Water tank cap.

[paulni]

Anyone had problems with the lockable cap for their water tank? Mine wouldn't lock so I took it back to dealer and they replaced the barrel. It has just failed again. It is on an Elddis Autoquest 2007 model.

 

Paul

[geordie01]

yes thats what they do i had loads of problems with mine just put the whole cap into boiling water for a few minutes and that usually does the trick for a while after 2 years i i now dont bother and just use it without locking it after all is some one really going to siphon off my water

i also bought a new cap and keys while in france just in case i lose it

cost 14 euros

 

[michele]

Yes but geordie you're missing the point this is where the baddies get you :D I mean if you believe all the stories they put all sorts in your water works. :D

[Charlieme]

Oh dear, is this the start of another....................................

[Bazza454]

paulni - 2007-09-05 5:55 PM Anyone had problems with the lockable cap for their water tank? Mine wouldn't lock so I took it back to dealer and they replaced the barrel. It has just failed again. It is on an Elddis Autoquest 2007 model. Paul

Hi Paul,

Might just be worth checking, but if it's the "standard" cap it has to be in the open position before you replace the cap and turn the key.

[breakaleg]

(and just use it without locking it after all is some one really going to siphon off my water )

 

round here they are more likley to pee in your tank

8-) 8-) 8-)

[GJH]

Bazza454 - 2007-09-05 9:47 PM

paulni - 2007-09-05 5:55 PM Anyone had problems with the lockable cap for their water tank? Mine wouldn't lock so I took it back to dealer and they replaced the barrel. It has just failed again. It is on an Elddis Autoquest 2007 model. Paul

Hi Paul,

Might just be worth checking, but if it's the "standard" cap it has to be in the open position before you replace the cap and turn the key.

Good point. Our Autoquest is a bit older (2004) but it took me a little while to get used to locking the cap.To take it off, insert key & turn it to the left, remove key and then twist cap to left & withdraw it.To replace the cap, insert it and turn to the right, insert key and turn to the right then withdraw key.Graham

[JimJam]

The water cap is rubbish and the same model has been on every MH I have owned. Never in 15 years have managed to lock the water cap on any motorhome successfully twice in a row. It is the most sworn at item on many a motorhome I think :-D

[Clive]

All MH locks - including the water filler - need a regular squirt of WD40 or similar to keep them free. Just make sure you dont over doo the filler lock.

 

 

[Miami]

Vaseline corrects ours when it sticks.

[Guest starspirit]

Absolutely right Clive - lubricate the thing as soon as it gets stiff (the filler cap that is) and it will last for years.

 

In 35 years of vans I've NEVER broken one yet.

 

With the cap and lock mechanism doused in water every time you fill up you can't expect it last forever without taking care of it.

 

Mind you I expect like everything else modern corners have been cut and material quality downgraded in the pursuit of profit and to hell with the problems.

 

Not that I am cynical!

[Clive]

Would it not be better to lubricate it regularly to STOP it getting stiff?

 

Nil excretum taurus!.

 

 

 

 

[Guest starspirit]

And there was me thinking that lubrication was the cure for all problems?

[RupertGS]

starspirit - 2007-09-08 9:16 PM

 

Absolutely right Clive - lubricate the thing as soon as it gets stiff (the filler cap that is) and it will last for years.

 

In 35 years of vans I've NEVER broken one yet.

 

With the cap and lock mechanism doused in water every time you fill up you can't expect it last forever without taking care of it.

 

Mind you I expect like everything else modern corners have been cut and material quality downgraded in the pursuit of profit and to hell with the problems.

 

Not that I am cynical!

 

As a manufacturer (in a small way) I feel that the above comment is not only unfair but also untrue. What evidence have you that everything modern has lesser quality materials and that corners have been cut?

 

Do you remember how your first cars rusted after three years, needed servicing every 1000 miles and despite being fairly simple broke down regularly? The simple fact is that everything from cars to motorhomes and from TVs to tape recorders are incredibly more reliable than ever, with warranties three or even five times longer.

