rogerp Posted June 4, 2007 Share Posted June 4, 2007 Hi All new to this site so be gentle with me!!! We've just returned from our first outing in the new MH and have a couple of questions. Hopefully someone out there may provide the answers. Firstly , we've noticed a strange taste from the fresh water. Its a brand new van , I flushed the system through several times with fresh water. Then filled a tank and added some liquid stuff (sorry cant remember the name but its something like pureclean). Left this about an hour and then flushed through again several times. Yet within moments of re filling both at home and on site the water tasted foul. Any suggestions? Secondly , we noticed an odd smell emitting from the fridge extractor vent and was wondering if this is normal. I initially put it down to being new and may be wearing in. I really cant describe the smell as its nothing like I've smelt before but its like a chemical type smell. I ran the fridge on hook from home for a day before we went out and agian on site for a total of nearly 4 days and the smell didn't abate. Do fridges emit any kind of smell when running? Finally cracking forum , already got loads of ideas from some of the threads I've read so far Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
enodreven Posted June 4, 2007 Share Posted June 4, 2007 Hi, Rogerp Welcome to the site, as for your problems I can't answer them, but I am sure someone will be along shortly who will be able to provide some suggestion Brian rogerp - 2007-06-04 10:16 AM Hi All new to this site so be gentle with me!!! We've just returned from our first outing in the new MH and have a couple of questions. Hopefully someone out there may provide the answers. Firstly , we've noticed a strange taste from the fresh water. Its a brand new van , I flushed the system through several times with fresh water. Then filled a tank and added some liquid stuff (sorry cant remember the name but its something like pureclean). Left this about an hour and then flushed through again several times. Yet within moments of re filling both at home and on site the water tasted foul. Any suggestions? Secondly , we noticed an odd smell emitting from the fridge extractor vent and was wondering if this is normal. I initially put it down to being new and may be wearing in. I really cant describe the smell as its nothing like I've smelt before but its like a chemical type smell. I ran the fridge on hook from home for a day before we went out and agian on site for a total of nearly 4 days and the smell didn't abate. Do fridges emit any kind of smell when running? Finally cracking forum , already got loads of ideas from some of the threads I've read so far Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thai Bry Posted June 4, 2007 Share Posted June 4, 2007 Hi Roger and welcome to the mad house!!Can't comment on the fridge "aroma" but with the water, how have you been filling up.Is it via a standard garden hose pipe or a specific fresh water hose pipe designed for that purpose.?With garden hose pipes - especially new ones- the water can be tainted by the inner rubber lining and can give rise to this "aroma" - this is from personal experience when we first started out many years ago!! Now use a collapsable "blue" pipe for filling up our water supply.Sorry can't offer you much more advcie than that, but I'm sure someone will be along to explain things better than i've just done.Happy motoring anyway.Thai Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vernon B Posted June 4, 2007 Share Posted June 4, 2007 Hi Roger Welcome on board. You'll gather from other threads that it's not too unusual to encounter some problems with a new 'van. Fortunately yours appear to be relatively trivial. I'm sure others will pass on their advice/experiences, but for what it's worth here are mine. I think both of your concerns have a common cause - brand new materials being exposed to working conditions. I'd say the water was picking up some "taste" from the plastic tanks and pipework - very common. Others might suggest putting other "stuff" in the system to combat the problem but I'd suggest an alternative solution. Don't drink water from your fresh water tank! Simply have to hand some bottled water for that purpose. As far as the fridge is concerned it should not emit a smell when running. My guess is that its due to heat, most likely when operating in the gas mode, causing some of the plastic insulation to give off slight flumes. This is quite common and should disappear after a few days. The fact that you have had it around for a while may be due to fact that you have a AES fridge and the gas mode has only been operating intermittently. If you do have a AES fridge it might be worth establishing whether the problem is indeed due to running on gas. You can "force" the fridge to use gas by simply disconnecting the mains supply - and making sure your gas is on of course. Most fridges have rear, external, access panels that can easily be removed and it might be a good idea to remove them and "sniff" around that area to see if you can pinpoint more precisely where the fumes are coming from. Having said all that if you are in any doubt don't mess around take the 'van back to your dealer. Vernon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rogerp Posted June 4, 2007 Author Share Posted June 4, 2007 Thanks for the speedy replies , I used the blue food grade hose to fill up which I purchaed new with this van (my old one was a couple of years old and hadn't been used for a while). As for the fridge , it was running on mains hook up for the 4 days , appart from when travelling when it was on the 12v battery feed. The 'fumes' did get a little less over time so I see how we get on with our main hols in a fortnight. (this last weekend was our 'shakedown' run so expected a few niggles. But overall if this is all we have to contend with I'll be happy). The van does have to go back to the dealer to get a couple of bits added so I'll get it checked then , but knowing me the spanners will be out tonight and bits left all over the place!!!! Once agian thanks for the responses so far. