New to WFP - Pre filters leaking

[Jon B]

Hi guys, I'm looking for a bit of advice on a leak I've found in my van system. I bought the van and system second hand (all already installed by pure freedom when I purchased the van).

I started up around 6 weeks ago, prior to starting out I took a trip over to Pure freedom to be shown my way around the system, whilst there pre filters, ro membrane and resin was all changed. 

Each time after filling recently I have noticed a build up of water in the van so tonight i took some time to source the leak. It appears to be coming from the pre filters at the top. I did also notice just over a week ago that one of the pre filters was hissing from button which sits at the top (not sure if this is linked to the leak, i pressed the button until all air was out and the hissing stopped) this happened towards the back end of the cold weather we have had.

Can anyone give advice on what this could be, apologies if its a common question but I couldnt find a similar topic on the forum. 

Hoping its a cheap fix ? 

Thanks in advance guys

Jon

 

[spruce]

Hi guys, I'm looking for a bit of advice on a leak I've found in my van system. I bought the van and system second hand (all already installed by pure freedom when I purchased the van).

I started up around 6 weeks ago, prior to starting out I took a trip over to Pure freedom to be shown my way around the system, whilst there pre filters, ro membrane and resin was all changed. 

Each time after filling recently I have noticed a build up of water in the van so tonight i took some time to source the leak. It appears to be coming from the pre filters at the top. I did also notice just over a week ago that one of the pre filters was hissing from button which sits at the top (not sure if this is linked to the leak, i pressed the button until all air was out and the hissing stopped) this happened towards the back end of the cold weather we have had.

Can anyone give advice on what this could be, apologies if its a common question but I couldnt find a similar topic on the forum. 

Hoping its a cheap fix ? 

Thanks in advance guys

Jon

Have you tried tightening the bowl with your hands? The bowl screws on and has a rubber o ring/seal on the top. We usually smear a very thin coat of vaseline in the seal to aid tighening. Silicone grease is also an option.

Its the same principle as fitting a replacement oil filter on your vehicle. A smear of engine oil on the new rubber gasket of the oil filter stops the rubber gasket from gripping up before its tight.I would remove the filter bowl entirely. I would dry the top off with a towel and inspect for any cracks caused if the filter bowl froze. I would then lubricate the o ring and reassemble.

It could also be that the air bleeder button wasn't seated properly and now it is the leak should stop if its that.

 

[Jon B]

Thanks for getting back to me @spruce much appreciated. I've tried tightening them further by hand but they wont go any more. I will take them off tomorrow, check for cracks and lubricate the seals. Fingers crossed it will do the trick!

Should I be looking at pressing the pressure release regularly, I've only recently discovered these (I can imagine a few eye rolls after reading this ? I'm new though so go easy on me haha).

Cheers 

Jon

 

[spruce]

Thanks for getting back to me @spruce much appreciated. I've tried tightening them further by hand but they wont go any more. I will take them off tomorrow, check for cracks and lubricate the seals. Fingers crossed it will do the trick!

Should I be looking at pressing the pressure release regularly, I've only recently discovered these (I can imagine a few eye rolls after reading this ? I'm new though so go easy on me haha).

Cheers 

Jon

I have only ever done it after a filter change and even then not always. My r/o is in a wooden cabinet which is heated with a tube heater. As I don't want water over the electrics I remove the prefilters and take them apart on the table outside. I also connect them up to the tap with a length of hose and run water through them lying down for 5 minutes to flush them. Usually they self bleed during flushing. After flushing I let some of the water drain out as its easier to refit the prefilters in the cabinet when they aren't full. (I have 2 x 20" prefilters.) 

I actually don't know why they are there in the first place tbh. My first r/o never had them and the filter bowls would bleed the air out all by themselves. My r/o is controlled by a float switch and solenoid valve. I usually find that the IBC tank is full when I chose to change the prefilters. So any air in the system when reassembled will self bleed when I fill my van up next and the r/o switches back on.

 

[Guest]

Seals can also get a bit mangled and lose their elastic memory, see if they sit nicely.

 

[Jon B]

Thanks for all of the advice guys. I took the filter housings out today, no sign of cracks and the o rings look perfect. Re-applied some vaseline to them for safe measure, also in the hope that this was the cause of the problem...unfortunately not. I have found that the leak is actually the bleed valve its self, there is quite a bit of dirt sat around the valve so I'm thinking some may have got inside and is causing the bleed valve to sit un-evenly. Back to taking out the housings tomorrow and see if this can be cleaned out.