87 Grand Villa - water & wet bay question.

Topic: 87 Grand Villa - water & wet bay question. (Read 1034 times) previous topic - next topic

87 Grand Villa - water & wet bay question.

October 17, 2017, 05:03:22 am

Water question: low flow (on cold) in my kitchen but haven't fired up the heater yet until I replace the propane regulators. The PO says the heater makes the flow better. Tried it on shore water with pump on and off resulting in zero difference. tried it on tank with pump on and still zero change. Any help?

Wet Bay question: what is the unit with the fan in the wet bay? Is that my bathroom pump? It's buzzing and warms the bay pretty good. BTW I get good pressure in the bathroom.

So much to learn!

Re: 87 Grand Villa - water & wet bay question.

Reply #1 – October 17, 2017, 08:10:04 am

Low flow: On a old coach, one probable cause is something plugged up with hard water deposits. Do you have a aerator on the kitchen faucet? If so, remove and clean it...see if that helps.

Also check to make sure your fresh water tank fill valve is fully closed. If it is open even a tiny bit, your water pressure in the coach will be greatly reduced. Not sure where the valve is located on your model coach. Perhaps in cabinet under the bathroom sink?

Water pump: Might be located in the passenger side end of the wet bay, somewhere around the the water heater? You should be able to hear it running when you use the water. Round, black cylinder with 2 water hoses attached. No fans involved. The "warm" buzzing thing with the fan sounds more like a battery charger or a converter, but these are not normally found in the wet bay. Look for some identifying label or decal to give you a clue.

Photo below of '93 U280 wet bay, passenger side. Water heater at top, black water pump at bottom. Yours probably won't be as pretty as mine - just replaced my pump before this photo, and cleaned up the bay.

Re: 87 Grand Villa - water & wet bay question.

Reply #2 – October 17, 2017, 08:10:31 am

Just a thought, do you have a second water filter under the sink in the kitchen? If it is needing replacement that would explain lower volume.

Len

Re: 87 Grand Villa - water & wet bay question.

Reply #3 – October 17, 2017, 09:29:32 am

Look under the couch for the pump. Check for pinched line .kink etc.
My water fill valve is next to the pass seat under the center cover. The far right valve is the tank dump ,the second from right is the fill valve. Thanks to the forum for this info..

Re: 87 Grand Villa - water & wet bay question.

Reply #4 – October 17, 2017, 09:57:20 am

There are widely variable layouts in FT's across years and coach length. My 1986 is virtually identical to a 1987, but the floorplan on your 40' coach may be quite different. In my GV, the water pump is located under the jackknife sofa (Hide-a-bed). The fresh water tank valve is located in a compartment that is cleverly hidden under the carpet at the step-up from the living room to the cockpit. The owner's manual showed the locations in the operating checklist section.
As for the buzzing device, I'll agree with Chuck about this being the converter/ battery charger. My OEM unit was noisy, and too warm. It also was very inefficient, lacked battery charge sensing capability, and weighed a metric ton. I replaced it with a "Smart" unit that is 1/5 the weight, and highly efficient. Not too expensive, either. One of the first upgrades you should look at.

Re: 87 Grand Villa - water & wet bay question.

Reply #5 – October 17, 2017, 10:02:59 am

Thanks, guys! Shows how much I know about '87 models. Should have waited for the experts to respond...

Re: 87 Grand Villa - water & wet bay question.

Reply #6 – October 17, 2017, 10:17:05 am

LOL.
Experts by way of bloody knuckles and depleted bank accounts.
If it wasn't for this forum, and Barry's Beamalarm site, I'd be flat broke and permanently bent into a pretzel shape.

Re: 87 Grand Villa - water & wet bay question.

Reply #7 – October 17, 2017, 11:21:14 am

Thank you all! Going to try all suggestions after it warms up today and I get 3-4 pots of coffee and I'll report back.

Inverter...that makes total sense, it hums only when I'm on shore power.

Re: 87 Grand Villa - water & wet bay question.

Reply #8 – October 17, 2017, 11:49:43 am

Quote from: Roaming pickers – October 17, 2017, 11:21:14 am

Inverter...that makes total sense, it hums only when I'm on shore power.

Often Confused Terminology:

Inverter: Electrical device that converts direct current (DC) to alternating current (AC). When you are NOT plugged in to shore power (or running the generator), this device allows your batteries to power devices that normally run on household AC.

Converter: Electrical device which converts alternating current (AC) to direct current (DC). When plugged in to shore power (or you are running generator), this device allows operation of your devices that normally run on battery power. This device can also function as a battery charger.

Battery Charger: A special type of "Converter" specifically designed to recharge 12 volt batteries.

Inverter/Charger: On most modern RVs, all three of the functions described above are combined into one "smart" device.

Re: 87 Grand Villa - water & wet bay question.

Reply #9 – October 17, 2017, 12:09:31 pm

Chuck,
Very nice job on the wet bay, water pump area....... You should open a RV repair facility in your spare time.....

We all could use someone who just likes to work on RV's , kind of a "non-profit" organization....

Re: 87 Grand Villa - water & wet bay question.

Reply #10 – October 17, 2017, 12:16:15 pm

I don't have any spare time - it is all spent messing with our coach. If it doesn't need something done, then I invent a "need" that simply must be addressed. ALL of my activities are most definitely non-profit. That's why I call it a "Hobby".

Re: 87 Grand Villa - water & wet bay question.

Reply #11 – October 17, 2017, 12:43:05 pm

Quote from: Roaming pickers – October 17, 2017, 11:21:14 am

Inverter...that makes total sense, it hums only when I'm on shore power.

