Water Pump Mesh Filter Broke During Winter White Plastic Shavings Inside?!

[JudyK-JAY22rb]

A beautiful day to work on the camper. I figure I'll de-winterize and sanitize the fresh water system.
I left the access panel to my water pump open. I bend down to ensure everything on the pump looks right before starting. I see the clear cap with the mesh inset filter laying on the floor, in front of the pump. Whoah, good thing I looked, I must've left it off......

Then I realize, it's broke. The main thread was still on the pump, but the clear housing broke at the threaded ring. It's sitting there, screen intact but it's 1/2 full of all kinds of white shards and there's a white film lining the clear plastic cap. Now, I remember removing this screen filter and washing it, before putting it back together at the end of last season, right before winterizing.

What the heck is this stuff!? AND, I winterized...so how did the filter portion break off/fall off and there is no antifreeze on the floor of the pump cabinet space? I have all kinds of questions. How did this stuff get in there? HOW did it show up in the filter AFTER I opened the filter to clean it out, THEN winterized?? Were these plastic pieces in the antifreeze? How come there's nothing wet or dried up, on the floor of the access space where the water pump sits.

I just order a replacement and a back-up filter set.

so here they are...

 

[OnTheGo]

That's a new one for me. I would call the manufacturer (not Jayco) and ask them. It's likely they have seen that in the past.

Shurflo used to have good technical explanations, although I don't know what pump you have.

 

[Glamper64]

That is a strange one...it looks like it was hit with a wrench
Could it have froze and broke into pcs. and any water or antifreeze went down into the water lines?
Could it be the antifreeze was contaminated/bad with those plastic pcs in it and was stopped by the pump screen causing it to break?
Once you're all hooked up I would do an air pressure test on the system with a compressor set at no more than 40 psi to make sure all is good

 

[JudyK-JAY22rb]

That is a strange one...it looks like it was hit with a wrench
Could it have froze and broke into pcs. and any water or antifreeze went down into the water lines?
Could it be the antifreeze was contaminated/bad with those plastic pcs in it and was stopped by the pump screen causing it to break?
Once you're all hooked up I would do an air pressure test on the system with a compressor set at no more than 40 psi to make sure all is good

I'll be receiving my new filter today. I'll put it on and try to test the system. That plastic stufff MUST have been in the antifreeze containers. It has to have been...b/c I removed and washed a few pebbles out of it, before winterizing.

It definitely looks as if the cap broke off due to something in the filter cap freezing, expanding causing it to break, but I pumped antifreeze through my entire system, all faucets, shower head and outdoor shower and I REMEMBER seeing PINK in the clear filter housing.

I'm a bit confused as to exactly how the water system is plumbed. Like for instance, when hooked up to city water, does the flow of water GO THROUGH the pump, even though the pump is off? It must, right? All of it is on a loop of sorts, right? Or no? That's why I'm confused as to HOW this thing broke, but yet there's no indication of dried up antifreeze on the floor. Also, I have a water/wetness alarm sitting right next to th pump. If it had leaked at some point, I would have heard it. (I did test it and it is working.)

I really hope my pump is okay. I guess we will see. If not, I'll have to buy and install a new one. Maybe even a better model, quieter etc.

 

[JudyK-JAY22rb]

I still have a couple bottles of the antifreeze left over. I should check them for those plastic shards.

 

[JudyK-JAY22rb]

Just filtered the 2 bottles I have left. Not a single piece of anything.

 

[Jayhawk 29]

While that seems to be a lot of plastic and the pieces appear to be round in nature, what I am wondering is that shavings from drilling into the tank for the needed holes for filling, venting, and sensors, if you have internal mounted ones. And you probably had run your tank down really low and the angle of the rv was such that your last use sucked up the pieces that had gathered at the suction line for your pump as the residue finally made their way to a small pool of water left in the tank. Of course I doubt that you winterized your filter and line. And it looks like the water froze, breaking your filter.

Anyway that's my opinion..

 

[JudyK-JAY22rb]

I remember that clear plastic having pink antifreeze in it. Yeah, I trying to remember what I did last season. I remember I used A LOT of antifreeze b/c as I was winterizing, I was confused as to how it was sucking up so much, but not coming through the faucets, then realized I left a set of low post drains open, causing all of my antifreeze to be dumped onto the ground. Once I remedied that, I did use the water left in the tank to winterize. So, yes, it makes sense those shavings are likely from the fresh tank. This winter was brutal for TRUE freezing over long periods, with massive amounts of freezing winds, very unlike the previous winter. I'm hoping nothing was damaged other than what I can see. I'm confused as to why it froze though...there was no water in the system. I assume anything IN the system would not spill out naturally if that filter cap was not in place. I believe this because, mine wasn't in place and nothing spilled out. I should be receiving the replacement piece in a couple hours. Then I'll be able to see if anything is damaged.

