anthonyj Posted June 12, 2010 Share Posted June 12, 2010 Hi Ignore picture of my old van - must get round to changing that!! I now have a 1 year old Compass Avantgarde 100 (same as Eldiss Autoquest 100) with the Whale water system. So I fitted a Whale filter into the blue pipe just before kitchen tap - which claims to provide 4500l of fresh drinking water or one year. It has only been in about 3 months and we have only camped about 14 nights in total so far in that time period. Every time I use the van for a few days I get a sore throat - which I have heard is a sign of poor quality drinking water. Water tastes, looks and smells fine. Should I have cleaned all tanks pipes first prior to fitting the filter? Or could it just be a rogue filter and I should try a new one? I assume you should not use water purifer tablets with a filter in place - otherwise what is the point of the filter?! Hoping someone can help out. Thanks Anthony Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mike 202 Posted June 12, 2010 Share Posted June 12, 2010 Hi,Not too sure with the medical diagnosis, could be damp or pollen if you have stayed in the countryside.Personally we always carry drinking water in a 5L container filled from the site tap. We then use a Brita Filter jug to remove any odd chemicals before drinking the water or making tea/coffee.I have never and never will drink water from the van tank even though I could use the Brita Filter and that includes using it to clean teeth.Never had a problem so far and that includes most of Europe.Hope the above gives you food for thought.Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
armstrongpiper Posted June 12, 2010 Share Posted June 12, 2010 We have used trailer caravans for 40 years and Motorcaravans for 4 years and, apart from the last caravan (6 years), none has used a water filter. We have always used the vehicle water system to provide drinking water and have never had a health problem from it. At the start of a season, and midway through it, we rinse the system through with a proprietory cleaner such as Puriclean (or Bleach in years gone by) followed by a good flush of clean water. Then only refill with 'Potable' water. We've travelled widely in Europe, too. Lucky, maybe, but no fuss with separate bottles. Neil B Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Kirby Posted June 12, 2010 Share Posted June 12, 2010 It is not clear whether you drain your tank when you get home, or leave the water in. I slightly suspect the latter. The initial fill from the mains will be chlorinated, but after about 24 hours all the chlorine will have gone. Water stored in tanks is prone to contamination thereafter. Once contamination is present, it will be drawn throughout the system, so every pipe and tap will harbour some. This will multiply in the absence of chlorine, and even adding a new fill from time to time, because the chlorine will soon evaporate, will become equally contaminated. If the water is contaminated, therefore, the first step must be to remove the contamination. So yes, it would have been wise to sterilise the water system (and not just the tank), before fitting the filter, and it would be wise to do so now.If your van has a Truma Combi heater, or a Truma water heater, be careful what you use! These units have stainless steel water jackets that will be eroded if exposed to a chlorine based sterilising product. Expensive! A further possibility is that some of the pipework installed is not food grade, and residues (esters?) are leaching into the water when it stands in the pipe. From what you say about the effect on your throat, I wonder if this may be the cause.Before you panic though, remove the bottom fridge vent and have a look to see if the cold water supply to the kitchen sink passes behind the fridge. The warmth from the fridge will gently warm the water in this length of pipe, and that will encourage any organic contamination to grow much faster than otherwise, and will tend to accelerate any leaching of chemical contaminant into the water. If this is the case, that pipe needs to be replaced, and re-routed away from the warmth, before you go any further.You will need to check carefully what the Whale filter removes, no filter can remove the lot. Some remove tastes, most remove organics, but I don't think any remove actual chemical contamination.You will need to experiment and to do this I would suggest temporarily removing the filter from the cold water circuit, and taking out and discarding the filter element. Then sterilise. The product recommended by Truma is no longer available in this country, but I have been advised by them it is possible to use the latest formulation of Milton, preferably tablets. You will need pretty much the whole box-full to get the recommended strength, depending on the water tank size, plus the water heater contents. Dissolve the tablets into the water, disperse well, and add to the fresh water tank, brim the tank and allow to stand a bit, and then pump through the whole system, hot (plus filling the water heater) and cold, and leave to stand for no longer than one hour. Then, dump the lot, immediately re-fill with fresh water, and pump this through paying