quote:

Originally posted by Rusty:
Water Tank: There should be two external fittings for water; both should have standard female hose fittings. One is for the tank, the other is for constant srvice (bypassing the tank and water pump).

Toggle switches:

Above the driver's seat: This is the usual place for the engine block heater switch; customarily this will have an indicator light. It's odd that it operates a fan in the water compartment.

Above the door: This could be the electric water heater, the heat blanket for the water tank, or even the engine block heater.

Water service compartment heater: This is probably 120 VAC (certain if it's plugged into a standard duplex outlet). It will operate on the highway if the generator's running if it's 120 VAC.

Photos would help.

Thanks Rusty. There is just one female water fitting. It's inside a chrome surround that says "Water Pressure Regulator" on it. So I assume that the coach is protected from pressure surges and this must be the only water inlet. What do you think?

There is one standard water spigot (with standard male fitting) inside a small compartment door. Do you think that is to drain the system (maybe for watering the grass, washing the coach or flushing off the sewage pipe :<)).

I cannot find an engine block heater to save my life (except for the Onan engine). There is an Aux switch on the dash. According to what I read on barthmobile, this uses the house battery for main engine preheat. That would be weird.

Here's the deal on the blower in the water pump compartment: The blower draws heat through a flex duct from the cabin floor beneath the couch. Maybe the idea is to use this heat source for the water compartment while under way.

As I said, the water compartment also has a fan-type 120VAC electric heater that is plugged into a thermostat receptacle.

I will post photos in the next day or two.

Pictures if you will. This helps in identifying your issues & they are great to reference later. May help others with their problems too.
Tere

quote:

There is just one female water fitting.

quote:

There is just one female water fitting.

there may be a fitting on the curb side for filling the water tank.

I am interested in what that spigot is for also. I had one in Barth I and also have one in Barth II. Both are located in the compartment where the waste tank release valves are. Could never get either to actually run water under any condition....

Anybody know what that spigot is for and how it works???

quote:

Originally posted by Bruce & Kathleen:
Anybody know what that spigot is for and how it works???

A friend who has an Airstream trailer says it is just an outside hose bib. I think that is what mine is also, behind the little single-purpose compartment door.

That spigot allows you to connect cold water to the flush connection on your waste water tank, and you can also use it as an outside shower, etc., etc. You must have the pump switch on, or be connected to city water. If it does not flow it is probably stopped up. It is just a normal hose bib available at Home Depot. It is connected by a plastic connection behind the compartment wall. It can be reached from under the coach.

Thanks Tom. So that means if I hook a water line to the spigot I can back flush my black and grey tanks without running water in the sinks-toilet-shower inside to fill them up?

Yes, but there is one more benefit. The black water tank has a hose connection near the top that connects to a wand inside the tank. The wand has small holes to create jets that wash the sensors that are attached to the walls and this flush cleans them of residue. I use it each time we dump and our sensors seem to be working well. Before discovering this we had to fill the tank and add septic "bugs" and let them work for several weeks to consume the "stuff".

Tom,
Is this set up just in Regency's or all Barths that have that available spigot?

quote:

Originally posted by Tom K:
The black water tank has a hose connection near the top that connects to a wand inside the tank. The wand has small holes to create jets that wash the sensors that are attached to the walls and this flush cleans them of residue. I use it each time we dump and our sensors seem to be working well. Before discovering this we had to fill the tank and add septic "bugs" and let them work for several weeks to consume the "stuff".

I used to do that, too, but now we haven't flushed or rinsed for over 10 years, thanks to Happy Camper. Don't know if it's bugs or a chemical, but it really breaks everything down. Sensors are always operational, and the 3/8 clear vinyl tube I use as a level gauge is never blocked, either. Right now, we use a blue boy and dump through the garden hose port in the cap into the 3" septic pipe. Everything is totally liquified and goes right down.

As soon as the inspectors clear out, I will construct a proper RV dump with 4" pipe and a little concrete around it.

It doesn't seem to work as well down into the teens, though. I think whatever chemical or microbe action it is doesn't like cold.

Where are my house batteries?

The only batteries I can locate are the two large ones in the rear engine compartment. One is for the Cummins drive engine and the other (which I just replaced) is for the Onan generator engine.

There are no other batteries in any of the below-decks compartments and none in any of the cabin cabinets.

Based on discussion threads here about house batteries, I got the impression that there should be golf cart batteries or similar tucked away somewhere.

Battery power seems fine for 12v lights, fans, etc., when the engines are shut down and the coach is off shore power.

I feel like I'm on a snipe hunt.

Thanks.

I like the analogy to the snipe hunt. Because the Barths vary so widely it is often a "let's go find what is acting up, figure out what's wrong and fix it." You don't always know exactly what you're looking for!

The good news is that if you look around enough, you'll learn all the systems. Then you become the master of the rig and you can share what you found on the site! You'll be surprised how much you can learn from the rig and the site. Good luck on your quest!

quote:

The good news is that if you look around enough, you'll learn all the systems. Then you become the master of the rig and you can share what you found on the site! You'll be surprised how much you can learn from the rig and the site. Good luck on your quest!

.......and who knows, you might find some Barbie clothes tucked away somewhere.
I just couldn't help myself.

Glad that I win the "stump the experts" contest!

Seriously, is it possible that an "unmodified" coach such as mine never had separate house batteries?

To put it another way, does anybody know of a circa 1989 Barth or a Regal that was not built without house batteries separate from the engine batteries?

Next question: Is there any good reason for me to install a separate bank of house batteries? There is available space in the engine compartment.

If I installed an inverter, would I need more battery capacity (and want to protect my engine batteries from discharge)?

Thanks to all.