Modding my Stanway (and PVCs in general)

Many thanks. Some jobs are big and make a small improvement, some like these dots will be a small job with a big improvement. In future whenever we have a shower I'll be thinking of you.

RogerThat wrote:I bought a light from Amazon that @FreelanderUK shared a link to: [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

Hi Roger
Any more thoughts on the brightness of the new light? Please update when possible
I was wondering what you thought of my idea - if the new light's brightness disappoints at times:
Why not add an additional light rather than remove existing?
I was thinking maybe 300mm away looping parallel wires fished across in the head lining. - do you think this is acheivable?
Thinking of buying one anyway for wash room.
Thanks for posting

We're away at the weekend, I shall put it through its paces then.

Entirely feasible to install one of these as a second light.  If this one isn't brigh enough when needed I shall put the original one back and see about mounting this new dimmable one further along the ceiling 

Baggiecamper wrote:

RogerThat wrote:I bought a light from Amazon that @FreelanderUK shared a link to: [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

Hi Roger
Any more thoughts on the brightness of the new light? Please update when possible

Bad news on my light-swap.

It whistles... badly...

My wife can't hear it, but I can. It emits a very (very) high pitched whistle when on dim.  It gets quieter the brighter it goes,  the blue is unbearable. The blue is also totally pointless.

If there is some background noise you can't hear the light, but at night time when you can hear a pin drop you can also hear this light emitting a very high frequency whistling noise.

Get what to pay for eh?

Back to the drawing board I think.

Looking on the bright side (NO pun intended) your hearing seems to be in good condition! Mine can hear the engine, but no chance with a light!

Thanks for the series of ideas . Very helpful note re the slow drain on the sink. Rather than use a modified drain pipe I simply used rubber packing pieces between the sink and pipe to cause it to slop downhill rather than up.  Your modification was already on my mind when I saw the water in the sink going nowhere. So many thanks.  

Ill be working may way through the others no doubt.

Rob

That's for the feedback Rob, I'm glad it has helped with some ideas and fixes 

First few nights away and the water protection system has annoyed me.  We parked up at a service station and wanted to wash our hands, pump on and the none stop action told me the frost protection circuit on the boiler had triggered.  I'll need to find a way to isolate the cold water circuit from the boiler so they can operate independently.  When you fitted the filter did you note how pipework ran on the rear cupboard?  I'll have a good look when I'm home but thought I'd just ask.  Oh tow bar ordered with rear light connected electrics.

are you considering seperating the cold side from the hot?....so that you can wash hands in cold water? 
which side will the frost protection sit on?....presumably the hot side?...so it will work when the system is fully opened up.
why not just have a bottle of water to wash hands, as 99% of the time you'll want the system fully functioning.
if the dump valve is opening too early, perhaps it needs changing.
replumbing the system seems a bit drastic?
either way, you need to get a reliable dump valve so that you can use the full system with confidence.
there are easy (physical) ways to prevent the valve from opening but these remove the protection it gives.

SpeedTrip wrote:First few nights away and the water protection system has annoyed me.  We parked up at a service station and wanted to wash our hands, pump on and the none stop action told me the frost protection circuit on the boiler had triggered.  I'll need to find a way to isolate the cold water circuit from the boiler so they can operate independently.  When you fitted the filter did you note how pipework ran on the rear cupboard?  I'll have a good look when I'm home but thought I'd just ask.  Oh tow bar ordered with rear light connected electrics.

No clue where your pipes will run but on my Nuevo the Truma is under the wardrobe behind a fixed panel.  The cold water feed goes into that compartment and then comes to a Y wheer it splits to a feed into the Truma and feed to the cold taps. If you can find the Truma you will see a blu pipe and a red pipe connected to it.  If you really want to do this then simply cut the blue pipe and insert an in-line tap.  That can stop the Truma from filling.  However it would also stop it from draining so you would need to ensure that you turn the tap off with the boiler empty, the pump off and the frost valve open.
Is it worth it?

Many thanks for both of the responses about the possible heater valve. The dump valve works at the stated 7 degrees, so no issues with that. And now I've looked I can track the set of pipes, so possible to fit.  One of my neighbours has a Broadway and he gets round the issue of simply ensuring he's had the heater on before he leaves home if the outside temp is below seven but about 
one.  I'll try mental discipline first and do my own entry on the site rather than clog up Rogers record.

