Leak coming between fiberglass pieces

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freshwaterfamily
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Leak coming between fiberglass pieces

Hello All,

We filled our freshwater tank and ran our lines for the first time last night. We have a 1993 Scamp just purchased Used. When checking everything for leaks, we unfortunately found one. There was dripping between the fiberglass section of the counter/stove and the bathroom. Our furnace covers easy access to the plumbing that enters the bathroom so trying to access the lines to test where it is truly leaking is difficult and scary to us newcomers. 

We ran a few different "trials" to attempt locating the leak and reason for it happening. The initial situation in which we saw the leak, we were attempting to get the water just to flow from the sink, but did not realize the shower was on. The shower was running at full pressure and was filling the shower pan...luckily we caught on before that just overflowed onto our new floors! (of note, the water wasnt coming out of the sink first bc our mesh filter was clogged...that was resolved.)

We noticed a small "scratch like" imperfection in the shower pan and were originally thinking this could be the cause...possibly a crack just large enough. But then when looking further we saw that it didnt make sense for where the water was dripping. With a number of flashlights trying to illuminate behind the furnace we were able to see that there were droplets of water on the wall of the bathroom fiberglass section that meets the kitchen countertops. We ran the shower and held it right in the front corner at the rear of the toilet to see if the leak started...water did start leaking however the water was also flowing over the toilet plumbing. We then flushed the toilet a few times...everything stayed dry, but when we lifted the toilet handle to fill the bowl, the water started dripping again.

We are now thinking that it is the plumbing line that goes to the toilet as this is where the water droplets were collecting and makes sense for it to run down through the fiberglass joints. 

These pictures dont tell too great of a story as it was pitch black outside when we were still investigating. Also, if there are certain angles that would be more helpful I can take more.

My main questions are:

-Has anyone experienced a similar leak?

-Any idea of cost of repair?

-Is it possible to move the furnace to check the lines, or is it better to leave that to the pros.

Thanks!!!

Here are the pictures:

Location of the leak showing the water droplet. 

This picture is a more over view of the area where it is leaking:

The top arrow is pointing to where if you look behind the furnace you can see water droplets (not many) on the wall. and the lower portion is pointing to where the water is dripping out. Of note...under the furnace and all around is totally dry...no pooling water that we can locate.

This picture is our bathroom showing where the "scratch/crack" is and the plumbing line we are now thinking is the culprit.

And finally a close up of the scratch/crack:

 

Hopefully I explained it well enough that someone may have advice.

Thanks!!

The Freshwaters

 

 

Dgf610029
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Joined: 04/29/2018 - 21:07
I’m so sorry. I wish I could

I’m so sorry. I wish I could be of help. Y'all are just the cutest family ever. Will share post details with my sewer dept friend. 

ELongest
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Shower fixture leak?

I doubt the floor crack is the issue but you can apply Capt Tolley crack sealer to the crack. (West Marine) The water lines are usually crimped at the connections which are usually reliable. The connections to the shower valve are threaded and are most likely to leak. If you close the input water valve to the water heater and relieve the pressure on the hot side,  you can tell if it is a hot or cold water leak. If it leaks it with the valve shut it is cold water leak. If it does not leak with the hot water pressure off it is a hot water leak and most likely a shower valve issue. 

You may be able to use an inspection camera to see the leak. If the shower valve connection is leaking the frig. or heater may have to be pulled to tighten the connection. Without actually seeing the trailer this is just a most likely guess where the leak is.

Eddie

Gordon2
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RE: LEAK

It is not clear to me if you have determined for sure that the leak is, or is not, from the shower pan. Perhaps it is water left over from your unintentional filling of the shower pan. You could mix water and food coloring in a bucket, then add the mix from the bucket to the shower pan (with pump off and stopper in place) and see if colored water shows up anywhere. However with an older Scamp you might well find that the wax seal under the black tank is bad so that shower water from the pan comes out the hole where the large black water drain pipe is.

Please let us know what type of piping is used, but for now I will assume it is PEX with crimp rings on fittings. I also assume your camp is layout #4. Scamp now uses a slightly different version of PEX pipe with a very different type of connection (Uponor expansion rings) but the important thing is that both of these are very reliable and unlikely to be the source of the leak. Damage to the pipe is also possible but unlikely.

What I would suspect is the connection to the shower valves. In my photos you can see that in 2015 they used the Uponor PEX with threaded adapter to a 90 degree elbow which is threaded onto the shower valves. The photos are inside the cabinet. In your case this view is hidden but I would guess it is the same except for crimp rings instead of the expansion rings (white rings on the red and blue pipe)

EDIT:  I assumed you had the stove by the bathroom but now I see what maybe is the fridge above the furnace.  If you have the stove next to the bathroom then the next two paragraphs apply.  If its a fridge instead, then not.

You might be able to see this connection well enough to see if it is leaking by removing the silverware drawer. Pull the drawer out until it stops, then push in the two black plastic tabs on the rails while pulling the drawer out completely. You might have to push the tabs, pull the drawer, and rock it back and forth a little, all at the same time. With the drawer out you might be able to inspect the connection better, but to repair it I expect you will need more access.

If it is confirmed the leak is at the threaded connection (with the elbows) at the back of the shower connection inside the cabinet, then I would proceed as follows (YMMV). Remove the top of the stove by removing the two knurled screws and the knobs, then lifting the top and putting it aside. On the bottom on the stove are some screws that go through the metal box into a piece of OSB or plywood that the silverware drawer rails are mounted to. It appears that you can remove the silverware drawer rails and this mounting board by removing these screws. In my rig these screws require a square drive bit. Once the drawer mounting hardware is out of the way you might have enough access through the drawer opening on the front of the cabinet to do the repair. If not, then I would next remove the stove (YMMV). To do so, verify gas is off (remove tank). Unscrew the flare nut on the gas line at the stove’s built in regulator. Drill out the rivets holding the stove to the cabinet, then lift it out while feeding the gas line so it does not bend or stretch. Once the silverware drawer and stove are removed you should have more than enough room to reach the shower connection through the area where the stove was.

At this point I would replace the shower valves (and wand) and the elbows. Perhaps the the threaded parts only need to be tightened but for the money I might just go with new parts. Off hand I do not know of thread tape or dope is supposed to be used on which parts so check the manufacture’s instructions. I suspect that it is used on the elbow to valves connection but not on the elbow to PEX side. Hopefully this will fix the leak. If the PEX to pipe thread screw-on adapter is bad then I think you need to cut the old one off and crimp on a new one. I would also suspect there is not enough slack to do that and reach the elbow / valves, so you would need to add a short length of PEX pipe, keeping in mind there is a minimum distance from crimps.

Keep in mind all of this is based on the way it was built in 2015.  YMMV

 

freshwaterfamily
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Thank You!

Wow!! Thank you so much for so much information!! We have decided to go ahead and have a professional look at it since it will most likely mean removing the furnace and possibly stove/oven combo to access everything. 

Thanks again for being so helpful!!

The Freshwaters

 

Stephen and Cameron Freshwater

Gordon2
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Leak

OIC now. the stove / oven.. that makes sense now, and likely complicates things.  Hope you let us know the outcome.

freshwaterfamily
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Outcome of fiberglass leak

We were able to remove the furnace with help from a knowledgeable friend. It came down to tightening the connection of the plumbing feeding the toilet and re caulking the interior portion of the plumbing inside the shower. So far no leaks!!! 

Lets hope it was actually that simple!

 

Stephen and Cameron Freshwater