Maintenance & Restoration

Lockman · 09-24-2018, 05:23 PM

OK now I am having a problem with the sink in bathroom and shower not draining. I said previously that the filter was backwards and I did clean it.

It would seem to me that I have an air lock preventing the pump from moving water. Should there be some type of air vent off the water drain line to allow the water to run down the drain hose. I removed all connections from the trap under the sink to check for blockage, none. The water just sits there in the bowl.
Normally in a house there is a vent stack to allow atmospheric pressure to allow water to drain freely. Not in this setup. Am I missing something????
HELP!!

floyd · 09-24-2018, 06:54 PM

After the filter had been cleaned many times, we suffered the same symptom. Turns out that the upstream side of the drain tubing, at the filter, had hair backed up enough to block the flow.
I removed the filter and used s needle nose pliers to remove the clog. It looked like I was extracting a mouse from the line. Good news is that it took about ten years to accumulate with relatively heavy use.Once you remove the clog, rinse the drain before reinstalling the filter.

Lockman · 09-24-2018, 07:19 PM

Hi Floyd,

Problem is this is a brand new 2 week old Scamp 13. Its has to do with air blocking the water flow to the pump, its as if I have to prime the pump to remove the trapped air. I am working on that theory.
I have loosened the filter housing slightly to get the water to flow down from the sink to rid the trapped air. Will just have to check it out.
Thanks for your reply.
Jack

floyd · 09-24-2018, 07:31 PM

While you are at it, you might consider moving the pump to the raised area under the toilet. I have seen too much damage to pumps left in the stock location under the shower pan.

Check in the closet for a kink in the drain tubing. also check for a kink in the line from the pump to the gray tank. Also check the vent line on the gray tank...It can't take water if it can't vent.

Disconnect the downstream line from the pump and turn on the pump to be sure it works.

Oh!! All this assumes that the pump is a fullsized pump like the one for the fresh water.

It should be known that the pump will likely shut off when a certain downstream pressure is met, just like the fresh water pump.

Lockman · 09-25-2018, 09:52 AM

Thanks Floyd,

Moving the pump will have to wait until I get back to MA, am presently in Kansas.
I think that it may be working now that I seemed to have removed the trapped air, time will tell. All the lines are ok no kinks.
Thanks,
Jack

Jann Todd · 09-25-2018, 10:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by floyd

While you are at it, you might consider moving the pump to the raised area under the toilet. I have seen too much damage to pumps left in the stock location under the shower pan.

Check in the closet for a kink in the drain tubing. also check for a kink in the line from the pump to the gray tank. Also check the vent line on the gray tank...It can't take water if it can't vent.

Disconnect the downstream line from the pump and turn on the pump to be sure it works.

Oh!! All this assumes that the pump is a fullsized pump like the one for the fresh water.

It should be known that the pump will likely shut off when a certain downstream pressure is met, just like the fresh water pump.

I am a little confused. You are talking water not draining out of the sink. You are talking about a pump to drain it. Do you have a pump to drain the sinks? Shouldn't the water just flow out of the sink like in your house. Ours does in our Casita. The only pump we have is to run water to the faucets and toilet.

Lockman · 09-25-2018, 11:01 AM

I have two sinks, the kitchen sink and the optional sink in the bathroom. Its the bathroom sink that I have a problem with. The kitchen works ok. The bathroom sink seems to trap air in the drain line and the water sits trapped on top of the air.

Both sinks have pumps to move the water to the holding tank. Hope that answers your question.

Jack

Jann Todd · 09-25-2018, 06:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lockman

I have two sinks, the kitchen sink and the optional sink in the bathroom. Its the bathroom sink that I have a problem with. The kitchen works ok. The bathroom sink seems to trap air in the drain line and the water sits trapped on top of the air.

Both sinks have pumps to move the water to the holding tank. Hope that answers your question.

Jack

Why not just have vents instead of pumps to drain the water into the holding tank like all other RV's? Seems that having a pump is just more things to go wrong. I know it's not your idea but maybe you could put vents in instead.

gordon2 · 09-25-2018, 06:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lockman

I have two sinks, the kitchen sink and the optional sink in the bathroom. ...

Both sinks have pumps to move the water to the holding tank. Hope that answers your question.

..

I am quite sure that the kitchen sink does not have a pump for the gray water drain.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jann Todd

Why not just have vents instead of pumps to drain the water into the holding tank like all other RV's? Seems that having a pump is just more things to go wrong. I know it's not your idea but maybe you could put vents in instead.

Jann.. this is a Scamp kludge. The floor under the shower is too low for a gravity drain so they add a pump. Yes, its not ideal... kinda like the difference between a gravity feed septic system and one with a pump. The pump adds complexity and maintenance but on some home sites there is no other way to get a working septic system.

I'm not clear if the sink has a separate line to the gray water tank or does it go through the pump with the shower drain.

