HELP 911

OneWagonHo · 04-29-2014, 07:43 PM

I just bought a used SMB with an outside shower that was never used. I tried turning the knob and it broke and is now leaking water and my water pump inside the van is running continuously. How can I turn it off before I run out of water and burn out my pump? Please help.

jage · 04-29-2014, 08:13 PM

Turn off the pump, there should be a switch for it under the sink ledge or something.

jage · 04-29-2014, 08:15 PM

Also it won't burn out. I ran mine for several hours cycling water and it was burning hot when I realized, but it's worked fine ever since.

carringb · 04-29-2014, 10:24 PM

Yup I had a friend tun on the trailers water pump during a drive through sub-zero Nevada. Water never came out so nobody noticed. When we got bak near sea level in Eugene, the water tank had thawed out and sometime during the drive emptied the entire water tank (35 gallons) into the kitchen sink, which of course had the drain plug in, which meant most of it just flooded the trailer. It must have been running for a good 15+ hours because most of the drive was through heavy snow.

**daveb** · 04-29-2014, 10:43 PM

Same here. I've had the pump run for hours and no problem. If we could only get other thing to run so good. But there is a point where damage or life expectancy factors in. Pull the fuse if necessary. Also some builds might have a valve to kill that water line.

OneWagonHo · 04-30-2014, 07:49 AM

Thanks everyone for the immediate help. I felt like a fool because all I had to do was hit the switch near the sink. I did not realize that switch and the outside shower were connected. I hadn't turned on the switch when I had opened the shower door and turned the facet. Obviously they are.

My problem now is that if I need to use my sink and turn on the pump switch. When I turn on the pump switch, it will pump water to the outside shower and through the broken facet knob. It seems like the one of the two facet knobs popped out of the facet fixture. Hopefully this will be an easy repair even though I don't plan on using that shower much if at all. I just need to resolve this issue so I can use the interior kitchen sink.

twogone · 04-30-2014, 08:00 AM

... and try not to cry wolf with "HELP 911" unless it is a 911 situation. Please and thanks

BogusBlake · 04-30-2014, 09:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by OneWagonHo

My problem now is that if I need to use my sink and turn on the pump switch. When I turn on the pump switch, it will pump water to the outside shower and through the broken facet knob. It seems like the one of the two facet knobs popped out of the facet fixture. Hopefully this will be an easy repair even though I don't plan on using that shower much if at all. I just need to resolve this issue so I can use the interior kitchen sink.

My 50-build has valves in the hot and cold lines going to the shower (in addition to the actual shower valve itself). They're under the bench seat. I can shut off the supply to the shower and still run the pump for the sink.

Look for more valves. While you're in there figuring stuff out, grab a sharpie and start labeling your water lines so you don't have to think in the heat of a future plumbing battle.

jage · 04-30-2014, 10:35 AM

If it's the hot knob and you have a suburban installed by SMB you might be able to use the water heater bypass valves to shut off the hot side of the line.

The bypass valves are the brass valves with the little tube between them at the face of the water heater. Turn both and water goes through the little tube line instead of into and out of the water heater. If you only turn one, I'm pretty sure that would cut off the hot water side of your system, in which case you can pressurize and use the cold side.

If it's the cold side... I think you're outta luck until you get the valve repaired, replaced or whatever.