Scamp water pressure

[SO0PERUGLY]

Ok, sorry if this has been discussed before. I tried looking it up but couldnt find the answer I was looking for. The pluming thread sais that some people keep the pressure at 40psi some at 30psi some at 35psi. Does Scamp have a manufacturer "max"? I went to go buy a regulator, the brass $7 one varies from 40psi to 50psi. Is that fine to run? Or should I buy the more expensive one $32 adjustable and run my pressure at around 35psi? Is 50 too much?
Thanks in advance.
Edit: I own a 2016 Scamp 13' if that makes a difference.

[sokhapkin]

40 psi would be fine.

[Wayne Collins]

40 psi is what we use.
Campground or City water systems can be much higher. Our local community system has the pressure set at 60 psi max, and 40 psi min.
The Scamps use plastic piping, best to not expose it to high pressure spikes.

[SO0PERUGLY]

I called Scamp directly yesterday. I spoke with the parts and service manager. I asked him if there was a "max" water pressure. He told me told hold one while he looked it up. His answer was " we use 50psi. 50 psi works" i then asked "is there a recommended water pressure that I should stay at? Is 50psi the most I should run through my system?" And his reply was "well you dont want to go any higher. If you go to 70 or 80 it might cause damage." What i was trying to figure out is If Im ok with that cheap 7 dollar regulator that keeps you at 40 to 50. Guess the answer is yes. It will be fine.

[Johnny M]

One thing to note about the 12v water pumps as opposed to running off city water. The pump is designed to turn off at a "cut off" pressure meaning when you turn the flow of water off and pressure builds to a specified pressure the pump kicks off and it kicks back on when that pressure drops as water starts to flow again. So if you have a water pump rated for 35 psi, that means the pump cuts out at 35 psi, when you open the faucet the running pressure will be lower that the cut out pressure.

[Wayne Collins]

Originally Posted by Johnny M

One thing to note about the 12v water pumps as opposed to running off city water. The pump is designed to turn off at a "cut off" pressure meaning when you turn the flow of water off and pressure builds to a specified pressure the pump kicks off and it kicks back on when that pressure drops as water starts to flow again. So if you have a water pump rated for 35 psi, that means the pump cuts out at 35 psi, when you open the faucet the running pressure will be lower that the cut out pressure.

Right, but when you are connected to city/campground water, you need a regulator to limit pressure to the plumbing.
your 12 v pump should be switched OFF then.

[tractors1]

I always for for the brass regulators as the plastic ones tend to fail withing a year or two. Can't open them to clean out sediment. Put your inline filter ahead of the regulator.

[redbarron55]

I use a regulator, but many of the campgrounds we have stayed at have had low pressure and we often have to use the pump to get it high enough.
some have higher pressure to try to deliver water with a system that is undersized.
When more people are using water it is still low.

[SusanS]

Thanks fot this info. Just pulled into a fancy campground and the water pressure blew my hose off the trailer. Have never seen that. Going to buy a regulator in the morning. Might go less than 40 if possible since we have old tubing and funky joints. Still a work in progress.

Susan
1989 Scamp 13

[John in Santa Cruz]

i have a regulator, but I'm more likely to just fill our water tank and use the rv pump

28g of fresh water will usually last us a week+

[SusanS]

Gotcha. This trailer is new to us so don’t want to try the tank till we get it home. But that is a good solution. We have a 5 gallon container. It’s like tenting!

Susan

[John in Santa Cruz]

i should note, even tho I do my best to keep our water tank clean, we generally bring purified water in a 5G carbouy, and a 2G smaller water tank we will put in the fridge for fresh cold drinking water. This is the same purified water I buy for our home use, since our city water is nasty hard and kinda funky tasting. it comes from a local water store, "Pure Valley Water", who takes the same city water(hah!) and deionizes and charcoal filters and microfilters it to make a very nice soft fresh tasting water as good as any 'spring water' I've had. We also use this for making oru coffee both at home and camping. we pay $0.50/g for self filled 5G carboys. one 5G jug generally lasts us about a week, and if we're on the road on a multiweek trip, its usually not hard to find a place that sells purified water to refill them, OR if we're at a campground with good tasting water, I'll fill it from their faucet.

[thrifty bill]

Ever since I returned to my campsite seeing water spraying out the side of my trailer, I have stopped using city water hookup. In my case, the check valve in the pump failed, allowing water back into the tank and overfilling it. The only release point was a very small air vent on the tank.

Instead, I do like John. I fill the water tank, use my pump. For drinking water, I prefer to buy water to get consistent taste. You can find water fill stations at grocery stores or whatever, at a very low price.

The taste and quality of water varies from location to location. Better to bring your own for drinking/coffee. Fine to use the local stuff for flushing toilet, washing dishes or whatever.

Even just ten miles from where I live, they have terrible tasting water that makes awful coffee. So its not just places that are far away.

If you do decide to hook up to campground water, always use a pressure regulator and turn it off whenever you leave or whenever you go to bed. One stuck check valve and you will know why.

[floyd]

Buy the brass regulator.
The plastic ones are junk.
You won't over pressure the system with the on board pump or with shore water and a regulator.
While you are at it, buy an inline filter for your shore water line to keep the system clear of dirt or sand etc.

[CharlesinGA]

Get a real regulator, not that inline thing that really is more of a restrictor.

This type is a joke, I used it for a while.



This design is a "real" regulator, and will work a lot better.



Like several others above, I fill the tank and use the pump, less chance of accidents or catastrophes that way, just keep the pump off when you are not using it.

Co-worker had a trailer. Had nieces and nephews staying with him on a camping trip. they hooked to city water. Someone used the shower and instead of turning off the shower faucet knobs they moved the shower head valve to the dribble position that all RV showers have. The shower dribbled all night till the gray tank filled up and the shower pan filled up and flooded the trailer. It was deemed a total loss.

Fittings break, stuff happens.

Another word of caution, when you use the gravity fill to fill the tank, DO NOT just stuff the hose end in the neck and let the water run. The small vent that is adjacent to the fill and has a 3/8 or less hose connecting to the tank, is merely to let air INTO the tank when you are drawing it out with the pump. It cannot relieve the air fast enough when you effectively block the fill port with the hose running water. You need to use a fill adapter, either store bought or home made. This allows the air to escape up the fill neck and around the adapter, as you have not plugged the filler port with the hose end. I made one with a brass garden hose fitting that uses 1/2 inch inside diameter cleat tubing and is long enough to reach clear to the tank, as my filler actually goes "uphill" about half the distance to the tank.

Water hose obstructing the filler port and air not being able to escape fast enough is what happened HERE, on thie Bigfoot

I had a near catastrophe the first fill on my BF 25B21RB by shoving the hose in the fill port. The filler hose to the tank was not on the filler port real tight, nor straight (BF cut it way too short) and the hose blew off inside the storage area. Thankfully I had the storage door open and snatched the hose out and grabbed towels and sopped up the couple of quarts of water that ended up on the floor tile. THEN I red the manual, it says to use a fill adapter.



Charles

[redbarron55]

I just put the small brass regulator on the faucet end of our potable water hose and don't think about it again.
That has worked for us for a lot of years.
The back pressure valve on the pump leaks a very little bit so there is a little water dribbling out of the tank vent from time to time, but not enough to get me busy hunting the problem I have a check valve right before the TEE where the city water hose (from our electric retracting reel) ties into the system. That undoubtedly seeps a little as well.

[thrifty bill]

+10 And be sure to turn off the water pump when you are not using water. Any leak with the pump on could eventually flood your trailer.