 

As for the pursuit of profit, one way to stop making any profit is to make shoddy goods as your customers soon stop buying anything from you.

 

One thing that always amuses me is that people with attitudes like yours, who feel that trying to increase profit is somehow not quite the done thing are usually the incredibly mean and 'careful' ones who try everything to spend as little as possible therefore making their own lives more profitable. In fact I've just read another post of yours where you boast about letting others take the biggest depreciation on your motorhomes.

 

No, you're not cynical, just very unobservant it would appear, and perhaps a little foolish. Try switching from whatever safe job you have or had in a big company or the state sector and try your hand at business, where cutting corners and making shoddy products will soon see you out of work.

 

 

 

[JimJam]

Clive - 2007-09-07 7:16 PM

 

All MH locks - including the water filler - need a regular squirt of WD40 or similar to keep them free. Just make sure you dont over doo the filler lock.

 

Someone once told me never to use WD40 on a lock but use graphite instead, So I have never used it. :$ I will start using it then, thanks

[trooper]

I've seen a few times that you should'nt use wd 40 on plastics as it can attack it, I always use silicon spray or grease as that is what we used in the plumbing industry, also it is better near potable water, just a thought.

by the way my cap has now stopped locking, when you turn the key to lock it, it spins clockwise but still undoe's when turned anti clock, 3 new m/h and three new water caps.

 

cheers

 

[trooper]

Hi Rupert GS

I could'nt agree more, I had a succesfull business in the service industry and our aim was to give as good a service as possible, without happy customers there is no profit in the end. sorry if its a bit off piste

Cheers

[Guest starspirit]

Thank you Rupert for those kind words and I will endeavour to reply without it being a 'tit for tat' personal attack.

 

Unlike yourself I have never manufactured anything to sell to others, but I have provided various services over many years and have always endeavoured to do my best to provide exactly what my customers wanted.

 

Having never worked in the safety of the public sector I feel that your uninformed attack on that front does your own credibility no favours.

 

I wonder just what it is that you manufacture and just what evidence can you produce to substantiate your claim that corners are never cut in design and production?

 

You only have to look at any modern lightweight van to see, and to listen to on the road, the flimsiness of modern construction methods and I make no apology for having my own opinion.

 

Of course modern vehicles in general are more reliable with more and better kit, but that has more to do with competition than anything else.

 

Perhaps you might care to read of many forum members problems with their vans and how these problems and design short comings should never have passed final inspection.

 

To add insult to injury makers often abdicate responsibility completely or to dealers who are sometimes unable and or unwilling to deal with the issues.

 

That said there are good manufacturers and there are good dealers too.

 

I fail to see how letting others bear the brunt of the early motor home depreciation can be wrong?

 

It surely is my personal choice to safeguard my own resources a little and just as your choice may be different we both have the right to make these choices free from abuse from others.

 

So what exactly is wrong with me making my own life 'more profitable'? Any fool can chuck money at any problem and spend a fortune 'keeping up with the Jones's'. Not me.

 

The wiser man, in my view, tries not to spend more than he has to - without taking potentially dangerous short cuts that is.

 

However I respect your right to spend as much as you like on whatever you like without any form of judgement from me and I expect the same courtesy from you.

 

Being of a certain age I choose to do as much as I can myself rather than pay tradesmen because I grew up in the DIY era and I take much pride and pleasure from so doing. Please tell me how this approach is wrong.

 

I make no apology for the offence that you have chosen to take but you may wish to consider an apology for your unwarranted personal attack?

 

[RupertGS]

This is what you said:

 

"Mind you I expect like everything else modern corners have been cut and material quality downgraded in the pursuit of profit and to hell with the problems."

 

You stated that "everything" else modern has its corners cut and quality downgraded. This is insult to any manufacturer. You said "in pursuit of profit and to hell with the problems" clearly stating that manufacturers care only for profit and care nothing for quality. This is an also insult.

