Lois Posted November 16, 2013 Share Posted November 16, 2013 Currently enjoying weekend in Warwick, however after pitching up got the water heated up, hot and cold water working fine from bathroom tap and shower but water just dribbling out of kitchen tap and pump cycling on and off quickly. Any ideas suggestions much appreciated. Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vindiboy Posted November 16, 2013 Share Posted November 16, 2013 I would guess that you have a problem with the Micro Switch on the tap that is not working properly, you will need to change the Micro switch or get a new tap, new tap probably easier and cheaper.[ The micro switch turns the pump on when you open the tap ] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lennyhb Posted November 16, 2013 Share Posted November 16, 2013 Do you know what type of system you have, can be pump switched by micro switches on the taps, or a pressure switch system where the pump is operated by pressure differential when a tap is opened the pressure switch will be near the pump or if it's a Sureflow pump it is built into the pump. If the pump is cycling it sounds like a pressure switch and probably just need adjusting they usually a small knob on the pressure switch, they can be a bit fiddly to set up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest peter Posted November 16, 2013 Share Posted November 16, 2013 If it was the pump pressure switch no water would be coming out of the other taps either. Make sure you don't have a water leak, as the water will be flowing into your van. Let us know whether your taps have micro switches, as the remedy is different for each. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted November 16, 2013 Share Posted November 16, 2013 Lois has a 2010 model-year Ford Transit-based Hobby T500FSC motorhome. I believe the water-pump will be a SHURflo pressure-sensitive one, however there's a good chance it will be switched on and off by taps with micro-switches, because that's the arrangement on my own 2005 Transit-based Hobby. I don't think the problem is micro-switch related (as the pump operates when the kitchen tap is turned on), nor with the pump itself (as the bathroom/shower outlets work OK). If neither hot nor cold water is being delivered properly by the kitchen tap, I suspect there's a blockage of some sort in the tap itself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lois Posted November 16, 2013 Author Share Posted November 16, 2013 Thank you all for your timely responses. OH has said that it's got wires going to the tap itself which makes us think that it's a micro switch system but if it was faulty would the pump come on at all? Guidance much appreciated, think its a blockage and reckon van's taken offence coz it knows we 're selling it! Do you think red wine will work? - it does with me!! Cheers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lennyhb Posted November 17, 2013 Share Posted November 17, 2013 If it is only the hot water not working see if there is a one way valve inline with it could be faulty. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thebishbus Posted November 17, 2013 Share Posted November 17, 2013 Hi. could it be a lime scale build up at the tap outlet ?. Is the tap end removable for cleaning ?. Brian B. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted November 17, 2013 Share Posted November 17, 2013 lennyhb - 2013-11-17 12:20 AM If it is only the hot water not working see if there is a one way valve inline with it could be faulty. I have Hobby brochures for the 2010 and 2011 model-years that will cover Lois's motorhome. Both brochures state that Hobby fits SHURflo pressure-sensitive water-pumps to all models. The brochure photos relating to the Van T-500FSC show the kitchen sink. The arrangement is similar to my Hobby's - a Cramer sink with a glass lid covering a fold-down mixer-tap. The kitchen layout can be seen in the photos on this advert http://www.outandaboutlive.co.uk/Motorhomes/For-Sale/Details/Used-2010-Hobby-Van-T-500-FSC/244419 Lois has said that there are "...wires going to the tap itself..." indicating that the water-pump's operation is triggered by micro-switches (Assuming the switches are connected to the pump of course!!). As I said earlier, this is the case with my Hobby. As hot and cold water-feeds from the washbasin tap and shower outlets are OK, the problem clearly lies with the feeds to the kitchen-sink tap. Non-return valves are never fitted 'downstream' of a motorhome's pressure-sensitive water-pump (ie, between pump and taps) - a) they aren't necessary as the pump itself acts as a non-return valve and b) doing so would make normal draining down of the system via gravity impracticable. There are no such valves on my Hobby (I would be startled if there were!) and there's no reason to expect them to be present on Lois's Van. Water (as one would anticipate) reaches the kitchen-sink tap via separate hot and cold hoses, and the flow from the tap is mixed and regulated via a single lever. If there were an obstruction in either of the water feeds, one would expect the other feed to deliver a normal flow. A problem with the cold-water feed would not prevent hot water flowing normally and vice versa. Lois originally said that the water was "...just dribbling out of kitchen tap and pump cycling on and off quickly..." It would appear from that description that the flow from the tap is severely restricted irrespective of the position of its lever - hot or cold water selection, tap part or fully open, the water flow just dribbles. As the water-pump operates and the flow is OK when the taps of the bathroom/shower outlets are turned on, there's clearly nothing wrong with the