Tuscany 45AT Shower water flow stopped!

mjdougherty · 01-13-2019, 07:05 AM

We have had our 2016 Thor Tuscany 45AT for almost three years. We've never had a problem with the shower before. Today we have normal flow to all sinks and faucets, toilets, dishwasher, everything BUT the shower.

The coach has been in storage for five months. We just took it out to go to Florida on January 11, 2019, and have been unable to get the shower to work. I thought it might be a frozen line, but it dribbles flow (hot or cold) and never improves (we let it dribble for 20-30 minutes).

Has anyone experienced this type of problem before? Is it possible that the hot & cold supply lines to the shower have gotten bent or pinched somehow?

Where would I begin looking for such a problem?

javelin · 01-13-2019, 01:47 PM

Just to be clear, did you remove the shower head and flex hose from the tap fixture to see what flow rate you get? If the bare taps flow well you likely have a spray head blockage. Usually they can be taken apart for inspection/cleaning.

javelin · 01-13-2019, 01:51 PM

I forgot to mention there could also be a screen washer in the flex line somewhere to prevent bits from getting into the shower head that also may need cleaning.

mjdougherty · 01-13-2019, 03:43 PM

I had disconnected the shower head to check for pluggage. None detected. I had also disconnected the hose from the wall connection. Nothing there either.

I wll try to attach a picture showing degree of flow (a trickle).

I am thinking the hose has gotten pinched or kinked somewhere between the water panel and the shower enclosure.

Maybe the shower valve assembly is defective.

How in the world do you replace that?

Is there an access panel to get in to the piping and valve assembly of the shower?

I don't know where to start looking.

TurnerFam · 01-13-2019, 03:51 PM

also, an easy check might be to see if you accidentally left your outside 'shower' hot or cold knob in the ON position, but with it's handle in the 'lock' or OFF mode. Some have experience strange things inside the coach when this is the case.

mjdougherty · 01-13-2019, 03:54 PM

See attached

mjdougherty · 01-13-2019, 09:48 PM

Okay I checked the external shower both faucets were closed off. That was not the problem.

I don't know if the water supply lines for the shower go blow the bed or across the back under the Wardrobe closet.

This is not going to be easy to fix.

ComputerChips · 01-13-2019, 10:56 PM

Is your shower in a section that is in the slide? Perhaps a kink has occurred where the flexible lines have to bend.

javelin · 01-14-2019, 02:00 AM

Seems strange that a coach coming out of storage, which has never had a problem (especially just prior to last storage.....but also since 2016) with the shower water pressure before, should suddenly have shower flow issues (both hot and cold). So I am just speculating here.....pipe kinking of both hot and cold feeds is possible.....but it has never been an issue before. I would lean to freezing, but once the coach is heated and hot water is also flowing this should not be an issue after some thaw time (assuming the pex has not split and is leaking on both lines).....plus no other water fixtures in the coach are having problems.
So the only other common point seems to be the shower valve itself. Possibly some plastic drilling debris has found its way into the shower valve such that both hot and cold flows are blocked at the valve output ? Would it be possible to open the shower control valve and remove the cartridge temporarily and then run the water for a few seconds to see if any blockage material comes through or if any normal flow results. Of course this could be messy so run the water pump only for a short time; towels at the ready. Can’t suggest anything else but will be curious to find out the final solution.

mjdougherty · 01-14-2019, 07:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ComputerChips

Is your shower in a section that is in the slide? Perhaps a kink has occurred where the flexible lines have to bend.

