Sink drainage issues

The water in the sink takes forever to drain i have poured boiling water down it and flushed it several times but it still remains very slow,could somebody pass on tips please.

rich

A perennial problem...sometimes it's slow, other times less slow. Sometimes affected by any slope. When the sink is empty pouring the water from say a saucepan, straight into the plug hole very quickly sometimes gets the flow going. It's not blocked or anything....just one of life's many mysteries.

Hi Rich

Best tip - learn to live with it!

It's a very common problem, and not easy to fix. A small sink plunger helps to get it going, but don't be too enthusiastic or you could create a leak.

Pain in the backside! How difficult would it be to plumb the sink in properly during the build??

Dave

Hi there,

I agree with the above comments.  The are all pretty slow!

However, one thing that can really slow a sink drain down is HAIR; and no amount of boiling water will get rid of it!

If you or your nearest and dearest wash their hair in the same sink then I suggest that you construct a small hook and go fishing down into the "U" bend.

The ideal bit of kit is the wire from a stainless steel paternoster; and if you know what one of those is you are already halfway there!  

Hope this helps. 

Best regards,

My earlier Fiat Ducato Harmony had a similar problem. I suspected a blocked pipe and went underneath to check only to find that the pipe was linked across the chassis to the shower and bathroom sink with a huge loop over the chassisI had to cut the pipe because the hose clips were totally corroded, let the pipe hang down. put the plug in, filled sink to top and let it go. Went like a rat up a drain pipe. No evidence of what might have been blocking the pipe so remade the joint, filled the sink and just the same, slow emptying. Took the pipe off again and secured it to the chassis,. Solved, and I now put my black water container under it.

On my Gloucester, the bottom part of the U bend unscrews for cleaning. Don't know if PV have the same.

Have had the same problem since new with a Warwick XL, learning to live with it.

Put the heel of your palm over the plug hole and fairly gently pump your hand up and down keeping the palm sealed against the plug hole on each down movement.  In our case it clears it like a charm and you only need to do this every now and again.

rich g wrote:The water in the sink takes forever to drain i have poured boiling water down it and flushed it several times but it still remains very slow,could somebody pass on tips please.

rich

This is normal on a Warwick Duo.

1) If you pour a large volume of water into the kitchen sink it will flow away as fast as you like. The problem only occurs with a small volume of water.

2) Using the palm of your hand as a plunger does help.

3) Using a finger to swirl the water in either a clockwise, or anti-clockwise direction does help.

4) There is a trap under the sink which you could dismantle to check for debris, but usually it will be clear and the problem is just caused by insufficient head (pressure) of water.

5) we have had two Duettos before the Duo and they were exactly the same.

This is normal on a Warwick Duo.



4) .........and the problem is just caused by insufficient head (pressure) of water.

Normal too on a Broadway,  Bessacarr, Eldiss, VW and in fact all the vans we have ever owned.

Thanks for the explanation. I've always assumed it was some sort of air block.

The handbook for our Devon advises to drop the waste tank and clear blocked vents for this problem. I use the palm of the hand method !

This is typical of most UK built MHs. I have the same problem with Winnie.
Most continental built MHs are fine in this respect. They tend to use domestic sized downpipes etc that doesn't cause the fault described on this thread. I previously had a Rapido that used a really effective outlet system, and an equally excellent heating system - built by practical design, not by old fashioned ideas - "We've always done it like this".

Regards, Barry.

Very funny Willie! A man after my own heart.....there are more important things in life!

Perhaps because my sink is at the rear of the van and directly underneath is the waste tank, the drainage is very good, not so good when I had a sink on the side. so perhaps position of sink has a bearing on the drainage.

Thank you for all your replies,it has always been slow but now i know that it the norm i can worry about something else.

Once out of warranty we will modify ours. The drain pipe from the sink runs horizontally along behind the sink cupboards and cooker before dropping down to the tank. I will just give the pipe a few degrees of drop. I think they leave it horizontal as the standard pipe elbows are 90degs. I will just use some heat to reprofile to about 30 degs and change the pipe routing slightly.

My waste water flow is also slow, so I use the rubber plug as a plunger if neccessary.
It appears to be a big problem on Autosleeper vehicles, with small diameter waste pipes.
When the weather gets warmer I think a modification will take place

Jaytee wrote:Once out of warranty we will modify ours. The drain pipe from the sink runs horizontally along behind the sink cupboards and cooker before dropping down to the tank. I will just give the pipe a few degrees of drop. I think they leave it horizontal as the standard pipe elbows are 90degs. I will just use some heat to reprofile to about 30 degs and change the pipe routing slightly.

On my Nuevo the sink pipe drops straight down and through the floor before taking a short horizontal run to the tank. The sink emptkes like a dose of salts. By contrast UK the bathroom sink has a few inches of fairly level run before it drops - it is also made from flexible piping, has a trap and another horizontal run under the floor. It takes much longer to drain. I think that the CAK TANKS trap does impede the flow.

I also find the 'swirling the water with a finger' trick helps to speed up drainage. Also make sure the shower tray plugs are removed, there are 3 on my van. The shower outlets act as an extra breather for the grey water tank.
Al.