Caravan Fully Serviced Pitches - Part 2 of 4 - Fresh Water Connection

[@kevwells3785]

As a newbie I’m finding your videos a brilliant source of information Keep em coming Rob.

[@robswiseways5697]

It’s good to know my videos are helping newbies like yourself Kev. I realise my earlier videos are a bit painful to watch 😬 but the facts are there !! Cheers for watching, Rob

[@barbsdee3831]

Great information thanks Rob 👍🏼

[@robswiseways5697]

Hi Barbs, another of my very early videos. I would make a better job if I had another go now 😂. Home from home plumbing is a must for us 😁 . Best regards, Rob & Gail

[@InverhavonRailways]

Personally I prefer the ball float type to a pressure reduction valve, as any "mishap" occurs outside the van, and not in your internal plumbing. Plus- where do you keep the Aquaroll? It may as well be sitting outside with a hose connected. Another advantage is that you always have half an aquaroll of water in reserve in event of water supply or pressure problems on site, and yes we have in the past.

[@robswiseways5697]

You may be surprised to know John we don’t actually own an Aquaroll. I always use this direct water connection kit as we only ever stay at sites which offer fully serviced pitches. In our 10 years of caravanning we’ve experienced low pressure on just two occasions and to boost the pressure we simply switched on the caravans on-board pump when showering. We always turn the external tap off when we go out for the day and have never had any problems. Have a look at my answer to Peter Cartledge regarding internal water leaks / bursts. Thanks very much for tuning in and commenting. All the best, Rob

[@CaravanVlogger]

Thanks great demo and some top tips 👍🏻 just bought one myself. Graham

[@robswiseways5697]

Thank you Graham. I think it's the way forward and it's good to see more touring sites offering fully serviced pitches. Regards Rob

[@anthonyhughes369]

Excellent video !

[@robswiseways5697]

Thanks for watching Anthony

[@fishandreptileinfo]

A great video and very helpful. However, I don't think its a good idea to let the water hose socket come in contact with the dirty ground. Just a thought Rob.

[@robswiseways5697]

I know what you mean but the outer part of the socket doesn’t come into contact with the drinking water. On saying that I now keep the socket off the ground. Thanks very much for watching and commenting. Best regards, Rob

[@fishandreptileinfo]

@@robswiseways5697 Thanks for the reply Rob, not trying to belittle you, it was just an opinion. Keep up with the great video. I really enjoy them. I have subscribed.

[@robswiseways5697]

@@fishandreptileinfo Appreciate your support and many thanks for subscribing. 👍(I’ve improved a little since these earlier videos!) 😀

[@Venomator.]

Thanks Rob, some good advice & tips there. We purchased one of those (the blue version!) and are using it just now for the first time. It has worked very well but the only gripe I have is the Green connector system would not take the joining piece for our Orange ended hoses (we needed to use an extension, which we already had from the standard system with Orange connectors). It meant having to whip the Green connector off and replace it with an Orange one from yet another hose - bit of a faff, but at least it resolved the shortfall. Why cannot manufacturers standardise their equipment for goodness sakes... 🤷🏼‍♂️ 👍🏻 🐍

[@robswiseways5697]

I thought the snap-fit connectors for this size of hose (1/2 inch) was an industry standard. But glad you got it sorted in the end. Thanks for your comment and watching. Regards Rob

[@Venomator.]

@@robswiseways5697 - I thought so too, but the Green one would not accept the joining piece I have with my Orange set, which was just too big to fit in the Green connection... 🤷🏼‍♂️ Cheers, Rog... 🐍

[@alenatichy1062]

Great demo. Thank you

[@robswiseways5697]

I like to give as much detail as posible. Thanks for watching Alena, take care. Rob

[@CaravanEscapades101]

Great Vlog some good tips, Thanks

[@robswiseways5697]

Thanks for watching and commenting James. All the best with your channel. Rob

[@CaravanEscapades101]

@@robswiseways5697 Thanks Rob, 👍 much appreciated.

[@petercartledge5088]

I’ve heard that it’s better to have an Aguaroll with a stop valve inserted. No risk of your on-board piping being burst open by excessive pressure, flooding your caravan.

