Ways to improve water pressure

AndrewC · 02-03-2021, 12:58 PM

We have a 2021 355MBQS. Despite numerous issues with it (factory defects or poor build quality) it's been pretty good. We are now in one location where we are living it for the next probably 6 months or more. The water pressure here on the lot is abysmal. We get barely 40 psi. Many times it drops lower. It's driving me crazy.

We have an inline filter, which I have replaced several times, even though they say it's good for 3 months. But replacing it doesn't improve the pressure.

My main concern is the shower. I replaced the garbage showerhead that came with the rig with one of those low flow Oxygenics shower heads but this morning it took a while for the pressure to get up to enough for it to kick in and spray (versus being mainly just a stream out of the middle). Once it did kick in it still wasn't enough pressure to really be able to shower very well.

We also have a reverse osmosis system under the kitchen sink but it barely pours water at all because the city water pressure is so low it won't build pressure in the tank.

So, I'm looking to add some type of pressure tank or pump or something. I was looking at the Water Worker 14gal pressure tank from Home Depot. Then, looking at getting a shower booster pump from Amazon. But i'm not clear if this will help with the whole system or not. I know they say that 40psi is the max for an RV so I'm rolling dice with increasing it but I know that pex can handle far more than 40psi. I only want to bring it up to about 50psi.

So the question I have is can I simply add the booster pump or do I also need the pressure tank? Will either even help?

Does anyone have any tips/tricks/instructions on improving water pressure all around or even on a per tap basis?

Packerbacker_TX · 02-03-2021, 01:15 PM

Anything inline can potentially reduce water pressure. If you've got an analog pressure regulator at the tap, you might be able to see what you're getting from the source to start with and then work from there. I suspect the water filter, a low quality water pump and a low quality shower head may slow things down. If you're sure the pressure is under 50 PSI from the source, remove the regulator and water filter and see where that gets you. Keep in mind that "city" water feed bypasses your fresh water tank and doesn't use a water pump. You can try to fill the fresh water tank and turn the pump ON before taking a shower to see if water pressure improves. If it's still low, you may be looking at an upgrade in water pumps. Be careful though, I believe PEX tubing is more resistant to higher water pressure but if you've got an older rig, it may not handle anything over 50 PSI.

Good Luck

AndrewC · 02-03-2021, 01:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Packerbacker_TX

Anything inline can potentially reduce water pressure. If you've got an analog pressure regulator at the tap, you might be able to see what you're getting from the source to start with and then work from there. I suspect the water filter, a low quality water pump and a low quality shower head may slow things down. If you're sure the pressure is under 50 PSI from the source, remove the regulator and water filter and see where that gets you. Keep in mind that "city" water feed bypasses your fresh water tank and doesn't use a water pump. You can try to fill the fresh water tank and turn the pump ON before taking a shower to see if water pressure improves. If it's still low, you may be looking at an upgrade in water pumps. Be careful though, I believe PEX tubing is more resistant to higher water pressure but if you've got an older rig, it may not handle anything over 50 PSI.

Good Luck

Thanks. I have a new dial gauge that I attached to the ground tap here. I just bought it a few months ago and it's adjustable. I closed it down quite a bit and then turned on the water and then adjusted up to see how much pressure is in the system. It got to 40 and stopped. I opened it more to allow hopefully up to 50 but it never gets that high.

I've checked the screens and the filters. I even moved the gauge/regulator to after the filter and it reads the same pressure as being hooked up to the tap.

I will try refilling my fresh water tank and running on dry camping mode with the pump on to see if it is better.

RoadrunnerII · 02-03-2021, 02:45 PM

On the nautilus equipped trailers the one screen a lot of people forget about is where you attach hose to trailer. If it gets plugged you loose volume not pressure.
Poor shower is volume of water

RoadrunnerII

PaulB12 · 02-03-2021, 02:55 PM

All my tt's would work fine on internal factory water pump.
I would guess that you have clogged screens, a kink somewhere or appliance restrictions.
I'd hose from source to tt and see what you get.
PaulB12

AndrewC · 02-03-2021, 04:20 PM

Thanks all. I tried pulling the hose and went straight from tap to TT. Pressure is the same. It's a bit better than this morning but that's pretty normal here. Mornings there's lower pressure by a few pounds.

I switched to dry camp mode and ran the pump on fresh water and it doesn't seem to really be too much better. Maybe a bit.

I cleaned out the screen on the TT inlet and even the shower head connection. I also removed that stupid shut off valve on the shower head.

We'll see how things are in the morning.

Joan617 · 02-03-2021, 04:32 PM

It sounds like you are just cursed with low city water pressure at your location. I would do as someone else suggested and fill your house water tank and run off the pump. It's what we do when there is a hard freeze predicted and we disconnect outside hoses. Our internal pump documentation says that it's calibrated for 45 lbs. and that will give you a decent shower. Ive been at parks where weekdays the water pressure will give you Bellagio Fountains at toilet flush then plummet on the weekend when the park is more crowded.

BTW, we have run as high as 60 or even more with no problems, but we do turn off the water outside anytime we both leave on errands or whatever. After I killed the adjustable Renato regulator in a hard freeze, I replaced it with a simple brass model, no dial gage, factory set for 50-55 lbs.

When you replaced the shower head, did you remove the flow restricter (plastic washer with small hole) at the base of the hose under the faucets?
-Angus

ALJO · 02-03-2021, 05:45 PM

Check all places of restricting, e.g. filters and screens, because 40 lbs. is pretty low. You can ask the park-owner why?
The FW-pump you can run up to 55-60 lbs. A small pressure tank will only extend the flow running without the pump running.

TCNashville · 02-03-2021, 08:25 PM

My unit came from the factory with a 55psi ShurFlo water pump.

klassic · 02-03-2021, 09:18 PM

40 isn’t really all that bad.
My house is on a cistern and my tank is set at 60/40. Fourty has to pump up 2 floors and the shower still works fine.

Open your low point valve and see if the pressure flow matches what your hose flow is doing disconnected from the trailer.

rashers · 02-03-2021, 09:27 PM

Do you have a filter in an on-board filter housing by your water panel? I have found that removing that filter (leave the housing closed and empty) is better for pressure. Instead use a filter at the faucet end of the those, then a pressure regulator, then hose. That way the pressure is regulated after any filtering slowness.

If the pressure is frustratingly low, I usually end up just filling my on board water tank and running off the pump. I had one campground in Baja that took over an hour to fill my tank! You'll need to refill the on board tank every day or two as needed. You should get 55psi+ from the on board water pump.

You may also like: