Water filling

When I fill the fresh water tank I sometimes have to hold the hose in while my OH turns the tap on and off,I've seen some caps you can get to fit on and snap hose onto that,has anyone got one and type please,,,,,,,,assuming I'm explaining  myself properly.

Yes, I have one like this and it works very well:

https://tinyurl.com/yz39bm9j

Glenny54 wrote:When I fill the fresh water tank I sometimes have to hold the hose in while my OH turns the tap on and off,I've seen some caps you can get to fit on and snap hose onto that,has anyone got one and type please,,,,,,,,assuming I'm explaining  myself properly.

Is there a reason why you don't fill the tank through the Whale inlet socket which overcomes the problem you have described?

rogerblack wrote:Yes, I have one like this and it works very well:

https://tinyurl.com/yz39bm9j

When the tank is full does the mains water back up the filler pipe and escape through the cap or does it just come out of the tank's breather?

Caraman wrote:
When the tank is full does the mains water back up the filler pipe and escape through the cap or does it just come out of the tank's breather?

We know it's full when it comes out of the breather.

Caraman wrote:
Is there a reason why you don't fill the tank through the Whale inlet socket which overcomes the problem you have described?

We use the whale socket on pitches with water tap.

I've had one of those blue hose connectors, ever since Paulmold drew attention to them. Excellent, and well worth the money. I can nip into the van whilst the hose is filling the tank, to check the water level gauge. 

When the tank is near full, the sound changes and so it's time to stop. Rarely, if ever, does it overflow.

Cymro

I just use one of the standard twist nozzles that come as standard with hoses and cost a couple of pounds to buy. Can be wedged safely in the filler hole so hose doesn't need held in place. Cheap simple and works for me

Glenny54 wrote:
We use the whale socket on pitches with water tap.

If you use it on a pitch with a tap why don't you use it on a service point with a tap?  You don't have to hold the pipe or even watch it whilst its filling.  It is obvious when the tank is full as the flow stops so you turn the tap off and disconnect - job done.  As I see it the gravity filler hole is a back-up for the Whale inlet socket should the Autofill system fail and to allow the tank to be filled with a hand held container like a watering can.

Cymro wrote:I've had one of those blue hose connectors, ever since Paulmold drew attention to them. Excellent, and well worth the money. I can nip into the van whilst the hose is filling the tank, to check the water level gauge. 

When the tank is near full, the sound changes and so it's time to stop. Rarely, if ever, does it overflow.

Cymro

Thanks Cymro.  Hitherto I have only used the Whale inlet socket to fill the freshwater tank with a hose.  However, I have removed the solenoid valve beneath my Whale inlet socket so my mains water flow is no longer cut off when the tank is full, so the tank overflows through its breather until I turn the tap off.  I have never regarded this as a problem but it has been reported on this Forum that if the mains water pressure/flow is too great, not enough water can get out of the breather causing the water in the tank to over-pressurise until one of its level sensors pops out.  The blue filler cap attached to the gravity filler pipe could cause the same problem but it appears to be self-venting which may allow water to escape out of it when the tank is full, as well as water escaping from the breather.  So I was just wondering whether in my case this would be a better way of filling the tank with a hose than using the Whale inlet socket having removed the solenoid cut-off valve.

An interesting conundrum, Caraman. 

My Whale kit is in its unopened plastic bag, hanging up in the garage! I continue to use the system which I've used for decades, via what you describe as a gravity filler hole - a process enhanced since buying the blue filler-neck-to-hosepipe connector (so that I don't have to stand alongside holding the hose to ensure it doesn't jump out). 

But I don't recall allowing the tank to overfill, so that I cannot recall the efficacy of the blue adapter's self-venting arrangement (although I'm sure it will be OK, albeit causing wet shoes). I simply check inside the van at the gauge, and when it's showing 75% I go back to the tap and listen for the note (pitch) from the filler neck to change and gurgle, which tells me to turn off the tap.

All that said, these days it's rarely the case that I fill the tank to its brim. We don't wild camp, so I've no need for an absolutely full tank. Even when staying at a site for more than 3 or 4 days, it's no great hardship to refill, whether by driving to a tap, or resorting to the watering can and jerry can. 

Cymro

i use the blue cap, had it for around twenty years cost about £10.00 one of the best things that I have bought, the whale filler is still in the bag and in the shed.
Pete

I think I'm going to get one in part to allay concerns about the mains water pressure popping a sensor but also because my Whale hose and connector has already sprung leaks and its securing lug has snapped off.  I have a longer hose on a cassette which is easier to handle and has had little use which I will connect to the blue filler cap.  The Whale inlet socket will then only be used with my Whale pump and water barrel for which I have optimised it by removing the solenoid valve.