Broken tap on fresh water tank drain

Hi all. Looking to replace the tap which drains the fresh water tank. Was emptying tank today and the plastic bit that you hold and turn snapped off. We have an Autosleeper Symbol 1999. Any advice on where part can be obtained and how to fit would be most welcome. Thank you, Rob

You can get them in caravan/MH accessory shops or online from the likes of Amazon, eBay or numerous other suppliers.

Thanks for the quick reply. Just not sure what I should search for to get the correct fitting ?

The tap connects to the tank as opposed to the waste drain plug which is just at the end of a hose.

One here Amazon

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They do go  brittle in time. I last got replacements for fresh and waste tanks direct from AS, quoting job number from glove box sticker to be sure of getting the right ones.

Robbit M wrote:The tap connects to the tank as opposed to the waste drain plug which is just at the end of a hose.

Your tap is possibly secured by a large flange nut inside the tank. If so, this means dropping the tank to remove the old tap and fit the replacement. 

I was faced with exactly this on a Duetto some years ago but not relishing the idea of crawling around under the van, gave the job to a local garage who did it in comfort via a 4 poster lift. His quote of just £20 clinched the deal! The tank strap nut/bolts had to be cut off as penny pinching AS just fit mild steel which were rusted and seized solid. They were replaced with stainless.

I recently replaced the waste and fresh tank drain taps on my Mums Topaz. I had to remove the tanks as there was a retaining nut inside the tank. I must admit that it was a bit of a faff on my back on the drive, I had two hanging hooks shear off and had to make replacements. I fitted a plastic quick fit connector into the tank which had the retaining nut outside the tank. This means I can replace the connector without removing the tanks again. I fitted a 22mm ball valve on a short piece of plastic pipe onto the tank connector.

Thanks very much for all the feedback. I have been able to order what I hope is the correct part from Autosleeper Parts Dept. Will post the part number etc. in case of use to others. Once I get the part I will look at the issue of fitting. If looking to be tricky for the reasons you mention will take into somewhere with ramp.

Poleman wrote:I recently replaced the waste and fresh tank drain taps on my Mums Topaz. I had to remove the tanks as there was a retaining nut inside the tank. I must admit that it was a bit of a faff on my back on the drive, I had two hanging hooks shear off and had to make replacements. I fitted a plastic quick fit connector into the tank which had the retaining nut outside the tank. This means I can replace the connector without removing the tanks again. I fitted a 22mm ball valve on a short piece of plastic pipe onto the tank connector.

Hi Poleman

I have this job in my to-do list on our 2003 Topaz too - if you can post any pics of the finished results of your labours it’d be very helpful! 

maybe a daft thought, cut the tap close to where the turn key is and solvent weld an extra bit of pipe to it then connect the new tap to it

Thanks again for all the advice. Will update when have done the job to aid any others in same situation

Mr Grey wrote:
Hi Poleman

I have this job in my to-do list on our 2003 Topaz too - if you can post any pics of the finished results of your labours it’d be very helpful! 

Hi Ian, 
 I will try to post up a couple of pictures when I'm home.

Michael.

I installed the taps to the fresh and waste tanks. The waste tank outlet was angled down due to the tank being deformed by the tank brackets, so I fitted a flexi pipe to the tank fitting and fitted a remote tap on the pipe. This allows my Mum to pull over the drain point without the need for absolute accuracy.

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The waste tap and pipe are clipped to a bracket I made out of stainless steel angle.

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Wow! That’s all super-helpful! Very much appreciate the insight, you’ve done a cracking job 

Thanks very much for taking the time to upload the photos and provide the detail.

Hi all ... just an update - I’ve now followed Poleman’s lead and used a 22mm push-fit tank connector to replace the original tap. Onto this I’ve added a stub of 22mm copper pipe, a lever ball valve and another stub of 22mm pipe on the outlet side.

All working a treat!