Push button campsite taps

[blaven]

Back from a month in France where most site water taps push-button types with no screw thread. Aaaaaarrrrgghhhh! Most with poor flow making filling any sort of container purgatory. I over came this by lashing some cord to provide a purchase for a giant cable tie I carry for securing my EHU cable so that I could clamp it over the compressed push button. A standard rubber tap fitting was secured with its integral jubilee clip over the spout. Not an elegant solution, but a solution nonetheless.

Please tell me someone’s invented something better that I can summon up from EBay?

I’d post a picture but I don’t have three weeks to figure out how, and yes, I’ve read the procedure and still can’t be bothered.

[Tracker]

Never having used sites in France I can't comment, but very occasionally on Aires the tap has been push and hold in which case one us had to push and hold it for the duration.

 

After the first time, I did carry a clamp, as below, which worked OK when the tap was fixed horizontally, which was most times, but as the number of times I could not use the clamp was minimal I often found it easier to just drive to the next Aire than to mess about with obstructive taps!

 

https://www.screwfix.com/p/irwin-quick-grip-12-mini-one-handed-bar-clamp/98247

 

 

[Muswell]

This is when the plastic watering can proves its worth.

[Tracker]

Muswell - 2017-10-05 12:40 PM

 

This is when the plastic watering can proves its worth.

 

Why?

 

You still have to contend with the tap but then you also have to faff about getting the water out of the can and into the water tank so why on earth would you want to make a simple job more difficult?

 

Sorry but I can see no point whatsoever in using a watering can unless you are firmly entrenched on a pitch and do not want to drive to a tap to fill up?

[mildi]

We found one (a largish site) that had push button taps but it only released the water after you let go of the button, about a litre at a time, no service point, no grey waste point and in the ACSI book it said it had special facilities for motorhomes.

[Bulletguy]

 

I hate them but imo there's nothing worse than ending up on a site which use them in the showers which gives a 10 second burst. Discovering that means i use my van shower and then leave the following day!

[blaven]

Hmmm......... I have travelled in company with other vans who have possessed watering cans and who, when popping over to the ablutions block, or anywhere near a tap, take the can with them and bring it back full, thereby continually topping up the van’s tank. It’s not such a big deal if you’re on site for a day or three always assuming one’s filler point is accessible and at a reasonable height.

After realising I could stow a small oval profile one in my back box, I bought one on this trip. Space has always been at a premium with us in a smallish van. It works a treat, and it prevents having to come off ones levelling blocks, firing up your diesel and generally faffing about and the subsequent re-levelling of one’s van. Obviously the frequency of refilling one’s tank depends on one’s consumption. Mrs.B is particularly fastidious,- me, not so much!

One still has to press the cursed button though, and having looked at the picture of the clamp, it would be unsuitable in probably 70% of scenarios.

Looks like an opening for an entrepreneur inventor here.

[blaven]

mildi - 2017-10-05 12:52 PM

 

We found one (a largish site) that had push button taps but it only released the water after you let go of the button, about a litre at a time, no service point, no grey waste point and in the ACSI book it said it had special facilities for motorhomes.

Nightmare. We were also less than impressed with a few ACSI sites we stayed on.

[Tracker]

blaven - 2017-10-05 1:35 PM

having looked at the picture of the clamp, it would be unsuitable in probably 70% of scenarios.

Looks like an opening for an entrepreneur inventor here.

 

The clamp, as I said, rarely works on a vertically installed tap as on a sink for example but in most cases, on Aires anyway, the tap is horizontallly mounted on a post or borne and on that the clamp worked admirably for us.

 

I did modify the clamp so that the lower bracket was as slim as I could make it to fit under a tap body and a rubber lining added to the top bracket helped it grip on the tap top better.

 

We never carried a watering can but a pair of collapsable folding buckets and a funnel with a short hose that fitted the water inlet worked OK if we were desperate and could not get within hose range of a tap.

[mildi]

blaven - 2017-10-05 1:38 PM

 

mildi - 2017-10-05 12:52 PM

 

We found one (a largish site) that had push button taps but it only released the water after you let go of the button, about a litre at a time, no service point, no grey waste point and in the ACSI book it said it had special facilities for motorhomes.

Nightmare. We were also less than impressed with a few ACSI sites we stayed on.

 

This is a bit of a rant not an advert.

We now have a little 10 pitch campsite in France which I can put right all the things that niggled me when we were traveling.

You can park how you like, no rule for that, no charge for awnings etc.

I cut the grass and it's picked up not left to be trodden in everywhere.

we have toilet seats and toilet roll.