 

[Docsouce]

2x with Jayhawk's thoughts. That debris looks just like what plugged up my pump filter. After cleaning the pump filter,I took off all the faucet strainers ( they had some bits of plastic shavings caught too) and flushed the lines out. Ok after that.

 

[JudyK-JAY22rb]

2x with Jayhawk's thoughts. That debris looks just like what plugged up my pump filter. After cleaning the pump filter,I took off all the faucet strainers ( they had some bits of plastic shavings caught too) and flushed the lines out. Ok after that.

Thanks! I'll be sure to check the faucets.

 

[JudyK-JAY22rb]

Ok. Filter replacement received. Installed. Drained low point drains. Yesterday I filled fresh tank with bleach water to 40 gallons. I just turned on the water pump and ran the antifreeze out of all the lines. Now I'll let them sit for a day or so. Then I'll empty it all out.

Checked all faucets, too. No sign of plastic shaving or shards.

So far, so good. I don't hear a peep out of any of my water alarms.
I did line the bottom of mt bathroom under sink cabinet with a white, Terry towel. I see pink staining on it...over 1.2 of it, with no rippling of the luan on the floor of the cabinet. I think I have a super low drip from that bathroom faucet. It's been a problem since I bought the camper. Can't seem to get it 'just right.' If it's THAT slow, I'll just be sure to keep an eye and make sure cabinet floor is protected. I have a silicon water mat under the kitchen sink, with 1/2 high sides to catch leaks. I'm going to buy another, for under the bathroom sink.

 

[Jayhawk 29]

Ok. Filter replacement received. Installed. Drained low point drains. Yesterday I filled fresh tank with bleach water to 40 gallons. I just turned on the water pump and ran the antifreeze out of all the lines. Now I'll let them sit for a day or so. Then I'll empty it all out.

Checked all faucets, too. No sign of plastic shaving or shards.

So far, so good. I don't hear a peep out of any of my water alarms.
I did line the bottom of mt bathroom under sink cabinet with a white, Terry towel. I see pink staining on it...over 1.2 of it, with no rippling of the luan on the floor of the cabinet. I think I have a super low drip from that bathroom faucet. It's been a problem since I bought the camper. Can't seem to get it 'just right.' If it's THAT slow, I'll just be sure to keep an eye and make sure cabinet floor is protected. I have a silicon water mat under the kitchen sink, with 1/2 high sides to catch leaks. I'm going to buy another, for under the bathroom sink.

When I purchased my camper I had an issue at my p-trap fitting that leaked like a faucet itself. I tried everything and all of a sudden a light bulb went off. The trap and the main discharge PVC pipe to the grey water was misaligned. No matter what I did the seal ring would not seat around the sink drain line , when I attempted to tighten it up with the strain misaligning the parts

I finally took some super marine caulking that cures solid and put it around the fitting after also having to cut the main discharge line apart with a sawzall. Then I used a coupler dry fitted on the outlet side PVC and some heat on the line and dry bent the drain line a bit and then re glued the section back together, in conjunction with the caulking around the sink drain line seal and screwed everything back together.

This took some finesse and a few curse words, but so far its worked without leaking. So take a closer look by filling up the sink with the plug in it after drying everything up in the cabinet and then pull the plug. Then take a closer look and see if its your sink drain or your hot and cold lines leaking under the sink. You can also use some small amount of food coloring or a wee bit of the anti freeze mixed in your sink full of water to be a guide for you.

Use a paper towel on your shelf under the sink area to send any "alerts" to your eyes. The paper towel will also alert you to any water leaks better than a wash cloth type fabric earlier, if your problem is your feed lines after you have eliminated any leaks in your sink or sink related parts.

If you need a picture, let me know.

 

[JudyK-JAY22rb]

Thanks JayFlight. I gave the trap a stare and wondered...'Is it the drain line?' I'll try what you did. I have my water alarm in the cabinet under the sink, but will line with paper towel, because a slight drip won't trigger the alarm. I just ordered a silicon mat with raised edges, to fit under the bathroom sink. I put one under the kitchen sink last season.

 

[Jayhawk 29]

Did I tell you that I hate water leaks? To follow up, out of the factory this is the off angle that I had when i picked it up. I had water all on the shelf. It When you say that you had some pink on your rag, its quite possible that it came from the sink drain, is what i am saying when you probably had some of the anti freeze end up in the sink. This was my thought, even though you may still have some leaking from the waterlines too.

I took the caulking and put it around the drain line until i could address the leak. But as I got into the problem I found a compound problem, which I described with the main drain line to the grey water tank. Hopefully you can see the slight curve that also dealt with the second part of the issue.

While traveling after I did the modification, I put a pot under the drain line to see if I still had a problem for several trips. I did not. But I did use some additional caulking. Block off the two sections, so that you may isolate things further. Use a small cutting board, upright, if you have one and place a single paper towel separated on both sides.