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Old 06-26-2022, 07:00 PM   #1
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Unwinterized and now TWO!! faucet leaks

I'm late un-winterizing this year due to my 12/30/21 back surgery. I winterize with air, and use the pink antifreeze only for p-traps, toilets, and washer.
Everything started out well. The water pressure came up and held steady using the water pump. I hadn't un-bypassed the water heater and started letting the air out of the lines one by one at each faucet. I noticed the back bathroom faucet was running a very thin stream of water when shut off (couldn't tell if it's the hot or the cold since the water heater was still empty). Then the front bath did almost the same thing, more of a fast drip than a stream.

Apart from the obvious, which seems to be dried out seals or O-rings in need of some plumbers grease, does anyone have an idea what might be wrong? I suspect these are the original bath faucets. They seem pretty high quality. I haven't checked carefully to see what brand, but may buy a kit before I tear them apart.

The water heater filled fine when I took it off bypass. However, after re-running the faucets, the problem was the same. It's been hot (90's and 100's now and then) in Georgia, so maybe the seals just dried out from the heat.

Are RV faucets any different from house faucets, and if so, give me a heads up of what to watch out for. I don't care much for the low-quality plastic faucets seen so often these days, and I'm open to suggestions for substitutes.
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Old 06-26-2022, 08:12 PM   #2
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If they look high quality, same as home faucets.There are some cheap RV supply faucets and shower faucets in trailers. Single handle have/use cartridges . Double handle are easier to stop leaking by ,most have rubber washers that close against a seat. The shower would be much easier to rebuilt/change cartridge than replace.
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Old 06-28-2022, 06:54 AM   #3
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1. Perhaps take a few pics post them here and some members may recognize the type and brand and also post pics on google image search and you may find your answer.

2. Disassemble one with lots of pics and take to the local plumbing supply they will most likely how to repair them or what to use as replacements.


ps: in the past I've taken my fair share of flack for using rv anti-freeze only to winterize and cycling it thru everything including my washing machine .... but I have always done so because I've never like the idea of the possibility of DRY'ed up fittings and seals.

In the spring @ 20 gal of water and a cup of household beach run all the faucets till I smell bleach, let sit for 24 hours , drain the tank ...fill the tank with fresh water run all the faucets for minute and walla! job done no weird tasted and no dried up seals.


My guess is if you take them apart and take the seals out and to the likes of your local ACE hardware you will find the seals you need pretty quick.

Happy Hunting.

ps: perhaps you may get lucky and like a carburetor that has been sitting for a long time it will leak at start up but after being ran a few times of have some gas back thru it the seals will swell and all is fine, just saying a possibility.
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Old 07-03-2022, 01:33 PM   #4
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Quote:
Originally Posted by RobRoy View Post
1. Perhaps take a few pics post them here and some members may recognize the type and brand and also post pics on google image search and you may find your answer.

2. Disassemble one with lots of pics and take to the local plumbing supply they will most likely how to repair them or what to use as replacements.


ps: in the past I've taken my fair share of flack for using rv anti-freeze only to winterize and cycling it thru everything including my washing machine .... but I have always done so because I've never like the idea of the possibility of DRY'ed up fittings and seals.

In the spring @ 20 gal of water and a cup of household beach run all the faucets till I smell bleach, let sit for 24 hours , drain the tank ...fill the tank with fresh water run all the faucets for minute and walla! job done no weird tasted and no dried up seals.


My guess is if you take them apart and take the seals out and to the likes of your local ACE hardware you will find the seals you need pretty quick.

Happy Hunting.

ps: perhaps you may get lucky and like a carburetor that has been sitting for a long time it will leak at start up but after being ran a few times of have some gas back thru it the seals will swell and all is fine, just saying a possibility.
The dis-assembly went well and the stems, seals and springs were easy to remove. Ace Hardware didn't have them, but one of the mom and pop stores did locally. However, the stems on the new ones were nylon/plastic instead of metal and slightly thicker on the flat side. They worked okay on the cold sides, but for some reason, the mineral deposits or just the tabs in the handle on the hot side wouldn't allow the handles to go on. I rebuilt the hots combining the old stems with the new "sleeve/housing" and o-rings and that worked absolutely fine. Silicone plumbing grease on all the new o-rings seals, and voila', no more leaks. Hoping for another 14 years of good service from the faucets!!

Thanks for the help and encouragement. All opinions on winterizing are duly noted and will be assessed come the winter. I'm using 5 gal of the pink stuff now inclusive of drains, 2 macerator toilets, and the washer. Money is not the object of my air only approach. Time and trouble has been my focus. If the pink stuff can save my seals, I may go that route in the future.
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Old 07-03-2022, 02:03 PM   #5
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I did the air and pink stuff in drains only, and it worked fine, but I too ran into post winterizing problems similar to this.

My bath and kitchen faucets would barely drip when turned on. I back flushed the faucets and got the bath running OK, but the kitchen I ended up replacing. The only other problem was the toilet fill was hard to get to fill, without opening the valve. And the bowl leaked down overnight. After a bit of flushing, it returned to normal operation.

I originally winterized with air because I had been thinking of taking a trip after temps dropped low enough to have to winterize. I figured it would be easier to deal with.