Nice showers, no timer buttons

we have sinks with plugs.

we have motorhome service point.

If you want to drain your grey water we have a waste hog you can use, you don't have to move your van.

you can even put the water in the hedge, we do in the hot weather.

We have water close to all pitches 7 taps in total, no pressure switch. All have hose connectors, if you

don't have a hose long enough we have one you can use.

And best of all you do not have to (actually we prefer men don't) wear budgie smugglers in the pool.

Rant over but I am sure there was more

None of this was difficult it was just customer service apart from the budgie smuggler bit but being a 52 year old man it is not a good look for me

(lol) (lol) (lol) (lol)

[Tracker]

Nice site Mark, well done and I hope the success you deserve comes your way.

 

Just follow the link on the profile as I hope nobody will object to a bit of publicity when so much effort has been made to cater for motorhomes?

 

Just a couple of observations, one site fee to include 2 kids when most motorhomers we have met do not have kids?

Site fees do not include 'tourist taxes', but you don't say how much the tourist tax is and most people like to know how much it will cost them.

 

Good luck!

[Derek Uzzell]

blaven - 2017-10-05 1:35 PM

 

...Looks like an opening for an entrepreneur inventor here.

 

I vaguely remember a ‘gizmo’ that a French motorcaravanner had DIYed to deal with taps that required a push-button to be held down. The principle was simple enough, involving a cone-type connector that pushed over the tap’s spout. Attached to the connector was a sort of metal ‘stirrup’ that went over the top of the tap and through the upper part of the stirrup was a threaded rod with a pad on the end that could be screwed down on to the push-button.

[Keithl]

Bulletguy - 2017-10-05 1:24 PM

 

 

I hate them but imo there's nothing worse than ending up on a site which use them in the showers which gives a 10 second burst. Discovering that means i use my van shower and then leave the following day!

 

BG,

 

Sounds like you need a 'Shower friend'!

 

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Showerfriend-Attachment-Camping-Swimmng-Campsite/dp/B009LK0H94/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_product_top?ie=UTF8

 

We bought two (one each) at a show a few years ago and always take them to the showers with us! Works great 99% of the time.

 

Keith.

[blaven]

Keithl - 2017-10-05 2:59 PM

 

Bulletguy - 2017-10-05 1:24 PM

 

 

I hate them but imo there's nothing worse than ending up on a site which use them in the showers which gives a 10 second burst. Discovering that means i use my van shower and then leave the following day!

 

BG,

 

Sounds like you need a 'Shower friend'!

 

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Showerfriend-Attachment-Camping-Swimmng-Campsite/dp/B009LK0H94/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_product_top?ie=UTF8

 

We bought two (one each) at a show a few years ago and always take them to the showers with us! Works great 99% of the time.

 

Keith.

Interesting. Mixed reviews on Amazon, mostly bad. I have an innate distrust of anything in showers involving suction pads. Looks as if you'd do yourself a nasty injury in some of the smaller cubicles I've experienced if you were too enthusiastic with the soapy flannel. Expensive.

But thank you for the input.

[blaven]

Derek Uzzell - 2017-10-05 2:45 PM

 

blaven - 2017-10-05 1:35 PM

 

...Looks like an opening for an entrepreneur inventor here.

 

I vaguely remember a ‘gizmo’ that a French motorcaravanner had DIYed to deal with taps that required a push-button to be held down. The principle was simple enough, involving a cone-type connector that pushed over the tap’s spout. Attached to the connector was a sort of metal ‘stirrup’ that went over the top of the tap and through the upper part of the stirrup was a threaded rod with a pad on the end that could be screwed down on to the push-button.

 

I'll put my thinking cap on in the forthcoming long winter nights we get here.

[Derek Uzzell]

This video-clip shows one approach

 

 

and the attached photo another.

 

(I remember parking at an aire de services with a push-button water tap. A car arrived with a family in it and the man ran a hose-pipe from the tap and over a nearby wall. A couple of handcrafted bits of wood and some rope were then used to hold the push-button down. Out of curiosity I looked over the wall and there was a sort of primitive allotment on the slope below that was being cultivated by the woman and children while the man was copiously watering the plants. The Mairie was nearby and no attempt was being made to disguise what was being done, so I assumed it had local-authority blessing.)

[blaven]

Derek Uzzell - 2017-10-05 6:42 PM

 

This video-clip shows one approach

 

 

and the attached photo another.

