pnichols
Santa Cruz Mountains
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Joined: 04/26/2005
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My Itasca Class C shower head came with a convenient one-finger-operated rotation valve right on the shower head, so we just turn it on/off easily as needed. After turning the water off when you soap down then turning it back on with your finger, the water comes right back on very close to it's mixed temperature setting as set initially by the two separate valves on the wall .... I'm not sure I understand what you mean by no master on/off valves being on RV shower heads.
BTW, we have found that it's best to always start adjustment of your shower temperature with the hot water valve on full, and then just modulate to your desired temperature by adjusting the cold water wall valve. This makes it simpler by adjusting temperature via using only one wall valve to set it.
Some boondock RV folks also install an extra 3-way valve on the shower wall, with the necessary tubing lines, that is used to temporarily bypass the water from the shower's hot water line coming from the hot water tank (which may be some distance away) back to the freshwater tank for a few seconds until it becomes hot, thus saving this warmup water instead of having it being wasted into the grey water tank each time you take a shower.
Phil, 2005 E450 Itasca 324V Spirit
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bill h
el segundo
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Joined: 08/02/2001
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professor95 wrote:
It may not be possible to install check valves at the shower water feed lines on other makes or models of RVs due to restricted space or access.
Yeah, they're pretty big. My space was tighter, so I used THESE.. Pretty compact.
Bill and Susan
84 Barth 30 tag powered by ht502/Thorley, Gear Vendors OD
Siamese Calvin and Airedale Hobbes
4WD Toyota toad
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Hurricaner
Hurricane Utah
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Joined: 02/17/2007
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Both my RVs have had dribble shut offs on the shower head. In other words it never shuts completely off, I have never had a problem with getting blasted with hot or cold water with the dribble shut off. The problem with check valves is sooner or later they will fail.
Sam
Sam & Kari
Hurricane, Utah
2004 34' Damon Challenger 315
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professor95
Mechanicsville, VA
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Joined: 10/03/2004
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bill h wrote:professor95 wrote:
It may not be possible to install check valves at the shower water feed lines on other makes or models of RVs due to restricted space or access.
Yeah, they're pretty big. My space was tighter, so I used THESE.. Pretty compact.
Yes, I found those today at the RV dealership I frequent. I just never thought to look for them there  . The units I looked at were Camco, about the same price and a whole lot smaller than what I used.
Professor Randy T. Agee & Nancy Agee, Mechanicsville, VA
2009 Cedar Creek 34SATS 5th Wheel - GMC 3500 dually
Generator Collection: Champion 40008 - ELM3000 - Kipor 2000Ti - Kawasaki 1400 - Champion 7,800W LPG (Home Back Up)
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professor95
Mechanicsville, VA
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Joined: 10/03/2004
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Hurricaner wrote: The problem with check valves is sooner or later they will fail.
Sam
Yep, just like tires, bearings, hoses, fan belts, brake linings, my teeth, eyes, hearing and memory.
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professor95
Mechanicsville, VA
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pnichols wrote:.... I'm not sure I understand what you mean by no master on/off valves being on RV shower heads.
Did I say that? Hummm..... well,some RVs do not have the shut off on the shower head when they come from the factory - you must switch the old one out for a head with a cut off or add an inline cut off valve between the hose and shower head. Sometimes folks decide the original camper shower head is not fancy enough and pick up one of those pulse-spray-rotary jobs at Wal-Mart. Those heads do not come with a shut off like RV shower heads so you either let the water run or put on the small accessory shut off valve. Some folks don't really care and do fine with one that does not cut off. Then, others like me have always used a cut-off head.
This is kind of interesting. I am learning more about how fellow campers take showers. Really! Some do just like they do at home, others save every drop they can. When we have a full hookup in the summer, long showers are OK with the 10 gallon propane/electric tank. If we do not have a sewer hookup and depend on the holding tanks, showers get shorter. When we go to the mountains and have no hook-ups and draw from our freshwater tank, use the batteries to run the water pump and of course fill the holding tanks - we take really short showers if we are there more than a few days. The only one in our family that ever complained was my then 14 year old daughter - she needed to empty a 50 gallon water heater at home to get all the soap out of her hair (or so she thought). Washing and rinsing on less than 2 gallons when camping was a real challenge for her.
Of our recent campers, the '97 Mallard had a 21 gallon fresh water tank under the couch and one 40 gallon grey. The '02 Prowler LS increased the fresh water to 30 gallons and still had a single 40 gallon grey tank. The '05 Prowler Regal had a 35 gallon fresh water tank, a 40 gallon bath tank and a 20 gallon galley tank. All of these units had a 6 gallon water heater. Our current Forest River 5th wheel has a 75 gallon fresh water tank and two 40 gallon grey tanks along with a 10 gallon water heater. The extra FW and GW capacity really make dry camping much more pleasurable. We can now at least flush the potty when we pee without feeling wasteful.
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hasheel
Durham,NC
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Joined: 01/10/2004
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What about winterizing? How do you drain the area?
2008 Tioga Ranger 31 W
02 Suzuki XL-7 toad
BrakeBuddy
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RJsfishin
Winston Or.
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Joined: 10/16/2007
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I didn't misunderstand when I made my earlier post.
But Sam said it much better,...in that he mentioned the dribble shutoff that all 3 of my RVs have had also.
Again, w/ this type of shutoff, I too have never had the hot/cold problem that seems to be common in some RVs. And changing the shower head to the dribble type, would seem a much easier, faster, and less expensive way to solve the problem.
Hurricaner wrote:Both my RVs have had dribble shut offs on the shower head. In other words it never shuts completely off, I have never had a problem with getting blasted with hot or cold water with the dribble shut off. The problem with check valves is sooner or later they will fail.
Sam
Rich
'98 Flair, 454, Onan Microlite 4k, Intel PD 9155 w/ wizard, Sta-power 1500 watt Inv, 2 6v batts, ammeters, KingDome/sat, Oly Catalytic Heat, hauling 2 Bent Bikes and sometimes towing a Tracker F&S boat.
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SageCrispin
Tully, NY
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Joined: 05/21/2008
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Thanks for the post....
I also have the "dribble" shut off and I get HOT HOT water when I turn it back on-even if it is off for just a few seconds. Installing that type of head is NOT always a solution.
Check valves are now on the (almost)top of my to-do list.
Thanks, I really needed something else to do....
Sage
I can only be in just so many places at one time.
Damon Challenger.
Chevy Tracker toad.
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professor95
Mechanicsville, VA
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Joined: 10/03/2004
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hasheel wrote:What about winterizing? How do you drain the area?
You have 2.5 choices. #1 is to push in the collars on the slip on PEX fittings and disconnect them (easy). #2 is to just pump the upper lines full of pink antifreeze, forcing the water out. #2.5 is to use a blow out valve - not all, but most of the water above the check valve should be blown out. This is why I rate it only 1/2 of a choice.
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