10.0 Plumbing Upgrade

[admin]

I decided I didn't like having the small fresh water tank hidden under the counter when everything was setup so I decided it was time to make a few changes. The idea was to have a single connection that allowed me to hook up my water supply internally, then any source would be hooked up to the external inlet port. The idea I came up with was to move my connections to garden hose threads which allowed me to use common pieces and parts to move the water where I needed it. I have some pictures here: [a href="https://www.flickr.com/gp/52403555@N05/yM61u0/"]Flickr QS 10.0 Plumbing Upgrade[/a]

Well this project took longer than I expected because garden hose fittings are not usually found in 1/2" hose sizes and I also learned that there is a difference between garden hose thread and regular pipe thread. In short, don't expect a 3/4" pipe thread to fit a 3/4" garden hose thread and still be water tight.

I eventually got everything hooked up and went to test the pumping action of the factory faucet. In keeping with the luck I've had with the project the handle sheered off during the test. I wasnt putting a whole lot of force into it, so I can only assume it was a defect in the plastic. I might go so far to say it was a poor design to make a high stress part such as the handle out of plastic. Either way the handle was gone and the factory faucet was toast. Time for an upgrade

I ordered a Leisure Components 1315PW 2-Way Low Hand Pump found on amazon: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B007HRQ4S6/ref=oh_details_o01_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1. I've had experience with this pump in the past and found it to be a great design and very reliable.
When it arrived I realized it was a 3/8" inlet so I had to go out and exchange my formerly 1/2" fittings plus purchase some new 3/8" tubing, but at this point that was the easy part.

A half hour later I had everything plumbed and ready to go. It works exactly as I expected. I now can have the fresh water tank on the outside of the camper, hooked up with my regular fresh water hose and the pump draws it in without even a bit of hesitation. If I'm hooking up to city water, I flip a valve and hook the hose to the city water line and I'm ready to go. Plus with adding the hose quick connect fittings all I have to do during setup or break down is drop two connections. No more dealing with screw together fittings that far to often need hand tools to truly make water/pressure tight.

[admin]

I'm also thinking of a future upgrade to this concept where I add a 12v on demand pump to the system and possibly even a outlet back to the outside of the camper. I'me thinking if I do it right I will have the ability to have water pressure at any time and even the ability to have an outside sink, shower, or even possibly a flush toilet (maybe).

My main concerns are 1. At what point does it become a negative return. Meaning is it worth the weight, cost, and time expended to have that ability. 2. How functional will it actually be.

[mitch]

We had talked in a different thread about running the city water through the 12V pump, in the configuration you have now you could conceivably put a 12V pump after the hose splitter. With the pump side valve off, water city water wouldn't go there. On tank water you flip the valves and the pump will draw. In both cases you still have your water supply on one connection on the outside of the camper. If you did that you could go to a regular faucet instead of a pump faucet (I know you just bought that one though)Is it worth it? Beats me, I never had a pump faucet so I have no idea what it's like. Pump and strainer together are under a $100.

Mitch

[admin]

I literally had a whole other comment written up about how this idea seemed viable yet the implementation was getting overly complicated. Then I had a light bulb moment (I think). I already have my main connection setup with regular garden hose quick connect fittings. With those in place I don't have to have the pump in line all the time which seems to hit all the points on the want list.
The current idea flows like this: The inlet line can be hooked up as I currently have it when the desired water source are either city water or the hand pump. When power is available and I want to use the 12v pump I could simple use the quick connect fittings to throw the pump in line thus drawing water from a tank yet sending it to the city water side of the faucet.

I don't know why that didn't occur to me earlier, but as of this moment I think this is the simplest way to get the most options.

Comments?  

[mitch]

Other then having to do the quick connect/disconnect once in a while it seems like genius!

[susieku99]

Great post, great idea, great explanation! I have replaced my faucet 3 times (one time the dealer did it) and to date cannot get the little 7 gallon tank under the sink to work unless I first prime it with city water. I assume you do not have this problem with your current pump/setup? I'd really like to do this project as i don't like the idea of carrying water under there with all those electronics, and having an outside source seems so much easier. We don't really use the sink inside at all, but it sure would be nice to have. I am now thinking about posting the problem I have just to see if others have had the same problem, but wanted to know if yours worked before you installed your new setup?
Thanks again for the great post. Gonna try it soon. 

[admin]

The original faucet "worked" but just barely. The faucet in general seems like a poor design which would never be able to much more than wet a toothbrush or something. The faucet I have now is a much better pump design and leave little room to fail. Its a basic diaphragm pump with a few check valves to allow suction. So far I've only had to use it for very simple tasks and its done a great job, but I would not want to use it to move any large volume of water.
I've only done a few tests with the pump idea and so far its worked exactly as I expected. It certainly adds a lot of convenience. When I have some free time (which seems harder and harder to come by) I'll try to shoot a little video of the system.