Replacing The City Water Inlet Connection

Replacing the “city water” inlet connection. When I winterized our Casita last December I blew the check valve o-ring on the city water connection inlet. I thought air pressure in the water system - pipes and water heater - was relieved after I finished blowing out the water system, but nope. There was still a little pressure in the system — probably in the water heater that pressurized the pipes when I opened the water heater bypass valve, after closing all the faucet valves. When I depressed the city water check valve stem one last time to make sure the last bit of water was drained, the pressure release unseated the check valve o-ring.

That check value has an O-ring at the inside end of the spring loaded valve stem. The O-ring is what seals the inlet valve so water doesn’t pour out  when the water hose isn’t connected and pump is on. I mention this to warn others off of making this dumb mistake while winterizing or sanitizing your camper water system.

One of the projects I completed to ready our FD for this camping year was to replace the city water inlet connection.

I ordered a new connection fitting from “The Little House of Customs’ online store for $29. Larry includes a sheet of instructions for removing the old connection fitting and installing the new fitting, plus new rivets.

The photo shows the old original equipment brass connection I removed along side the new connection fitting. The city water connection screws into a galvanized 90 degree elbow just inside the shell wall. The white flange around the connection is riveted onto the exterior shell wall.

The galvanized elbow, connected to a blue plastic water pipe, visible in one of the photos, is found under the utilities raceway chase behind the captain’s chairs in Freedom models.

The chase is removed by pulling back the top and bottom edges of the carpet covering the chase just enough to locate and remove screws fastening it down. The carpet is rubber cemented to the molded fiberglass chase.

In Liberty models, the 90 degree elbow is found under the slant board at the back of the kitchen cabinet. In Spirit models, the elbow is found at the back of the forward dinette bench seat.

Remove the old city connection fitting:

1. Use a 3/16” drill bit to drill out the heads of the rivets that attach the white flange to the shell wall. Drill the mandrel (stem) end of the rivet from the outside. Drill with very light pressure just deep enough for the lip of rivet around the stem to pop off - takes about 5 seconds or less with a sharp bit. Push the rivets to the inside through their holes in the shell.

2. Pull the fitting out from the wall through the shell hole just a bit, just enough, to very carefully use a utility knife to slice through just the plastic flange around the old fitting so it can be removed from the fitting. (I screwed an old garden hose into the old connection to grip to pull the fitting away from the shell while using the utility knife.) With the flange removed, I found a massive glob of hard silicone caulking surrounding the old fitting and filling the hole through the shell. I cut and dug out the old silicone caulk.
3. With the old caulk removed, it’s possible to put a wrench on the old connection fitting 1” hex shaped nut from the outside. Lacking a 1” box end wrench, I used a crescent (spanner) wrench.
4. This is a two person project: On the inside, someone must firmly hold the 90 elbow fitting so it does not turn or wrist as the outside person turns the connection fitting hex nut counter clockwise to remove it. To firmly hold the elbow, I used vise grip pliers. (If the elbow is allowed to turn or twist, the plastic pipe connected to it could crack or break.)
Install the new city connection fitting:

1. I wrapped teflon pipe tape around the threads of the new connection fitting and, from the out side, treaded it clockwise into the elbow on the inside.
2. Dorrie held the vise grips on the inside to hold the elbow firmly as I tighten the connection fitting from the outside.
3. I connected the water hose to the new city connection and turned on the water to pressure test the new connection - for a full day. No leak around the connection fitting threads.
4. Holding the connection out from the shell a bit, I caulked inside the flange round the outside edge. Lining up the rivet holes on the fitting flange with the holes in the shell, press the flange to the shell wall and insert rivets through the holes. Use the rivet gun to set each rivet. Last, run a thin bead of caulk around the outside flange edge where it meets the shell wall.
5. In our FD, I reattached the utility chase.
As projects go, this was a relatively easy project to complete. Removing and replacing screws fastening down the utility chase was the only slightly annoying part of the job.

This content is offered for educational purposes only and not intended to replace manuals or instructions provided by the manufacturer or the advice of a qualified professional. No warranty or appropriateness for a specific purpose is expressed or implied.