogging the line so I used the onboard water pump and pumped the water through the outdoor shower. I ran the pump for 10-15 minutes then let it cool off for 10-15 minutes until it would not pick up any more water. While it was pumping I decided to open up the hot water tank to see if it was clogged up. The anode looked like it had never been pulled and was rusted in pretty good. When I pulled out what was left of it the nastiest gunk came out with it and flushed the tank pretty clean but I think there may be trash in the lines. I replaced the anode and bought a spare for the next time. Can I use an air compressor and try blowing the lines out or will this damage something I'm not aware of?
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Old 11-15-2019, 02:49 AM   #2
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Dlciman View Post
The water system in our new to us 97 DSDP had not been used in 3 years so I decided to sanitize it and make sure it was good to go before we head to he Smokies for Thanksgiving. Filled the tank with the recommended bleach solution and let it sit overnight. Next day I went to open the low point drains and I only got a fast drip from the holding tank, very little from the cold water drain and nothing out of the hot water drain. I did not have access to an air supply to blow back through the lines to "unclog" what was clogging the line so I used the onboard water pump and pumped the water through the outdoor shower. I ran the pump for 10-15 minutes then let it cool off for 10-15 minutes until it would not pick up any more water. While it was pumping I decided to open up the hot water tank to see if it was clogged up. The anode looked like it had never been pulled and was rusted in pretty good. When I pulled out what was left of it the nastiest gunk came out with it and flushed the tank pretty clean but I think there may be trash in the lines. I replaced the anode and bought a spare for the next time. Can I use an air compressor and try blowing the lines out or will this damage something I'm not aware of?
You can use air pressure. Keep it down below 40 lbs. You need to make and adapter to hook to your City Water inlet. Not your FW tank.
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Old 11-15-2019, 03:58 PM   #3
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Thanks cavie, I just bought a new adapter and will try it this weekend. I'm going to try blowing the line out from the drain outlet to see if it would dislodge anything clogging the inlet of the tank. Just one of the little issues I'm trying to get fixed before our trip.
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Old 11-16-2019, 09:17 AM   #4
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Welcome to the forum, Diciman
Missed you before on threads, you will find information on your old coach in
QT's 1 & 2 and this sticky thread also.
If you use a water spout with the small end can place end in the drain pipe for tank an force what ever is plugging the spout from draining faster.
The Anon rod has passed its decompose parts through the hot water pipes of your water system and plugged up the screens on your faucets also.
You have to flush out the bottom of your water heater to really clean out the remains of that rod. They make a cleaning rod for that but your narrow pointed water nozzle can also clean out tank.
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Old 11-18-2019, 11:17 PM   #5
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Thanks 007 I have reviewed the information you pointed out and have literally spent hours looking through the previous pages and the mods. I was able to find a blown fuse on my furnace this weekend just by reading some of the previous posts in this forum so I really appreciate everyone on this forum pitching in their .02 cents worth. Having a place to come and see if someone has had the same problems that you are currently working on is priceless! Thanks to you and all the others with your knowledge and experience to pass along to all of us newbies. Without you guys our road would be a lot more bumpier and expensive!
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Old 11-19-2019, 02:44 PM   #6
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Going back to your furnace you may have a wood panel behind the furnace intake grill, panel has a wood strip holding it up with screws through strip remove it and you may fins three fuses, one is for a 12v fan in the foil duct in tank bay that works when furnace is running, maybe you found them already.
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Old 11-19-2019, 07:28 PM   #7
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If you have calcium in your lines, try “winterize” the system with distilled water and bleach. The reason for distilled water is it will absorb more minerals than tap water. Water is a solvent but it’s efficiency is lowered if it has desolated solids suspended in it. Bleach will dissolve/suspend the organics.
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Old 11-19-2019, 11:10 PM   #8
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007 the fuses were accessible from the outside cover as I had previously looked behind the panel on the inside but did not find them. There were 2 fuses a 20 amp and a 5 amp fuse on the blue wires. The 5 amp was blown and as soon as I replaced it the furnace option appeared on the thermostat and it worked great. I had removed the furnace last month to clean out all the debris inside the combustion chamber so I could use it next week. It worked great until last week and it disappeared from the thermostat display.


JMH I was wondering if there was something I could pump into the water system, like a vinegar solution, to dissolve the remaining minerals in the system. Where can I get more information on the method you are suggesting? I still plan on replacing the drain valves only because I'm OCD about opening a drain and seeing a trickle just ain't gonna cut it. Thanks to all of you for your helpful responses I only hope that I will be able to help someone one day from the experiences I have had.
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Old 11-20-2019, 04:45 AM   #9
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Just a thought. If your pump flow was sufficient, the clog in the tank drain is probably just at the drain valve and probably not something to blow back into the system. Remove valve instead so that the clog can pass out.
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Old 11-20-2019, 05:19 AM   #10
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Open the valve and poke in a piece of wire in and out. You may just knock out some junk. Wasp/dirt dabbers love tiny places.
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Old 11-20-2019, 10:24 PM   #11
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I tried poking a wire from the drain end and didn't make any difference in flow so when I replace the drain valves I will verify that there is no blockage at the tank inlet before installing them. Dirt dabbers were the first thing that came to mind when I saw it. The pump flow is pretty good so I don't believe it is a widespread problem, mostly the hot water side and the fresh water holding tank drain. The previous owner had a filter system in one of the compartments but I don't know if it was actually installed/used. Thanks for the advice!
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Old 11-20-2019, 10:28 PM   #12
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Vinegar would dissolve calcium, bleach organics. Diluting with distilled water gives the liquid more capability to absorb dissolutes. Depends on what is in your pipes. The winterizing process is in your documentation or you can look up on newgle. Don’t have my documents handy but will dig them out if you can not find the procedure online. You just substitute the winterizing fluid with the other liquid of choice. I think the procedure is stenciled next to your A and B valves in the wet bay also.
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Old 11-20-2019, 10:48 PM   #13
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So I would just follow the winterizing procedure but instead of antifreeze I would use DI water? I had planned on using the vinegar to flush the system and fill with DI water after rinsing thoroughly. I did find the winterizing information and it seems to be pretty simple and straight forward. Thanks!
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Old 11-21-2019, 04:36 PM   #14
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Question: Is your rig sitting level? You say your water flow is fine using your water pump.
If you have a leveling system on your rig, try raising the curb side so that it is higher than the street side.
If you ran a wire up through the Low point drain pipe, all the way to into the tank and didn't feel any obstruction, I'm confused as to why it doesn't drain.
Do you have pics of what you are talking about?
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