Continuous water supply with onboard tank.
Hello,
I'm after a bit of help with my new van. Our old van had the traditional exterior water pump port for dropping into an Aquaroll, which worked great especially when staying on pitches that offer a continuous water supply and waste point.
However, the new van has an onboard water system - the tank is removable for refilling but it has to be removed from a rear locker door, and the tank is tiny to boot! The water pump is the same kind of submersible pump that most vans use but it lives inside the locker with the water tank.
I'd like to still be able to hookup to a continuous water supply but can't think of any way of doing it without leaving the locker door open and dangling the pump out. I don't want to do this for security reasons and for the fact that if it rains I'm likely to get a van full of water!
The tank is a Fiamma Roll Tank 23 which sits horizontal in the locker. Can this be fitted with the float valve out of my Aquaroll? If that's possible I suppose I could MacGyver some kind of hose connection under the van floor.
This can't be the first time somebody has come across this problem so I'm sure there must be a more pragmatic solution.
Thanks in advance.
Comments
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I started to reply assuming you had a Bailey because they have a 23 litre Fiamma (dropped on current models) but the Bailey has a fixed internal pump with an external water connection. I guess you have a continental van?
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so, a caravan onboard tank is really a Fiamma branded Aquaroll in a locker? Interesting.
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Thanks for the replies.
@hitchglitch - yes it's a continental van, a Knaus Sudwind.
@BoleroBoy - the tank is not anything like an Aquaroll, it's small, tiny really, and quite square. I did see if the float valve in the Aquaroll would fit, and while it's not impossible, the cap size is different and because the tank is so small once the water level was enough to close the fill valve it wouldn't be more than a third full.
So not impossible (I'd still have to find a way to connect water outside the van) but not exactly ideal.
Still open to ideas and suggestions.
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OK, understood. So you take the pump out of the Fiamma, fill it up then replace the pump. Many continental vans have limited water storage capacity as they are designed to go to hot places where maximum use is made of the site facilities.
You have to find a way of getting an external connection. I think I would get a dealer to fit a Whale connection unit and ditch the internal tank all together as it really is not much use. Not something I would attempt myself because it involves cutting into the side of the van, although not difficult for the professionals. You would also need to cut off the pump and connect the wires to the Whale unit which is probably quite simple. Then you would need a new pump with Whale connector. All adds up!
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yes, my post was a little tongue in cheek....ie, despite having a 'proper' (not quite) internal tank like a MH , its too small to use as a MH would (fill once and it lasts 5+ days) and also too small to be used as a caravan 'top-up from the mains' system.
a 100+ ltr tank would have made more sense, where either method could be employed. you appear to be stuck with neither option, so a case of form over function?
is it possible to ditch the Fiamma altogether and just rig up your aquaroll as you used to, bypassing the 'tank'?
incidently, i have a Fiamma as described, bought to replace a too large Wastemaster for the odd occasion where we have to manage our grey water where no other dump point exists.
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This seems a weird and unusual arrangement, which would have put me off the 'van entirely as there could be other wacky bits to cause anguish later. Could this be the first example of a caravan being designed by someone who not only has never used one, but has only heard about them from a friend?
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Every year I watch the Dutch fill up their Kraus, Hobby etc. water tanks using watering cans and other containers. It seems to be a feature of continental vans that the basic models are far removed from what the Brits want.
Not much point having a large internal water tank in a caravan because all the manufacturers I spoke to said you shouldn't travel with water in the tank. Also the payload will be seriously affected. I once filled the internal Fiamma on our Bailey and the nose weight went up to 120 kg!
I was told by Bailey that the main reason they provided an internal tank was for caravanning in freezing conditions. I believe they have now dropped it on all current models.
I suppose some people find an internal tank useful when on site for extended periods but why not have two Aquarolls? You still have to carry the water whatever system you have. The internal tank uses valuable locker space.
The Fiamma is quite a good waste water carrier.
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In that case it may well be designed to be used in transit, like in a Motorhome. There is still the payload issue of course and unless it is fitted with a tank heater then of limited use in freezing conditions. The popular British caravans all seem to have internal tanks and as far as I am aware are not suitable for use in transit except for something like the small Fiamma.
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i wasnt advocating travelling with a full tank in a caravan (they arent designed to, like MH are) merely that at that volume level it wasnt much use as a 'permanent' tank.
as hitch says, any underslung fresh water tank (caravan or MH) will be subject to the ravages of the British weather...
i also wouldnt advocate carrying two Aquarolls, surely one is one too many?
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You can certainly fit an internal fixed pump. They seem to come in and out of fashion. Quite powerful, expensive and can be noisy unless mounted on flexible supports. In fact, if you were inclined you could install the system used by Bailey (although I think they have gone back to a submersible external pump). Fairly simple valving will let you draw water either from your external Aquaroll or from the internal Fiamma. It is also possible with a slightly more complex valving to arrange to fill the Fiamma from the Aquaroll to avoid having to take it out to fill.
As I mentioned earlier, I am not a great fan of internal tanks on caravans but might be useful for winter.
I guess the jury is out on internal pump versus external submersible. The submersible is cheap, proven and effective whereas the internal pump is more powerful, a bit noisy and quite expensive if it fails.
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Yes, an extra 60 kg on the payload and increased nose weight.
One other point to consider when fitting a pump. An internal fixed pump will need a pressure switch as part of the set-up. When you open a tap the pressure drops and the pump comes on. Submersible pumps often use micro switches in the tap to switch the pump. If you are fitting an external submersible you could then just use the same wires, however, your wiring may be different.
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A low effort improvement could be to replace the tiddler tank with one of a useful size located elsewhere in the 'van. Just use longer pipes to reach it.
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I'm actually now toying with the idea of fitting a Whale Watermaster or Truma Ultraflow socket to the van and using a couple of NRVs and an internal switch to select between the onboard tank/pump or the external pump/source.
I don't think it would be very complicated to do.
I think there's already a kit for the both the Ultraflow and Watermaster that allows direct hookup to a tap connector without the need for a pump or tank.
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