Questions re water

by OutdoorQueen Tue Jul 23, 2024 9:21 pm

Evening all

I had my first trip out in my new to me van, and have some questions re the water supply. I don’t believe there is anything wrong, just me not knowing. I have read some other posts that have helped.

1) I have the Whale Aquasource hose to fill the tank. Should I have also been given a submersible pump as well ?

I’ve read that later models have the dual inlet fitted, but mine only has the Aquasource connector. I’m guessing I need the submersible pump if I want to add Puraclean or is there another way? I won’t drink the water from the tank, I know some do, but would still like to clean once a year or so. I will empty after each trip.

2) The pump doesn’t turn off when I turn the tap off. Manual suggests the water pressure switch needs adjusting but says this is under the nearside bench…. It’s not there as there’s only gas taps there. The heater and pump are under the other bench and I wondered if this was the switch. I can’t read what it says on the top. If so, how do I adjust it?

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Filling the tank was very slow but reading posts on here that seems to be a known issue so I will just need to be patient.

Thank you

by Fixer Tue Jul 23, 2024 9:25 pm

That is the pressure switch, turn the knob on the top anti clockwise till the pump stops- usually about a quarter of a turn with be enough

by OutdoorQueen Tue Jul 23, 2024 9:30 pm

Fixer wrote:That is the pressure switch, turn the knob on the top anti clockwise till the pump stops- usually about a quarter of a turn with be enough

Thank you. I will try turning it on my next trip.

by Caraman Tue Jul 23, 2024 9:40 pm

OutdoorQueen wrote:Evening all

I had my first trip out in my new to me van, and have some questions re the water supply. I don’t believe there is anything wrong, just me not knowing. I have read some other posts that have helped.

1) I have the Whale Aquasource hose to fill the tank. Should I have also been given a submersible pump as well ?

I’ve read that later models have the dual inlet fitted, but mine only has the Aquasource connector. I’m guessing I need the submersible pump if I want to add Puraclean or is there another way? I won’t drink the water from the tank, I know some do, but would still like to clean once a year or so. I will empty after each trip.

2) The pump doesn’t turn off when I turn the tap off. Manual suggests the water pressure switch needs adjusting but says this is under the nearside bench…. It’s not there as there’s only gas taps there. The heater and pump are under the other bench and I wondered if this was the switch. I can’t read what it says on the top. If so, how do I adjust it?

[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

Filling the tank was very slow but reading posts on here that seems to be a known issue so I will just need to be patient.

Thank you

The van may have been supplied with an external Whale submersible pump which can be used to pump water out of a water roll but whether it was or wasn't, it can easily be bought. I don't know of any other way of adding Puraclean or other cleaner or de-scaler to the freshwater tank if the Whale inlet socket is the only means of filling the tank.

If your van has a Whale submersible pump in the freshwater tank it will also have a combined Whale Non Return Valve (NRV) and adjustable pressure switch outside the tank. I say "If" because you say the pump is under the bench, in which case it can't be a submersible in the freshwater tank. However, if it does have the submersible, an A-S handbook will explain how its pressure switch is adjusted:

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by Biker51 Tue Jul 23, 2024 11:54 pm

I use this to get tank cleaner into freshwater tank. Just open the drain valve keeping the funnel higher than the top of the tank and pour cleaner into funnel, then turn off drain tap

Questions re water 8a7a9127-c7d8-47aa-89b9-31abcb4d030b

Questions re water 8a7a9127-c7d8-47aa-89b9-31abcb4d030b

by The Bargee Wed Jul 24, 2024 6:18 am

The item photographed is definitely the pressure switch and the white knurled knob on the top is the adjuster as already advised. Once correctly adjusted to achieve the right cut off pressure it should not need further adjustment, but it is quite easy to knock the adjuster inadvertently and change the pressure setting, so this might just have changed.

There is another possible issue. The submersible pumps fitted are quite puny and can easily be affected by excess voltage drop, either because the cabling is too small or because the habitation battery is tired. How old is your battery? If the voltage drop is too great then the pump may struggle to generate enough pressure because it is only an impeller pump, not a positive displacement pump.

So I suggest you check the battery and try adjusting the pressure switch. If the battery is more than three years old you may be better to fit a new battery regardless and as a normal routine maintenance point.

Otherwise, if the problem cannot be resolved by adjustment I would not waste money on any repairs to the Whale installation. Just fit a proper Shurflo water pump and new larger supply cabling. It is a pretty easy upgrade. There are plenty of threads on here about that since the various issues with Whale pumps are well known.

by cibaker Wed Jul 24, 2024 8:16 am

Yes it is easier to add a cleaner if you also had a submersible pump. Simply add the fluid to an aquaroll or similar and use the submersible pump to fill the onboard tank. My tank takes almost 2 full aquarolls to fill from empty.

by Biker51 Wed Jul 24, 2024 8:33 am

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Biker51 wrote:I use this to get tank cleaner into freshwater tank. Just open the drain valve keeping the funnel higher than the top of the tank and pour cleaner into funnel, then turn off drain tap

by Caraman Wed Jul 24, 2024 8:49 am

OutdoorQueen wrote:...
Filling the tank was very slow but reading posts on here that seems to be a known issue so I will just need to be patient.

...

This is often caused by a clogged gauze on the solenoid valve beneath the Whale inlet socket. Remove valve and clean gauze.

by OutdoorQueen Wed Jul 24, 2024 10:29 pm

Thank you everyone for your thoughts and suggestions.

I’m not sure of battery age. I will check through all the paperwork I have and also look for a date code. Thankfully, I have a battery supplier close to home that sells all types of battery if a new one is needed.

Although the manual does tell me how to adjust the pressure valve, I have no diagrams to show me what it looked like. Your confirmations have confirmed that my guess was right (more luck than anything), so thank you.

by OutdoorQueen Thu Aug 15, 2024 9:28 pm

Just thought I would up date my message as I’ve now been away for another trip.

Managed to fill the water tank a lot quicker this time. I took the time to lay the hose out as straight as I could with only one big curve.

Also managed to adjust the the pressure switch and the pump now turns off.

I’ve also bought a used submersible pump and aqua roll off of eBay. I will use this to add puraclean occasionally.

Thank you for your help smile!

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