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2018 30.5MLOK Accumulator Install & Country Fill & Shower Miser
This spring while opening the camper for the season I faced the painful (and wet) realization that winterizing didn't go as well as it should have. I rushed through winterization last fall due to multiple COVID-related family emergencies that all happened almost concurrently. Fast forward to this spring when I realized the hard way that I forgot to run antifreeze through the outside faucet. That created quite the indoor water feature and mess in the passthrough storage.. The 1/2" swivel fittings for both hot and cold water had split. I wish I had taken photos from before I started.
Since that was all PEX, which needed to be cut out and replaced, I decided to tackle a few projects that I have been putting off, and fix a major annoyance I have with Jayco and their poor design and craftsmanship.
Project #1 - Accumulator Tank. We frequently live off tanks during the early and late season trips, and occasionally boondocks in the summer. The plating water, especially at low pressure annoys the DW.
Project #2 - Water Pump Noise. I swear the motors in the pumps that Jayco installed come from industrial concrete vibrators.
Project #3 - Water Miser for Shower. I purchased the Shower Miser last year, and thanks to the nice early spring weather we kicked off our season early and the amount of work required to install, this sat on my workbench for a year.
Project #4 - Jayco Poor Design/Annoyances. On my 30.5 MLOK the pump filter basket is located nearly a foot to the left of the access hole. It required me to crawl in and reach my arm as far in as I could go in order to remove it. I've broken one basket in the past from cross-threading. I also could not stand the fact that the country fill valves were installed all over the place, with one being about 6" to the left of the access panel and facing backward. Neither of the valves pointed in the direction of flow either. Very sloppy and not well thought out.
Step 1. I started out by emptying the basement, which was a necessity due to the flood. After drying it out with a small space heater I got to work... The wall panel was the first to come out, after which the cavity behind the wall received a thorough vacuuming to remove mouse turds and sawdust.
Step 2. Marking the area that the inspection cover reveals when removed. Since the goal was to have everything within reach of the inspection holes, I marked the distances from the all (4" - 18"), and height (3" - 10").
Step 3. Before making any changes it was important to document the plumbing flow. I stared at the mess of pipes that were in all sorts of odd angles for a solid 15 minutes while drawing a sketch. It shouldn't have been that hard, but it was a rats nest of pipes, T's, elbows, etc.
Step 4. I started by eliminating a redundant pipe run. There were two cold water lines that ran parallel to each other, with one stopping at the bathroom sink, the other going to the toilet. I removed one, and added a T so a single line would feed both fixtures. The eliminated a pipe and T fitting from the valve area and would help simplify the final design. It also got a cold water pipe of the way that was practically laying on top of the pump.
Step 5. Demolition. I started by completely removing the pump and strainer assembly. Both of the 3-way valves were cut out next to avoid any potential damage. I kept all cuts as close to the fitting as possible in order to reuse as much PEX as possible. I labeled all of the stubs that were left behind so there would be no question later as to where anything went.
Step 6. Control Assembly. This step was built on the workbench. Knowing the inspection opening was 14" wide I laid out the filter basket and 3-way valves on the bench. I then cut out individual pieces of PEX to make the connections using the scrap I removed earlier. It took a couple trips back to the camper to measure specific distances from the stubs I left (city water, tank fill, tank, kitchen, bathroom, etc.)
Step 7. Control Install. Took the valve assembly from the workbench to the camper. Surprisingly it fit the first time. It was a bit awkward getting the PEX crimper in some of the tight places but I only managed to have one crimp not go right the first time.
Step 8. Shower Miser Return Line. I was not fully committed to doing the Shower Miser install at this point in the project but wanted to make sure I ran a capped-off PEX line to behind the shower faucet for future use. This only took about 5 feet of PEX since the shower is directly above and was the only new PEX I had too supply for the project.
Step 9. Pump & Accumulator. I cleared a lot of space behind the wall by removed and re-running many of the PEX lines. This allowed enough room for the pump and accumulator to be installed side by side. Since I was using hoses to isolate the PEX lines from the water pump, this also provided additional flexibility to locate the pump further away from the lines.
