Water Pressure

[bend302]

Have a recently aquired 2005 Forest River Georgetown 359ts. First time I used city water with a pressure reducer the flow was miserable. Bought new pressure regulator (40-50#) better but still miserable. Is this normal? I tried the city water alone and pressure was good but I have heard that's a good way to break my plumbing.

Is this the best I can do?...

Bend302

[Luckiest Dreamer]

Before you spend to much time trying to improve the pressure, unscrew the end from each faucet and clean the screens. With a 2005 unit it would not be uncommon for them to be slightly plugged.

[Vegasdan]

I wouldn't try not using a regulator unless you like replacing water fittings and lines.

[Mike Canter]

You should go with the Valterra High Flow 55# water pressure regulator part number A01-1113VP. They flow 20% more water.Amazon.com: Valterra Products, Inc. A01-1113VP Carded Hi Flow Water Regulator: Automotive

Also if you are using a hose reel then make sure you unwind all the hose off the reel because sometimes where the hose is connected to the reel gets flattened and reduces the flow.

Lastly a common problem is if you have a canister type water filter. Some people put what is called an invidual water faucet filter in the cannister which is a 0.5 micron filter and will really reduce the flow. You need 5.0 micron filters. Home Depot is confusing to figure out their filters because they don't tell you the size and they are all 0.5 micron individual faucet filters. Lowes filters are sized and you can get 5.0 micron carbon block filters from them. The best place to get filters is from RV Water Filter Store: Carbon Cartridges for Standard Canisters

Call them up and they will sell you the correct one and have them to you in three days at a great price.

[Ray,IN]

Much depends upon CG water pressure. If you have a 50', 1/2" water hose and a CG water pressure of 70-90psi this chart shows what happens:
http://www.ultimatewasher.com/hose-pressure-loss.htm

The smallest restriction in your water sysem determines total flow at the same pressure. http://www.newton.dep.anl.gov/askasc...9/eng99239.htm

[JC2]

Also check the fitting on your rv where the hose itself connects. Most have a cone shaped screen washer that can easily become clogged with debri, calcium, lime deposits or just junk in general and slow your flow rate down. These are similiar to the screen type washers found in a lot of home washing machine connections. They can be purchased at Camping World or any hardware store.
Camco Mfg Inc - Hose Filter Washers, Pack of three - Hoses, Reels & Fittings - Camping World

[Max Hubrich]

bend302-

Good advice from others above.

If you are using a 1/2" hose, go to 5/8" for more flow. Keep the lengths as short as possible, IE, several 10 foot lenghts put together to reach the spigot is much better than using a 50' length hose. I would cut up a new, water designated hose (usually white in color) 50 ft long, 5/8" hose into five, 10 ft parts. New fitting are available at any hardware store.

You might need to use a water pressure tester for your first hookup. You can make one up at Lowes/Home Depot. If it's less than 50 psi, don't use a regulator. In Maine in the summer, we have only 30-35 psi (well water, pumped up hill) at my rigs parking spot. A regulator only makes things worse.

Buy an Oxygenics shower head to greatly improve your showers.

Good luck,

[wa8yxm]

The problem is the pressure regulator... Many RV places hawk these little things that are about the size of a female garden hose connector, they are brass or plastic cylinders, perhaps 4" long... Some (Better ones) often have a brightly colored "Grip" on the female end.

THEY SUCK.. DO NOT USE THEM.. The internal openings are not large enough.

Sur-Flo (Is that a Watts company?) Makes the conbination inlet/regulator used on some RV's.. they also market just the regulator with a male hose adapter on the outlet end... This one is pre-set to 50 PSI (At least mine is) and it works fairly well.. I"d give it a 9.5 on a scale of 10.. and 9.5, to be honest, is good enough.

Watts and Valterra both make a "Whole House" type regulator, This regulator has a bell shaped top housing, usually mounted on a square base.. The hose fittings go into and out of the base (Well pipe fittings) and there is a bolt with a lock nut coming out the top of the bell (Pressure adjust) The smallest WATTS, is too small. but 1/2 inch or larger will work.. If you get a 3/4 inch one you can screw standard brass garden hose adapters into it directly, no need for nipples. though the 1/2 inch has the capacity you need. Set to 50 PSI.

[PlayItForwrd]

All good advice, but until you take out or drill out all of those stupid asinine ridiculous "low flow" restrictors that are likely present in all your faucets, you won't get any water flow even if you're hooked up to a fire truck. They're easy to find-- at the end of the hose where it connects to your shower head, inside the aerators, sometimes hiding at the base of the faucet nozzle--- it's the little piece of plastic or metal with the toothpick-sized hole in it. Throw all those away and enjoy the water flow aftewards!

[Ray,IN]

I incorporated a pressure gauge onto my Watts regulator inlet side. I am surprised by the fluctuation in water pressure during a 24 hour period. At one RV park daytime pressure hovered around 50-60 psi, but when it got late in the evening pressure shot up to over 120 psi. at times. The Park check-in person did alert me to the pressure situation, which I thought was great customer service.

[speed racer]

Restritions are the biggest problem with poor showers. First remove all restriions. Second go to Lowes or Home Depot and get a whole house water pressure regulator and nessesary fittings for the hose fittings. These are adjustable and have higher flow than the little inline hose regulators.

[Dadeaux]

I use an adjustable regulartor and keep my flow at about 55 psi. No leaks caused by it so far.

[Gary RVRoamer]

He says the flow is ok if he removes the regulator, so I don't think he has any of the problems mentioned concerning filters, screens, flow restrictors, etc. I'd say the problem is those cheap RV regulators, which typically have a max flow rate of 1-1.5 gpm. Get one of the high flow regulators mentioned above, or better yet the "whole house" type. And run the pressure up to 60-65 if you like - the RV system is no where near as flimsy as some would have you believe. They are factory tested at around 90 psi.

[palehorse89]

The watts 3/4" regulator from lowes and some fittings. Works just great and no worrys when hooking up to campground water. I ran into 100# plus last summer and borrowed one of those cheap in line regulators and had problems all weekend.