Laundry Drain Repair
Having a laundry option in the truck was always high on the wish list. We had one in the motorhome, and it was a real blessing. So we designed a place for a wash/dryer combo unit in our cabinetry layout. The rest was left up to the builder.
When first starting to use the truck, we didn't have much need of the laundry. The trips were short enough that we could carry sufficient clothing to last the trip. But when we picked up the truck, we tried all the systems to make sure they worked. Right from the start, the washing machine turned on sometimes, and other times it didn't. We thought we just didn't know how to operate it properly. So we'd cycle the breaker, turn the inverters off and then on, and then the machine might sometimes turn on. But since we had so many higher priority screw ups to deal with, we let it slide. Until our trip to the far north of Canada.
On that trip, we encountered some rain which soaked some clothing. We went to throw it in the dryer, but we couldn't get the thing to turn on. Try as we might, we had no joy whatsoever. When we got back to civilization, we decided to get to the bottom of the laundry mystery. There was about an inch of clearance on the sides and top of the machine, where we could use a light, and mirror on a shaft, to try and see behind the machine. We thought maybe the plug had fallen out.
If you look closely at the receptacle power slots, they appear to have a closure in behind the faceplate.
The mirror confirmed our suspicion. The plug prongs were still in the receptacle, but most of the prong length was visible. So it's likely it wasn't properly engaging. Because of the narrow clearance around the appliance, we had to unbolt the machine and remove it from the cabinet in order to gain access to the plug. What we discovered was that the receptacle had some sort of child proof protection inside the prong holes, and when inserting the plug, it would go in a short way and then encounter resistance. To get it in all the way, we had to push really hard to get past the safety device and actually reach the power connection.
When we plugged the cord back in, we added some security so there was no way it could vibrate back out.
We concluded that when the machine was plugged in by the installer, they pushed the plug in until they hit the resistance, and stopped there. We figured the reason for the machine turning on sometimes and not others, was because only the very tip of the cord prongs were making contact with the receptacle power, so depending on the truck movement, sometimes is would touch and other times it wouldn't. When we removed the machine, the plug fell out onto the floor. Mystery solved.
it Doesn't end there
Before putting everything back in place, I noticed some staining on the outside of the white PVC drain trap. It looked like it had been leaking. When having a closer look, I wiggled the pipe and the trap joint fell apart. It hadn't been glued. Once again, it was up to us to finish the builder's work.
The other thing we noticed was the plastic tray that was put under the washer in order to catch leaks and prevent them from soaking into the woodwork. It was a three sided tray, so if there was a leak, it would drip out the front where we'd see it and know to fix it. It was a good idea that we didn't actually ask to be done. So someone at the builder must know something. So we'll give them an "A" for effort, but unfortunately we'll have to give them an "F" for implementation. You see, to have the tray fit around the drain pipe going into the floor, they had to cut a big notch into the tray. But they didn't do anything to rebuild the curb around the cutout so it would prevent leakage from draining into where the drain pipe went. And because the wet connections are all at the back of the machine, any leak would find its way to that notch before it found its way to the front of the cabinet where we'd see the drips. We had to fashion some sort of curb, so we did as best we could with what we had... silicone sealer. Sure it's a micky mouse fix, but it will have to do for now. We also sealed the tray to the cabinet floor and walls at the front, so if there was a leak that came out the front and dripped onto the woodwork, it wouldn’t bleed back under the tray by capillary action.
This is the makeshift curb that we fashioned using nothing more than silicone caulking. When it cured, it was very strong and able to serve its function. The only time it would fail is if the truck were leaning over to the side enough that the spill would overflow the dam. But this would be unlikely, since we wouldn't do laundry when tilted that much.