Change whale water system to gravity fed

We are fed up with the Whale water system on our Autosleeper Kingham.  Does anyone have experience of getting it changed to an ordinary gravity fed system so that we can use an ordinary hose to fill the fresh water tank?  If is who did it and was it straightforward?

AS will do it. They don't convert but add a standard filler. Tie it in with a trip to the Cotswolds.

Hi Michelle , our Warwick XL  has been fitted with both. The whale on the offside and a standard fuel cap type  filler on the nearside . Must have been spec'd by previous owner at build time . It runs through the skin of the van, passes  through the bed box and floor of the van in a 50mm hose  into the water  tank below. To be honest we have always found the Whale filler great and really dont have space to store/ humph long inevitably  muddy wet  hoses or watering cans only  to stand for ages supporting a heavy can while filling . ( and I came from 3 vans with watering can type filler systems beforehand)
        Each to their own but it should be an easy job once you determine a route that avoids gas/water and electrical services. Have a look at CAK tanks website if you fancy some DIY....they do all the parts and possibly spigots to allow second filler to be attached to the tank or a y- section to join into existing fittings. Worth calling A/s for a costing as Paul suggests if cutting holes in van is not your forte!

Hi , I specified a normal filler when ordering the Nuevo ,so was inc in the deal, it is a fiama filler cap with a 40/50mm hose ,next to the Whale , into the underbed locker and straight down into the tank . I always use it , its quick and easy! I believe as Paul has said A/S will readily do the work. Kind regards        Paul

We had a conventional filler fitted as part of the purchase agreement we struck with our supplying dealer.  We didn’t want to rely solely on the Whale filler and now have two means of filling up the water tank.  We tour a lot in Europe where water is often dispensed by paying a Euro for a fixed time interval of water supply, and the Whale is too slow to completely fill the tank before the money runs out.

Installation looks to be straightforward and the pipe from the filler to the tank is routed through the void below the bench seat and into the side of the water tank.  Your van has a bench seat in the same position as the Kemerton so the fit would be similar. If you’re handy with tools and pipe fittings and aren’t squeamish about cutting holes in your van then it’s a feasible installation to fit yourself.

Tim

paul bullock wrote:Hi , I specified a normal filler when ordering the Nuevo ,so was inc in the deal, it is a fiama filler cap with a 40/50mm hose ,next to the Whale , into the underbed locker and straight down into the tank . I always use it , its quick and easy! I believe as Paul has said A/S will readily do the work. Kind regards        Paul

They fit both as standard now on the Nuevo.  I guess they do on all their models.

Thanks for all the responses.  We've contacted Auto-Sleeper Service Centre who can fit a manual water system.  
We spoke to a few motorhome service centres locally but non of them know much about the whale system and hadn't fitted a manual water system but Alan at Auto-Sleeper knew exactly what we wanted and was very helpful.

Now you need a watering can and the end off one of these.



Fix it on the end of the spout and it makes it much easier to up-end the can to pour in the last drop. Without the flexible end the watering can spout tends to fall out of the filler hole, and you get wet feet!! (A trivial detail, but after a couple of soakings, due entirely to my own carelessness, it now works a treat.)

Take the can with you to the shower and for a wee!! If you both do that your tank will probably need topping up only every couple of days, and no extra journeys to the tap are necessary. Four cans every two days when on site is usually enough.

Good grief - I would use a tap - and, as for your suggested alternative ........

Caraman wrote:

paul bullock wrote:Hi , I specified a normal filler when ordering the Nuevo ,so was inc in the deal, it is a fiama filler cap with a 40/50mm hose ,next to the Whale , into the underbed locker and straight down into the tank . I always use it , its quick and easy! I believe as Paul has said A/S will readily do the work. Kind regards        Paul

They fit both as standard now on the Nuevo.  I guess they do on all their models.

So was there a time when it was just the Whale system fitted? 

I know many like the Whale inlet, but personally my blue hose is still in its wrapping and I’ve only ever used the ‘hole in the wall’ using one of the many ingenious adapters devised on here!

Hi Dbvwt  , Yes , my 2014 van had only the whale system and no need for watering cans or endless ingenious devices to get water into a hole! I just stood  admiring the view while it did the work without the need to stand holding a heavy watering can or soaking my feet!

inspiredron wrote:Good grief - I would use a tap - and, as for your suggested alternative ........

Only the end bit is fitted on the watering can Ron. The blue tube is in the "might be useful one day" drawer.

The suggested alternative simply negates the need for a special trip to the tap with the can. Idleness again!! 

kaspian wrote:Hi Dbvwt  , Yes , my 2014 van had only the whale system and no need for watering cans or endless ingenious devices to get water into a hole! I just stood  admiring the view while it did the work without the need to stand holding a heavy watering can or soaking my feet!

Like a lot of other needlessly complex systems. Great while it works, and a pain in the backside when it fails.

Just like the remote key fob on the car, which is needed to start the engine with a button. Utterly stuffed a few weeks ago when the battery suddenly failed and there was no way to start the car. How difficult is it to put a key in a hole and turn it - and the key can't be cloned from a distance!!

It's called progress! 

Gromit wrote:

kaspian wrote:Hi Dbvwt  , Yes , my 2014 van had only the whale system and no need for watering cans or endless ingenious devices to get water into a hole! I just stood  admiring the view while it did the work without the need to stand holding a heavy watering can or soaking my feet!

Like a lot of other needlessly complex systems. Great while it works, and a pain in the backside when it fails.