Our coach had a "hum" when we bought her. After we took a power hit and replaced the ATS, no hum, and that was three years ago.

Re: 87 Grand Villa - water & wet bay question.

Reply #12 – October 17, 2017, 12:51:43 pm

Hi Chuck,

Amen...I love to do the maintenance and mods to my coach. Never an end to them. Wife thinks it keeps me out of trouble. Must be a motor coach addiction....its right in there with "male diesel envy". Though if the long list doesn't get you, the big CBs will.
Jim

2002 U320

Re: 87 Grand Villa - water & wet bay question.

Reply #13 – October 17, 2017, 01:30:54 pm

convertor/charger (only good for boiling batteries). here is the box with the cover open and on its way to the recycle place. I saved the pancake fan.

Re: 87 Grand Villa - water & wet bay question.

Reply #14 – October 17, 2017, 01:34:44 pm

roaming pickers - have you found the safe in the floor.

Re: 87 Grand Villa - water & wet bay question.

Reply #15 – October 17, 2017, 02:21:08 pm

If the silver unit is still in the wet bay and still plugged in it sure needs to be replaced with an updated converter charger as that thing will overcharge the bay

Re: 87 Grand Villa - water & wet bay question.

Reply #16 – October 18, 2017, 03:09:02 am

Yuppers on the safe. PO even had the combo, it's huge!

Re: 87 Grand Villa - water & wet bay question.

Reply #17 – October 18, 2017, 03:14:02 am

Thanks for all the input! I don't feel so overwhelmed now knowing I can tap into y'all knowledge. Need recommendations on new converter. Just one that will do for now, I'm not going to be adding solar anytime soon.

Re: 87 Grand Villa - water & wet bay question.

Reply #18 – October 18, 2017, 08:02:11 am

Quote from: Roaming pickers – October 18, 2017, 03:14:02 am

Need recommendations on new converter. Just one that will do for now, I'm not going to be adding solar anytime soon.

Russ,

As noted in Reply #8 above, you have to be very specific as to what you are looking for. What equipment do you have on your coach now? Do you now have a stand-alone inverter plus a separate converter/battery charger? The reason I ask is you also could have a stand-alone inverter plus both a converter and a separate battery charger. The older coaches came with both setups.

OR, if your coach was upgraded by a prior owner, you might have a single inverter/converter/battery charger all-in-one device.

It would also help to know what type and how many batteries you have - both sets. Once we know exactly what you are looking for, you will get some recommendations I am sure.

By the way, having or not having solar doesn't really matter when picking a battery charger. What does matter is that it has sufficient capacity to handle your battery setup, and that it has sufficient "smarts" to properly maintain your batteries. It doesn't pay to cheap out on a battery charger, or to just buy one "that will do". Get a good one - your batteries will thank you.

Re: 87 Grand Villa - water & wet bay question.

Reply #19 – October 18, 2017, 08:14:43 am

Inverter...that makes total sense, it hums only when I'm on shore power.
The hum you hear is probably the transfer switch.
Take and post some pictures of what you see in there.
We can identify and tell you what you have.
We also just like pictures so post some of your rig also.

Re: 87 Grand Villa - water & wet bay question.

Reply #20 – October 18, 2017, 03:12:31 pm

The original poster's coach did not come with an inverter only a combination converter -charger and they were pretty noisy. I think that progressive dynamics make converters with smart chargers. The coach would have originally came with wet cell 8d house batteries.

Re: 87 Grand Villa - water & wet bay question.

Reply #21 – October 18, 2017, 07:27:04 pm

Russ,

When we first purchased our coach, the two flooded 8D house batteries were being boiled by the converter/charger. I replaced the batteries with AGM 8Ds and replaced the old converter/charger with a 4-stage 75amp Boondocker from Best Converter. It always took proper care of our new AGM batteries, and the only reason I removed it was because we upgraded to a pure sine Magnum inverter/charger.

Randy is a good guy, and if you call him he will give you a honest opinion on what converter/charger unit will work best with your battery setup. He doesn't try to sell you stuff you don't really need, but he won't sell you junk either.

Boondocker Converters

Re: 87 Grand Villa - water & wet bay question.

Reply #22 – October 19, 2017, 09:31:24 pm

One of the first things I did was get the batteries replaced since the engine battery (that what I call it since the other one is called the coach battery) was bad. I did get maintenance free. I do check both batt levels a lot just to make sure i'm charged correctly. we're sitting for a month for family time and work. I've had to put the power issue on wait mode until I get the heat working, it's been cold here! I'm going to start another thread about some questions about the propane system. Thanks all!

Re: 87 Grand Villa - water & wet bay question.

Reply #23 – October 19, 2017, 10:30:51 pm

Oh BTW... Low flow in Kitchen solved! Aerator was the culprit. but I checked everything suggested just to make sure. And I found something else that intrigues me. There's a tank looking thing under the couch that looks make of PVC and has a single line of "fish tank" tube running to the cold with a shutoff on it. It's not the water filter, found that under the sink.. I'm guessing either something like an air bleed bladder or a way to put additives into the water.. Or, its a flux capacitor, I heard they were an option in 87.

Re: 87 Grand Villa - water & wet bay question.

Reply #24 – October 19, 2017, 10:43:25 pm

Russ,

That mystery tank under the couch might be serving as a water system accumulator tank (pressure tank). It is supposed to store a little water pressure so your pump doesn't cycle as often. Search the subject "pressure tank" for lots of threads on the subject. Here's a sample:

Water Pump Accumulator Tank

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