 

And of course I don't think it wrong that you try to save money if you wish - I thought that you might have been unable to work out that I was highlighting the fact that you somehow think it wrong for businesses to try to make profits but it OK for you to maximise your returns. Can't you see the anomaly here?

 

You're right, an apology is required and it should be from you for a snide attack on businessmen that has absolutely no general foundation despite any individual examples you can come up with of which there will always be a few as no one is perfect.

 

I make wrought-iron gates, balconies etc. and many one-off commissions by the way and don't downgrade my materials and cut corners in pursuit of a bigger profit.

 

[Miami]

How did we get onto the morals of society when all we were talking about was a water tank cap worth a few quid ??????????

[GJH]

starspirit - 2007-09-09 4:28 PM

 

And there was me thinking that lubrication was the cure for all problems?

Only those that can't be fixed by Duck tape (lol)

 

Back to the point. My late father was a cabinet maker and would only use graphite to lubricate a lock on the grounds that any oil would eventually trap dirt.

 

Graham

[Old Git]

GJH - 2007-09-10 8:22 AM

Back to the point. My late father was a cabinet maker and would only use graphite to lubricate a lock on the grounds that any oil would eventually trap dirt.

Graham

 

Good point Graham, and although I agree entirely - how would graphite stand up to frequent and regular dousing with water?

 

I believe the likes of GT85 are very good, as the carrier solvent evaporates away quite quickly and leaves a "dry" film of lubricant. It is highly recommended for bike chains for just the reason you state, and presumably it's resistant to being washed off as well. It's not a very good rust preventative though, but I would think the metal bits of a water tank cap would be non-rusting.

 

Hope this helps a bit

 

Dave

[RupertGS]

Miami - 2007-09-10 7:36 AM

 

How did we get onto the morals of society when all we were talking about was a water tank cap worth a few quid ??????????

 

Because Mr Starspirit decided to insert his own very cynical and jaundiced outlook on life into the conversation. I have just learned that by clicking on someone's name you can find out about them. He boasts that one of his hobbies is stirring things up, doing things in his bloody-minded way and being intolerant. I now realise that he obviously enjoys luring people into arguments by raising his rather sad outlook on life and inserting it into posts, thus causing an argument.

 

I'm no longer going to be drawn in, so it's goodbye. I joined this forum to learn about motorhoming but if I thought that the average motorhomer is like Mr Starspirit then I'd try boating or something! Luckily most of you seem to be more reasonable.

[Miami]

RupertGS - 2007-09-10 9:17 AM

Miami - 2007-09-10 7:36 AM How did we get onto the morals of society when all we were talking about was a water tank cap worth a few quid ??????????

Because Mr Starspirit decided to insert his own very cynical and jaundiced outlook on life into the conversation. I have just learned that by clicking on someone's name you can find out about them. He boasts that one of his hobbies is stirring things up, doing things in his bloody-minded way and being intolerant. I now realise that he obviously enjoys luring people into arguments by raising his rather sad outlook on life and inserting it into posts, thus causing an argument. I'm no longer going to be drawn in, so it's goodbye. I joined this forum to learn about motorhoming but if I thought that the average motorhomer is like Mr Starspirit then I'd try boating or something! Luckily most of you seem to be more reasonable.

He obviously is full of his own self importance so like you will avoid him like the plague. So glad he says he camps as far away from campsites as possible. Just the type to make you move on if he is parked next to you!!!!

[michele]

Rupert & Miami ,

In defense of Starspirit he has been on here rather along time .

I don't see that he has done anything wrong each to their own .

 

No need to throw teddies out of the pram just because you happen to think differently to someone else is there ?

 

It is a free speech Forum and I don't really see the need to call people or get personal . He has never made a secret of his views and most on here are quite aware of them .

 

Still no reason not to be friends.