Pipe joint leak to shower.

[Camdoon]

Usual thing that the water pump was pulsing every few minutes and found water in the shower when it had not been in use. Managed to check and it is not the tap but the pipe joint. The issue then is access to that area. There is an access cover to the joints but the joints are both above and below the access point. While I could loosen the tap I do not think it possible to loosen the joints using fingers given the tight access and risk of pulling something further along the pipework. My man who does for me has not been asked but is busy to June even if he could. When tested some of the water flows into the shower area at the bottom and the rest appears to run out the van.
Not sure where to start as there is no way I can see that it could be done without either cutting a bigger access hole or taking the shower to bits both of which are not appealing.
The other option is does anyone know anyone in Cambs or within an hour or so who might fix this properly.
While difficult to photograph the second last image shows the joints peeping out when photographed from below; the last taken by putting my phone in the gap.
Any help gratefully received.

 

[MisterB]

If the leak is in the sticky out bit, accessed from underneath, then a plumbers tap spanner might be the answer to being able to access the pipe joint. You need the self adjusting one not a shetak key.
The head rotates to either tighten or loosen the joint and the spanner 'bit' adjusts itself to whatever size nut it is being used on

Rothenberger Telescopic Basin Wrench 3/8-1 1/4

Order online at Screwfix.com. Telescopic basin wrench with self-locating spring-loaded hook. Fits 3/8

www.screwfix.com

 

[Landy Andy]

From what I can see that looks like on easy repair unless I’m missing something.

No need for a spanner as they will be push fittings.

 

[Terry]

In the last pic it shows a push fit joint. If you push the white ring on top into the joint it releases the fitting. I think you may get away with holding joint and pushing the pipe into the joint. It may have released a bit, don’t be afraid to give it a good push I personally would change the fitting to 12 John Guest fittings

 

[MisterB]

In the last pic it shows a push fit joint. If you push the white ring on top into the joint it releases the fitting. I think you may get away with holding joint and pushing the pipe into the joint. It may have released a bit, don’t be afraid to give it a good push I personally would change the fitting to 12 John Guest fittings

Another vote for John guest fittings.

Ps even John guest fittings (or any other push fit tap connector), when used to connect to a tap, have a threaded part that connects to the tap itself and a push fit part for the pipework. I did assume you had tried pushing the pipe back into into its fitting already, so apologies if my assumption was wrong and as others have suggested, try pushing the pipe first !!

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[Camdoon]

From what I can see that looks like on easy repair unless I’m missing something.

No need for a spanner as they will be push fittings.

It is the access that is the issue. The water is coming out the bottom of one of the pipe joints. I can just feel the bottom of the joint - there is no way to grab it and I do not want to push down on it without some sort of support.
Option A would be to cut the area underneath to access the area and then to glue it back on on the basis that you do not see the area unless entering the shower so does not need to be 100% perfect.

 

[Camdoon]

I assume when fitted the pipe work and joints were installed then the shower built before the shower tap and hose were connected.

 

[Terry]

Try a semi gentle pull up on the lower pipe ( you may get a few inches of spare pipe) giving you enough to hold pipe and push fitting

 

[rosalan]

If you feel nervous about breaking or forcing the plastic, do look up a plumber. Just looking at your photo I could not tell whether it was a metal fitting that needed tightening or as others have said, a pushfit unit. I understand that the access is difficult but almost any caravan or motorhome repair shop should have the tools to reach. It was assembled so should be fixable. In the past (a different van) I had a leak behind 'impossible' to access panels. Half an hour and whole bathroom more or less taken apart. I would not dare to do this but fitters knew just what to do.

 

[Camdoon]

If you feel nervous about breaking or forcing the plastic, do look up a plumber. Just looking at your photo I could not tell whether it was a metal fitting that needed tightening or as others have said, a pushfit unit. I understand that the access is difficult but almost any caravan or motorhome repair shop should have the tools to reach. It was assembled so should be fixable. In the past (a different van) I had a leak behind 'impossible' to access panels. Half an hour and whole bathroom more or less taken apart. I would not dare to do this but fitters knew just what to do.

Yes it is the push fit type. Just not accessible properly with fingers. The access flap is held on with a couple of screws. The pushfit joint must have been put on before the rest of the bathroom was installed.
I think you are right that it is a job for professionals.

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[IRHP]

I have seen the same problem dealt with. There were pictures on one of the Adria Facebook groups. The whole corner unit Was cut out to give access, the connector replaced and the unit sealed back in. I don’t know if this is your first leak but these fittings are notorious for leaking. Normal solution is fit pipe inserts and replace with John Guest 12mm pushfit.

 

[Camdoon]

I have seen the same problem dealt with. There were pictures on one of the Adria Facebook groups. The whole corner unit Was cut out to give access, the connector replaced and the unit sealed back in. I don’t know if this is your first leak but these fittings are notorious for leaking. Normal solution is fit pipe inserts and replace with John Guest 12mm pushfit.