BTW, the kitchen sink is literally 3 feet away.. why even have a bathroom sink? I have heard people talk about cross-contamination when washing hands in the kitchen sink but IMHO that is not a concern. It sure has not been for me.

Smithbrother · 09-26-2018, 08:16 AM

My 2018 scamp kitchen sink drains to the tank w/o a pump. Their is a pump for the shower drain . I do not have a sink in my bathroom.

Lockman · 09-26-2018, 07:42 PM

Jann & Gordon you are correct about the kitchen sink, its gravity flow.

I just discovered that that switch on the side of the sink is for the demand pump to pump water from the 12 gal.fresh water holding tank, located underneath the right side bunk.

I'm learning here. Sorry for the confusion.

I had gone back to the Scamp factory 3 days after I picked up the Scamp to have something corrected and I must have misunderstood the purpose of the switch located at the kitchen sink.

Jack

Jann Todd · 09-26-2018, 08:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Smithbrother

My 2018 scamp kitchen sink drains to the tank w/o a pump. Their is a pump for the shower drain . I do not have a sink in my bathroom.

It is weird to have a pump to pump out the shower drain. If the holding tank is even an inch or two below the floor it should not need a pump. Is the pump to dump the gray water tank? We have a handle to pull to let the shower drain and that handle pulls a cover on and off of the drain. The idea of the cover is to keep the water in the holding tank from splashing back into the shower when traveling. The holding tank is just below the shower. Water flows down with no problem even if the tank is directly below the drain.

gordon2 · 09-26-2018, 08:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jann Todd

It is weird to have a pump to pump out the shower drain. If the holding tank is even an inch or two below the floor it should not need a pump. ...

Yes it is weird, and its a Scamp... and the grey water tank is not an inch or two below the floor.. its above the floor, or at least the inlet is.. hence the need for the pump. Got it?

floyd · 09-26-2018, 08:33 PM

The shower floor is on level with the kitchen floor.
The gray tank is on level with the raised floor of the bed/dinette.

Paul O. · 09-26-2018, 08:47 PM

It's all about the layout. It seems that the Scamp optional shower is always in front of the axle and the gray water tank behind the axle. They have to get the water from the bottom of the shower over the axle to the tank. In mine the plastic tube is threaded through one of the rectangular frame tubes.

On edit: As Floyd points out above, the tank is higher than the shower sump, besides.

And speaking of clogs, unfortunately all devices in the drain line, i.e. screens, pumps, check valves and even the connection to the tank, are done with a simple barb and a hose clamp. That means the pipe inner diameter changes several times and where it is reduced, that's where clogs can happen. This was our problem with the sink drain a couple of weeks ago. After blaming the trap at the sink but finding it clear, I headed down the line and found a serious clog where the plastic tube is slipped over the barb and secured with a hose clamp, right at the entry to the tank.

Lockman · 09-28-2018, 06:51 PM

Just so everyone knows, problem with water draining from bathroom sink is solved. Once the air was purged from system at that point everything works as it should. Case closed.

Jack

gordon2 · 09-28-2018, 07:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lockman

Just so everyone knows, problem with water draining from bathroom sink is solved. Once the air was purged from system at that point everything works as it should. Case closed....

Thanks for the update. I still wonder why there was an airlock, and if it will occur again. Maybe the water just needed a little encouragement.

Also thanks to Floyd and Paul for expounding on the differing height of the gray water tank and shower floor (pan). Its easy to understand if you have seen it in person, but harder to describe.

As Paul mentioned.. clogs can occur in many places. The kink in the hose in my new camper would have been one, had I not replaced it before a problem developed. None of this requires a plumber however, just a little advice.

Lockman · 09-29-2018, 08:14 AM

Hey Gordon,
I am thinking that the cleaning of the filter and turning it in the correct direction had a lot to do with the problem. Even though I still had air trapped directly after that, I awoke the next morning and noticed that the water had drained down and it has been fine ever since. Just needed some time to correct itself.

Remember this is a brand new Scamp on its 3000 mile+ shake down cruise. Gone 2000 miles already.

Jack

redbarron55 · 09-29-2018, 08:42 AM

My modified Scamp is the same but different. Originally it had the side bath and no pump as the floor of the shower was on top of the frame rails and the same level as the top of the dance floor in back.
with leaks over the years from both the toilet and the shower the floor was rotten and probably the drain worked poorly as well as there was not much or any elevation drop the the drain inlet on the side of the gray tank. The kitchen sink was on the opposite side with a similar inlet, which I turned into a second vent.
The approach I took was to move the shower to the front, level with the main floor and the sink was on the street side and used the original inlet for the shower.
The pump I teed into the sink drain line under the floor with a Hevpro waterless trap to keep from backing up shower water to the sink. The Hevpro also acts as a valved vent to help the sink drain.
I have noted that at least one picture shoes the filter screen moved to near the edge of the trailer and THIS is something I am going to shamelessly copy!