Leak in Sani-Con hose

About two years ago I posted about the pin-hole leak that developed on the original hose.  That one was replaced free of charge by the manufacturer Thetford(?).  I purchased another one at the time as a backup and was beginning to feel that it would never be needed (wishful thinking).
 
While draining the gray water at our campsite this week I noticed some dripping at the end of the hose nearest to the tank valve.  At first I tried to ignore it, but then it started leaking more and I could see that water was squirting out of a small hole in the hose.  So I stopped the process and used my "emergency" 4" hose to finish the draining.  Fortunately this happened before starting to drain the black tank.

Today while still in the campground I replaced the leaking hose with the backup that was in the storage compartment.  It was an easy job especially as I had done this before. I could see no reason the hose would develop that hole.  Maybe just the flexing while the unit was in action.

I'll be buying another backup hose just in case it happens again.
--Bruce

Hi Bruce & Sharon,

I seem to recall this story from someone else.  He found that there was a sharp tipped screw close to where the hose came out which on rare occasion caught the hose and damaged it.  You might want to crawl around under there to make sure there is nothing near by that could possibly damage the hose, whether screw or sharp edged fiberglass wall material.

Our Sanicon hose is the original one which is now 9 years old.  I can't understand why yours failed twice in 2.5 years, except possibly by something sharp near by.  I hope you find a good reason why this is happening to you so often.

Have you considered cutting off the last few inches of hose to the leak and re-use the same hose?

Our first hose failure was caused by that sharp screw where the hose passed out of the storage compartment.  At that time I replaced the screws with two small bolts and nuts.  I think I posted photos of those previously.

This time the hole was nowhere near anything that would touch the hose.  It was within an inch of the end of the hose where it connects to the macerator assembly.

I've not tried to repair the old hose, but am saving it for a possible future extension at some time.  I'm afraid that any repair I might attempt could fail at a very undesirable moment (during draining of the black tank?).

I'm happy that the replacement this time was easy and didn't take much time away from enjoying our trip.

--Bruce

Our first hose failure was caused by that sharp screw where the hose passed out of the storage compartment.  At that time I replaced the screws with two small bolts and nuts.  I think I posted photos of those previously.

Bruce,

So that was your post I recalled.  

Strange that your hose develops holes in it.

Ours also developed a leak due to that screw last year.  We replaced the hose and screw the same way Bruce/Sharon did.  I do remember wondering how much of the new hose I should have between the pump connection and the entry point to the storage compartment, since the hose does expand/contract when turned on/off.  Not sure how much I allowed if any.  I'll have to check next week. 

I can't remember if that section of hose (outside the compartment) is also exposed to the elements, especially road debris?

   - Mike

SaniCon hose replacement

This is an update on my original post on this subject (this turned out to be longer than expected—I’m hoping it might help others with a similar problem):

I’ve had a chance to look closely at the point in the hose that was leaking.  The hole is in very first section of the expandable portion of the hose—can only see it by stretching the hose there (in the photo of the new hose that I’ve attached here it would be in the expandable section of the hose nearest to the metal clamp).

The old hose looks exactly like the new one in the photo as long as the hose is not stretched—no sign of any damage.  The only time that the hose is stretched is during a dumping operation (as in the photo with the loop of expanded hose taken while the pump is in operation).

I’ve been wondering how the old hose could have suffered any type of damage while on the road without some damage showing up on the outer edges of the hose.  The only thing that I can think of is the possibility that I might have pulled the hose too far into the storage cabinet when I had installed it as a replacement of the original hose (the one that had suffered a pin hole near the point where the hose enters the storage cabinet).  If I did that the hose could have remained in a stretched position at all times in the section from the pump to the storage cabinet entrance.  Then something might have come up off the road and hit it, or the hose could have overstretched from being under too much pressure during the dump procedures with no room for expansion.

 Anyway, this time the hose seems safe and secure.  Does it now look like yours does?

--Bruce

I just checked ours and it looks like your second picture; room to expand and contract. 

That section of hose does look more and more like a potential problem.  It would seem that a piece of more ridged and durable hose would be better between the pump and storage compartment. 

   - Mike

Pax, I think you are correct on needing a stronger hose going from storage to the pump.  On our previous rig (Roadtrek Class B) from the storage to the pump was almost five feet and exposed from the bottom of chassis for that distance.  Since a Roadtrek clearance from the ground is very limited (less than 8 inches), I put it up on blocks, crawled underneath and installed a piece of hose of the appropriate  interior diameter I bought at Tractor Supply.   It was thick walled and used for running from an agricultural spray tank to the pray heads.  It had a psi rating of 150  and the wall of the hose was about 5/32 thick, cord reinforced.  

Never another problem.  A permanent fix for sure.  About $2 a foot as I recall.

Paul

Here is our 2007 Sanicon setup.  There are minor differences, a few worth noting.
- we have what appears to be a gray colored plastic grommet protecting the hose from the fiberglass pass-thru hole
- our hose is much shorter because our pump sticks out further, apparently the practice back in 2007.
I really like Paul-Doneworking's solution for owners who have that long hose at the pump......easy, cheap, and reliable.    Those are the best solutions.