caravan water tank - HELP
Submitted: Saturday, Apr 17, 2004 at 18:00
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Member - KG (QLD)
I bought a camec
water tank the other day...
it basically has 2 spouts with little barbs on them for a 12mm hose (1 x water, 1 x breather) and a much fatter spout for the filler.
the 12mm hose slides onto the spouts (with a bit of effort) and i put one of the little plastic cable clamp things on it.... these ones seemed to seal ok but the bigger fill pipe leaks.
will thread tape be any use at all? i doubt it.... what's the secret to sealing these connections?
my second question - i would like to fit a tap on the breather to prevent water syphoning out when the vehicle is on extreme angles.... my plan is to just open the breather when using the tank. will this result in the tank exploding due to a build up of pressure when the tap is closed?
any advice appreciated.
cheers,
KG
Reply By: Member -Bob & Lex (Sydney) - Saturday, Apr 17, 2004 at 18:06
Saturday, Apr 17, 2004 at 18:06
Just put a stainless steel hose clamp on the filler. The tap will be fine just don't forget to open it.
AnswerID:
54697
Follow Up By: Member - KG (QLD) - Saturday, Apr 17, 2004 at 18:11
Saturday, Apr 17, 2004 at 18:11
i've got the little plastic hose clip things on the 12mm hoses and a stainless steel hoseclamp on the filler.
i could maybe tighten the hoseclamp a bit more but its only a fairly fragile plastic fitting to if i go too hard on the hose clamp i'll break the fitting and then im in all sorts of trouble.
cheers,
KG
FollowupID:
316357
Follow Up By: William - Saturday, Apr 17, 2004 at 19:05
Saturday, Apr 17, 2004 at 19:05
Plastic hose clips are not worth a pinch of poo.
If you are using the correct type of hose they are nearly self sealing on those poly tanks. What type of hose are you using?
FollowupID:
316367
Reply By: Peter 2 - Saturday, Apr 17, 2004 at 18:10
Saturday, Apr 17, 2004 at 18:10
Get some of that plastic sealer used to repair leaks in showers ets, Selley's make one called Wet Seal, I used it on my tank after quite a few attempts at getting it to seal. Silicon sealer quite often won't stick.
Before you put the hose on clean up the extrusion bits on the filler neck as they usually cause leaks. The problem is the above extrusions and the fact that
the neck is quite often not round.
AnswerID:
54699
Reply By: Member - Al & Mrs Al (Vic) - Saturday, Apr 17, 2004 at 18:14
Saturday, Apr 17, 2004 at 18:14
KG
have just read this to Mr. Al, he says that the breather should be on the top of the tank, and the 2 spouts are for 2 different water supplies - we have 1 going to the electric pump and 1 to the
hand pump. Re the breather - there is another fitting you will need to buy that goes to the breather on your filler.
Al said he removed the barb things so he didn't have to muck around with clamps...he said that perhaps your hose is not soft enough....also he said there is a special teflon paste you can buy to help seal any leaks.
and...he also wants to know if the tank is hard to fill up....ours was until we sorted out the breather issue and got the fitting for the top of the tank...
cheers
Lyn
PS..we've just finished going through re building a van so we've gone through the process if you want to ask any questions re the
water tank etc...you can either member message me or get our email addy by clicking on our
pic.
AnswerID:
54700
Reply By: William - Saturday, Apr 17, 2004 at 18:18
Saturday, Apr 17, 2004 at 18:18
KG thread tape works perfectly on poly tanks and the only thing that does. Nothing at all will stick to poly tanks.
I hope you have used drink water safe hose that is not clear.
I have one of those cheap irrigation 90 degree taps used in irrigation on the breather pipe, and have it a fraction open when when using the water from the tank. Whatever you do, do not forget to fully open it when you are filling the tank.
You will get no build up of pressure with water sufficient to burst the tank.
AnswerID:
54702
Reply By: Colin T - Saturday, Apr 17, 2004 at 18:55
Saturday, Apr 17, 2004 at 18:55
KG
You seem to have some good advice on this one KG
You have to fill water tanks with slow to moderate water pressure or they can split.
