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RV Doctor ColumnRV Doctor #277 Dear Gary, While camping at an older campground, the filter between the campground water and my trailer became clogged so I ran without it for a very short time. It seems that the campground has the older steel pipes and small particles have entered my trailer water system and has seriously reduced the flow at some of the faucets. Please tell me I don't have to re-plumb the entire system. Steve Blades, (Kansas City, KS) Steve, It is doubtful that running non-filtered campground city water for a very short time will seriously damage the lines in the RV; one of the bennies of plastic piping. You will obviously need to remove and clean all the faucet aerators, however. Leave the aerators off for the time being as you proceed with the following. If the fresh water storage tank was filled with that same water you may have to clean or replace the filter that protects the water pump also. It will be located somewhere between the tank and the pump. A thorough system flush is all that is probably necessary to rid the system of any unwanted particles that might still be there. First fill the tank with fresh water. Keep in mind it's a good idea to use an in-line POU, (point of use) filter for this practice. Once the fresh water tank has been filled, turn on the water pump and begin pumping fresh water throughout the system. Open all the hot and cold faucets in the RV. When water is flowing swiftly from each faucet, close them all. With the pump is still activated, open the pressure and temperature relief valve and the drain valve on the water heater. The obvious result of doing so will find water gushing out of the relief valve and down the side of the coach. This is okay. The goal here is to flush out the water heater. Let the pump continually try to fill the water heater as it is draining. Do this for ten to fifteen minutes. Next, at the city water entry port, push in on the check valve with the eraser end of a pencil. Stand back as water will be forced out the entry by the pump, clearing any particles that might have become lodged in or near the check valve. Then open all the faucets once again and continue to flush the system for five minutes more, then stop the water flow. Turn off the water pump off first and then close the pressure and temperature relief valve and water heater drain and then the faucets. Re-install the faucet aerators. Re-fill the fresh tank with filtered water and you should be good to go. If you have persistent odors remaining in the fresh water, it will be necessary to freshen the system. This can be done by using one of many aftermarket products found in the RV accessory store, or try this homemade recipe: Add one-quarter cup of liquid bleach to the tank for every fifteen gallons capacity of the tank. This bleach solution, diluted by the entire water supply, will effectively chlorinate the water, keeping it fresh and ready for use. Dear Gary, I have a Magic Chef LP stove and oven in my 1982 Wilderness trailer. I can not get the oven pilot to light. I was wondering what would be a good troubleshooting place to start and what should I look for? Frank Zucca, (Benicia, CA) Frank, The most logical place to start would be to ensure you indeed have LP flowing in the trailer. Does the water heater light? The refrigerator? Do the stove burners ignite despite the oven not lighting? If the stove operates, is the burner flame mostly blue or is there lots of orange in the color of the fire? If there is a lot of orange to the stove burner flame and if the water heater shows evidence of sooting, it may be time to have a qualified technician check your LP pressure. I say this because the oven pilot is a very small flame and any discrepancy in the delivery pressure will have a drastic effect on this small opening. Also, since the orifice is quite small, it is more prone to blockages as opposed to the water heater for example. It may be time to have it serviced. In a unit that old, unless cared for regularly, such appliances are prone to have ongoing problems. Another thing; back in those days some oven thermostats were equipped with a definitive pilot adjustment screw positioned on the front of the thermostat. To check yours remove the dial on the thermostat and look at the shaft of the control as it protrudes through the metal face. If you see access holes through the face of the cover that align with screws on the thermostat, it's possible the fuel flow for that pilot has been shut off at that point. If you see two pilot adjustment screws, keep in mind one will be the pilot for the top stove burners and the other for the oven pilot. If the screws are fully clockwise, pilot fuel is shut off. Slowly back out the pilot adjustment screw until LP is ignitable at the pilot burner. Additionally, it used to be a little confusing when lighting the oven pilot. On the dial there is one position marked "OFF" and another position marked "PILOTS OFF." There will be gas flowing to the oven pilot only when the dial is in the "OFF" position. Doesn't make sense, but the pilot gas is on when the dial says "OFF." Don't let this trip you up. Once the pilot is lit with the thermostat in the "OFF" position, there should be a visible increase in the size of the pilot once you set the thermostat to the desired temperature. This longer and bigger flame extends to heat the probe of the safety valve, which eventually opens to allow LP to the main burner to be ignited by the pilot. If the pilot light extends and becomes bigger, but the oven still fails to ignite, it's a faulty safety valve. If the pilot will not light at all or lights but does not become bigger when set to a temperature setting, the thermostat is faulty. Neither the safety valve nor the thermostat are field repairable, they must be replaced. Dear RV Doctor, If I install a house type porcelain toilet in my travel trailer, will the holding tank and vent system work okay? We don't use it on the road and we stay in the same place all winter in Florida on the sewer system at the campground. Paul Lewis, (Milton, WV) Paul, Providing it physically fits, installing a typical house toilet in the RV will function just fine as long as you are connected to city water pressure. The holding tank venting is primarily to aid in draining the tank while a secondary function is to siphon away odors. Filling the holding tank via the house toilet will not be hindered. The only possible exception to this is if the holding tank is rather shallow at that point directly below the toilet drain. Backsplash, then, is possible. This can be easily checked after removing the marine toilet. If the holding tank is at least eight to ten inches deep as measured through the floor flange, there should not be a problem. It is still advisable, however, to leave the termination valve fully closed until the holding tank has reached at least 3/4 full. The only drawback is that the house toilet will use substantially more water than an RV marine toilet so the black tank will fill rather quickly.
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