[@robswiseways5697]

Hi Peter, We’ve never had a problem in nearly nine years of caravanning. We do however turn the main outside tap off as a precaution when we go out for the day. The Watermaster plug has a pressure regulator set between 1.5 and 1.8 bar. According to the label on the boiler the max system pressure is 4.5 bar which is well above the Watermaster regulator. A pump in an Aquaroll builds the pressure up and stops. The pump will probably have a cut out pressure of 2 bar. This means the internal pipe work will have 2 bar of water pressure standing in it which is slightly more than the Watermaster. The pump in our caravan is controlled via a pressure switch. If I were to use the pump via an Aquaroll and a leak or burst occurred, the pump would turn on and the float would drop in the Aquaroll allowing water in to flood the caravan. It’s a good point and thanks for commenting. Cheers. Rob

[@karenrobinson8109]

Hi do you need the pump turned on in the caravan for the water to run or does it run on its own with the pressure of the water.

[@robswiseways5697]

Hello Karen and thank you for your comment. The pump doesn’t need to be on as the water pressure itself is enough. There are two different direct water hook up’s depending on the make of the water inlet socket. Whale and Truma kits both have pressure regulators so are safe with caravan plumbing. I have read some stories of caravans being flooded but we’ve never had a problem in 11 years. We have been on a couple of sites where the water pressure was a bit low. We switched the internal pump on to boost the pressure when showering but this can use up the hot water much quicker. Hope this helps and best regards, Rob & Gail 😀

[@mickotinexxx1107]

Do yo still need to turn on the pump at the panel or is this just water pressure. Thanks

[@robswiseways5697]

Our caravan has an onboard pump. 99.9% of the time we don’t need to switch it on. We have used the onboard pump a couple of occasions to increase pressure for showering when the site pressure was low. You have to bear in mind this uses the hot water quicker so you have to reduce the flow slightly with the shower mixer tap. Cheers for watching and commenting. Rob

[@kellyvogliqi7621]

Really useful, thanks

[@robswiseways5697]

Glad to be of help. Thanks for watching. Rob

[@deanmathers4483]

Hi, having used this to effectively replace my external pump and Aqua roll so no need for the external pump to be turned on, and we aren't using the inboard tank and pump so we have no pumps turned on (external or internal) so have the mains supply which this adaptor regulates to 1.5 bar. The water supply flow is great without any pump involvement, Am I right in thinking we do not need any pump turned on in our system when using this mains adaptor as I've seen a few various opinions which seem contradictory yet I can't see why any pump would be useful with this mains supply? Thanks in advance.

[@robswiseways5697]

Hi Dean, You are correct in saying you generally don’t need any pump turned on. However, during our nine and half years of caravanning we have stayed on a couple of sites where the site water pressure was low and we used the onboard pump to boost our shower water. This boosted our shower flow above average so we had to be nifty before the hot water ran out ! This is a point to consider if you use your caravan shower. Hope this helps. Cheers Rob

[@deanmathers4483]

@@robswiseways5697 thanks for the reply and forgive a daft question from a relative newbie at caravanning, I'm assuming your using your inboard tank as well as the water mains hook up for showering then?

[@robswiseways5697]

Hi Dean, No we don’t use the onboard fresh water tank at all. It’s the water heater that has the 10 litre storage capacity. The shower has a mixer tap which mixes the hot water with the incoming cold but there becomes a point where the hot water is being drawn off quicker than the heater can heat it up. I have a video titled ‘Caravan Shower Update’ and this should explain it. Thanks again, Rob

[@deanmathers4483]

@@robswiseways5697 arrr I see, I'm pretty sure my internal pump is inside the inboard water tank (underslung tank really) hence I think I need water in the inboard tank to use the internal pump to boost the external mains water supply

[@robswiseways5697]

I’ve not heard of a pump inside the tank. Our internal pump is inside the caravan under the bench next to the water heater. The mains water flows through the internal pump even when the pump is off. My system has a valve to stop water flowing to the inboard tank, instead directing it through to all taps. Hope this helps. Rob

[@markbushell9400]

Hi rob, love watching your vlogs, very helpful for someone like me who knows nowt 😂, have you had any problems with your mains water connection because I've read all sorts of things about them causing leaks or flooding so I'm a bit wary of getting one, look forward to your opinion, cheers, Mark.

[@robswiseways5697]

Hi Mark, That’s very kind of you to say and I’m pleased to hear I’ve been a help 👍. I’ve had quite a few comments from people concerned about leaks and flooding but I can honestly say in 10 years I’ve never had a problem. I do however turn the tap off during the day whilst we’re out. Whale recommend you do this. Hope this helps and all the best, Rob & Gail 😀

[@markbushell9400]

@@robswiseways5697 thanks for your reply Rob, I'll get myself one and see how it goes, look forward to your future vlogs.