 

(I remember parking at an aire de services with a push-button water tap. A car arrived with a family in it and the man ran a hose-pipe from the tap and over a nearby wall. A couple of handcrafted bits of wood and some rope were then used to hold the push-button down. Out of curiosity I looked over the wall and there was a sort of primitive allotment on the slope below that was being cultivated by the woman and children while the man was copiously watering the plants. The Mairie was nearby and no attempt was being made to disguise what was being done, so I assumed it had local-authority blessing.)

 

That static photo is pretty much what I ended up doing, Derek. The YouTube clip shows a professional approach obviously aimed at French campers. Does this site have any contacts with a French ‘sister’ site which might aid in sourcing such a device? As always, you are a great help. Thank you.

[mildi]

Tracker - 2017-10-05 2:28 PM

 

Nice site Mark, well done and I hope the success you deserve comes your way.

 

Just follow the link on the profile as I hope nobody will object to a bit of publicity when so much effort has been made to cater for motorhomes?

 

Just a couple of observations, one site fee to include 2 kids when most motorhomers we have met do not have kids?

Site fees do not include 'tourist taxes', but you don't say how much the tourist tax is and most people like to know how much it will cost them.

 

Good luck!

 

Hello Tracker,

We will be making some changes to the website regarding the tourist tax etc. when we have the site translated into French, Dutch & German. As yet we do not have to charge the tax but we are still waiting for this to be confirmed, nothing get's done in a hurry in France. We decided to price the pitches to include kids as some of the completion do, we have only been open for about three months so still lots of tweaking to do. We also decided not to charge for dogs or wifi but that's another rant.

Sorry didn't mean to hijack the post.

 

[Derek Uzzell]

blaven - 2017-10-05 6:58 PM

 

...Does this site have any contacts with a French ‘sister’ site which might aid in sourcing such a device?....

 

Not sure how that would work - I just use GOOGLE and search (in French) for anything I’m interested in.

 

The link provided on the video-clip is to a French small-ads website, but the link is no longer operative (You’ll note that the video-clip is 4 years old). There are some references on French camping-car forums that appear to refer to this device, but the references are also 4 or 5 years old and the none of the links now work.

 

I’m guessing that the device was a prototype made by a competent DIYer and that it never went into commercial production. The need to hold the button down of this type of tap will be relatively uncommon and the design and engineering of the device would not have made it cheap to make or sell.

 

The approach that’s usually suggested on French camping-car forums is the one you came up with - attach a commercially-available ‘universal’ connector to the tap’s spout and then use some other means (eg a strap or clamp) to hold the button down. The photo above showed a strap being employed and the photo below shows some sort of clamp (the method Tracker used). If there is a specific ‘device’ marketed to hold a tap’s button down I couldn’t find it.

 

(Any tap without a threaded outlet will almost certainly have been intended to severely limit the quantity of water to be taken from it. I’ve come across unthreaded taps on French campsites where the device on the video-clip would not have worked, but I still managed to attach a hose to the tap (gaffer tape and a lot of leakage!) Motorcaravanners delight in imaginative DIY bodging and this mind-set will limit the appeal of an expensive device with restricted potential.)

[Muswell]

blaven - 2017-10-05 1:35 PM

 

Hmmm......... I have travelled in company with other vans who have possessed watering cans and who, when popping over to the ablutions block, or anywhere near a tap, take the can with them and bring it back full, thereby continually topping up the van’s tank. It’s not such a big deal if you’re on site for a day or three always assuming one’s filler point is accessible and at a reasonable height.

After realising I could stow a small oval profile one in my back box, I bought one on this trip. Space has always been at a premium with us in a smallish van. It works a treat, and it prevents having to come off ones levelling blocks, firing up your diesel and generally faffing about and the subsequent re-levelling of one’s van. Obviously the frequency of refilling one’s tank depends on one’s consumption. Mrs.B is particularly fastidious,- me, not so much!

One still has to press the cursed button though, and having looked at the picture of the clamp, it would be unsuitable in probably 70% of scenarios.

Looks like an opening for an entrepreneur inventor here.

 

Exactly. Little and often. It saves messing around with a hose and there are often a lot more taps without a connector distributed all around a site.

[Derek Uzzell]

Another couple of French-made tap push-button hold-downers...

 

There’s a reasonable amount of discussion about this on French forums, with complaints about how long the process takes if the water-pressure is low and how holding down the tap’s button for a long period can be painful if you have arthritis. The simplest solution was “Make your wife do it” - some hope in my case. ;-)

[Keith T]

Tracker - 2017-10-05 2:28 PM

 

 

Just a couple of observations, one site fee to include 2 kids when most motorhomers we have met do not have kids?

Site fees do not include 'tourist taxes', but you don't say how much the tourist tax is and most people like to know how much it will cost them.

 

Good luck!

