Re: Water Tanks

by rgermain Fri Jul 29, 2022 9:01 pm

Paulmold wrote:
VDYBDUB wrote:I would have thought that EVERYONE would know that 1ltre of water weighs 1kg, critical sometimes to know the basics !
I was educated in imperial measurements, a gallon of water weighs 10 lbs.

And tyres are PSI not bars, they are for drinking at. smile!

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Richard

by rogerblack Fri Jul 29, 2022 10:58 pm

Wouldn't the 'weight transfer' effect on cornering also apply to the contents of the fuel tank, which I think on mine is around 80 litres?

by Caraman Sat Jul 30, 2022 7:19 am

I think fuel tanks have baffles in them to stop the fuel from sloshing about. Fuel and water tankers certainly have baffles in them for the same reason. I don't think the water tanks that A-S use have baffles.

by Angleseygirl Sat Jul 30, 2022 8:59 am

For us, it all depends on the type of touring - if using sites we don’t keep much water in the tank but if camping “free” we try to keep topped up where possible.

by groundhog Sat Jul 30, 2022 9:08 am

Slightly off topic so forgive but maybe interesting to some.
I sold a Boeing 737 -200 for a Swedish company years ago but one of the fuel tanks had a leak, they tried all manner of things to fix it and eventually a sort of balloon ( I am no technician) was put inside the tank and inflated so it formed the same shape as the tank and sealed the whole thing.
I wonder if that has ever been done on a motorhome tank?

by Peter Brown Sat Jul 30, 2022 9:47 am

Caraman wrote:I think fuel tanks have baffles in them to stop the fuel from sloshing about. Fuel and water tankers certainly have baffles in them for the same reason. I don't think the water tanks that A-S use have baffles.

There are no baffles in my fresh water tank that is usually full but there are baffles in the grey water tank that is usually empty.

by Eltel Sat Jul 30, 2022 10:07 am

Is there a magic formula in knowing when you fill the water tank of how much water is in the tank ?

Such as a inline water meter.

The water sensors are useless on my Nuevo, they have been cleaned and changed in the past.

Terry

by Caraman Sat Jul 30, 2022 10:24 am

Peter Brown wrote:
Caraman wrote:I think fuel tanks have baffles in them to stop the fuel from sloshing about. Fuel and water tankers certainly have baffles in them for the same reason. I don't think the water tanks that A-S use have baffles.

There are no baffles in my fresh water tank that is usually full but there are baffles in the grey water tank that is usually empty.

That's interesting about the grey tank which must add to the muck retention.

by Roopert Sat Jul 30, 2022 10:27 am

Eltel wrote:Is there a magic formula in knowing when you fill the water tank of how much water is in the tank

I guess it depends how much cost and complexity you want.

Accurate flow meters can be bought, but one problem is that the fresh water inlet is gravity-fed in most A/S models. You would need to convert to pumped filling and would have ensure that the fill was water only, and not a water/air mix. You would then probably need to program something like a Pi to add up inlet and outlet flows over time and display the difference.

An alternative could be to arrange for the tank to be hung on weight sensors - this should be very accurate, but the difficulty of engineering the sensors into the hangers should not be underestimated!

My favourite alternative method is the sight tube - just a clear glass or plastic tube that runs from the base of the tank up its side - you could bring it out to the side of the van and make a feature of it, with polished brass fixings? Very simple - though it's likely that the tube itself would get obscured on the inside by limescale over the years. A dipstick is another possibility, though not so easy to read with water.

by Caraman Sat Jul 30, 2022 10:40 am

Eltel wrote:Is there a magic formula in knowing when you fill the water tank of how much water is in the tank ?

Such as a inline water meter.

The water sensors are useless on my Nuevo, they have been cleaned and changed in the past.