[@robswiseways5697]

@@markbushell9400 Thank you Mark. Thought I should mention Truma also do a direct water hook up, our caravan has a whale water inlet socket. Cheers, Rob

[@markbushell9400]

@@robswiseways5697 cheers Rob, my bailey ranger has a truma outlet but I recently bought a whale pump which was recommended to me due to it's better quality and that fits fine so I assume a whale mains will fit too.

[@graemescarbrough7029]

Looks great. What is the water pressure like without a pump, particularly in the shower? Thank you.

[@robswiseways5697]

We find both tap and shower pressure fine and adequate. We have an onboard pump which improves the flow but we don't use it as it uses the hot water up too quickly in the shower. We have been timing both the water heat-up times and max showering times throughout the year, and I will be putting a video together shortly. Thanks for watching. Rob

[@michaelhayes9975]

Hi Rob I know this is now a few years beyond the publishing date of this video but we recently bought one of these and have consistently found the flow rate most disappointing! Certainly not enough to provide a decent shower. We are now seriously considering a return to a water butt and ballcock arrangement although there are doubts that even this will be significantly better. Do you know of any way to improve this situation or are we stuck with what we have? I should add that we had two previous Swift vans using the Truma system both of which worked better. Many thanks.

[@robswiseways5697]

Hi Michael, If you have an onboard pump you could switch it on to boost the pressure. We’ve used our onboard pump twice when the sites mains pressure was poor. We did find it used the hot water up too quickly when showering and had to turn the mixer tap down a little to reduce the flow. Other than that we find ours ok. To eliminate a connection problem at the external water plug, when you’re next on site it may be worth opening the kitchen tap and press the water plug into the socket to see if it makes any difference to the flow. Last resort would be to speak to Whale and see what their response is. Hope this helps. Cheers Rob

[@michaelhayes9975]

@@robswiseways5697 thanks for coming back so promptly Rob. Unfortunately we dont have an onboard tank so the only pump would be the external one that came with the van for use with the water barrel. If we press the plug into the connection when in use and the flow improves what does this indicate please? Do we need to make some adjustment somewhere? We are already in touch with Whale but it remains to be seen if this results in any improvements. The only thing we did notice was that the pressure (flow rate) was better at the instant we opened the sink tap but fell away again almost immediately. I’m assuming this would be down to a temporary increase in pressure whilst the taps were all off and the mains pressure had a chance to build up slightly only to weaken again as soon as water started to run, even filling the kettle is a slow process so you can imagine what a shower was like! Cheers

[@robswiseways5697]

​@@michaelhayes9975 Hi Michael, I would say if the water flow increases when pressing the water plug it could indicate the plug is not being held into the socket correctly? We too experience the drop in pressure after opening a tap, so guess this is normal. I wouldn’t call our shower flow poor but it is by no means the same as at home. We have an Ecocamel shower head which is marketed as being a high pressure low water shower head. We don’t open any other tap whilst showering as this effects the shower flow and increases the water temperature above your set tap position. I can’t think of anything else I can say to help with your problem. I hope Whale reply to your query and I would be interested to hear what they say. Whale advertise the built in pressure reducer inside the plug to be 1.5 to 1.8 bar. Personally I think it ought to be 2 bar. Best Regards, Rob

[@marcrees5807]

Hi great demo. I usually connect a hose from the tap on a serviced pitch to my Aqua roll fitted with a stopcock. Has anyone ever had a problem connecting directly to the caravan, just thinking if a pipe connector broke the caravan would get flooded!

[@robswiseways5697]

Hi Marc, I've never heard or read any stories where folks have had problems. The instructions that came with our Whale Watermaster kit states 'make sure it is unplugged when not in use or when van is unattended'. When we are out for the day I turn the outside tap off. Other than that it's always on and we've never had a problem in 8 years of caravaning. Thanks for watching and take care. Rob

[@anythingoutdoors783]

i am exactly the same for that reason, when we purchased the caravan i asked for all the services be running to show they were working, hen the guy connected the mains water direct to the van one of the plastic fittings leaked under the mains pressure, although the guy fixed the problem straight away i have never trusted direct mains to the van since always ball cock into the aqua roll then the mains is always on the external of the caravan

[@fishypie]

hi we have a swift chalenger 420, shes an old girl but still uo to form, apart from water leaking from the shasee when the water pump is running. how do i find the problem pipe, any idears

[@robswiseways5697]

Hi there, All I can advise is, check the pipe runs with the pump running to see where it’s forcing water out. If there’s no visible evidence under the benches / inside cupboards you will probably need to take covers off where the pipes are concealed. The leak will end up damaging the floor so I hope you find it soon. All the best, Rob

[@fishypie]

@@robswiseways5697 cheers for your reply, how do i remove covers as there is no water showing under seats or bathroom

[@robswiseways5697]

@@fishypie That’s something I cannot answer as furniture and covers vary between manufacturers. You would have to look and work it out or have a keen diy’er look at it for you. Hope you sort it. Cheers, Rob

[@wilcox1231]

Just to make everyone aware, I spoke to Whale technical dpt and they confirmed at the start of the season you will still need to sterilize the water pipe system by using the aqau roll.