Our trip home today resulted in the backwash in the shower tray (no where to dump waste until I got home). So Ill be doing the none return valve in the waste pipe. I tried to expand the photo to find out who made the valve, if it works then steal shamelessly, but couldn't work out the brand and sizing. Do you have a record of what you bought Roger?

i posted this earlier....."there are easy (physical) ways to prevent the valve from opening but these remove the protection it gives."


you dont need to put heating on, just take a cable tie and let it loop around the whole frost valve ensuring it covers the blue button and holds it in...
this will keep the hot tank full in that 7 deg down to freezing area, BEFORE you get to site. 
when on site, put on the heating/hot water which will then take over and you can remove the cable tie...
re: the overflowing waste tank...ive said before how i would feel if my van ever did anything like this...truly poor design.
even a cheap mod could put a row of small overflow holes in the waste tank so that it never got full enough to come back into the van.
even my old Bolero(s) managed to keep the waste water out of the habitation area by using this simple method.
non-return valves?? in the waste system?? i can see the crazy logic but ive never heard of this being required before....except...

SpeedTrip wrote:Our trip home today resulted in the backwash in the shower tray (no where to dump waste until I got home). So Ill be doing the none return valve in the waste pipe. I tried to expand the photo to find out who made the valve, if it works then steal shamelessly, but couldn't work out the brand and sizing. Do you have a record of what you bought Roger?

I do indeed 

It was one of these: [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

And here's a another picture if it helps, there is a very small directional arrow moulded showing which way the flow needs to go.


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Might be worth shopping around, prices seem to vary by a few quid, as does delivery prices from various suppliers.

Here's another example:  [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

CAK tanks do the Whale non return valves which I fitted to mine. 
Chris, I think I have explained before that the waste pipes go into the waste tank from the sides and that there is very little level difference between the bottom of the shower tray and the top of the waste tank. Carthagos of course have a double floor (reflected in their price) which increases that level difference considerably and also allows the waste entry to.be on top of the tank. The result of side entry and little headroom is that the van corners some waste water can find its way into the shower tray. I understood that A/S started fitting non return valves on waste tank entries when I reported the issue in late 2012. Mine was certainly modified during that summer but not get effectively by Marquis so I did some fettling to rectify the Marquis more. No problem since!

Many thanks for the info. I've not climbed under the van yet to get the size but Ill report when fitted (which will be when I'm back from Scotland).

Regards

Rob

Back from Scotland, great trip and very pleased with the van - much better than the Trooper for comfort, but not so good for car parks. So fitted tow bar (easy to do, videos on net) and have ordered Yamaha Scooter (101kg) and carrier to fit on the tow bar.

Ive got the none return valve now need to source the small plastic inserts for the end of the hose to press onto the one inch inlets and outlet.

RogerThat wrote:I've always thought the holes on the front grille that are big enough to get half a hand in were a daft idea.  

Those radiators look seriously expensive to repair.

Zunsport make all manner of mesh grilles for cars and vans.  They're a quality product and a great fit too.

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I took the plunge and invested.

Here's the size of the holes before:

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And after...

Looks much safer!

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I’ve used Zunsport grilles on my Porsches for years, mainly to avoid stones hitting the air conditioning condensers behind the opening, but it’s not a perfect solution. The area behind the grilles still gets penetrated by a surprising quantity of (now shredded) leaves and sometimes fragments of plastic bags and paper. When that accumulates and gets wet, it can rot the bottom of the condensers or radiators, causing premature failure. Without the grilles, it’s easy to see and easy to clean out, but you might want to take those grilles off to make sure it’s clean in there. It’s a higher vehicle so it may be less prone to hoovering the road debris, but having a good look will give you an idea of whether or not it will be necessary in future.

Reporting in Roger

One way valve fixed, one size does all.  Almost copy image of where you've fitted yours.  And I've also gone with the angled drain, all push fit pipework that I wasn't expecting but at least the pipework is now pushed in FULLY.

So just the four items that were wrong with the van to be sourced by Marquis (I've given up even hoping they might fit the items- though probably better I do it myself). Though looking at the comments on the forum about the company I can see my motor legal insurance will get used shortly!!

And photo of Scooter on the back[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

SpeedTrip wrote:
One way valve fixed, one size does all.  Almost copy image of where you've fitted yours.  And I've also gone with the angled drain, all push fit pipework that I wasn't expecting but at least the pipework is now pushed in FULLY.

Excellent news!   Worthwhile modifications for sure.  Did you also cut some extra lugs out of the plug hole? 

Scooter platform looks solid.  Which one is it?

I have looked at scooters and suitable racks but I thought the tow bar mounted ones weren’t up to the job because most towbars have a weight limit of 100 kg, which is the weight of just the scooter, but the rack is also heavy. Is this one mounted directly to the chassis?

The very thought of adding circa130kg well behind the axle fills me with horror!
Also that come from payload.

[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]We carried a 100kg scooter on an Alko carrier and it didn’t make any noticeable difference to the handling/ride.

PS The rack is still for sale