Removing cupboard

Having problems posting this......

I have a leak behind this cupboard in my Stanway, I have undone every screw I can find but the cupboard isn't for moving. Does anyone know if it will come out or if the whole kitchen area is a single unit and its not going to move unless I dismantle the whole kitchen. I can't find any other way of getting to the pipes behind....

Any access through fridge vents outside?

No I've had a look there's no way to get to the back of the cupboard.

Can you post a picture taken from as far away as possible so the cupboard can be seen in context of neighbouring furniture and other aspect of the vans construction.

I was hoping to see where the back door is and what is above the cupborad

Have you tried removing the screws from 6 circular plastic recessed fixings ie on front of cabinet frame? 3 at top and 3 at bottom?  Possibly others on inside face of shelf hidden from view then ease whole front of cabinet forward? If this front panel is behind d the rhs panel next to cooker then it might need removing  in a similar manner first.

I'v found pics on line. The bottom of the cupboard should contain the wheel arch, as Paul suggests you may be able to see through from lower fridge vent and/or from the access door to the combi that is behind the back door. It should also be easy to lift out the sink and see below. I con't imagine what would pass through the bottom of the cupboard to leak so its much more likely for any water to be coming from the plumbing to the sink or combi boiler and running there.

Thanks all will give it a try…..

The grill on the face of the panel next to the cooker probably vents the area containing the combi boiler. I would remove the screw from the obvious fixings in the front fascia panel after removing the drawer. This would then allow access to the boiler and pipework but the feed from the under slung tank will probably run round to under the cupboard you have the doors open in on the photo. One facia panel will overlap the other at the corner,  it is this you need to verify and then proceed as above .

I see you've not removed the shelf inside the cupboard. I found a similar construction on my Trident, albeit on a smaller scale, whilst trying to access my waterpump. After removing the screws i found just enough give in the rear of the cupboard to get my fingers under the shelf and lift up one side then manoeuvre it out the way. It gave me enough access to see everything below. Hope this helps.

I used a short handled rubber kitchen plunger placed off centre to lift up the cupboard floor/shelf enough to get my fingers underneath.

vanseeker wrote:I used a short handled rubber kitchen plunger placed off centre to lift up the cupboard floor/shelf enough to get my fingers underneath.

I will give that a try and see if I can get at it.

 I know believe it is the boiler that is leaking but there is absolutely no way of getting to it. The vent at the front is almost touching the back of the boiler so can't even see past it, the access door at the back of the boiler is the same I can't even get my arm up the side. I think he whole kitchen base unit has to come out to get access. I think its going to be a case of booking it in to get done when all this madness is over if the plunger on the shelf doesn't give access.

Many thanks

If you think its the boiler, the drawer under the sink and the sink itself are the best access points and both should be easy to remove.

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Your Stanway is about the same age as our Kemerton and despite the obvious differences in layout, I would expect some similarity in the way services and systems such as pipe-runs and boilers are hidden away and access arrangements incorporated.  

The rear panels of all three floor-mounted kitchen cupboards in the Kemerton are removable, using the same hidden fixings seen in the front panel of your cupboard pictured in your 26 Mar post.  I’ve had them out in the past to see what’s behind them and they reveal the water heater, pipe runs and heater ducting.

Applying the same logic, it would be worth you checking the cupboard underneath your oven, to see if the l/h side panel is removable and provides access to the boiler.

More fundamentally though is the possibility of access given to the rear kitchen units once the van’s back doors are opened. This potentially gives a level of access which is unprecedented and unique to the Stanway. In Peter’s first picture in his post today there appear to be fixings along all four edges of the panel below the worktop.  They must surely be worthy of investigation if you haven’t already done so.

I find it hard to believe that you’d need to undertake serious dismantling on a van only 5 years old to access a system such as a boiler which requires periodic servicing.  Older vans often overlooked this requirement in favour of aesthetics but design-for-maintenance has got better in AS’s newer layouts.  It’s not perfect, often requiring forensic skills to find the hidden panels and fixings, and even then the access can still be limited, but they will have thought about it ... mostly.  It would be helpful if the handbook at least offered a few clues but many of us know how poor AS are at documenting their vans.

Tim

Thanks hadn't thought about the back after seeing the entrance to the boiler was so small will give that a go.

There isn't any access from the cupboard under the cooker or the cupboard under the sink......

Thanks for all the help.