[@robswiseways5697]

You are right Ann. I did a video on this during Sept 2020 titled Caravan Water System Steralisation & Preservation. Thanks for mentioning this. Best regards. Rob

[@caravantuggers1608]

Helpful video however with the hose being of food hygiene standard you did have me worrying with allowing the end that goes into the side wall of the Caravan to lie on the floor maybe a freezer or food bag over the end whilst connecting the water inlet end would assist. Other than that very informative and something I would consider buying for going on a fully serviced pitch

[@robswiseways5697]

Hi Graham, It's only the outer casing but you could cover the plug if you wanted. Thanks for watching and commenting. Regards Rob

[@ronbennett1166]

Hi Rob. our whale pump has just failed, i borrowed one of my mate to make sure it was the pump but he mentioned he uses the watermaster all the time now as it so much easier, so i am now going to purchase one for sure, one thing he did say is that he turns the water off at the the tap every time he is away from the van in case of any leaks that may occur inside. do you think it is a good idea or is he being over cautious. loving your videos Rob,keep them coming. regards Ron

[@robswiseways5697]

Hi Ron, Your mate is right, it is much easier, but remember you have to be on a fully serviced (FS) pitch. We only stay on FS pitches and the advice on the packaging states ‘turn the water off when the caravan is unoccupied and during the night’. Although I don’t do the latter, I do turn the water off when we go out for the day. Nearly 11 years later and no problems to report. The end that plugs into the caravan has a built in pressure reducer so the internal plumbing is safe. On all our holiday videos I show the service set up including the direct grey waste drainage. Take a look at some of the other comments and my answers in this video. Pleased you are enjoying the videos and thank you for the comment 👍, Kind regards, Rob

[@shaungrinsted9419]

Hello I wonder if you could help me We’re brand new to touring caravans so I have been watching your videos and also others and it’s been a massive help, I have used my van for the first time and decided to go fully serviced pitch and purchased a cold mains hook up from whale. When connected my water pump was leaking from the seal on the bottom of the pump it’s a flojet Have you ever replaced the seals in on or should I buy a new pump and if so is there a better quality one to take mains pressure Kind regards shaun

[@robswiseways5697]

Hi Shaun, Is it an onboard pump you have? We have one but don’t use it. Using the pump increases the flow but we find its ok without switching the pump on. The mains hook up is pressure regulated to 1.5 / 1.8 bar. If I did use my pump, it builds pressure to 2 bar before cutting out and internal pipe work can withstand higher pressure so all pumps should be ok with the mains hook up. I’ve never changed seals on the pump so cannot advise. Have you searched the internet for flojet caravan pumps? Hope this helps. All the best, Rob

[@shaungrinsted9419]

@@robswiseways5697 thanks rob Yes it’s an onboard pump but because the water has to pass through it it leaks when on or off, I removed the mains hose and just filled the aqua roll and it worked great with no leaks so it’s my guess it’s never had that kind or pressure on it before due to the previous owner just using a aqua roll. I decided to buy the aqua roll ballcock set up giving me endless water supply without causing any unnecessary stress to the pump seal. Thank you and keep the great content coming 👍👍

[@simracer1256]

Are you reading it off a board? I never knew I couldn't consume garden hose.

[@robswiseways5697]

Ha ha I was trying to talk a bit posh in those early clips and there was no autocue 😁. As for the hose try baking it gas 5 for 30 mins. 🤣. Thanks for the comments and watching Sim. Cheers Rob 👍

[@hackettdavid]

Have you got a link for this watermaster kit. I cant find it on amazon

[@robswiseways5697]

Hello David, Having trouble with links. In the Amazon search box type Whale watermaster mains water hook up . It should come straight up. They are priced at £72 / £73.50 and the extension is £54.95. Most caravan accessory shops should stock it. Truma also do a direct water hook up for their inlet socket called Ultraflow Waterline. Hope this helps. Cheers, Rob 👍

[@hackettdavid]

Ok thank you, i

[@ritathomson5675]

Thanks you 😇

[@robswiseways5697]

Thank you Rita