Haha not the first as our toilet sink went when under warranty.
There is a specific Youtube video of someone showing you how to change the fittings as Adria's appear to be notorious for this. The cheap parts presumably save them £20 per van tops. Unfortunately the van was bought from Beck's so no support from them now.
What you say about cutting the corner unit out rings true so will have a search on Facebook.
Definitely leaving it to a professional.

 

[IRHP]

Haha not the first as our toilet sink went when under warranty.
There is a specific Youtube video of someone showing you how to change the fittings as Adria's appear to be notorious for this. The cheap parts presumably save them £20 per van tops. Unfortunately the van was bought from Beck's so no support from them now.
What you say about cutting the corner unit out rings true so will have a search on Facebook.
Definitely leaving it to a professional.

Haha, yeah that's me on the youtube video, got fed up after 5 different leaks. Doesn't look too difficult to get at it.

 

[Camdoon]

Haha, yeah that's me on the youtube video, got fed up after 5 different leaks. Doesn't look too difficult to get at it.

View attachment 709077

Yes ordered a craft blade and some masking tape from Amazon, arriving Tuesday. Will post relevant photos. Will take my time Scottish accent, so it is definitely your video

 

[HugoBNB]

We had exactly the same problem with exactly the same unit as you have there. We slid a scalpel down the joint between the unit and the wall on both sides and the unit came away easily. The fittings were replaced in a few minutes. I would suggest you get a roll of 10mm wide 3M double-sided tape as our unit was fixed to the walls with this before it had been sealed. It made life very easy as the tape held the entire unit in place so we could re-seal it when we put it back. I was advised not to use a normal silicone and used CT1 white TRIBRID mastic as this copes with vibration and movement better than silicone. It made a nice job.
On an aside, I also ended up doing the job again as I had to remove the shower tray when the plugs, with those little metal pins, crusted themselves into the shower waste. I inadvertently stood on one and the entire waste shattered. I would take a look at them regularly to ensure you do not end up with a similar problem. The tray was an absolute nightmare to get out and in again.
Good luck and safe travels

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[Camdoon]

We had exactly the same problem with exactly the same unit as you have there. We slid a scalpel down the joint between the unit and the wall on both sides and the unit came away easily. The fittings were replaced in a few minutes. I would suggest you get a roll of 10mm wide 3M double-sided tape as our unit was fixed to the walls with this before it had been sealed. It made life very easy as the tape held the entire unit in place so we could re-seal it when we put it back. I was advised not to use a normal silicone and used CT1 white TRIBRID mastic as this copes with vibration and movement better than silicone. It made a nice job.
On an aside, I also ended up doing the job again as I had to remove the shower tray when the plugs, with those little metal pins, crusted themselves into the shower waste. I inadvertently stood on one and the entire waste shattered. I would take a look at them regularly to ensure you do not end up with a similar problem. The tray was an absolute nightmare to get out and in again.
Good luck and safe travels

Started on this but managed to get a tummy bug so will start again tomorrow. Half done but the adhesive at the tap and the soap dish require a more robust knife. Hoped to get away without slicing both sides but good to know it is required and how to put it back together again is a bonus. Just got to find where my roll of double sided tape is Need to order the JG bits.
First thing I did was put in the plugs to stop anything rolling down the drain and realised that the far corner spike had been left in since the summer. I shall wd40 it.

 

[HugoBNB]

Started on this but managed to get a tummy bug so will start again tomorrow. Half done but the adhesive at the tap and the soap dish require a more robust knife. Hoped to get away without slicing both sides but good to know it is required and how to put it back together again is a bonus. Just got to find where my roll of double sided tape is Need to order the JG bits.
First thing I did was put in the plugs to stop anything rolling down the drain and realised that the far corner spike had been left in since the summer. I shall wd40 it.

I would pull the metal pins out of the plugs and throw them away. Same with the one in the bathroom sink. We only put the plugs in now when it is laid up in storage.
Good luck.

 

[Camdoon]

I have done some more this morning. The photo shows the black double sided tape line and 2 of the 6 white blobs of adhesive that are dotted down both sides. Once you work out where they are, blobs 1,2,3 and 6 pop off nicely if you have a blade either side, blobs 4 and 5 are at the tap and soap holder and there is not enough flex in the plastic for them to pop. The blobs shown are numbers 3 (popped) and 4 where you can see that I have had to slice through the adhesive. Still the beauty of being retired is, that will do me for today

 

[IRHP]

I have done some more this morning. The photo shows the black double sided tape line and 2 of the 6 white blobs of adhesive that are dotted down both sides. Once you work out where they are, blobs 1,2,3 and 6 pop off nicely if you have a blade either side, blobs 4 and 5 are at the tap and soap holder and there is not enough flex in the plastic for them to pop. The blobs shown are numbers 3 (popped) and 4 where you can see that I have had to slice through the adhesive. Still the beauty of being retired is, that will do me for today

View attachment 710592

When you order the JG fittings I’d order pipe inserts and put them in.