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bazza454 Posted June 4, 2007 Share Posted June 4, 2007 rogerp - 2007-06-04 10:16 AM Hi All new to this site so be gentle with me!!! We've just returned from our first outing in the new MH and have a couple of questions. Hopefully someone out there may provide the answers. Firstly , we've noticed a strange taste from the fresh water. Its a brand new van , I flushed the system through several times with fresh water. Then filled a tank and added some liquid stuff (sorry cant remember the name but its something like pureclean). Left this about an hour and then flushed through again several times. Yet within moments of re filling both at home and on site the water tasted foul. Any suggestions? Secondly , we noticed an odd smell emitting from the fridge extractor vent and was wondering if this is normal. I initially put it down to being new and may be wearing in. I really cant describe the smell as its nothing like I've smelt before but its like a chemical type smell. I ran the fridge on hook from home for a day before we went out and agian on site for a total of nearly 4 days and the smell didn't abate. Do fridges emit any kind of smell when running? Finally cracking forum , already got loads of ideas from some of the threads I've read so far Hi Roger,If you use Puriclean, ideally you should pump a few litres through each cold tap and then leave it in the tank for at least 24 hours. Before emptying pump a few more litres through and take the van for a gentle run for a couple of miles. Empty the tank and then flush through with clean water.A couple of times a year should be sufficient but particularly if the van has been laid up for a few weeks.The earlier point about always carrying a couple of litres of bottled water is good advice because on some sites whatever you do, the water just doesn't taste right. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Kirby Posted June 4, 2007 Share Posted June 4, 2007 Until the fridge has reached its maximum operating temperature, which may not be until it has food/liquids put into it, and the weather is hot, it may smell of cooking paint from time to time.If you have a Truma water heater or a Truma Combi heater, do look carefully at the "Maintenance" section of the manual. Truma advise against using any water purifier containing chlorine. These agents tend to corrode the stainless steel water heater jackets, and replacement is very expensive! Truma reccommend Certisil, which is obtainable in UK from Miriad Products. Google "Miriad Products" and have a look at their website. There is a triple pack that includes a product called Argento, which is claimed to remove taints. May be worth a try.However, I too think it preferable not to drink water that has been standing in a tank for several days, and prefer bottled. We still use the tank water for hot drinks, though, and have not experienced any adverse "niffs" or tastes. You may have more luck if you totally fill the tank with mains water, purge all air from both hot and cold taps etc, and just leave it for, say, 48 hours. Then run some water into a glass from a tap, drain off the rest into a clean bowl/bucket, and have a sniff of the water in the glass, in the bowl/bucket and sniff the inside of the tank. If the tank, and the water from it, smells sweet (meaning not at all!), and the water in the glass is duff, it may be the water hoses are not the correct grade, or are from a bad batch. If the water from the tank, or the tank itself, also smells odd, it may be the tank that is the culprit. In either case, the van will need to go back to the dealer for assessment or possible remedials. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
martin r c Posted June 4, 2007 Share Posted June 4, 2007 Hi,I fill my tanks and add about half a cup of milton fluid and leave it for 24hrs/flush all the taps into the waste tank-flush and refill.seems to work. But as already said. we also take bottled water to drink. As for the fridge if it smells on 240v then its only "newness" and will burn off after a while. It should not smell of fumes inside-if it does get it checked before any more use by a CORGI installer registerd to work on LPG.it will always smell outside by the flue on gas anyway. cheers martin r c Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frankkia Posted June 4, 2007 Share Posted June 4, 2007 We have always carried a couple of 5ltr plastic bottles for drinking water and never used the stuff from the tank for drinking despite the fact that I keep it clean and empty and flush it even if it is only laid up for a few days. Having said that we have just been to Stratford for the day (wasn't worth any longer!) and bought a "Nature Pure" filtration system which I will be fitting later this week. The system is supposed to remove all of the taint and any chlorination and other chemicals. It isn't the cheapest way to get pure water but looks as if it will be a lot more convenient. :-> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chunky Posted June 4, 2007 Share Posted June 4, 2007 Hi Roger Had the same problem a couple of years ago water tasted of TCP had the water filling hose replaced this cured the problem , The fridge did not have a heat shield fitted which was making the under side of the wardrobe very hot causing the lamenate to give off a chemical smell had a heat shield fitted by Autocruise that solved the problem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Kirby Posted June 5, 2007 Share Posted June 5, 2007 martin r c - 2007-06-04 6:48 PM Hi,I fill my tanks and add about half a cup of milton fluid and leave it for 24hrs/flush all the taps into the waste tank-flush and refill.seems to work. But as already said. we also take bottled water to drink. As for the fridge if it smells on 240v then its only "newness" and will burn off after a while. It should not smell of fumes inside-if it does get it checked before any more use by a CORGI installer registerd to work on LPG.it will always smell outside by the flue on gas anyway. cheers martin r c Then, if you have a Truma heater, be careful not to pass this solution through it. Milton is chlorine based. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