particular attention to the water heater to be sure all chlorine residues are flushed out. Dump this, and re-fill again, again pumping this through the whole system. You should now have fresh, pure, lightly chlorinated water, free of all Milton traces, through your whole system. Taste this, examining for any taint. If OK, leave for 24 hours, and taste again, again examining for any taint. If the water tastes different after 24 hours, I'd suspect the pipework, but to be sure take the cap off the fresh water tank and dip some water out and taste that. If neither taste odd, and your throat remains OK, you have cleared the contamination and can re-connect the filter (having cleaned the base carefully to remove any possible contamination in that) and fit a new filter. Then, whenever you return home from a trip, dump the water from your system and make sure everything is as fully drained out as possible, re-filling, and flushing thoroughly, before your next trip.If the taint is present in the water you dip from the tank, it is the tank that is wrong (unlikely, but not impossible), if water from the tank tastes OK but water from the taps is unpleasant, it is the fresh (and probably all) water pipes that are wrong (this has happened where non-food grade pipes were fitted in error).You should then take the van, still full of water, to the dealer you got it from, explain the problem, and ask him to taste the water. Take a sample of your own fresh tap water with you, so he can sample the difference. Tell him you suspect the wrong grade of water pipes has been fitted and they need to be replaced, and see what he says/does! You'll soon know if you chose a good dealer! :-)Good luck, and let us know how you get on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rapidoman Posted June 12, 2010 Share Posted June 12, 2010 maybe it's not the water, next time you go away drink mineral water and se how you are! it may be something in fabric of the vehicle like a reaction to the adhesives used or the foam in the upholstery. It,s going to be a process of elimination i feel :-S Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
art338 Posted June 12, 2010 Share Posted June 12, 2010 Rule 1. Never drink water from a container that has remained closed to air for a length of time, and any M/H tank is likely to be such a container. Rule 2. Always take enough fresh drinking water in bottles from home to last at least a week. Rule 3. Where possible never leave water static in a tank and then expect to be able to drink it Rule 4. If in doubt boil the water before drinking. Rule 5. Always empty fresh water tanks after each spell away. AND LEAVE OPEN TO AIR !! Filters, never use them, I trust the UK tap water companies. art Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brock Posted June 13, 2010 Share Posted June 13, 2010 I used filters in my first few motorhomes. I stopped when I started camping in the frostier months as it was difficult to drain the water from the filters. Most motorhome manufacturers say do not leave drinking water in the tank for more than 4 days. In my experience, you can get away with that - just - filter or no filter but I wouldn't recommend it. I refresh mine a little every day or so and completely change every 4 days. I don't leave water in the tank when the van is not in use. Follow the advice from others and use bottled water for a while to see if your problems go away. If they do, it points to the water system which I would flush through with a recognised product. I use Milton because it is easily available as do many but others will be aghast at that! Best bet is to use the stuff for home brewing or ask your chemist. I think you are right that you may have to detach the filter when cleaning the water pipes. You'll have to check the filter for advice. Try NHS Direct to discover what else may be causing your problems. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anthonyj Posted June 13, 2010 Author Share Posted June 13, 2010 Lots of really good stuff here so thanks Guys. It looks like the easiest thing to test is to take a bottle of water for drinking next time and see if I still get the sore throat. Thanks once again Anthony Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BGD Posted June 13, 2010 Share Posted June 13, 2010 Sure it's not the cigars or the whisky etc that's doing it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RogP Posted June 14, 2010 Share Posted June 14, 2010 I generally buy either a 5l or couple of 2lt bottles of cheap mineral water just be fore we travel. Then use the bottles to refill from the site taps. Out of interest , anyone heard on the news today about legionaires in car washer bottles that dont have screen wash in them.? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LordThornber Posted June 14, 2010 Share Posted June 14, 2010 RogP - 2010-06-14 11:16 AM Out of interest , anyone heard on the news today about legionaires in car washer bottles that dont have screen wash in them.? Yes here's the link... http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/10293519.stm Martyn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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