Access to water heater - 2010 Nuevo EL

Apologies if this has been explained elsewhere, but I have not been able to find an answer apart from "remove the 8 screws" - which does not seem sufficient to me.

I have a problem with a leak somewhere under either the shower floor or under the water heater in my 2010 Nuevo EL . I suspect I didn't drain down the water system properly before winter came. Ouch.
I am trying to test the system to see where the leak is emanating from. However, I am stumped at the first hurdle. 
Having removed the bottom two drawers, I can see that the panel at the base of the wardrobe appears that it should come out by removing 8 screws located in round plastic guides. This does loosen the panel, but it is still kept in place by the two vertical posts either side of the wardrobe. Could someone advise whether I need to remove one of these posts in order to release the panel, or whether I should do something else entirely! If I need to remove a post, how to do? I don't think all screws are accessible, so far as I can see. If not, then is there a trick?
Apologies in advance if there is another post about this. 

Any advice on locating the leak more generally. I have already had an issue with a whale push-in hose connector inside the shower floating panel, which I have dealt with, so presumably this is another such push-in connector somewhere else.
Where are the other connectors located? 

Thanks in advance for your guidance.

Andy

Hi , its not easy but if you have removed all the screws ,it should come off but be careful ,the 2 bits either side of the drawer are fragile ,when you take off the panel you will see the water connections to go to hot/cold shower/kitchen ,this is where I had a leak .It is probably the push fit connectors ,but you will soon see . Best of luck ,getting the panel back in is a pig too!!!! Regards    Paul

paul bullock wrote:Hi , its not easy but if you have removed all the screws ,it should come off but be careful ,the 2 bits either side of the drawer are fragile ,when you take off the panel you will see the water connections to go to hot/cold shower/kitchen ,this is where I had a leak .It is probably the push fit connectors ,but you will soon see . Best of luck ,getting the panel back in is a pig too!!!! Regards    Paul

Thanks Paul! 
this gives me more confidence... it really does seem like a super tight fit in that case. 
However, its nice to know that I don't need to completely disassemble the wardrobe!
Fingers crossed my problem is here too...

Cheers, Andy

andy_pennington wrote:

paul bullock wrote:Hi , its not easy but if you have removed all the screws ,it should come off but be careful ,the 2 bits either side of the drawer are fragile ,when you take off the panel you will see the water connections to go to hot/cold shower/kitchen ,this is where I had a leak .It is probably the push fit connectors ,but you will soon see . Best of luck ,getting the panel back in is a pig too!!!! Regards    Paul

Thanks Paul! 
this gives me more confidence... it really does seem like a super tight fit in that case. 
However, its nice to know that I don't need to completely disassemble the wardrobe!
Fingers crossed my problem is here too...

Cheers, Andy

Just a quick update. That worked perfectly. On the right hand side the plywood access panel is tight up against the vertical MDF (yuk) post. 
On the left it is tucked onto the (now slightly swollen due to the moisture) MDF post. So, I eased it out on the right, and whilst very tight, it does come out ok. It wasn't obvious to me that was the correct procedure, but it is.
I might sand or maybe wax it a little to make it a little less tight just in case there's a next time.
However, judging by the unmoved dust on the floor near the heater, the leak is actually somewhere under the shower tray... not in the heater compartment at all. 
Presumably the van was on a slight backwards leaning tilt when we observed the issue so the water was moving to the rear of the shower enclosure/front of heater enclosure.
Now for removing the toilet and shower tray... to see what horrors lurk beneath...
(expect another post!)

Thanks all, Andy.

Dear Andy,
Your problem is sounding like the issues we had with our 2010 Broadway EK. Water leaked from the shower area and ( in our case) ran down behind the rear o/s wheel arch every time we showered. There were reports of AS having a bad run of pushfits in 2010. I asked my trusted caravan service technician for help/ He was not able to do the job for 5 months but told me exactly what to do, although he did ask if I had tools and was competent.I've since replaced all the pushfits on the hot water lines as well as some on the cold feed.
Underneath the loo, there are 6 such connections. 
Others will probably advise but the loo is removeable - first carefully remove the loo cistern filler outside. It is very resistant as it is sealed with a caravan seam sealant. Then find all relevant screws securing the loo and detach plumbing as necessary.
Fortunately, I was able to dry out the soaking wet laminate floor before any long term damage was done. I then ran a thick bead of silicone around all the pushfits under the loo, drilled a hole through the floor (to outside) underneath the pushfits and siliconed in a plastic drain just incase another leak should develop.
Hope this "two penny worth" helps.

I had the same problem with a tight under wardrobe front panel. I had to chamfer the edges to get it back in. I also needed to reinforce the two tiny upstands at either side of the drawer where the fixings leave little meat leading them to snap off. Wood glue and a small piece of ply behind each sorted it perfectly.