1st timer! water pump question

[s2per]

First time on this forum since we recently bought our first DP; a really nice 36' side door, single slide and we are excited about our first jaunt to Gainesville this weekend.

BUT, I filled the water tank for the first time yesterday and switched on the water pump. The pump ran continuously and when I looked under the driver's side ahead of the rear wheel I saw the reason; a full-time leak that drained about a 1/4 of the tank before I realized it.

The picture shows the fitting that the water's draining from. Any quick advice? Thanks in advance.

[Wayne R]

It looks like a low point drain. There SB a valve to close it inside the sanitation bay. It also could be an overflow and vent pipe. If you overfill most Alpines the water will siphon out the overflow.

[Jim A]

The smaller fitting on the left side of the picture, with probably a brass screen on it, is likely the water tank overflow pipe. Normally the identical front one, located up near the propane tank, will overflow first. Mine would drain over a quarter of the tank while doing down the road if I filled it to overflow. There are a few threads of what people have done to eliminate it. I put a vacuum breaker near the top of the propane compartment, and a valve at the bottom. I used Flair-it fittings like in the rest of the coach. The screen will unscrew and you can put a 1/2" female pipe fitting of whatever type you desire on it.

But that should not be causing the pump to run continuously. That isn't a line pressurized by the pump.

The low point drains are in the sanitation bay, on the left side of the bay near the bottom. They should be marked as such. They would drain near the side of the coach, not the middle like the overflow. Those would be pressurized by the pump. When closed the handles should be horizontal, IIRC. Check if they are fully closed.

I am not sure what the larger fitting on the right is.

Good luck!

(And welcome to the forum.)

[Doug & Debbie]

You also want to be sure the selector valve for the water imput is set to city water rather than "fill tank". Leaving it on "fill tank" will result in the pump running continuously. You might have two seperate issues with the water overflow and pump running continuously.

[s2per]

Thanks! I'll check both of those issues in the AM, but I'm pretty sure that the selector valve is still on "Fill Tank". (Our last RV, an Airstream Land Yacht, didn't have a selector).

[Jim A]

Tim/Sue,

Doug and Debbie are correct. If the selector valve is set to "fill tank", it will definitely cause the water pump to run constantly. Once the tank is full you need to turn it back to city water, even though you are not running the coach on city water. You only use that setting when connected to city water in order to fill the tank. Otherwise the water will recirculate through the pump and back into the tank. And likely burn out your pump prematurely.

But that would not cause the water to run out. That is a different issue.

[takepride]

Tim:

Here is the earlier thread on the same topic.
Full Fresh Water Tank

Here is a little more info (combined with another topic):
Another Leak

I'm likely to further upgrade mine as Jim did to avoid the swelling of the tank that can occur with any type of pressure-sensitive check valve. That swelling caused the "other" topic above.

[Old Rv'er]

THe other fitting to me looks like a drain fitting, like on the bottom of a sink or shower. Make sure you don't have gray water leaks as well. Our coach is an apex, and all the water goes through the pump, so I don't have that valve you have. I have gotten used to our system, and although many have eliminated having to use the pump all the time, it's just easier to monitor my water use having to fill the tank every few days. It helps me conserve water. I am going to purchase a spare pump however, because many have experienced pump failures/problems with the sur-flow pump.

[s2per]

Just a follow-up and thanks to all. The valve was still at "Fill Tank" and that fixed it all.
We've had 3 great tailgating weekends (and 3 victories!) so far with our "new" coach and we love it. I'll post some photos when we get our new graphics installed.