icelander Posted June 5, 2007 Share Posted June 5, 2007 Would vinegar have any effect on the stainless steel? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michele Posted June 5, 2007 Share Posted June 5, 2007 Can you all remeber my WHY DOES MY WATER TASTE OF TCP THREAD! Well it turns out that on going back to brownhills MY FRIENDS MH) there is a problem with a faulty batch of tubes pipes ...seemingly you cant get rid of it without the new batch ?. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
icelander Posted June 5, 2007 Share Posted June 5, 2007 I fitted a seperate supply in 6mm food safe pipe. Plus a new submersible fitted in fresh water tank operated by a switch. Drains back when off. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted June 6, 2007 Share Posted June 6, 2007 As Brian Kirby advises, it should be a simple enough matter to ascertain whether unpleasant tasting water is due to a filler-hose or the motorhome's on-board water system. With a new 'van it's probably the latter and advice from CAK Tanks (see article MMM June 2007, page 194) is that the taste should disappear with time. Truma recommend wine vinegar for de-scaling their water heaters and Certisil Argento for maintaining water purity. Other products, particularly those containing chlorine (eg. Milton), are said to be unsuitable. When a leak from my previous Truma Combi was traced to a flaw in its water-jacket I asked the Truma(UK) technicians whether my use of Milton might have contributed to the fault. They thought that Milton at very low concentration should do no damage, but I've never used the stuff since. There's no doubt that Milton in 'neat' form is corrosive to metal - even stainless steel can suffer badly. My understanding is that Certisil Argento (unlike Milton) does not act as a water sterilant (despite the "to sterilise the water" recommendation in Truma heater Operating Instruction leaflets). Argento uses silver-ion technology - hence the Argento name - to maintain clean potable water in a pure state for long periods, but if a leisure vehicle's water system is already contaminated prior to clean water being introduced, Argento won't decontaminate it (Certisil produce alternative products for water system preparatory cleaning). Because of this I'm doubtful that Argento would remove any taste tainting. As I've said in an earlier posting (16/02/2006), I believe the 'triple pack' Brian mentions being available from Miriad Products is, in fact, Katadyn's "Microbox" product. If it's not made by Certisil, it won't contain Argento. Argento comes in several product formats, but the 100g container of powder (1g treats 10 litres of water) is probably the most convenient for motorhome usage. I bought some when I collected my Hobby from Germany and I think the price was around £10 - so it's not cheap stuff. The fridge smelling while operating on electricity is probably just because it's new, but (as has already been suggested) it would be sensible to remove the outer ventilation grilles to check if there's anything peculiar about the installation that can be spotted. It might be something as simple as a piece of loose packing resting against the flue or sealing mastic dripping on to it. That assumes the motorhome manufacturer (whoever it is) has bothered to seal off the fridge from the vehicle's interior of course, and that will soon become apparent when the wind blows against the vents! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rogerp Posted June 7, 2007 Author Share Posted June 7, 2007 Just a quick update for those interested. I did as a few suggested and decided to trace where the taint was coming from and to my surprise it was the hose I'm using to fill the tank. As mentioned its a brand new blue food grade hose (one of those collapsible ones). I connected the hose to my tap at home , turned on the tap and waited about 30 seconds while the hose expanded up, then filled a cup. In that short time the water had become tainted!!!!! I double checked by tasting the water straight from the tap and 'Roberts your Fathers brother' I think I've found the problem. I'm taking the hose back to the accessory shop this weekend and getting a new one (I'll first check it out though as I took a sniff of the pipe and could clearly smell the odour). Out of curiosity I got my old 'blue' hose out the garage (not used for 3 years) and ran through the same process and the water was not tainted in any way. Talking to the other half about it we recalled we had similar problems with our first MH a few years ago (and took to filling the tank from a water carrier). Surpirsingly that was with the blue hose I'd chucked in the garage and left unused for a couple of years until last night. Begs the question if these blue hoses need to 'cure' in any way before using them? Anyway thanks for all your replies certainly help me no end and probably saved me an embarrassing rant a the dealer!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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