 

[HugoBNB]

I had a go at the dealer we bought our Adria from after a second joint failed on a run to Spain, the first failure being the same pipe as the OP. This second joint was one just outside the boiler located under the twin seat. I managed to reuse the joint as I did not have one with me. There was sufficient slack on the pipe meaning I was able to cut off the scored (during the original installation I guess) section of pipe inside the joint that was the cause of the leak.
My point was that all of the pipe runs I can see in this vehicle are laid loose on the floor and can move and rattle as they please. I asked him to take it to Adria and he came back saying they said "this is the way we all do it". I am not a plumber but my basic understanding of physics is that excessive movement causes stress and could easily be eliminated, or the risk greatly reduced, in this case if the pipe runs were secured.
I posted on another thread here that we appear to be dealing with more of a cottage industry with leisure vehicles.
So saying, the dealer in question have given us great service, sorting out other issues we had quickly.

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[Camdoon]

Ordered the pipe inserts; once I have full access any work done will be done to outlast the van!
I can see a project later this year to check any other more accessible pipework.
You are lucky with your dealer as ours, Beck's,has folded.

 

[HugoBNB]

Ordered the pipe inserts; once I have full access any work done will be done to outlast the van!
I can see a project later this year to check any other more accessible pipework.
You are lucky with your dealer as ours, Beck's,has folded.

Take the base off the twin seat to expose the boiler, you will find a stack under there. One seems to be a manifold type that may be something made uniquely for Adria. Either way, it would be worth checking the integrity of them and see how well they are fitted.
Good luck with the balance of your work.

 

[Camdoon]

2 minutes this morning and the rest easily came away. Still waiting some parts from Ebay but cleaning off the residue would appear to be the next task.
Murphy's Law means that the leak is not as bad as when the unit was on but needs doing and quite happy that it came off without incident. Thanks for the MHF support - someone on here appears to have fixed most things before.

 

[IRHP]

Take the base off the twin seat to expose the boiler, you will find a stack under there. One seems to be a manifold type that may be something made uniquely for Adria. Either way, it would be worth checking the integrity of them and see how well they are fitted.
Good luck with the balance of your work.

I think I know the bit you mean, on mine it looked like a manifold but was just a combination of fittings put together to distribute hot water to the shower, the sink and bathroom sink. Yes that was one of my leaks in there. I've put together a video of potential trouble spots.

 

[HugoBNB]

I think I know the bit you mean, on mine it looked like a manifold but was just a combination of fittings put together to distribute hot water to the shower, the sink and bathroom sink. Yes that was one of my leaks in there. I've put together a video of potential trouble spots.

Spot on! A perfect video.

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[Camdoon]

With other things going on managed to get round to finishing this yesterday.
For anyone doing this in the future:
There is a small amount of mastic round the edge of the shower unit and most easily penetrated at the bottom where it hits the skirting around the shower tray, both sides need to be done. A thin flexible knife protects the edge of the unit - I used a fish filleting knife.
Once through that there is a strip of double side tape to cut through on each side. The tape is about an inch from the edge.
After that there are 9 or so one inch splodges of mastic on each side some of which overlap with the tape which you will find with your knife; these are best attacked from the top with stronger knives on either side of the splodge, the unit will free itself with a satisfying ping - do alternate sides as the top has more flex than round the taps.
Then it is a question of cleaning the tape off, repairing the pipes and sticking it back on.

 

[MisterB]

A continuation but not the same area. Adria really should get their act together and start using pipe inserts.
we noticed a leak while we were away and used a container to catch the drips.
Arrived home Sunday night and decided to tackle the job this morning, i already had some pipe inserts but i didnt have any decent pipe grips to release the pipes from the fittings (after of course removing the locks and pushing the white collar back into the fitting)

I will now do all the other connections and carry spare fittings and more importantly pipe inserts on our future travels

 

[ontheroadagain]

Did you use John Guest inserts (as I have never been able to locate inserts for the Reich Uniquick fittings)?
I did read somewhere that inserts were not required on the Reich fittings and that is why they are not available.
It will be interesting to see if this solves the problem.

 

[MisterB]

Did you use John Guest inserts (as I have never been able to locate inserts for the Reich Uniquick fittings)?
I did read somewhere that inserts were not required on the Reich fittings and that is why they are not available.
It will be interesting to see if this solves the problem.

yes, i used JG inserts. i will of course monitor it, but it all seems ok so far. the inserts went in easy enough and i had no problems reinserting the pipes back into the fittings. with the inserts fitted. i did notice that the joint that was actually leaking didnt have a collet fitted (which stops the white sleeve from working its way back into the fitting and therby releasing the pipe), so i have ordered some JG ones to see if they will fit.

it might be that the lack of a collet is what causes so many leaks to these fittings. ?

i also have a few JG fittings that i will keep in the motorhome just in case.

 

[Camdoon]

Jim started a new thread about his Compact and failed joints yesterday.
You just wonder who got the bonus in Adria for suggesting saving £10 per van on cheap parts but subjecting everyone to this basic failure.

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}