Water Question

[zaria123]

As relatively new motorhomers. I wondered what sort of time a onboard fresh water tank would last? It's an Autostratus Ck2000 with an internal tank under one dinette seat.

 

We filled it until the overflow was running out. Washed 3 cups in a basin, washed hands twice, and had a very quick shower.......and no water left neither hot or cold!

 

We thought that wasn't much use if you weren't on a site every night to refill, or is it this model not designed to carry more than one days water for one person. One if us had to nit wash and wait till we got to our first site stop.

 

Or are we missing something?

 

Cheers

Alan

[Peter42]

Depends on your definition of 'A very quick shower', of course but it does seem that you have a leak somewhere. On my Autocruise Starspirit I would expect to get a couple of days use of water under the same circumstances. I would refill the tank and then look underneath the chassis and see if you can sight any water dripping down.

[silverback]

hi, dont know about the van in question, but it should last way longer than that!! are you sure the drain valve wasnt in the open position, on the tank and on your hot water tank?

to get the capacity of your tank you need to measure length, depth, width from which you can calculate the volume in litre/pints /gallons etc

google volume calculation and the formula will come up

jonathan

[zaria123]

We've checked and no leaks. We've had a look and the water tank is only 600 x 500 x 300, so I guess we need an external water source. It only took 5 mins to fill it, so less than 5 minutes in the shower would probably empty it.

We'll have to do a quick rethink as we are currently on our first day of a 10 day trip and not all is on sites.

 

Any suggestions for best option?

 

Cheers

Alan

[Guest Tracker]

600 x 500 x 300 looks like about 90 litres or 20 gallons (ish).

 

That much water would generally last us three to four days - more if we go into water saving mode - but we don't shower as we consider that it is just as easy and effective to have a good wash down each day and much easier on the gas (diesel in our case) and water as well as all the faffing about in preparation and finishing.

 

To shower in a van the best way is to wet yourself down then turn the water off whilst you soap up and wash then on a gain to rinse off.

 

We find that the hot water - about 12 litres - and very hot - will just about do two showers that way as long as the water is being heated during the process and will take away just about a days worth of cold water in the process.

 

A shower head with it's limited supply potential should take much longer to drain the cold tank than a mains pressure open hose does to fill it? To test try a timed burst of both into a bucket!

 

You might like to check that your cold water tank overflow is positioned so that it runs an unobstructed (for obvious reasons) loop higher than the top of the tank so that you do indeed get a full tank. Filling more slowly as you approach full tank also allows more air to escape and more water to remain.

[Mel B]

According to the measurements you've given that's a 83-90 litre tank - making an allowance for it being the external measurement and some 'unused' capacity lets say 80 litres - it's not the biggest of tanks but it is by no means the smallest either and it should certainly last longer than that - so if you're only getting that little usage out of it, it has got to be the amount of water you're actually using.

 

You can't really use the shower like you would at home as it can gobble it massively - do you turn the tap off whilst you soap up and have a scrub, then rinse off? It is better not to have the water too hot either, otherwise all you tend to do is mix more cold with it and get through more, especialy if you don't reduce the overall flow too. Same with hand washing etc - wet hands quickly, turn tap off, soap up, turn tap on then rinse quickly. For washing up, use as small a bowl as you can within reason and only put in sufficient water for your needs, don't rinse plates etc, but wipe them off with a piece of kitchen roll (sorry if I'm teaching you to suck eggs!) - we only wash up once a day so we're not constantly 'wasting' bowls of water.

 

As for it only taking 5 minutes to fill, not sure on the standard flow rate for a household tap, but I suspect it's in the region of 12-14 litres a minute x 5 minutes = 60-70 litres so that's pretty much on track with it taking around 5 minutes to fill it. Our tank is bigger and as we have a bit lower water pressure, it takes ages!

 

 

:D

[Mel B]

Bummer ... there's me composing a response and Tracker slips in between us!!! *-)

[Dave Newell]

We have a 75 litre on board tank and have just done 9 nights away in the van and still have water left in the tank. We don't have a shower on board but we did both have a strip wash most days. We don't drink from the on board tank as we use a separate hand held container for drinking water as its easier to maintain in a clean and healthy manner. On the dimensions you've given your tank should hold 80 litres or so but is it that size all round? I'm thinking that the tank is in the bottom of the wardrobe on many Elddis vans and could be sitting on top of a wheel arch with a cutout on the rear side to suit, this could reduce your capacity by several gallons.

