Thinking of upgrading water inlet.

by MalMonty Fri Apr 26, 2024 12:49 am

Setting off on our first "serviced" pitch experience next week. We've been doing a lot of one nights and weekenders in "stay-for-the-night" locations etc.
Always been fine with the 50L water onboard in the tank and a couple of 5L containers for extra drinking/cooking etc. If I'm at a decent site for an
extended period of time, I like the idea of just hooking up a water supply and having constant water "on tap". So is there any equipment I should
be getting to make this possible? Can I upgrade the inlet in this old van to a more modern connection/set-up? Any advice or information if anyone
has done a similar upgrade would be great.

Cheers [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

by Bilbobaggins Fri Apr 26, 2024 2:15 am

I just use service pitch as reason to not visit motorhome service point to fill and empty tanks, don't tend to stay on site during day so don't connect permanently to services. Do have Colapz pipes to connect waste tank to on pitch drain but bucket also used occasionally.

by IanH Fri Apr 26, 2024 6:38 am

Can't really see the problem tbh.
We have a 67ltr tank and that lasts 2 or 3 days of wild camping. Most time ever on a site is 2 nights, so don't even have to fill up then, plus we use on site showers then anyway.

Whatever extra needing to be used has to be carried and used?

Minimalism and simplicity!!!!

by Dave 418 Fri Apr 26, 2024 8:43 am

As others have said we use a service pitch occasionally and leave the waste pipe and water pipe connected with a hoselock type connector . If the water tank needs topping up it’s easy to turn the tap on.
Like Ian has said we have the standard size tank that lasts a couple of days. I did think about extending the size of the tank but it’s easier to carry a 20 ltr water container for top up off grid.

by MalMonty Fri Apr 26, 2024 7:10 pm

Thanks for the responses. I do tend to keep things simple and minimal. I also appreciate my current set-up does me just fine for the few days out and about. It would even be fine for a long weekend on site at a serviced pitch. My knees are goosed and don't see me being able to use the water Aquaroll over an extended period. So... for those times I spend more than a week on a serviced pitch, I'd prefer to attach a water supply directly to the van, a bit like the EHU convenience.

up!

by The Bargee Fri Apr 26, 2024 8:23 pm

Constant water under mains pressure means that if anything fails in your van it gets flooded. That is not as bad as if it happens in a boat (the boat sinks) but it will still soak all the woodwork and cause permanent damage.

Auto-Sleepers plumbing is not renowned for being bombproof!

Even on the normal pumped supply from the van tank I usually turn the pump off if we are leaving the van for any length of time.

If you have a serviced pitch with your own tank just leave the hose run out ready and turn the tap on when the tank needs topping up. Simples!

by Caraman Fri Apr 26, 2024 9:58 pm

My later van has the Whale socket inlet on the side of the van to which a mains water hose can be connected. When the freshwater tank is full a solenoid valve should cut the supply but as the hose and its connectors would be left under pressure and prone to leaks, I would always turn the tap off. I don't even leave the hose out as I read somewhere that u/v causes it to deteriorate. We have just spent 7 nights on a serviced pitch. I think I rolled the hose out 3 times - once to fill the 100 litre tank and twice to refill it. It was no effort. As I don't leave the hose connected with the tap turned on, I've degraded the system by removing the solenoid valve which helps the external Whale pump when using a water barrel.

by Dave 418 Sat Apr 27, 2024 11:44 am

When I was helping our naibor fit a Sureflow pump to his Corinium he said it was fitted with a normal filling point and a Whale filler. When he bought the van the whale attachments were missing and he asked if it was worth buying the attachments. Considering he only uses the van occasionally for a couple of weekends I didn’t think it was worth it. Also shouldn’t that be part of the van equipment included in the sale.

by MalMonty Sat Apr 27, 2024 3:51 pm

The Bargee wrote:Constant water under mains pressure means that if anything fails in your van it gets flooded. That is not as bad as if it happens in a boat (the boat sinks) but it will still soak all the woodwork and cause permanent damage.

Auto-Sleepers plumbing is not renowned for being bombproof!

Even on the normal pumped supply from the van tank I usually turn the pump off if we are leaving the van for any length of time.

If you have a serviced pitch with your own tank just leave the hose run out ready and turn the tap on when the tank needs topping up. Simples!

Thanks, that's certainly something I've thought about [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

by Caraman Sat Apr 27, 2024 4:21 pm

The Bargee wrote:Constant water under mains pressure means that if anything fails in your van it gets flooded. That is not as bad as if it happens in a boat (the boat sinks) but it will still soak all the woodwork and cause permanent damage.

It’s not quite as bad as that if the freshwater tank is under the van as the mains water will flood the pitch rather than the inside of the van. If the mains water pressure/flow rate is high and the tank’s breather can’t release the water quickly enough when the tank is full and the solenoid cut off valve fails, it could damage the tank by popping out one of its sensors at least that is what I have read. The instructions say that the mains tap should be turned off if the system is not in use or the van is unoccupied. The same advice applies to the on-board water pump.

by The Bargee Sat Apr 27, 2024 6:20 pm

It’s nothing to do with the tank being inside or under the van.

