waste not draining in new eddis

[mrs p hancox]

hi just got the Elddis 150 (rear l shape lounge) and no waste will drain from sink or shower, phoned supplier they say elddis/compass have big problem with this paticular lay out as air traps stop water waste leaving, has any one heard of this problem, or advise on remidy, supplier says elddis looking into this fault, but surely ours is't the only van they have sold, thought this shape had been on market several years.

[Derek Uzzell]

Not sure whether to take your complaint ("no waste will drain from sink or shower") literally or whether it's just that the waste water is inordinately slow to drain away. If the latter, then I'm afraid this ain't that uncommon with some motorhome designs, especially when waste-water pipes have to travel a long way to the waste-water tank. However, if the shower or sink really won't drain at all, then you need to insist that your supplier do something PDQ about the problem as you obviously can't use the vehicle satisfactorily in that state. Short of physically modifying the water system to overcome the problem, you might try putting plenty of water in the sink to see if, when the drain-plug is removed, siphonic action will 'suck' the water from the sink. (Not so easy doing this with the shower though!) This works with my Hobby's slow-draining wash-basin. You could also see if the 'stance' of the vehicle makes a difference. Perhaps things would improve if your motorhome were parked slightly nose-high or tail-high. My Hobby has its shower at the rear and waste-water tank at the front - parking nose-high is not an option with this layout.

[Brambles]

When the tanks are often supplied all the connecting hose bosses are blanked off and the ones used drilled or cut open - wonder if they have done this on yours during assembly.

[chas]

Hi- you could try filling up kitchen sink with water with plug in and opening up waste water tank tap, then with a rubber sink plunger take out plug and plunge the water down the sink , it may well clear any possible debris out because the waste tank is open there should be no build up of air pressure. It may well work, if not proceed to plan B !!!!!!! Chas

[mrs p hancox]

SINK NOT BLOCKED, VAN WEEK OLD AND NO WATER WOULD PASS FROM START AND BY NO WATER, I MEAN NOTHING HUSBAND HAS BLOWN FROM OTHER END AND GET A FEW BUBBLES THEN IT VERY SLOWLY CLEARS, BUT THEN NEXT LOAD OF WATER STOPS. HAVE CHECKED BLANKING STOPS AND NONE IN, NO BLOCKAGE, SUPPLIER SAYS IT DUE TO PIPE BEING HORIZONTAL THROUGH MOST OF THE VAN, AS BEING L SHAPED LOUNGE PIPE HAS TO GO UNDER FLOOR THEY HAVE TROUBLE WITH U SHAPED LOUNGE AS WELL BUT NOT AS BAD AS THEY RUN MOST PIPE THROUGH BACK OF SEAT AT A SLOW SLOPE, BUT I'M SURE OUR VAN CAN'T BE ONLY ONE OF THIS DESIGN,

[chas]

Hi, further to my last post I have checked out the elddis 150 design and I would think its waste water pipework should be the same as my elddis 200 reg05. The sink waste drops some 30" down from behind the fridge and cooker and perhaps under your small cupboard then out through the floor to the waste holding tank which I would assume is in the same location as my vans tank[ it cant be fixed anywhere else on the short wheel base Peugeot] and the one and quarter pipe should deal with this discharge very well, mine does. The waste from the bathroom sink goes staight down through the floor along the offside and into the waste tank a run of perhaps 5ft. the waste pipe from the shower tray again along the upper floor under the wardrobe and side of wheel arch into storage area of bed/seat down through floor and across into waste tank. these are not long runs in my opinion and should give no problems. You of course do have problems and I can only suggest 3 ideas, at some time during construction the pipework got blocked with rubbish, or the hidden pipework got kinked or squashed during installation. The last suggestion is does the waste tank itself have a blue plastic tube coming out of the top, this is the overflow pipe which also acts as a vent to allow air to escape when water enters the tank. Going off subject a little when I collected my van the dealer was testing everything out, power , taps, lighting, gas functions,hot water heater, and everything was fine, your PDI was not fully tested in my opinion. Sorry this post is so long but I wish you well in getting it sorted so you can get out on the open road and enjoy your van. Chas

[Derek Uzzell]

The give-away would be to detach the sink/shower waste-water pipes from the waste tank and see if that improves the drainage significantly. If it does, then there might be a problem with the tank's venting as Chas suggests, but if it doesn't then the fault's in the pipe-work route between sink/shower and tank. (This is all pretty obvious and I suspect, from your reference to your husband's oral efforts, that you've already tried this.) I second Chas's advice that there may be a blockage in the drain hose(s) or that they may have been damaged, but your supplier's reply sounds ominous. While motorhome forums may be able to offer good tips and sympathy on this sort of fault, it's your supplier's responsibility to ensure that the vehicle you've been sold is fit for the purpose it's intended to fulfil. Clearly this isn't the case - your Elddis is useless as a motorhome in its present state - and it's no good your supplier saying "It's poor design and they're all like that, Madame", it's the legal duty of the supplier to sort the problem out. It needs emphasising that, whether or not this is Elddis's fault, it certainly isn't yours! As the sink/shower water drainage problem is so severe and you've only just bought the motorhome, I'm confident you have a strong case to reject it. You've done your best to fault-find and DIY a cure, but it's now time for some heavy-duty supplier butt-kicking in my view. If the supplier can't improve things to your satisfaction (and, as Chas rightly suggests, the problem should surely have been apparent when the vehicle's domestic systems were tested pre-hand-over), then you're entitled to a refund. If your supplier is reluctant to help, then I suggest you contact your nearest Trading Standards office for advice.

[shenar]

I have a similar problem,but not as bad, on my Avantgarde 400(2004) which is made by the same manufacturer and has the U shape lounge. The water from the sink drains very slowly,but the basin/shower drain is ok. It appears to be a basic design fault on these vans.