pump. As the pump comes on when the kitchen-tap's lever is moved to the Open position, that tap's micro-switches must be operational. That the pump cycles on and off quickly when the tap is just dribbling would be normal for a system incorporating a SHURflo pump (or any presuure-sensitive pump for that matter). When water flow from an outlet is low (eg. dribbling) the pump will not need to run constantly. Instead, the pump will repeatedly switch itself On when the pressure in the system falls sufficiently to trigger the pump's own pressure-sensing On/Off switch, and then will switch itself off. This is the type of Reich tap fitted to my Hobby's kitchen-sink http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/CARAVAN-REICH-TWIST-SINGLE-LEVER-MIXER-TAP-IN-CHROME-RIGHT-HAND-/400606214347 and I'd expect Lois's Van to have something similar. Regarding Brian B's suggestion about lime-scaling, I don't think that would cause the tap to suddenly stop working properly. It might be practicable to remove the 'jet-regulator' from the end of the tap for cleaning (though I'd guess not) but, to check if that's where the problem lay, it would be easy enough to poke a pin through the holes in the jet-regulator to see if that helped. (Apparently spare spouts are available for "Twist" taps) http://www.crusaderproducts.co.uk/files/ww/Water%20Pages.pdf I suspect that the cause of the problem is within the tap itself, quite likely relating to its ceramic cartridge. According to this advert http://www.riverswayleisure.co.uk/acatalog/info_354107.html the cartridge is replaceable from the top of the tap without removing the tap from the sink. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lois Posted November 17, 2013 Author Share Posted November 17, 2013 Thanks all, Derek you're thoughts seem to be spot on and we'll attempt to dismantle the tap when we get home. Will let you know outcome later. Cheers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted November 18, 2013 Share Posted November 18, 2013 I strongly suggest you contact LeisureShopDirect for advice before trying to dismantle your tap. http://www.leisureshopdirect.com/caravan/home/technical_questions.aspx You'd need to identify EXACTLY which model of tap you've got. Assuming that it's a "Twist" model, there's a list here of the various versions http://tinyurl.com/pnsg9s3 and this is the 2014 Reich catalogue with "Twist" taps shown on Page 14 http://rk-reich.com/files/Downloads/EN/Product%20Overview/Produktübersicht_GB_2014.pdf It would appear from answers in the LeisureShopDirect FAQ section that this type of tap's 'spout' is just a tight push-fit. I'm doubtful that your problem relates to a blockage in the spout, but it's something to keep in mind. I can't find any on-line instructions on how to disassemble a "Twist" tap, but I think the first steps would be to lever out the small red/blue insert in the top of the operating-lever with the point of a scalpel-like blade and then remove a fixing-screw that attaches the lever to the tap's base-unit. After that, you are on your own...! The following instructions don't apply to "Twist" taps, but may help http://www.hymerclub.co.uk/hcitips.htm#taprepair These taps aren't very robust, so you'll need to be careful. Don't forget that, if you damaged the tap's internals, you might not be able to turn it off. And, if you couldn't turn it off, your Hobby's complete water-system would be compromised. Even if you were successful in dismantling the tap, unless fixing the fault just involves cleaning out the tap's interior, spare parts (eg. a new ceramic cartridge or O-rings) would be required and you'd need to obtain the correct ones. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lois Posted November 19, 2013 Author Share Posted November 19, 2013 Thanks for all this info Derek, as ever you're a treasure trove of information! After a chat with LSD we're going to get the tap sorted out under warranty. If we were not selling OH would probably have a go at fixing himself but seeing as it is currently being advertised it's best to get it sorted quickly. Many, many thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lois Posted November 22, 2013 Author Share Posted November 22, 2013 Update on tap situation. Appears problem was caused by kinks in water pipes so not as serious as first thought. These 'kinks' seem to have appeared after it'd had its habitation check as we'd never experienced this beforehand and the problem occurred straight afterwards - coincidence?! Thanks for all your suggestions though - nice to know if you're in a bit of bother that you're all here as back up. Enjoy the weekend! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted November 22, 2013 Share Posted November 22, 2013 Assuming your "Van" has the same sort of water pipework as my Hobby, it could well just be coincidence that the problem occurred just after habitation servicing had been carried out. My Hobby has reinforced water hoses that look like this http://www.nccsupplies.com/ClearBraidedHose.php?m=5 The hoses are fairly flexible and will tolerate a reasonably tight bend. However, if 'edge pressure' were placed on the hose (eg. if a hose passed through a hole in a furniture-panel and was bent hard against the edge of the hole) it could kink over time, particularly if the hose gets hot at the point it's bent. It does seem odd that both hot and cold hoses leading to the kitchen-sink tap have apparently kinked simultaneously but, if you knew where the kinking was, you could probably decide if the fault lay with how Hobby built your vehicle or if the kinking was servicing related. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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