The scenario runs: (for example) a water hose bursts a joint inside the van. The pressure pump will then run continuously, discharging the water tank contents onto the floor of the van.

If there is no mains water hook up then the tank will run out of water, so perhaps a limited amount of water gets onto (and under) the floor.

If there is a mains water hook up then the van’s system (!) will detect the water tank level dropping and will turn on the water inlet valve to replenish the tank. So the pressure pump can deliver a potentially infinite amount of water onto the floor (especially if the battery is on charge!)

by Caraman Sat Apr 27, 2024 10:15 pm

The Bargee wrote:It’s nothing to do with the tank being inside or under the van.

The scenario runs: (for example) a water hose bursts a joint inside the van. The pressure pump will then run continuously, discharging the water tank contents onto the floor of the van.

If there is no mains water hook up then the tank will run out of water, so perhaps a limited amount of water gets onto (and under) the floor.

If there is a mains water hook up then the van’s system (!) will detect the water tank level dropping and will turn on the water inlet valve to replenish the tank. So the pressure pump can deliver a potentially infinite amount of water onto the floor (especially if the battery is on charge!)

You are right Bargee. I thought you were suggesting that constant water under mains pressure would flood into the van which of course cannot happen if the freshwater tank is under the van. The scenario you have described above will result in water being pumped onto the floor of the van so it flows out of a gas drop hole until the owner returns and turns the pump off. The owner could be in a worse situation if the mains water hose isn't connected with the tap turned on as when the freshwater tank empties the pump will burn out - the Whale submersible before a Shurflo. The answer as you say is to turn the water pump off before leaving the van.

by Peter Brown Sun Apr 28, 2024 11:43 am

The Bargee wrote:It’s nothing to do with the tank being inside or under the van.

The scenario runs: (for example) a water hose bursts a joint inside the van. The pressure pump will then run continuously, discharging the water tank contents onto the floor of the van.

If there is no mains water hook up then the tank will run out of water, so perhaps a limited amount of water gets onto (and under) the floor.

I replaced the elbow connection on the hot water out of the Truma combi that contains the breather valve that allows the combi to be drained at the beginning of March last year. The replacement unit had a compression joint to the combi rather than John Guest. After 8 weeks that included 10 nights camping we came back to the van to find water coming through the floor. As the water heated up it had blown the elbow off the combi and water was being pumped through it into the under seat area.

Fortunately we returned before the tank emptied so the pump survived, I had the old john guest elbow (that was fine if I didn't want to drain the combi) with me and we were able to bail out and dry the area before damage done to wiring, relays, switches, etc. A very lucky escape.

I installed a new John Guest elbow at the beginning of this month.

I still cant get out of the twenty year habit of leaving the pump on all the time when camping!!! Coming up to first anniversary next week - hope history doesn't repeat itself......

by Caraman Sun Apr 28, 2024 12:02 pm

Peter Brown wrote:

...

I still cant get out of the twenty year habit of leaving the pump on all the time when camping!!! Coming up to first anniversary next week - hope history doesn't repeat itself......

I'm the same as you. I usually forget to turn it off and when I do remember I forget to turn it back on when I get back! Arguably, it's more important to do this in the winter. If for some reason the heating stops whilst away from the van and the temp of the Truma drain valves drops to 3 degrees C it will open and the pump will run until it packs up. The only good thing is that the inside of the van should stay dry.

by The Bargee Sun Apr 28, 2024 2:21 pm

When we bought our van the heating hose to the loo crossed the van floor at the back doors, right next to the water pipes. A heating hose joint disconnected itself and the jet of hot air melted the water hoses. So yes, the water runs out of the gas drops, and in our case the whooshbang, but it also soaks the floor on its way and gets drawn up the plywood edge grains of the units if not dried out very promptly. So yes, not a good idea to leave the water on unattended, however the tank is being filled!

by gassygassy Sat May 04, 2024 10:58 pm

My Bourton had a Whale submersible pump with the on/off switch underneath one of the sofa seats. To turn it off firstly you had to remember that you want to turn it off, then lift the seat and operate the unlabelled switch.
I hate Whale submersibles for various unreliable reasons and always replace them with a Shurflo. When I dropped the tank on mine to get rid of the Whale I found that A/S failed to fit the large inspection bung properly which explained the overflowing water from under the camper every time I filled up. So when fitting the Shurflo I also fitted a two way switch on the outside of the sofa bed frame, with a small LED to show if the pump was on.
With a 100 litre tank we can manage for two weeks before needing a refill and as the Bourton only had I think an 80 litre tank, I added an additional 25 litre one.
I now have a 1999 Pollensa and looking at the tank underneath I can see there is plenty of room for a larger one if I want to fit it. I haven't measured the capacity yet but I will. Simply turn off all your water taps indoors, empty the camper tank, read the house water meter, fill the tank and see how much water it has taken.

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