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RE: How structural are the plywood panels in cabinets?
As it turned out, the plywood was only marginally glued to the 1x2-ish framing (at least they used some sort of harder-than-pine wood); so it will probably have more structural strength after I finish installing the 1/4" plywood cover with suitable screws.
Two hours to lay out and cut the plywood out (by hand); five minutes or less to reattach the PEX to the check valve, once I could reach in with both hands in a comfortable position. Winnebago should have put in that access hatch at the factory.
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BillHoughton
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11/11/23 04:43pm |
Class C Motorhomes
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RE: How structural are the plywood panels in cabinets?
I won't be removing that plywood, if I take this approach; I'll be cutting it, making an opening smaller than the framing.
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BillHoughton
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11/07/23 04:58pm |
Class C Motorhomes
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RE: How structural are the plywood panels in cabinets?
Thanks. I can see what's there - the answer being "air," with plenty of room before I encounter anything. Time to go look it over again and decide on my approach. Or maybe this time, the nut will decide to go on.
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BillHoughton
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11/07/23 04:33pm |
Class C Motorhomes
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How structural are the plywood panels in cabinets?
I am struggling with attempting to reconnect the PEX plumbing pipe to one check valve on the water heater in my 2007 Itasca Navion. Access is through the removable floor in the pantry next to the fridge, which pantry is just wide enough for me to reach one arm in. The PEX could have been a little longer, and I can't get the threaded fitting to align with the threads on the check valve. IF I could reach in with my other arm, I might be able to push the PEX around to align the nut.
45 minutes of getting nowhere has me considering alternatives.
Below the pantry, the face of the cabinet is 1/8" plywood, glued to 1x2 framing, with nothing behind it but space. The left side of the pantry is plywood hiding the side of the fridge; the right side is a wall (of similarly robust 1x2 framing). I am wondering if I can cut an access hatch below the pantry, framed all around with more 1x2s glued and pocket-screwed to the existing framing, that might allow me to reach in with both arms. But I don't know if I'm weakening the cabinet. I'd cover the access with 1/4" baltic birch plywood stained to more or less match the finished cabinet, with as many screws as I needed to attach it firmly.
Am I endangering the stability of that cabinet?
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BillHoughton
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11/07/23 04:14pm |
Class C Motorhomes
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RE: Pex to pipe thread transition
Thanks to both of you. I was pretty darned sure I didn't need to tape it; you've reassured me.
And the fittings in question are accessible, if that's the word, through either an access hatch that's 9" by 9" or the base of the closet (removing the floor) that's not much wider, but far enough down that only one arm reaches. So I'm not going to be changing the fittings out for anything else, just replacing the conical gaskets. Removing and replacing the check valves called for 1/2" drive tools, and all the fancy stuff I'd collected over the years: universal joint drives to let me angle the foot-long extension, so I could apply the heavy duty ratchet - and so on. There's no reason that I can see for Winnebago not to have made the access hatch larger...grumble, grumble, mumble, mumble.
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BillHoughton
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11/05/23 03:08pm |
Class C Motorhomes
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Pex to pipe thread transition
The water heater in my 2007 Itasca Navion has brass check valves in and out, with 1/2" pipe thread. The plumbing is mainly PEX, and the PEX seals to the check valves with a conical plastic gasket, held in place by a nut that threads on. There's no need to put pipe tape on the check valve threads, is there?
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BillHoughton
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11/04/23 06:29pm |
Class C Motorhomes
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RE: freshwater pump maddening problem
Continuing to be stumped. The cycling time is now down to three seconds! The parts house refuses to consider that the pump might be defective.
Has anyone had any experience with a company named USA Adventure Gear? They have a pump, comparable in price to what I paid for the Shurflo, with a lifetime warranty: this one here.. Says it's compatible - implied bolt-in compatible - with the Shurflo.
Still some more tests to run, but no sunshine on this project yet. Damitol - I've got so many OTHER things I want to do.
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BillHoughton
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10/31/23 05:03pm |
Class C Motorhomes
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RE: freshwater pump maddening problem
I have now been through two Shurflo pumps with the same problem. The literature to which TC Bear linked was helpful, but even more helpful was talking with one of the customer service folks at Pentair/Shurflo, who walked me through an adjustment that lowers the shutoff point. This didn't fix the problem. When I talked with him today, he said that, yes, there's a known problem with the check valve on these pumps, and I should send it back and get another one.
Frustrating. Is there a pump manufacturer I should be considering instead of Pentair/Shurflo? I looked online, and a pump that was recommended as "best choice" seems to have the same problem.
Is it feasible to install a check valve upstream from the pump and not rely on the pump's check valve?
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BillHoughton
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10/30/23 03:25pm |
Class C Motorhomes
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freshwater pump maddening problem
The freshwater pump in our RV (2007 Itasca Navion) stopped holding pressure - it would run up to pressure, stop, then cycle every 15-20 seconds (estimated; never timed on the old pump). Based on advice here and at Winnebago, I bought a new pump and installed it; the problem recurred.
A very helpful customer service guy at Winnebago told me how to pressure test the system and stated that, if the system held pressure, the pump was defective. It held 90 pounds of air pressure for four minutes, so I ordered a second pump on the assumption that the first one was defective.
Same (bad word) problem with the newest pump, even after I ran all the fixtures to get the air out of the lines. Checked all kinds of stuff: opened water heater pressure relief valve in case there was air trapped (no), tested the check valve on the inlet to the water tank; removed the kitchen sink faucet aerator to confirm that I was getting water with no air in it; and so on.
A tech at Pentair/Shurflo, the pump manufacturer, suggests that I fiddle with the check valve setting, which I'll do tomorrow.
Another tech at Winnebago told the tech I've been working with that the check valve in the water heater could be seeping internally and creating the problem, although I don't see how that would make a difference (in a closed, pressurized system, pressure is equal everywhere). I can replace it without taking out the water heater, but I'd have to drain the water tanks (fresh water, water heater) and blow out the lines to avoid dripping on electronic parts (smart move, Winnebago!); but, again, I can't understand how it would make a difference.
Any other thoughts?
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BillHoughton
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10/19/23 04:16pm |
Class C Motorhomes
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