Direct mains water connection
Hi . Not posted for a bit , I would like to know if anyone who uses whale direct mains water connections do they tend to leak to the outside of the van ........ That is from the O ring on the caravan fitting . .
I have to say I bought one 12 months ago ,used it once and had an issue with onboard pump so never used it again , just supply mains pressure to side of aquaroll instead . I did fit a new o ring which didn't improve it ,It was a genuine whale part too . I think there is a tolerance issue on the whale kit
I have spoke to a random amount of caravaners on sites and a few have said that they all leak in there opinions . Just thought Id ask here and see the reaction . And if there is a fix .
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There is a pressure reducer in the plumbing of the 'van. I would trust it less than a politician because of the damage that a leak will do.
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The actual pressure reducer is in the outside coupling not in the van . its in the form of a reducer . this can be demonstrated by looking at water pressure at the end of a hose pipe and then sticking mains adapter in it and see that water flow is much reduced . I totally agree with your comments .
We've just come back from a very snowy and cold weekend in Derbyshire. It would have been much easier to fill onboard tank up with mains pipe,and then turn it off . (outside pipes were freezing up ) instead of having aqua roll plumbed up and freezing up .
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There are various pressure reducing valves available intended for use with drip-feed garden irrigations systems and it is quite possible that one would be suitable for fitting to the supply hose. Details of one here.
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Thanks for that , very interesting and helpful . Just had an answer from another forum ,saying the O rings need to be replaced and lubricated every 12 months , It did indeed replace them about 14 months ago,it only leaked a very little bit then , its a waterfall now . Although its fine with aquaroll on . I must admit all the mains pipe I've connected have only the slightest of leaks , I make it a rule not to overtighten fittings and clean and inspect O rings . The one common leak is the Tap washers ,which I have no control over . Cheers Martin
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With reference to the leaking tap washer, I assuming you mean the one on the tap adapter. I've found that popping in another washer and using two, you don't have to tighten it to destruction and it's easier to remove when you've finished. They are the same as washing machine hose ones FYI..
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All very interesting............
Just fitted a Whale direct system and so far no problems, no leaks and no aquaroll!
Does anyone have a working knowledge of the system - I wonder whether water would be safe to drink straight out of the taps? Doesn't seem too dissimilar to a normal domestic supply.
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Do you mean the caravan taps?
There has been a number of discussions about drinking water through the caravan pipes. In essence some say never do it as the caravan pipes are not as clean as your domesticated and always full pipes at home. While in storage and empty all sorts of bugs (real and the virus) can thrive in them. Others say they drink from the caravan and have had no ill effects. Others say it tastes horrible through those blue plastic pipes anyway. Some even wash their teeth in bottled water as well.
As you will be there one drinking it you have to make your own mind up.
Personally I always get a 'gippy tummy' when I do so but my OH doesn't.
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Never had a problem with drinking the water or cleaning my teeth, although I never drink tap water except in my malt! I do drink the water after it is boiled.
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Decades ago, before barrels had an opening in the side, and before ball valve fittings were available for them, we did use a direct connection from tap to van, and never had a problem. But superpitches were uncommon and there was a pressure reducer in the hose to van fitting. The advent of barrel mounted ball valves was quickly followed by us purchasing one as a precaution. And we use one still. We don’t have a pressure reducer at the pitch tap end of the connecting hose, but the suggestion posted, that we could, seems very sensible, so we’ll look into that. We’re certainly not into disabling our water supply by turning it off before bed and on again in the morning, though we have turned off before going out if the tap fitting persists in leaking, which fitting a pressure reducer won’t cure either.
With regard to drinking mains water from caravan taps, we treat them as we would at home, cleaning our teeth, filling the kettle and boiling food, as normal. But for soft drinks and cask strength whisky (never water in normal malt) we use bottled water. Although our van pipes are flushed through with steriliser from time to time, the water can taste odd. Having said that, it’s little better at home where potable water is filtered through charcoal and kettle water still needs Brita filtering to avoid a film in a cup of tea.
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We drink water straight from the tap at home, but our water is from The Lakes & is very soft. Our last caravan we drank from the tap too with no problems, however this caravan's water tends to have 'a taste' to it, even after boiling, so brew water is taken form a separate gallon container.
I only put whisky in my whisky
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Lucky you re having palatable to drink straight from your taps. As East Anglians, we suffer water so hard that a water softener is necessary, with charcoal filters to reduce the taste of water companies processes to clean agricultural nitrates from the supply. Despite which, we do have our own whisky distillery, St Georges in Harling.
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