Just like the remote key fob on the car, which is needed to start the engine with a button. Utterly stuffed a few weeks ago when the battery suddenly failed and there was no way to start the car. How difficult is it to put a key in a hole and turn it - and the key can't be cloned from a distance!!

It's called progress! 

Done that too. My car is keyless and when you're in the vacinity you can just open the boot and the rest of the doors open when the car senses the key. One day I opened the boot and threw in my coat with the key in the pocket and closed it. The doors are supposed to open but because of a weak battery they didn't and I was locked out of my own car. After several hours my wife had to bring her key from home to get me in. Grr.
Rich..

RML wrote:

Gromit wrote:

kaspian wrote:Hi Dbvwt  , Yes , my 2014 van had only the whale system and no need for watering cans or endless ingenious devices to get water into a hole! I just stood  admiring the view while it did the work without the need to stand holding a heavy watering can or soaking my feet!

Like a lot of other needlessly complex systems. Great while it works, and a pain in the backside when it fails.

Just like the remote key fob on the car, which is needed to start the engine with a button. Utterly stuffed a few weeks ago when the battery suddenly failed and there was no way to start the car. How difficult is it to put a key in a hole and turn it - and the key can't be cloned from a distance!!

It's called progress! 

Done that too. My car is keyless and when you're in the vacinity you can just open the boot and the rest of the doors open when the car senses the key.  One day I opened the boot and threw in my coat with the key in the pocket and closed it. The doors are supposed to open but because of a weak battery they didn't and I was locked out of my own car.  After several hours my wife had to bring her key from home to get me in.  Grr.
Rich..

Ford say that cannot happen, thanks for the post, we had better be on guard just incase it happens to us.
------------
Richard

Can I ask why you are fed up with the system? I ask as I have replaced a lot of these valves due to slow flow problems that reoccur with annoying persistence. If this is the issue I is very easy to remove the valve internals to allow quicker filling.

I find it does take an awful long time to fill a 100 litre tank (+ 10 litre Combi) with the Whale attachment and its collapsible hose.  It also takes time to lay out the hose and remove twists from it, and then use the adaptor to flush the hose before use, and after use expel water from the hose by rolling it up carefully.  All of this makes me feel uncomfortable when there is someone waiting to use the service point.  Has anyone found or devised a cassette or reel to speed up the laying out and recovery of the hose?

Gromit wrote:

inspiredron wrote:Good grief - I would use a tap - and, as for your suggested alternative ........

Only the end bit is fitted on the watering can Ron. The blue tube is in the "might be useful one day" drawer.

The suggested alternative simply negates the need for a special trip to the tap with the can. Idleness again!! 

You seemed to miss the double entendre! I wouldn't put the watering can under the shower to fill it - and I won't elaborate on your alternative ....
Doh

Toffee wrote:Can I ask why you are fed up with the system? I ask as I have replaced a lot of these valves due to slow flow problems that reoccur with annoying persistence. If this is the issue I is very easy to remove the valve internals to allow quicker filling.

Currently we are unable to get any water into the fresh water tank.  Our previous van had a manual water filling input and we never had a problem.  The whale system is fine while it's working but if something goes wrong then it's a pain.

inspiredron wrote:You seemed to miss the double entendre! I wouldn't put the watering can under the shower to fill it - and I won't elaborate on your alternative ....
Doh

Sorry Ron.

I was a bit slow there. Must put brain in gear before reading posts!!    

kaspian wrote:Hi Dbvwt  , Yes , my 2014 van had only the whale system and no need for watering cans or endless ingenious devices to get water into a hole! I just stood  admiring the view while it did the work without the need to stand holding a heavy watering can or soaking my feet!

...but where does it pump the water from while you are admiring it?

...an aquaroll? no thanks, not carrying those huge things around, and of course, you have to fill the aquaroll several times to fill a decent sized water tank...
...perhaps the water supply could be a tap and the Whale fills the Aqaroll via a ball cock (no thanks) or even fitted directly to a tap...no good if not on a serviced pitch or at an aire as described earlier..

no, im afraid its a hose for me (never muddy, its a flat one that i clean as its gathered up and fits in a carrier bag and stores in a rack on the inside of the garage door) and a 10ltr water carrier that is good for the odd top up and used to fill via a guttering elbow that fits perfectly into the water inlet..no watering cans with elephant trunks attached, nor electrics to go wrong nor plugs to corrode...

as said, so many ways to skin the same carrot...

There is a lot to be said for the KISS system.....ie Keep It Splendidly Simple

Apart from the guttering elbow, which still counts as a bit of a faff compared to poking a watering can spout in the hole, I'm forced to agree entirely with Chris. 

(I've got a flexible end   which makes it even easier - see previous post.) 

However much I try, I just cannot see the logic in complicating what couldn't be a much more simple or straightforward operation. Hosepipe for substantial fills, and watering can (or similar) for top-ups.

The Whale pump is a caravan fixture, and it works perfectly in that situation. 'Nuff said!! 

bolero boy wrote: a 10ltr water carrier that is good for the odd top up and used to fill via a guttering elbow that fits perfectly into the water inlet..

Exactly the system I've used for many years. The 10ltr container doubles up as a fresh water container when on the move..
Al.

depending on the height of the water inlet, it may be easier to tilt a shorter/squarer water carrier than a slimmer/longer/spouted watering can...
a watering can at waist height is where its designed for, hence the positioning of the handle, lifting one up towards shoulder height is quite awkward.
our inlet is quite high off the ground, hence the warer carrier.