Kitchen water pressure

[Frank]

Same issue here, pressure is great in bath but not so much at kitchen sink. Does not sound as bad as AbdRahim. May add that to our list for May visit to the Mothership........

Recently found window pane separation and also the foam seal where the slide contacts the wall when open (on the inside of the coach) is not stuck onto the slide. The sticky tape is not working....

Will advise if I get the water fixed at Newmar...

Good Luck

 

[AbdRahim]

Same issue here, pressure is great in bath but not so much at kitchen sink. Does not sound as bad as AbdRahim. May add that to our list for May visit to the Mothership........

Recently found window pane separation and also the foam seal where the slide contacts the wall when open (on the inside of the coach) is not stuck onto the slide. The sticky tape is not working....

Will advise if I get the water fixed at Newmar...

Good Luck

Maybe I will see you at headquarters?

 

[TJ&LadyDi]

Water "pressure" and "flow" are often confused. I'm guessing that what we are really talking about here is "flow;" the amount of water coming out of the faucet.

Have you checked the inputs and outputs of the kitchen faucet for a flow restrictor? These are fairly common and are usually a small disk with a hole in it that is inserted somewhere in the line. It might even be found in the hose fitting that connects to the water supply. And, sometimes, small diameter hoses are used for the same purpose. Finally, hoses have been known to fail internally, restricting flow. The failed hose scenario is unlikely here if the flow is poor on both hot and cold sides.

I suggest checking the flow where the water supply enters the cabinet housing the sink. To do this without creating a mess requires a little pre-planning. Obtain a gallon jug or similar transparent container, and a 1/2" hose with a fitting that will connect to the water supply input. The 1/2" hose will match the diameter of the supply piping used in most RVs and won't create a restriction.

With the test hose connected (first to the cold side, then to the hot side) and the other end in the container, open the appropriate supply valve and observe how much water flows into the jug. It shouldn't take long to determine whether the flow is more than what was coming out of the sink faucet.

If the flow is good in this test, then check the inputs of the kitchen faucet for restrictions. Connect the 1/2" hose to the faucet inputs, remove the aerator and observe flow again. If flow is still poor, you will need to move farther back in the supply system to check for restrictions. Is there a shut-off valve somewhere that is only partially open? Some water systems have extra valves positioned to help when draining the system for winterizing.

Water flow issues can sometimes be challenging to track down, but an orderly approach can help.

We have replaced all of the faucets in our coach with quality, name brand (Moen and Delta) fixtures, and have observed better flow in all cases. I suspect that some of the faucets used in RVs are simply low-quality fixtures and subject to flow restrictions due to shoddy construction. That's just a personal opinon, but has been validated for us over the years by actual performance.

TJ

 

[AbdRahim]

Be careful with Men and Delta. I guess one has to define high end. I bought what I thought was a decent Moen faucet (~ $100) for the kitchen in the S & B. Ten years later, I find it is just plain metal with chrome colored paint which is now flaking off and looking terrible.

 

[AbdRahim]

TJ, I believe it is pressure. I measured the pressure at the faucet at one campground - 60 psi static (faucets off) - 20 psi when a faucet is opened. On the onboard pump, I have good pressure everywhere, even in the kitchen. I almost bought an expensive faucet ~$200, but then realized that won't change the pressure. I think the internal pump maintains the 60 psi even when a faucet is opened.

This is evidenced in the clothes washer, as well. Sometimes on the city water there is not enough pressure to empty the fabric softener compartment. This is never a problem on the internal pump.

 

[TJ&LadyDi]

Certainly, there is a relationship between flow and velocity, but it is not linear. Doubling the pressure does not double the flow, however; it is a square root increase. It appears that you are in a long-term stay at a location where static water pressure is 60 psi but dynamic pressure is only 20 psi. That said, the fact that you are only having issues with the kitchen sink indicates that the problem is localized in that branch of the coach water system.

While friction does play a role in water flow, it has little effect on pressure. You can test this with a pressure gauge. Connect the gauge to the hose that feeds the cold water side of the kitchen faucet. You will need to have an appropriate adapter, of course. The fact that the kitchen faucet is the farthest from the coach water inlet likely won't reduce "pressure" but can affect flow due to increased friction. I'm betting that the "static pressure" at the kitchen faucet will be pretty close to what it is at the park tap.

That brings us back to flow. When you open the kitchen faucet, the static pressure (aka head pressure) is quickly released and flow decreases. So, apparently, there is some kind of restriction in the kitchen faucet branch of the water system since other faucets in the coach have better flow. You can test this by timing the filling of a container such as a quart jar, bowl, etc. Fill the container at the different faucets in the coach and record the fill time. Again, I am guessing that the kitchen faucet will have the slowest fill time. That's because of reduced flow, not pressure.

Have you checked the diameter of the hose connecting the kitchen faucet to the supply? I have seen some tiny (1/4" ID) hoses used in RVs. That creates a restriction from the 1/2" piping commonly used in RVs.

Good luck.

TJ

 

[AbdRahim]

The I.D. of the hose must be 1/4 inch. It sure did not look like 1/2 in. I did not measure it, but my first impression was that it was small.
Just looked at the kitchen sink in the S&B. The outside diameter of that feed is only 1/2 in., so the inside must be 1/4 in.

Well since I see several are having this problem, I will let Newmar sort it out. That is my first destination when things thaw out in the spring.

 

[Rob]

Still learning this coach. Anyone with a BayStar have low water pressure at the kitchen sink? Even at initial or static (Park pressure) 55 psi, the kitchen sink faucet fully open runs about pencil thickness of the water stream. I know most modern faucets have resrictors in the faucet tip. This one seems to be in the hose that the sprayer attaches to. Has anyone been able to remove it to get strong water pressure in the kitchen?

We have a Bay Star with the same problem. Low pressure at the kitchen sink. All other faucets are fine. It's frustrating.

 

[Steve W.]

We have a Bay Star with the same problem. Low pressure at the kitchen sink. All other faucets are fine. It's frustrating.

Same issue here. My dealer had Newmar send me a replacement faucet. Swapped it out with no change. It is just the way that particular faucet is made. Solution is to swap it out with a standard residential faucet.

 

[AbdRahim]

T

Same issue here. My dealer had Newmar send me a replacement faucet. Swapped it out with no change. It is just the way that particular faucet is made. Solution is to swap it out with a standard residential faucet.

Did that solve the issue? Pressure is not bad with the pump. Visit to mothership coming up, so I will see what they say.Pehaps I will swap it out if they can’t correct it.

 

[AbdRahim]

Anyone solve this yet?

 

[MapNerd]

Might it be possible that the length of the run to the kitchen is just the longest run in the house and perhaps the pump is undersized? This would be evident if pressure is initially good for a second or two but then quickly drops off as the waterpump is unable to maintain pressure on that line.

 

[AbdRahim]

Yes, it is at the end of the run. Pressure is better with the pump, which maintains 60 psi, even when a faucet is open. City water pressure drops in many places when a faucet is opened.

Looking at the price of high quality high flow faucets, these days ($250–$400, I am hesitant to buy one and change it out to find that there is not much difference.

The newer faucets seem to be continually reducing the flow. No we are down to 1.5 gpm, for most. So, if someone has found a solution, I would tend to try that before, making a large expenditure.