Water piping disintegrating!

Thank you Phil....your reply agrees with the information I have so far, the constant thermal expansion and contraction being the cause.
And yes I have carried short sections of hose and the necessary fitting's for repairs for some time but never did I realize that some day the entire hot water hose system would need replacing!
While it will be relativity easy to take out much of the old and replace with the new my concern lies with some areas that will not be easy...I speak of course of where the hot water hose runs from under the van and up to the shower....in between the fibre-glass and wall, access to the the hose there may require removal of the shower cubicle, not cheap!

I guess I am fortunate that the issue has been discovered before any major damage has been done.
Woe is me.

Paul

Hi Sundowner

I was lucky enough to have a vent fitted close to the shower plumbing which allowed access to replace the hot water line. Tight fit but saved major repair job.

Here is another theory - RED is the first colour to fade in paint, perhaps it may apply in plastics as well??

Regards - Phil

Mikeee5, I dont believe there are any chemicals in exhaust emission gases that could have an adverse reaction to polymer, and my Triton that the exhaust pipe exit on the off side, the crook hose is on the near side....thank you for your input anyway
Cheers
Paul

G'day Jim, yes I have considered that and I understand the professional repairs use similar ideas....it is possible to join the old and new hoses together and gingerly feed them through...I see today that where the shower tap combo fits to the wall in the shower cubicle it is on a panel, with 4 screws..removing this will likely help...and this spot was my biggest concern..removing the shower itself to get to the hose would probably cost more than the van is worth.
If you care to read the responses to this issue below you will see how it has finished up

Thank you for your response.

Paul
Lockyer Valley
Queensland

Allan, thank you for your response, Can I say that responses like yours, and others, is testament to just how useful these forums can be.

This morning I spent some time under the van, flashlight in hand.
The cold hoses are black in color, not blue as I may have said. The hot water, where it enters and exits the HWS (Suburban) is white..under the van the white hose becomes red.
Once my initial shock, where my first thoughts were to simply sell it for whatever I could has passed I have been looking at the practicalities...as I mentioned my biggest fear was should the damage that would result if a leak developed behind a wall, or worse between the wall and the shower cubicle...looking today I see that the shower combination tap actually sits on a panel about 200 x 100 mm and held there by four screws, I am sure that once that panel is removed I would have a chance of feeding new hose up from under the floor which is directly below and only around one meter away.
Having said all that I did go over the underfloor red hose, from the HWS all the way to the rear and I was unable to find any of the cracking visible in my photo. The cracking seems to be restricted to a shortish section...maybe 2 meters in length as it runs across and secured to a chassis rail and between to John Guest connectors.
The ensuite hand basin combo tap, and the galley sink both have short lengths of the red hose coming up from the floor and connected to typical reinforced flexible hoses, they too should be easy to replace the red hose.
I note too that the little red clips that secure the John Guest connectors, designed to prevent inadvertent disconnection, despite costin a few cents each are not present anywhere in this Jayco...I am very aware of the strange things that vibrations can do, especially on Western Queensland corrugations!
Thanks again.
Paul

Paul,
You say…."The cracking seems to be restricted to a shortish section...maybe 2 meters in length as it runs across and secured to a chassis rail and between to John Guest connectors."
Could it be that hose has been replaced at some time and an inferior grade product fitted? If so then simply replacing it with quality LLDPE black hose may be your solution.
Unless you detect weakness in hoses within the walls od the van it would seem un-necessary to replace these. If you do attempt to replace any hoses within the walls you would be wise to heed my earlier recommendation of not pulling out the old hose unless the new one is attached to it. The hoses are normally installed before the linings are fitted and frequently routed through holes in the frame. Once the old hose is removed it can be difficult to thread the new hose through holes that are not directly lined up. I suggest that the new hose is joined to the old hose using a JG straight connector and a lock clip or taping over the release ring as it can easily be depressed while dragging the connector through a frame hole.

Hi PerterInSa,

What benefit do you think turning the “shore power off” when away from the van is going to have? If anything, it could see your batteries not being charged. The water pump in your van is powered by the vans internal 12 volt system. When you store your van after a trip, is it connected to a 240 volt external mains supply?

Macca.

Unless parked up and not using the vehicle, we never turn the water pumps off.
At night there is a requirement for water at the toilet and hand basin.
While travelling it provides water for putting out fires. We have an outside tap with QC and a nearby hose. Water is the only way to put out spinifex fires.
It does create a risk in the event of a hose break while driving, but we do have multiple tanks.

If night-time pump chirping is an issue, then my habit is to fix the problem, not camouflage it.
Our pumps are mounted outside and are very quiet, so the bigger risk is when a tank is empty and a pump runs continuously and is not noticed. I have overcome that by having a LED come on next to the sink to show that a pump is running.

The new build will have the water switch in a more easily accessible location for night isolation, but the travelling isolation would require a 2 way switch..... Easily done, but need to think about that one.
Cheers,
Peter
OKA196 motorhome

.
Hi Peter,
My habit has been to leave the water pump on at all times except during storage. recent events have caused me to reconsider that.
1) Several weeks ago the poly line from the water mains to our house meter ruptured but was quickly noticed and caused no damage other than a crater in the garden until the water supply authority repaired it.
2) More recently we returned from a week away from home to find water on the kitchen floor. A braided hose to the sink mixer had a pinhole leak. Luckily, it was limited flow and appeared to have occurred shortly before our return and no permanent damage occurred. But it may have been a different story if our holiday had been for a longer period.
3) Several months ago a couple of our friends came home from an extended vacation to find their entire home flooded. A water connection within the kitchen cabinet had incurred a major rupture. Extensive structural damage had occurred. They needed to evacuate their home for months and now it has been found so substantial that the insurers are considering demolishing the house.
4) Some years ago my sister incurred significant house damage due to a water leakage in the ceiling during their absence. It was an interesting fault but I won't detail it here.

So I have now resolved to turn off the van pump when vacating. There is an accessible switch that isolates the pump and the supply to the LPG HWS. Incidentally, that switch was provided in order to be able to isolate the pump in the event of an exhausted water supply as the pump would continue to run continually. Shutting off the LPG may also be considered but not quite a simple as flicking a switch at the exit door.

And in the home, I think that I will turn off the water at the meter whenever we leave for more than a couple of days. The electrical power needs to remain on for refrigeration but is less risk due to the RCD protection.