water system HELP

[tazdog6007]

filling the water tank after the winter drain down,water is going straight out of the overflow.without filling the tank. On my chausson 630 there is no frost protection control just a yellow lever for draining the boiler.It seems to be acting like the tank is full and it's overflow pipe is discharging the water. On winter drain down i opened all the taps and operated the pump till empty and drained the boiler.As per the book.There is no shutdown valve on the tank.This is the first time of use after the habitation check in feb.Any ideas ANYONE! *-) as an edit it can't be the overflow as this would be at the top of the tank

[Brock]

You need to look at your water level gauge and have a look in the tank. Get under the van and find out where the water is coming from.

 

Did you drain down after the habitation because the tank will have had water in it as part of the habitation check - mine is usually full of water after the habitation check. Your fresh water gauge should tell you how much water is already in the tank.

 

Alternatively, is the plug on the freshwater tank out? I've drained down for the winter, left the plug open and when I come to fill the tank for the first time, it just poured out. Is your tank showing empty on the gauge?

 

Does the book tell you how to replenish the water system after draining? If not, have you followed the steps you took in reverse order to ensure what you opened is now closed.

 

I take it your taps are closed and the water is not flowing out of the waste tank. I've left a bathroom tap open after draining down.

 

 

[tazdog6007]

I wanna tell you all a story.....As already said i had the hab. check in feb,and i attempted to fill the water tank for the first time since then ,(see previous blog for the details).To prove it was the tank not holding water i took off the inspection / cleaning cover and felt the bottom of the tank and indeed this was the problem. I then had a zen moment and remembered i found a 15mm push fit stop end in the cab when cleaning ,wondered why it was there put it in the glove box and forgot about it, I retrieved it and sure enough it fitted the end of the tank drain pipe under the van.SO, as well as charging me £340 for this annual ripoff,the doughnut who did the job was the usual i don't give a toss. Took me two hours to solve LOWDHAMS COCK UP,and i am still waiting for my garage locks to be changed. >:-) Back to Brownhills from now on,never been a problem.I FEEL BETTER NOW As an edit Thanks Brock for a swift reply and being right on the drain plug.Not having removed it myself caused the mystery.

[Brock]

Glad you've sorted it out.

[tazdog6007]

Cheers Brock

[Derek Uzzell]

tazdog6007

 

I can’t find a Chausson manual appropriate to their 2017 range, but the manual for the 2015 model-year says

 

"Water pump

For the Shurflo pump models, the tank must be completely drained during the winter. Draining is done by opening the drain tap or by opening all the taps and operating the pump (15 minutes on, 15 minutes off) until the tank is empty.”

 

There are on-line enquiries from Chausson owners asking about how to fully drain the fresh-water tank (example here)

 

http://forums.outandaboutlive.co.uk/forums/Motorhomes/Motorhome-Matters/Chausson-Flash-04-freshwater-drain-tap/24878/

 

and it’s evident from such questions a) that the manual is lacking regarding that information and b) that emptying some Chausson motorhomes’ tank involves removing a fitment from beneath the vehicle.

 

It’s likely that Chausson won’t be so bloody-minded that the sole means of emptying the fresh-water tank will be to run the water-pump for an extended period, and in your vehicle’s case the tank’s drain-outlet has a removable push-fit end-stop accessible from beneath the chassis.

 

It needs highlighting that Chausson’s advice to empty the tank by running the water-pump still risks frost damage. The water level will fall to the pump’s pick-up point in the tank when the pump will no longer be able to suck up water. At this point water will remain in the pipework leading from the tank to (in your case) the push-fit end-stop and, if that water freezes, it could damage that pipework and the end-stop. To properly drain the tank when ‘winterising’ the motorhome would require the end-stop to be removed and only be replaced when the tank is to be refilled.

 

You might want to ask Lowdhams why their technician removed the end-stop during the last habitation-check. As this was performed in February it would certainly have been best if the end-stop were not in place and this might well have been recognised by a Chausson-savvy Lowdhams technician.

 

It has to be said that if I had removed the end-stop I would have made sure that the motorhome owner was told that I had done this and why. On the other hand, if I discovered a ’spare’ component in my motorhome’s cab after a service, and I didn’t know the component’s purpose, I’d immediately contact the company that had carried out the service and ask about it. I certainly wouldn’t think “I wonder what that thing’s for?” and just chuck it in the glove-box.

 

Chausson can be blamed for their poor Owner’s Manual, and Lowdhams can be blamed for not telling you the tank’s end-stop was removed during the habitation service, but some of the responsibility for your tank refilling problem was due to you finding the ‘mysterious’ end-stop in the cab and not following this up with Lowdhams.

[tazdog6007]

It was on a Sunday. and the manual makes no mention of this But only says run the pump till water stops running, I do take your point that the fitter acted with good intentions and my criticism was a little harsh but my head still hurts from the scratching,