Whale Auto Fill on Burford Duo

We have a new 2021 Burford Duo and I tried to use the alternative Whale Auto Fill. I had 50% Fresh Water. Connected the Whale kit as supplied by Autosleeper. Filled an Aqua roll but the end into the water switch on auto fill on the panel and no water is being delivered into the fresh water tank? Does it only work if their is mains pressure?

Any help would be appreciated.

Does your "kit" include the pump on the end? Is the fill cover clipped down onto the fitting? I would expect AS to supply the mains fill hose fill kit not the barrel fill kit.

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Lefty wrote:We have a new 2021 Burford Duo and I tried to use the alternative Whale Auto Fill. I had 50% Fresh Water. Connected the Whale kit as supplied by Autosleeper. Filled an Aqua roll but the end into the water switch on auto fill on the panel and no water is being delivered into the fresh water tank? Does it only work if their is mains pressure?

Any help would be appreciated.

On our Bourton we were supplied with two Whale connectors.
One, a long hose for connection to a tap and the other a shorter connector with a pump on one end that drops into an aquaroll.
The panel auto fill option on the panel controls the flow of water from a tap or operation of the water pump, whichever you are using.
We just use auto fill to top up as required and don't leave it permanently on.

I think Auto-Sleepers might now only supply the hose which is for connecting to a tap. That's what I got in April, anyway. It requires water pressure obviously, which it regulates. If you want to fill from a container you need the submersible pump as well.

There were a couple this week on the ASOC rally with a Symbol with a similar problem

Thanks for everyone’s help, off to MH accessory shop to buy the correct Whale fitting.

As a matter of interest, we recently replaced our 2016 Bourton with a 2020 Bourton which no longer had the smaller submersible Whale supplied, only the Whale hose to the tap. When we queried this, we were told that the smaller submersible Whale would no longer work on the new van. Something to do with the Whale electrical fitting on the side of the van!  Would be interested to know if anyone does have a submersible Whale with Aquaroll that works on the newer vans.

There are 5 different versions of the pump assembly available, I wonder which one AS tried in the van fitting?

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Cath Dawson wrote:As a matter of interest, we recently replaced our 2016 Bourton with a 2020 Bourton which no longer had the smaller submersible Whale supplied, only the Whale hose to the tap. When we queried this, we were told that the smaller submersible Whale would no longer work on the new van. Something to do with the Whale electrical fitting on the side of the van!  Would be interested to know if anyone does have a submersible Whale with Aquaroll that works on the newer vans.

As we mentioned earlier in this thread we were supplied with both Whale connections - tap and submersible pump. Both work fine on our 2019 Bourton (latest Merc etc). We also have a bog standard inlet for filling from a hosepipe which we use on arriving at a site. Then we use the Whale tap connection if on a serviced pitch or the submersible pump connector and an Aquaroll to top up as required - saves having to move the van to a tap to fill. Looks like something may have changed more recently reducing the options available.

Lefty wrote:We have a new 2021 Burford Duo and I tried to use the alternative Whale Auto Fill. I had 50% Fresh Water. Connected the Whale kit as supplied by Autosleeper. Filled an Aqua roll but the end into the water switch on auto fill on the panel and no water is being delivered into the fresh water tank? Does it only work if their is mains pressure?

Any help would be appreciated.

If the Whale inlet socket on the side of your van has two brass contacts on it, it can only be for the Whale submersible pump that goes into the Aquaroll.  If no power is reaching the brass contacts which can be checked with a multimeter it could be a) the float switch in the top of the freshwater tank has cut the power because the tank is full (the 50% water tank gauge may be incorrect) or b) the Autofill button on the Sargent/EC700 CP isn't set correctly.  I am aware that Sargent has changed the latter and there are now three Autofill positions - unlit, green & blue.  Try changing from one to the other to see if it makes any difference.

If filling from the mains, mains water pressure is required for it to work properly and the appropriate buttons on the Sargent/EC700 CP must be on.  If there is no power, no water will enter the tank.

Dare I mention the WC words, or will I be lynched? 

Cath Dawson wrote:As a matter of interest, we recently replaced our 2016 Bourton with a 2020 Bourton which no longer had the smaller submersible Whale supplied, only the Whale hose to the tap. When we queried this, we were told that the smaller submersible Whale would no longer work on the new van. Something to do with the Whale electrical fitting on the side of the van!  Would be interested to know if anyone does have a submersible Whale with Aquaroll that works on the newer vans.

I have just seen on the Auto-Sleepers website that they have brought out a 2021 handbook to replace their 2018 handbook.  It still describes the external Whale pump that is used with an Aquaroll.

If I remember correctly I think the autofill icon colours are...

Grey is off
Blue whilst autofill is active / in progress - automatically stops after 7 mins
Green when tank is full

I had the same problem filling when I picked up my new van last year until I got to grips with how it worked. Also the kit with the water fitments was open (van was an ex-demo) and I only had the Whale hose to tap. So to check I asked AS if I should have received a submersible pump as well and their reply was 'No', so maybe a cost-cutting exercise, although some newer vans seem to have got both. I have a manual filler on the other side of the van too so no problem. I either hook up to a tap or fill with a collapsible container manually.

CroftBadger wrote:I had the same problem filling when I picked up my new van last year until I got to grips with how it worked. Also the kit with the water fitments was open (van was an ex-demo) and I only had the Whale hose to tap. So to check I asked AS if I should have received a submersible pump as well and their reply was 'No', so maybe a cost-cutting exercise, although some newer vans seem to have got both. I have a manual filler on the other side of the van too so no problem. I either hook up to a tap or fill with a collapsible container manually.

This sounds suspicious.  Older vans (mine 2019) and new vans are provided with the Whale submersible but not yours.  It's more likely that the dealer cannibalised your van for spares.  Assuming you don't have a Shurflo diaphragm pump, the Whale is the same as the one inside your fresh water tank which is not known for its longevity - ours failed after 4 days.

Thanks for all the info, we have purchased the correct Whale fitting and all is well, water straight from the AquaRoll, so no moving if on site for a few days to refill onboard water tank, as many sites do not have full serviced pitches.