Filling up fresh water tank in nuveo

I saw and heard my husband showing our Hymer buyer the Truma heater automatic dump valve operation but he texted a few days later for suggestions as to why water was running from under the van. Obviously in overload on the handover day!
No one demonstrated to us how to put fresh water into a Nuevo with a (broken) Whale system. Husband on floor under van just now trying out another suggestion from an A-S owner, short of dropping the tank.
Did the reverse fill through the emptying tap and the taps work beautifully at sink, basin and shower, also fill level on panel working, so could easily fix a hose system to drain system - but not happy!!

AJC, I’m assuming you only have the Whale fill point on your van. A/S themselves obviously realised the shortcomings of this setup and started fitting a manual ‘hole in the wall’ fill point in addition to the Whale a year or two after your van was built.
Getting one of these fitted has been done by a few members, I’m sure it’s not a hard job for someone with DIY skills.
I wouldn’t be without mine.

Are you sure that the Whale system is broken?  The first time that I filled oour water away from home was in Luxembourg and it took me 20 minutes to get ANY water into the tank and itwas USER ERROR!
To fill the habitation electrics MUST be switched on at the control panel and when you have started th eengine to drive to the tap the habiation electrics are aautomaticaly switched off!
OK - there are also a number of other wrinkles:
1:  Check the menus on your control panel.  One of the menu items is for water pumps with 3 choices - internal, external and both.  You need to leave it at both so that the internal pump will pump water to the sinks and th eexternal pump (the one used for filling from a container) is powered from the Whale inlet - if you are using a hose then forget that one for the moment as it does not affect filling from a hose
2:  The block on the side of the van that takes the Whale input has a couple of safety features.  It contains a pressure switch that powers the solenoid valve that sits in the bed locker (probably behind a black plastic shroud) that lets water in.  If water pressure is not enough the valve won't open. Also there is a level switch in the tank that is in series with all that and when the tank is full then the solenoid valve will close.
3;  Finally, there is a finer gauze filter in the solenoid valve (non removable).  That tends to clog with silt and chalk deposits and may need cleaning.
Anything wrong in 2 or 3 above wil prevent filling, though the clogging of the filter notices before it stops flow completely as filling then can take about 20 minutes!  I normally expect filling to take nearly 10 minutes.

If you think that the solenoid valve, pressure switch or level switch are broken then you should be able to get those dealt with under warranty from your dealer, if available.  Testing the solenoid valve is difficult - it is easy to remove but needs 12V and water pressure to open. 

Hope that helps.

One last point, when you have turned the manual control lever to the correct position on the inlet valve you also have to push the blue button in which is situated 75mm below the control lever

Pretty sure that it is broken. Tony is a ‘details’ man. We checked and re-checked the instructions before going through dismantling and dissecting one potential problem at a time getting progressively more tricky. In the meantime I was scouring ASOF for clues and in the last hour or so Tony found a broken wire coming from the tank direction which to get at he needs to lift the ‘van. He won’t say it IS what he is after but that ‘It needs mending anyway’. This has taken the best part of a week so far between other necessary jobs and duties. Tony also machined and bushed the parts for our alternative filling system, in case!
Thank you for your prompt attention to our plight.
Yes. Seen and done as required with blue button. More thanks.

Dbvwt wrote:AJC, I’m assuming you only have the Whale fill point on your van. A/S themselves obviously realised the shortcomings of this setup and started fitting a manual ‘hole in the wall’ fill point in addition to the Whale a year or two after your van was built.
Getting one of these fitted has been done by a few members, I’m sure it’s not a hard job for someone with DIY skills.
I wouldn’t be without mine.

when you see the 'checklist' of whats needed to ensure a successful 'whale fill' and the simplicity of a 'hose and a hole' is it any wonder folk with the latter cant make much logical sense of the former...
for a Hymer owner moving to the AS/Whale system it must seem very strange concept indeed...

Tony has sorted it now. It all came down to a corroded spade terminal.
I’m heartened by how fond people are of their Auto-Sleeper, hopefully we grow into ours. I’m not feeling it yet. 

bolero boy wrote:

Dbvwt wrote:AJC, I’m assuming you only have the Whale fill point on your van. A/S themselves obviously realised the shortcomings of this setup and started fitting a manual ‘hole in the wall’ fill point in addition to the Whale a year or two after your van was built.
Getting one of these fitted has been done by a few members, I’m sure it’s not a hard job for someone with DIY skills.
I wouldn’t be without mine.

when you see the 'checklist' of whats needed to ensure a successful 'whale fill' and the simplicity of a 'hose and a hole' is it any wonder folk with the latter cant make much logical sense of the former...
for a Hymer owner moving to the AS/Whale system it must seem very strange concept indeed...

That's your opinion Chris but I find it very useful to be able to deal with waste and empty the loo while the water is filling. And your "checklist of what's needed"; is a somewhat critical interpretation of my checklist to guide a newbie in finding a fault. I freely admit that on my first fill (and very occasionally since) I have omitted to turn the hab electrics back on after driving to the tap. I also agree that there is more to go wrong - but with normal care it is totally reliable and convenient. The only drawback that I have found is the difficulty of getting reagents such as steriliser or descaler into the tank - and I do carry a spare solenoid valve (a couple of pounds on eBay) in case that ever fails. If you've never had a Whale you are unlikely to see its value.

Ron, this will forever be another polarising MH viewpoint...some will love it, some wont...i was just hightlighting the three very recent threads with folk struggling...best to leave it there as weve drifted well away...if it works for you thats great...