Terry

I know how much water I am putting into the tank as I mostly do it with a barrel which is supposed to be 30 litres but it's nearer 34 litres and I know we use at least a barrel a day. As I generally empty the tank before moving and start afresh at the next site and don't normally stay in one place for much more than 4 days, I have a feel for how much water we have. So far with a tank that is empty most of the time (on my drive) and occasional descaling/sterilisation, my sensors have been OK. They haven't always been OK with the grey water tank which I attribute to its poor cleanliness which I tackle from time to time.

by groundhog Sat Jul 30, 2022 1:22 pm

Our old Autocruise simply had a hatch in the floor which exposed a Henderson type hatch on top of the tank and you could see how much water was in it
You could also of course just stick a hose straight in or pour from a container no problem.
Simple is just best sometimes.

by IanH Sat Jul 30, 2022 2:24 pm

Simple is always best..................... up!

by Caraman Sat Jul 30, 2022 3:11 pm

My previous experience of on-board fresh water tanks has been in offshore sailing yachts and a German Knaus caravan. For offshore yachts I did quite the opposite of what I do now and that is brim the tank with fresh water before leaving every port. The water was always suspect as were the hoses used to fill it. Even though we would empty and refill the tank at the start of a trip, we only used the water for dish washing, cooking, hand washing and on long trips a body wash. The only showers we used were ashore. We only used bottled water for drinking and cleaning teeth. I don't remember any way of telling how full or empty the tank was but we always carried a large container with emergency water in it.

The Knaus had a large plastic tank under one of the seats. It had a large inspection hatch through which you could reach with a hand to clean inside, unscrew its drain plug and access its submersible pump and electric water level sensors. The later were a series of rods of varying length that dropped down into the tank and which never failed. The only downside was that there was no way of filling the tank with a water barrel and pump so it had to be filled with a watering can which I never got used to.

by Cuckoo Sun Jul 31, 2022 1:30 pm

Yes we do the main reason having read reviews from other travellers and our own experience visiting aires and free stops in Spain and portugal the hoses to fill water tank and rinse out the cassette toilet are the same and are fixed. So full tank on leaving and fill up on campsites which have proper water separation.

by Tom Wardlaw Sun Jul 31, 2022 4:33 pm

Each to their own on this but I come down on side of empty tank to travel although I do carry about 3 litres of bottled water. Reason I do this is that when I bought our Broadway, dealer told me that the weight of water slushing about in the tank, however much there was, could have an adverse effect on tank securing brackets and could lead to them breaking. That’s what the dealer said so good enough for me.

by Caraman Sun Jul 31, 2022 4:55 pm

Quotes from current Bailey manual:

Before moving off - Ensure that your fresh water and waste water tanks are empty

Motorhomes are often used all year round but when they are not in use, even for short periods, they should be drained down.

For added stability and driving comfort the water tanks in your vehicle are fitted with baffles. These baffles stop the water from flowing freely from side to side, creating uneven weight distribution.

by Paulmold Sun Jul 31, 2022 5:33 pm

If you read the Caktanks (who I believe AS obtain their tanks from) website, all their tanks are fitted with anti-surge baffles.

by Peter Brown Sun Jul 31, 2022 5:42 pm

This original one didn't (but it did have several water level sensors that had just been pushed through when they were replaced) but I don't know who the supplier was:

The wooden blocks were not original but prepared by me when I hoped I could get someone local to replace it in less than six months.

by Wrinkly Old Hippy Sun Jul 31, 2022 5:55 pm

I've never used the ater tank, I prefer fresh water from the tap.

by Wrinkly Old Hippy Sun Jul 31, 2022 5:55 pm

I've never used the water tank, I prefer fresh water from the tap.

by Wigley Woggled Sun Jul 31, 2022 7:51 pm

We used to travel empty in the belief we might save fuel.

Travelling abroad changed all that. Staying at Aire de Camping Car's it was clear we might not always get an Aire we wanted or it had closed. First come first served meant a certain reluctance to leave the last available space to get water.
Not everywhere has water or to obtain water we needed a Token to be obtained from a shop now closed or a Mayor's office closed.
So we now always fill up before moving on, just so much less hassle at the next destination.
Filling up also gives that extra freedom to Wild Camp.

Once, travelling in Portugal our water tap fell off leaving a trail of water gushing forth. An emergency stop and a mile a minute sprint back up the road to recover said tap meant not all our water was lost plus I burnt off a few calories !!

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