 

D.

[747]

Hi there,

 

If you have drained down the hot and cold water when you get back home, then you may be filling the fresh water tank but not the hot water heater.

 

Try brimming the fresh water tank and then open a hot water tap until it runs (cold) full bore. Now brim fill the fresh water tank.

 

It is good practice to carry a 10 litre jerrycan for emergencies. Also, I would purchase a range of tap fittings and a short(ish) piece of water pipe. You can obtain water from a number of sources, garages, cemeteries, public loos, etc.

 

I now have the luxury of a large fresh water tank but my last van, an Elddis, had about half of the capacity of your van. I did not use the shower in it. I filled the washbasin, wet myself down, had a good soap and then used a jug to rinse off. It saved a lot of water and I was just as clean.

 

You are possibly being a bit wasteful with water, as has been pointed out. It took my wife a bit of time and a lot of arguments before she saw the light. Nobody will tell you what you should do, it will come to you naturally when you get fed up carrying heavy water containers every few hours. :D

[ChrisK5]

We were having a similar problem when we first got our van though it has a 120 litre fresh water tank i have to fill it every day, (we are a family of four) we just had to learn to be more economical with the water.

 

Out of interest i wonder haw many people with motorhomes use a aquaroll to fill their fresh water to save the bother of moving the van off the pitch????

[LordThornber]

ChrisK5 - 2010-08-09 7:57 PM

 

Out of interest i wonder haw many people with motorhomes use a aquaroll to fill their fresh water to save the bother of moving the van off the pitch????

 

Not many I would have thought unless you have the facility to draw from the aquaroll. I guess there are ways around it though.

 

Martyn

[ChrisK5]

Yes i bought a 12v pump, 3ft hose and made a lead with a in-line switch and it works very well. Its only a 40 litre roll so i need to do it three times to fill the fresh water tank.

I also use it to fill the thetford flush tank

[colin]

Soon makes you reliase how much water you must use a home.

First time we used a van with shower could hardly believe how quick it run out.

[zaria123]

Hi Folks

Thanks for the replies.

Yes I guess we have got yo re-educate ourselves a bit.

Though we did as mentioned run the hot water and refill and it took more than we used. We are going to experiment over the next few days and see.

We're also going to look into an external wheely tank and pump, but just not sure where to store it as we haven't got a garage on our motorhome....keep you posted!

 

Thanks again

Alan

[Mel B]

Forget a wheeled tank - get a couple of large collapsable water carriers and a trolley - you can then fasten the full tanks to the trolley to move them when full, but when you don't need them you can store them and the trolley very easily in a seat locker along with the water carrier - they'll also cost you less than a 'proper' wheely one! :-D

[Brian Kirby]

Mel B - 2010-08-09 9:50 PM Forget a wheeled tank - get a couple of large collapsable water carriers and a trolley - you can then fasten the full tanks to the trolley to move them when full, but when you don't need them you can store them and the trolley very easily in a seat locker along with the water carrier - they'll also cost you less than a 'proper' wheely one! :-D

Hmmmmmm!  Not sure about this, wheely not sure!  It will supplement your fresh water supply of course, but then there's the little matter of the waste water tank, which would surprise me if it were larger than the fresh water tank, so will be about full when the fresh is about empty.  So, to empty the waste, you'll in any case need to move to that magic place where (mostly) the fresh water tap lives.  As you're moving the van anyway, just re-fill with fresh while the waste is emptying out.  Two birds, one stone.  (Why is it that so many folk seem to do first one, and then the other, instead of both together? :-)).

The less water you use, the more slowly the waste fills, so the less often you have to move the van.

[bob b]

Dave Newell - 2010-08-09 7:49 PM We have a 75 litre on board tank and have just done 9 nights away in the van and still have water left in the tank. We don't have a shower on board but we did both have a strip wash most days. We don't drink from the on board tank as we use a separate hand held container for drinking water as its easier to maintain in a clean and healthy manner. On the dimensions you've given your tank should hold 80 litres or so but is it that size all round? I'm thinking that the tank is in the bottom of the wardrobe on many Elddis vans and could be sitting on top of a wheel arch with a cutout on the rear side to suit, this could reduce your capacity by several gallons. D.

