Why Did My Kitchen Sink Stop Running?
Case #1: Shortly after our first trip, we noticed that no water was coming out of our Scamp sink when connected to city water (hose hookup). I tried the water in the shower and it worked fine. I wondered if there was something blocking the sink water pipe. Before I did anything, I did an exhaustive internet search and found the potential answer on an obscure post within a trailer website. The suggestion was to check out the sink’s aerator (little device that screws onto the sink faucet head which has a metal screen). The purpose of the aerator is to introduce bubbles into the water flow to save water.
I was easily able to unscrew the aerator and, lo and behold, it was filled with pebbly sediment! Maybe the sediment was debris from inside the new pipes. In any case, it was a quick job to wash out the junk blocking the aerator from doing its job. The sink ran fine as soon as I screwed the freshly cleaned aerator back onto the faucet head!
Case #2: Right before a long trip to Lake Tahoe, I filled up our Scamp’s fresh water tank for the first time to test the boondocking (dry camping) system used when access to city water (hose) would not be possible. We were going to be staying at D.L. Bliss State Park on the shores of Lake Tahoe and the park does not provide electrical or water hookups. However, they have water spigots that can be used to fill up water jugs which can then load water into the trailer’s fresh water tank. In order for the fresh water system to work, it needs to be pressurized with the water pump turned on. This on demand pump can be left on while dry camping (as it only turns on when pressure drops which is when the sink is turned on). I usually turn the on demand water pump off when we leave the trailer for safety (to prevent possible flooding if there was a leak).
When I first tested the on demand water pump system it worked, but when I turned the water pump off (out of curiosity) and continued to let the sink water run the water ran briefly and then stopped. When I turned the pump back on, the water would not run. The system had lost its prime and could not pressurize even with the water pump on! Fortunately, my plumber friend Oscar has an RV and knew exactly what to do! We located the water pump under one of the dinette seats and opened the pump primer valve until water dripped out and then closed it again. To open the primer valve, rotate the cap in the Open direction shown in the image (opposite / bottom side labeled Vacuum side only) and close it the the opposite direction. After this procedure, the water ran perfectly when the on demand water pump was on and has continued to work flawlessly ever since.
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