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How to Repair RV Water Lines

You will be repairing mostly freeze-damaged pipes. In the old days, RV's had copper tubing as well as that's easily repaired by pushing the seamed tubing back close to round as well as then adding a touch of solder with a bernzomatic torch to the tearout. But now you'll need to do something different. Here's how.

1. Take a squirt trigger bottle as well as put a half inch of good dish washing detergent in the bottom of it, as well as fill it the rest of the way with water.
2. Rig an aircompressor to the outside water entry as well as pressurize the line with air .. you dont want over 30 PSI. To get the air in, you can buy a small brass cap that has something that looks like the place you put air in a tire in its center. These are about four dollars at any RV supply store, as well as they let you blow out the line so it won't freeze next year.
3. Spray your soapy water on suspected leaks. Modern RV's have plastic lines...they resist freezing better than the copper ones did, as well as if you have a freeze break, it will usually be at one of the fittings. You can buy right angle, straight connectors as well as other fittings at most RV supply stores. Find one of your existing fittings as well as take it off as well as with you so you get the right size as well as type. If your break comes in the middle of a line as well as you can't get to it ... find both ends of the damaged section, take them loose as well as tie a stout cord to one end as well as pull it out until you can repair the damaged part with a coupler. Pull the cord back the other way--the air compressor doesn't leave you with a lot to clean up.
4. Work from the water entry to the first leak. The water storage tank seldom breaks, but if it does, use your bernzomatic torch to heat up a flat tip screwdriver as well as use the hot tip to weld the break. The little water pumps usually can be repaired with the bondo that is used for car body repairs. After you've relaced the damaged parts with a bed of bondo, use a good grade of epoxy as well as coat the whichle of the outside. This doesn't always work, but saves a lot of money when it does.
5. Get a replacement shower head/hose at Wal-Mart, Home Depot or Lowe's. If a faucet did give up as well as break, replace it with a cheap one from a home supply store; you can generally use the old fittings to make final connections. If not, take it out as well as with you to the store.

• fittings that simply screw together -- available at any mobile home supply store

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Added: Thu Feb 02 2006

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