 

As long as any site fee is reasonable its up to the owner how many it includes!

As far as the now common tourist tax in France is concerned most camp sites merely quote 'plus local tax'. without saying how much, simply because its at the discretion of the mayor, and generally changes each year, and we find sometimes is only in high season!

We are also finding on some sites there is an additional 'environmental' tax, which on one site this year made a totally addionall cost of €1 per person per night.....

[Tracker]

Keith T - 2017-10-06 9:23 PM

 

Tracker - 2017-10-05 2:28 PM

 

 

Just a couple of observations, one site fee to include 2 kids when most motorhomers we have met do not have kids?

Site fees do not include 'tourist taxes', but you don't say how much the tourist tax is and most people like to know how much it will cost them.

 

Good luck!

 

As long as any site fee is reasonable its up to the owner how many it includes!

As far as the now common tourist tax in France is concerned most camp sites merely quote 'plus local tax'. without saying how much, simply because its at the discretion of the mayor, and generally changes each year, and we find sometimes is only in high season!

We are also finding on some sites there is an additional 'environmental' tax, which on one site this year made a totally addionall cost of €1 per person per night.....

 

I made no criticism of the site owner, merely an observation that most motorhomers I've met do not include children in their payload.

 

Never having been a site user in France I knew nowt about tourist or any other spurious taxes, which Mark clarified for me.

 

How about this as a tap squeezer?

 

https://www.its.co.uk/pd/P102007-OX-Pro-Internal-Profile-Clamp-178mm-_OXP102007.htm

 

Or to make one yourself would be more cost effective and simple enough?

[Derek Uzzell]

Keith T - 2017-10-06 9:23 PM

 

Tracker - 2017-10-05 2:28 PM

 

 

Just a couple of observations, one site fee to include 2 kids when most motorhomers we have met do not have kids?

Site fees do not include 'tourist taxes', but you don't say how much the tourist tax is and most people like to know how much it will cost them.

 

Good luck!

 

As long as any site fee is reasonable its up to the owner how many it includes!

As far as the now common tourist tax in France is concerned most camp sites merely quote 'plus local tax'. without saying how much, simply because its at the discretion of the mayor, and generally changes each year, and we find sometimes is only in high season!

We are also finding on some sites there is an additional 'environmental' tax, which on one site this year made a totally addionall cost of €1 per person per night.....

 

The French “taxe de séjour” is described here

 

https://translate.google.co.uk/translate?hl=en&sl=fr&u=https://www.service-public.fr/particuliers/vosdroits/F2048&prev=search

 

For campsites (and for ‘aires’ that charge for staying there) the taxe de séjour is currently €0.20 per person for sites that have a 1-star or 2-star rating and, for sites with a 3, 4 or 5-star rating, the tax may be between €0.20 and €0.55 per person.

 

All the French campsites/‘pay’ aires I’ve stayed on during the last couple of years have advertised the taxe de séjour amount on a board at the site-office and (normally) itemised the charge on the receipt.

[mildi]

Derek Uzzell - 2017-10-07 8:36 AM

 

Keith T - 2017-10-06 9:23 PM

 

Tracker - 2017-10-05 2:28 PM

 

 

Just a couple of observations, one site fee to include 2 kids when most motorhomers we have met do not have kids?

Site fees do not include 'tourist taxes', but you don't say how much the tourist tax is and most people like to know how much it will cost them.

 

Good luck!

 

As long as any site fee is reasonable its up to the owner how many it includes!

As far as the now common tourist tax in France is concerned most camp sites merely quote 'plus local tax'. without saying how much, simply because its at the discretion of the mayor, and generally changes each year, and we find sometimes is only in high season!

We are also finding on some sites there is an additional 'environmental' tax, which on one site this year made a totally addionall cost of €1 per person per night.....

 

The French “taxe de séjour” is described here

 

https://translate.google.co.uk/translate?hl=en&sl=fr&u=https://www.service-public.fr/particuliers/vosdroits/F2048&prev=search

 

For campsites (and for ‘aires’ that charge for staying there) the taxe de séjour is currently €0.20 per person for sites that have a 1-star or 2-star rating and, for sites with a 3, 4 or 5-star rating, the tax may be between €0.20 and €0.55 per person.

 

All the French campsites/‘pay’ aires I’ve stayed on during the last couple of years have advertised the taxe de séjour amount on a board at the site-office and (normally) itemised the charge on the receipt.

 

The information we were given by our mayor was that we only have to charge tax de sejour if our basic pitch fee is over €20, this would only apply to our serviced pitch but it seems to be different in each commune. The eco tax is a new one on me!