In fairness Dave, you don't have to wash your hair these days. 

[Dave Newell]

bob b - 2010-08-09 11:11 PM

Dave Newell - 2010-08-09 7:49 PM We have a 75 litre on board tank and have just done 9 nights away in the van and still have water left in the tank. We don't have a shower on board but we did both have a strip wash most days. We don't drink from the on board tank as we use a separate hand held container for drinking water as its easier to maintain in a clean and healthy manner. On the dimensions you've given your tank should hold 80 litres or so but is it that size all round? I'm thinking that the tank is in the bottom of the wardrobe on many Elddis vans and could be sitting on top of a wheel arch with a cutout on the rear side to suit, this could reduce your capacity by several gallons. D.

In fairness Dave, you don't have to wash your hair these days. 

Fair comment Bob :D .D.

[sshortcircuit]

I bought the water roll and waste water carrier when I first had MH. They took up a lot of space and have been replaced by a watering can and a bucket with plenty of good exercise.

 

Slowly SWMBO is realising that there is not a reservoir at the other side of the tap and is now using water sensibly.

[Guest Tracker]

In nearly 40 years of motorhoming we've never felt the need for an Aquaroll or separate waste water tank not least because you have to store the wretched things somewhere and unless you have a large van with a large locker these wet and sometimes mucky water thingies are a pain to stow.

 

We have always found it no problem to simply drive slowly to the tap and emptying point if we are on a site and then back to the pitch but then again we don't use sites that often anyway.

 

If we are on a site and feel the need for a shower we tend to use the sites showers because with the best will in the world there ain't a lot of room in the van's shower and there is a lot of faffing about before and after - although in the van the water supply and temerature is at least predictable and the floor clean!

 

It may be politically correct these days to at least claim to shower every day but do you really need to when a good wash down is just as effective and often much easier to manage in a van washroom?

 

On the other hand if your holiday consists of sitting on site for several days with a large familt and heavy water use and you have the space I guess in certain circumstances an Aquaroll and wheeled waste tank would have their roles?

 

Each to their own and we all develop systems that work better for our own needs!

 

 

[lennyhb]

As Mel & Rich said your measurements equate to a 90Lt tank. On newer Elddis vans they usually fit 40Lt tanks which by Motorhome standards is very small.

 

We have a 120Lt tank & I normally fill it 75% when travelling about 90Lt. We can easily last 3 days 4 days at a pinch with us both having a shower every day, we also use a spray bottle to rinse the loo instead of flushing it as that saves us at least 10Lt each tank full.

 

If it is a 40Lt tank you would be very lucky to get 2 days, if it is 90Lt you probably need to change your showering habits, quick rinse over with shower, turn water off, soap up then rinse off no standing under running water.

 

 

[lennyhb]

LordThornber - 2010-08-09 7:59 PM

 

ChrisK5 - 2010-08-09 7:57 PM

 

Out of interest i wonder haw many people with motorhomes use a aquaroll to fill their fresh water to save the bother of moving the van off the pitch????

 

Not many I would have thought unless you have the facility to draw from the aquaroll. I guess there are ways around it though.

 

Martyn

 

I kept the aquaroll & wastemaster from the caravan as I thought I might need them with the Motorhome, they are still in the shed rotting away never felt the need for them in the van . The vans got wheels so I drive it to the tap.

[Brian Kirby]

One thing that belatedly occurred to me is the fresh water filler cap.  If this is not a good fit, or has lost its rubber sealing washer, you may be chucking most of your water down the road en-route, so you start travelling full, but arrive half full/empty - delete as appropriate to personality type!  :-)

[sheer lunar-see]

Hi all, my brother in law has a similar problem with his van, it not having a separate tank for the toilet flush, but takes its feed from the main tank, thus with using the toilet alot with 4 people in the van, it means they are filling up more often than us, they are also new to motorhoming, but are learning fast to conserve their water usage.

[peter lambert]

Alan,

As others have said before, you do need to be careful with fresh water use but in our Rapido we find that we can go a whole weekend on one fill up. The tank holds around 120 litres, and we both shower twice a day and wash up at least twice a day. Plus the toilet uses fresh water from the tank for flushing.

So, it can be done. Good luck.