I think there is definitely something to the argument in favor of keeping the lines wet with antifreeze.
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Old 07-16-2022, 01:07 PM   #6
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Made a trip to Ace Hardware and then another local hardware. Matched the valves and replaced them completely, however, the new plastic ones didn't work as well, so I ended up taking parts from both on the hot water side. No more dripping.
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Old 07-16-2022, 02:20 PM   #7
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Winerizing with only air is not a good idea
Yes, flushing the pink stuff is a pia. However it is the only way you can be sure that something will freeze.
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Old 07-18-2022, 06:29 AM   #8
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Thanks for the update. On our 1995 Trek I used the Safari recommendation to just drain the low points but, after a few years of success, I apparently left a little water on one of the lines and had a leak in one of the water lines. Since then I have always used the RV anti-freeze.

Quote:
Originally Posted by pflightnut View Post
The dis-assembly went well and the stems, seals and springs were easy to remove. Ace Hardware didn't have them, but one of the mom and pop stores did locally. However, the stems on the new ones were nylon/plastic instead of metal and slightly thicker on the flat side. They worked okay on the cold sides, but for some reason, the mineral deposits or just the tabs in the handle on the hot side wouldn't allow the handles to go on. I rebuilt the hots combining the old stems with the new "sleeve/housing" and o-rings and that worked absolutely fine. Silicone plumbing grease on all the new o-rings seals, and voila', no more leaks. Hoping for another 14 years of good service from the faucets!!

Thanks for the help and encouragement. All opinions on winterizing are duly noted and will be assessed come the winter. I'm using 5 gal of the pink stuff now inclusive of drains, 2 macerator toilets, and the washer. Money is not the object of my air only approach. Time and trouble has been my focus. If the pink stuff can save my seals, I may go that route in the future.
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Old 07-18-2022, 07:30 AM   #9
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I drain and by pass the water heater then blow all the lines out with compressed air opening all the faucets one at a time as well as the toilet valve. Once the lines are blown out I drain the water out of the gray and black tanks then I add 6 gallons of pink anti freeze to my fresh water tank. Then I turn the water pump on and start turning each faucet on and let the pink anti freeze flow until I see solid pink anti freeze flow from each faucet and the toilet valve. This includes the outside shower, I also use a small screwdriver and push the check valve in on the city water connection so I know that line is protected. While the pump is still on I crack each low point drain open so I know no water is trapped in them.
I leave the pink anti freeze in the gray and black tanks for winter storage. I drain any remaining antifreeze out of the fresh water tank and save what's left to use winterizing my ATV crop sprayer. Usually about 3 gallons.
I open all the faucets and leave them open during storage so the rubber seals don't remain compressed all the while the coach is sitting. The pink antifreeze will help keep the rubbers soft and not having them compressed needlessly allows them to relax and keep their shape.
Of all the campers we have had since we started camping in 1976 I have never had a freeze up issue or have had to replace a faucet washer, water pump, toilet valve, a water line or a faucet washer.
I leave the drain plug out of the water heater and plug the hole with part of an SOS pad so critters can't get in but any remaining water or moisture can escape.
I bought a camper trailer several years ago to fix and sell which hadn't been winterized. Unless you have had to remove the under belly, the wall behind the shower and replace nearly every line and fixture in the water system including the water pump you can't really appreciate the importance of a through winterization of an RV. While I was successful in repairing the camper and did turn a nice profit I swore I would never get into a project like this again.
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Old 07-18-2022, 08:11 AM   #10
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I blow the water out and then pump the pink stuff in, hot and cold faucets. I didn't do the icemaker valve and ended up buying that sucker. I need to figure out how to do that one and the washer/dryer lines.
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Old 07-18-2022, 01:36 PM   #11
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Quote:
Originally Posted by pflightnut View Post
The dis-assembly went well and the stems, seals and springs were easy to remove. Ace Hardware didn't have them, but one of the mom and pop stores did locally. However, the stems on the new ones were nylon/plastic instead of metal and slightly thicker on the flat side. They worked okay on the cold sides, but for some reason, the mineral deposits or just the tabs in the handle on the hot side wouldn't allow the handles to go on. I rebuilt the hots combining the old stems with the new "sleeve/housing" and o-rings and that worked absolutely fine. Silicone plumbing grease on all the new o-rings seals, and voila', no more leaks. Hoping for another 14 years of good service from the faucets!!

Thanks for the help and encouragement. All opinions on winterizing are duly noted and will be assessed come the winter. I'm using 5 gal of the pink stuff now inclusive of drains, 2 macerator toilets, and the washer. Money is not the object of my air only approach. Time and trouble has been my focus. If the pink stuff can save my seals, I may go that route in the future.
I blow out the lines and them fill them with pink. The addition of pink is easy IMO and only adds a few minutes to the process.
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Old 07-18-2022, 07:36 PM   #12
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On our Dynasty there is a hose in the wet bay behind the small door. You stick the hose into a gallon jug of AF, open a valve and turn on the pump. Works great.
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Old 07-18-2022, 07:46 PM   #13
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Leaky faucet

Something to consider. Remove the strainer at the faucet spout. Filter can become clogged with fine particles of stone/dirt.
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Old 07-19-2022, 10:58 AM   #14
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Something to consider. Remove the strainer at the faucet spout. Filter can become clogged with fine particles of stone/dirt.
What you are finding is likely calcium deposits from hard water pumped from a well at rural campgrounds. These deposits can form small crystals which resemble small stones. My wife takes our's faucet strainers apart on occasion and soaks them in CLR to loosen the crystals so they will flow away with pressure from the faucet.
Even our water at home will form calcium deposits as we have a well also but no water softener. I do have whole house filters. When I fill my fresh water tank at home I know I'm going to get a small amount of lime in the water. The same holds true for the faucets, water heater and toilet tanks and valves in our house. They all get a cleaning and flushing on a regular basis.
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