no water from hot water tap? newby

hi, I have just bought my first camper and was assured everything was working.  however I don't have any water from the hot water tap.  I can hear the tap clicking.  Also the heating system isn't working.  Has anyone any advice for me.... hindsight is a marvellous thing.  when I asked to see everything working I ws told that it had been in storage and that the 12v was unattached therefore it couldn't be done.  went back - same thing but told then that the heating wasn't working but fixable..... and got a slight reduction in price. I live in the north east and my nearest caravan/camper place charges £51 p hour plus vat is that about the going rate.  sorry so many questions, but you seasoned vanners will have some answers for me I am sure.  thankyou, I appreciate any advice given

Hi and welcome to the forum   
I think people will need to know more about your van before they can offer any real help. Peugeot Boxer is the name of the base vehicle your camper is built on, and there are lots of different models built on the Boxer - knowing the year is useful too.

Not trying to talk down to you but have you filled the water tank? was it empty when you got the van? the water heater (usually) has it's own water tank fed from the main tank. This has to fill up before you will get any water from the hot tap(s) the clicking you hear is probably the water pump. If the water heater is empty, the pump will fill it up before it can send any water to the taps. Have you tried leaving a tap open for a while to purge the air out of the pipes?

Frank

boxerman wrote:
I think people will need to know more about your van before they can offer any real help. Peugeot Boxer is the name of the base vehicle your camper is built on, and there are lots of different models built on the Boxer knowing the year is useful too.

Hi Frank - this is yet another case of someone putting the information in this forum's "field that nobody can see" (unless they happen to be looking at the forum index).

In that field the OP says that they have a "puegeot boxer 1995 autosleeper symphony".

hi and thanks for your response, yes indeed a mwb petrol 1995 Peugeot boxer symphony.  the tanks have been filled the taps have been opened. the clicking from the taps sounds like microswitch.... I can hear the pump working for the cold water just no hot.  its going in next week so willkeep you all posted just in case it helps anyone else with a similar problem. cheers

Hi.   

The seller was right when he/she said it’s fixable. Just about anything is fixable it’s just a case of at what cost?

tatie wrote: I live in the north east and my nearest caravan/camper place charges £51 p hour plus vat is that about the going rate

That sounds very reasonable to me but you can save a lot of money by doing as much as you can yourself.

boxerman wrote: the water heater (usually) has it's own water tank fed from the main tank. This has to fill up before you will get any water from the hot tap(s)

When I fill up after the winter drain down my  system takes what seems ages (but probably not more than a minute or two)to pump water from the hot tap after the cold tap is running. If yours definitely doesn’t work then:

There are many possibilities for both problems. The answers to a couple of questions will help to diagnose them.

When you say you can hear the tap clicking is it a single click and then silence or is it continuous clicking / purring noise. If the latter, does it stop after a while.

Does the heater work on fan only and are there any flashing lights on the thermostat unit?

Brod.

Hi  

Opps!!  we posted at the same time.   

Many vans don’t have a microswitch, they have a pressure operated pump.

If yours does have a microswitch  it must be either the switch or wiring at fault or if you are unlucky it’s been disconnected and the hot water capped off because of a leak.

Brod.

Just a thought but is the boiler drain down valve still open, not allowing the boiler to fill and consequently nothing at the hot tap?

tatie wrote:hi and thanks for your response, yes indeed a mwb petrol 1995 Peugeot boxer symphony.  the tanks have been filled the taps have been opened. the clicking from the taps sounds like microswitch.... I can hear the pump working for the cold water just no hot.  its going in next week so willkeep you all posted just in case it helps anyone else with a similar problem. cheers

My apologies, I'm one of the lazy ones who just click "posts since last visit" and as Mojo says, that info doesn't show up. Your van is the same model and year as mine so hopefully I will probably have a good idea of the ins and outs of your van. Is it petrol or diesel?

The microswitches on the taps don't do anything, they aren't connected. The pump activates by pressure.

Let us know how you get on and if there's anything I can help you with.

Frank

Just a thought. It is possible that the water heater -should be a Carver Cascade - has had a thing fitted to stop it filling up. These are fitted in winter to stop frost damage and are just a rod which fits into the drain plug and blocks off the inlet valve. If you unscrew the drain valve which is at the bottom right of the cowling it should just have 4 legs like this one [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] If it has a rod between the legs, remove it and screw the drain plug back in.

If not then we are back to square one

Frank

The Carver Cascade is also 'two way' i.e. from either gas or 240Vac mains hook-up. Have you tried it on either/both of these supplies? If it doesn't run on 240Vac its dedicated switch may be off (in the lower cupboards).

I'm sure you're aware, but the control unit should be located in the LH end of your upper drop down cupboard below your crockery. I think the LEDs on this will tell you what's going on.

There's also a reset button on the back of the heater which should be accessed though the offside floor level drop down cupboard (our 'dirty clothes' cupboard).

Bear in mind too that (i) it can take a while for the heater to heat the gallon or so of water in the unit and (ii) that the hot water can take a while to come through hot to the taps, particularly in the bathroom.

When running on gas, the best way to determine whether it's lit and running is to feel the flue (near van engine exhaust pipe exit) to see whether it's getting hot, or to give the flue a sniff to see if fumes are being produced - go easy on this for obvious reasons. BTW the latter is also how I tell whether the fridge is running on gas too.

Last word: I last used our water heater on gas in 1995 finding it so more efficient in terms of water, gas and time to boil a kettle. However I use the hot system cold all the while as the pressure pulses from the pump are lessened by the expansion accumulator in the heater resulting in smoother flow and greater economy of water.

Bartfarst

Now either Stuart or I are under a misconception here. Stuart is under the impression that you are getting water but it isn't hot. I am under the impression that you are not getting any water at all from the hot tap.

Which of us is right?

Frank

Hey Frank: isn't it funny how two folk can read different things into incomplete information? Never crossed my mind at all that nowt was coming through!

Bartfarst

Bartfarst wrote:When running on gas, the best way to determine whether it's lit and running is to feel the flue (near van engine exhaust pipe exit) to see whether it's getting hot, or to give the flue a sniff to see if fumes are being produced - go easy on this for obvious reasons. BTW the latter is also how I tell whether the fridge is running on gas too.

Bartfarst

For the record, of course I now realise I was in error: the flue near the exhaust pipe is for the Propex warm air heater, not the Carver Cascade. The flue for the latter is integral to the water heater unit and behind the square vent on the outside of the van. Operation can still be determined by the 'sniff test' but it's not quite as easy.

Bartfarst