The manufacturers of my campoer put a tap my camper put a stop tap on the hose that leads to the pump. They said that you should turn the tap off when filling to avoid water running out the spout and flooding the trailer.
Contact
Tambo Campers in
Melbourne and I/m sure they will let you know where you can buy these nifty plastic stop taps.
ColinT
AnswerID:
54708
Follow Up By: William - Saturday, Apr 17, 2004 at 19:01
Saturday, Apr 17, 2004 at 19:01
"The manufacturers of my campoer put a tap my camper put a stop tap on the hose that leads to the pump. They said that you should turn the tap off when filling to avoid water running out the spout and flooding the trailer."
That was only because the dummies could not design a proper system.
FollowupID:
316366
Reply By: Member - KG (QLD) - Saturday, Apr 17, 2004 at 19:48
Saturday, Apr 17, 2004 at 19:48
thanks to all for the advice...
Mr and Mrs Al - the hose goes on ok and appears to be pretty softish. the 12mm food hose (after reading earlier posts on here i went for the white covered food grade hoses) seals fine (touch wood) but the filler (much larger black tube - also very soft and flexible) has caused consternation... no problems so far with filling speed but i've only really given it a few litres to
test for leaks so far - i'll let you know the outcome...
after taking William's advice I've layered the filler hose connector with thread tape... also took Peter's advice and cleaned up the extrusions - there was a lot of daggy bits from the moulding. a quick leak
test (in the dark) and it seems to have done the trick - i'll know for certain in the morning.
if all this doesnt work i'll try Peter's suggestion of the selleys wet seal (or teflon paste)
and on Mr and Mrs Al's advice i'll be back to camec looking for a breather tap.
again - thanks everyone for the advice.
cheers,
KG
AnswerID:
54717
Follow Up By: William - Saturday, Apr 17, 2004 at 19:57
Saturday, Apr 17, 2004 at 19:57
That white covered food grade hose is not at all suitable for direct connecting to the inlet of a poly caravan tank. I was under the impression you wanted to use the thread tape because one of the threads was leaking.
On the fill hose use a piece of soft clear good grade hose, which should be such a snug fit the hose clamp only needs to be done up a little.
The white covered food grade hose can then be connected with a cheap poly line connector you buy at an irrigation
shop to the clear poly hose. Leave about 150mm of the clear hose before connecting the white hose. The only way you can use that white covered food grade hose is if there is no movement of the tank or hose at any time. You used to be able to buy the soft food grade hose in black, but it is no longer available, so what you will need to do is put black insulation tape over the clear hose to keep the light out as that is what causes contamination of the water.
You can get a cheap breather tap from the garden irrigation shops for $2.50 or thereabouts.
FollowupID:
316389
Reply By: rolande- Saturday, Apr 17, 2004 at 21:46
Saturday, Apr 17, 2004 at 21:46
KG,
Probably too late but I purchased a filler with an inbuilt breather from a boating supplier, eliminates the problems with a separate breather, they also sell a wide range of breathers so you won't have to worry about the tap. Just another thought, spray tanks use spring loaded breathers that shut when no water is being drawn, may be able to find something to suit. Just a few ideas
Rolande
AnswerID:
54738
Follow Up By: William - Saturday, Apr 17, 2004 at 21:53
Saturday, Apr 17, 2004 at 21:53
One of the ideal breathers if you only need it for taking water from the tank, is a small duckbill rubber breather used in chainsaw fuel tanks.
That type of breather only requires a small hole of 3mm and can be placed in the breather pipe or anywhere convenient including directly into the poly tank. I purchased one from a Homelite chainsaw dealer for $2.85.
FollowupID:
316420
Reply By: Cobra - Saturday, Apr 17, 2004 at 23:38
Saturday, Apr 17, 2004 at 23:38
I have had food grade hoses on my camper for the last five years without any problems and on a caravan before that. As for connecting the hose, I have metal clamps and used Sikaflex (a marine sealant) where the hose butts up against the tank. It is flexible and handles corrugations without cracking and no leaks.
AnswerID:
54765