Step 10. Outside Faucet. I decided not to install hard PEX to the outside faucet just in case I have another mental lapse during winterization. I also wanted to add shutoffs so I could remove and drain the lines going to it while still keeping the water on to the rest of the camper. I am not a fan of anything shark-bite, but in this case, decided to use a shark bite hose and shutoff assembly to speed up the project. One deciding factor was the oversized plastic rings using to tighten down the 1/2" connection which make sit very easy to reach up and remove.
Step 11. Pressure Testing. Re-applied city water for a few seconds until I stopped hearing flow, then turned it back off. Checked the entire area for leaks and saw none. I did notice one of the PEX fittings starting to slip off. This was the one from Step 7, which didn't tighten properly, likely from tight clearance getting the crimper in place.
Step 12. Pump Testing. Put a few gallons in the tank and ran the pump for about 20 seconds. No leaks in that part of the circuit and the filter basket filled up as expected.
Step 13. Re-installing the wall. Despite measuring several times, there was always a concern that things would not line up properly. Fortunately, it did, perfectly.
Step 14. Shower Miser Install. Since the weather was not going to allow us to start our season this weekend, I decided to tackle the Shower Miser. I had a lot of apprehensions about this project since it involved drilling into the shower surround. It's a radius shower, and one wall is an outside wall, the other faces the living room and is only an inch thick. That meant that the return pipe had to be installed on the radius portion. I measured numerous times. Concerned that the gasket on the return pipe wouldn't sit flat, I used an oversized 1/2" nut on the backside to force the plastic surround to flatten out a bit.
Drilled out the hole and finished it off with a utility knife. Had to run to Lowe's for a brass swivel with an integrated 90 degree elbow due to the tight clearance behind the radius below the faucet. I also had to cut the plastic threaded nipple to fit the cavity as well, but a PEX cutter made quick work of that without destroying the threads.
Had to install the miser in an unconventional manner however. Since it's designed to be installed on a flat wall, the only way to come close to a true 90 degree joint was to install the return line on the end of the diverter when the shower handle would normally connect. The Shower Miser pipe was only 1/8" shorter than the distance to the wall, and was easily "fudged" by using a little extra silicon tape so the threads would't have to be so deep. The return line was able to be tightened sufficiently to the surround wall such that it flattened out the wall without distorting the washer too much.
The return was tested for a full 30 seconds of running city water into the tank through the Miser's diverter value. No leaks! Project complete, or so I thought. The DW inspected the work and complained about the shower hose coming out of the side. A $12 adapter from Amazon will address that when it arrives.
This was a 3-day project (done after work). Probably spent about $60 in PEX fitting and crimp rings, another $50 for the accumulator, and $15 for a new filter basket assembly. I do not remember what I paid for the Shower Miser a year ago but I believe it was around $60.
The benefits of this project were many...
1. The country fill valves are now right within the area accessed by the inspection cover. No more reaching in and adjusting them by touch and feel.
2. The country fill valves now point in the direction of flow.
3. The strainer basket is directly accessible from the inspection cover.
4. There is an accumulator tank to reduce pulsations when running on tanks.
5. The pump is isolated by 3 foot hoses from the main water system.
6. Redundant PEX lines were removed.
7. Multiple low-points due to sagging/poorly supported PEX lines were fixed.
8. Pitch angles for all pipes were adjusted to favor the low point drain located in that compartment.
9. The outside faucet is isolated with shutoffs and flexible hoses which can easily be removed during cold weather camping.
10. We finally have the Shower Miser installed!
While the wall was removed, I took some time to install wire mesh and rodent repelling spray foam which I hope will stop the critters from getting in from the underbelly.
One regret I have is not taking the time to clean up the wiring more than I did. I was able to untangle and separate a few runs, but did not feel like taking the time to disconnect and re-run them. That'll be a project for another time.
One final to-do is to print labels for the pipes that are easier to read that my sharpie scribble.
All-in-all, it was a great and rewarding project. It's such a shame that Jayco could not be bothered with taking the extra time to build the plumbing systems properly. I was able to remove so much extra PEX, I have a small bin of scraps for future use/repairs.
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