Filling the fresh water tank

I carry a small 12 volt pump and a battery which I could use if the Whale topping up system fails. The pump and battery have other uses too.
I also carry a one litre square water bottle with a cut out on one side and the neck taped up to be a tight fit in the hose filler entry. Acts as an effective tundish and much smaller than a watering can. Requires someone to hold the bottle while you poor.

DeeBee wrote:

Caraman wrote:

Baggiecamper wrote:Make sure the air in the tank can escape as the water goes in (and more Importantantly: the water if the filler pipe gets full) . This year on a site with a water tap that gave high flow from high pressure I managed to blow out one of the level sensors in the fresh water tank. Fortunately it pushed back in without much trouble.

I've never heard that before.  If the solenoid valve below the Whale inlet socket is working properly it should shut off the mains water flow as soon as the tank is full.  I've removed the solenoid valve and so fill it until it overflows from the breather at the top of the fresh water tank.

I was going to post a question related to this - our new Warwick XL I tend to use our aquaroll with the whale sub pump. I have to turn on the power to the socket via our panel in the van. Works great and auto shuts off when the gauge says 100%…

My worry though is these levels never stay accurate for long - our Swift Escape was never accurate ever and looking at posts on here seems AS go the same way. Never bothered me on the swift, as people state you get to know your water usage and when to fill up. With the Warwick though if it auto shuts off at 100% and the levels are inaccurate is there a way to force it to fill? (i think thats what you meant in your post and if so could you provide more details?). 

Our swift just used the 2 pin 12v external socket so didn’t stop from filling to max. 

Thanks for any help.

So far, touch wood, after 3 1/2 years, my fresh water tank sensors have worked OK.  So the 100% sensor at the top of the tank that cuts the power to the Whale inlet socket continues to work.  The tank is only briefly this full so nearly all the time the sensor is above the water level which might help with its reliability.  The aquroll and Whale sub pump is my preferred method of filling the fresh water tank.  I rarely bother with motorhome service points even if the site has one and only use a hose if there is a tap on the pitch, which there often isn't.  When the aquaroll sub pump is being used, it has to generate enough water pressure to close the pressure switch in the Whale inlet socket so that the solenoid valve will open.  I found that the pump flow was slow and sometimes didn't generate enough pressure to keep the pressure switch closed, which caused the solenoid valve to chatter open and shut which in turn made the sub pump convulse.  This did it no good and resulted in two packing up.  When I got by 3rd pump (and I keep one in reserve!) I decided to give it its best chance by removing the solenoid valve.  This increases the flow and removes a filter that can get blocked, a point of failure and a water trap.  The only slight downside is that when I connect a hose to the Whale inlet socket, water will flow into the fresh water tank until the tank overflows.

Ah ok, thanks for clarifying what you meant, makes sense
I was thinking about taking the 12v 2 pin off my old whale pump from the Swift and changing it for a cigarette lighter plug. I could use that on the non whale filler then as an alternative. I was hoping there was a way to override the panel cut off so it didn’t rely on the 100% marker.

We carry a spare 10 litre bottle with a spout if we’re near a tap but the aquaroll is great when the SP is further away. I know some people just drive to a fresh tap but often we don’t move for a day or two and its more hassle to take the van off the ramps etc imo!

If I have problems with the water gauge showing 100% full when its not, which I haven't yet, I think I would put a switched feed into the back of the Whale inlet socket from the back of the adjacent 12V external socket which has a 10A fuse.  My view is that the chances of the water gauge malfunctioning increase if a film of any sort is allowed to build up on the inside of the tank, which might allow conductivity between sensors when the water level is below them.  I counter this with annual cleaning/descaling and draining down after every trip.  However, I think it is unlikely a film would form as high as the 100% sensor as it is covered with water for such a short time - at least it is on mine as I travel with an empty tank.  I understand that false gauge readings can also be caused by road spray or condensation shorting out the back of the sensors.  On advice from members I have countered this by applying silicone sealant to the back of the sensors on both tanks but I couldn't reach the 100% sensor on the fresh water tank.

For me the gauge’s are there as a guesstimate and I never take notice of them, in 16 years of motorhoming I have never relied on them , if water comes out of the tap ok if it doesn’t put some in empty waste every few days, if I fill the tank I fill till it overflows

FreelanderUK wrote:For me the gauge’s are there as a guesstimate and I never take notice of them, in 16 years of motorhoming I have never relied on them , if water comes out of the tap ok if it doesn’t put some in empty waste every few days, if I fill the tank I fill till it overflows

It's probably because the sensors were/are all studs on the side of the tank.  I had an internal fresh water tank in a caravan whose sensors were vertical rods of varying height projecting down from the top of the tank and they worked all the time.  The tank also had a large inspection hatch which meant you could get your hand inside to clean it and replace the submersible pump should it fail.

I was away with the van this weekend. I filled the tank with the Whale socket on the flat rolled hose and let it run until I saw water coming out from underneath. It certainly took much longer to fill than the first time when I was judging the level by the gauge. This is the way to go from now on for sure. I've not had a chance to take off the waste tap yet to make sure the line is properly clear. I will do that, I did get a reading from the gauge to say it was almost full when it had to be nowhere near. 
Could I ask about the submersible pump that also came with the van. I am sure they told me on handover, that if necessary I could always fill the fresh tank by plugging in the submersible pump and letting it pull water into the tank that way.  I tried that instead of having to unhook and move the van to the service point. The pump didn't run as I thought it would have. Does it just run when a tap is opened? Can't see how that would fill the tank. In the end I had to take the van to the service point and use the hose again. 
Many thanks again for all the help. So much to learn

DaveyA wrote:I was away with the van this weekend. I filled the tank with the Whale socket on the flat rolled hose and let it run until I saw water coming out from underneath. It certainly took much longer to fill than the first time when I was judging the level by the gauge. This is the way to go from now on for sure. I've not had a chance to take off the waste tap yet to make sure the line is properly clear. I will do that, I did get a reading from the gauge to say it was almost full when it had to be nowhere near. 
Could I ask about the submersible pump that also came with the van. I am sure they told me on handover, that if necessary I could always fill the fresh tank by plugging in the submersible pump and letting it pull water into the tank that way.  I tried that instead of having to unhook and move the van to the service point. The pump didn't run as I thought it would have. Does it just run when a tap is opened? Can't see how that would fill the tank. In the end I had to take the van to the service point and use the hose again. 
Many thanks again for all the help. So much to learn

DaveyA - it sounds as though your van doesn't have a solenoid valve beneath the Whale inlet socket and/or doesn't have a working float switch at the top of the freshwater tank.  If it did, the solenoid valve would shut stopping the mains water flow as soon as the tank is full and it wouldn't overflow.  As to your external submersible pump, the Whale inlet socket should have two brass contacts on it.  These must be live to power the external pump.  If they are live and making a good contact and the pump doesn't run, you need a new pump.  They are not known for their longevity.  If they are not live, you need to investigate why.  Filling the fresh water tank by whatever method is unaffected by the internal taps which are part of the internal hot and cold water system.

Thanks, so from reading other replies it doesn't seem as if it's really a problem the valve is not fitted or not working. I'll just carry on filling it up until I can visually see that it's full when it overflows. As for the submersible, I'll test the contacts and see if they're live.