No, the shower is in the rear of the coach, just behind the bedroom slide out.

mjdougherty · 01-14-2019, 07:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by javelin

Seems strange that a coach coming out of storage, which has never had a problem (especially just prior to last storage.....but also since 2016) with the shower water pressure before, should suddenly have shower flow issues (both hot and cold). So I am just speculating here.....pipe kinking of both hot and cold feeds is possible.....but it has never been an issue before. I would lean to freezing, but once the coach is heated and hot water is also flowing this should not be an issue after some thaw time (assuming the pex has not split and is leaking on both lines).....plus no other water fixtures in the coach are having problems.
So the only other common point seems to be the shower valve itself. Possibly some plastic drilling debris has found its way into the shower valve such that both hot and cold flows are blocked at the valve output ? Would it be possible to open the shower control valve and remove the cartridge temporarily and then run the water for a few seconds to see if any blockage material comes through or if any normal flow results. Of course this could be messy so run the water pump only for a short time; towels at the ready. Can’t suggest anything else but will be curious to find out the final solution.

I'm not sure if I can take the faucet/valve apart to inspect internals ... I will give it a try. If it works it would be a better solution than what the factory suggested ... cutting a panel out of the bedroom wall to allow removal of the current valve and replacing it with a new one (from Home Depot or some other hardware store). That would be a messy procedure, to be sure. I am concerned about dropping something inside the "hidden cavity" that would then require opening up the wall to retrieve it. I'll let you know if I am able to solve the problem this way.

mjdougherty · 01-16-2019, 09:46 PM

I turned off the water source, removed the shower valve and disassembled it, looking for evidence of pluggage.

It turned out that the two poppet valves (on either side of the cartridge) were locked up due to mineral buildup. See attached photo, red circles on poppet valves.

I cleaned up the poppet valve plungers, applied some silicon grease, made sure they moved in/out freely, and reassembled the valves.

When I reapplied water pressure, there were no leaks. Everything looked good.

The shower now runs properly.

NOTE. If you ever store your motorhome in a heated warehouse for more than a couple months, this could be a problem for you. We use a softener at all times, which made me think we'd be safe from this type of problem. Might be the salt in the softened water that caused the buildup.

javelin · 01-17-2019, 01:08 AM

Congrats on clearing your problem. Did you have issues getting the valve body out and then back into the shower wall access space? I assume once the cover plate came off you would have enough front access to complete your fix? Good job.

mjdougherty · 01-17-2019, 01:33 AM

Yeah, it was no picnic getting that valve out. Had to stick both hands inside the 4 inch hole to reconnect the water lines. It was pretty much a blind operation.

Had to switch gaskets because I dropped the original ones inside the wall. I soaked the valve body in CLR to remove any buildup that I could not see. The sticky poppet valves did not look dirty, but they would not move freely, requiring the application of silicone grease.

It sure was nice to take a long hot shower after I finished with the repair 😁

cmore · 01-26-2019, 09:40 PM

Thanks for sharing your fix.

Glensouth · 01-27-2019, 01:16 PM

Had the same problem with an Eagle I had. I had to rebuild the faucet because it had so much minerals built up in it. I soaked the shower head in CLR that helped some but didn’t cure the problem. Good luck!

lwmcguire · 01-29-2019, 08:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mjdougherty

Yeah, it was no picnic getting that valve out. Had to stick both hands inside the 4 inch hole to reconnect the water lines. It was pretty much a blind operation.

Had to switch gaskets because I dropped the original ones inside the wall. I soaked the valve body in CLR to remove any buildup that I could not see. The sticky poppet valves did not look dirty, but they would not move freely, requiring the application of silicone grease.

It sure was nice to take a long hot shower after I finished with the repair [emoji16]

Thanks for the update , glad you got it going

Your softener may need to be regenerated more often due to higher hardness in the supply, or could be a flow or timing issue

Accidizng the Aquahot might be in order if you have had very high hardness in the water supply and it got by the softener

If you have plenty of hot warm and it sounds like you do then it must be intermittent hardnesd

You can drop some HCl on minerals, if they effervese then it is calcium carbonate and other hardness ions

Salt us soluble in water so most likely not what clogged the faucet

Ran into the same deal using high hardness well water

Currently I use a 75 GPS ro and fill the tank when the supply water is over 400 ppm or so hardness

Takes time but works well

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