Water Tanks - again
Submitted: Tuesday, Mar 28, 2006 at 16:22
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buckingfox
Sorry to bring this old chestnut up again but I'm looking for some advice.
I recently purchased a new CT that has two Camec 59L water tanks (part no 3571-001) plumbed together with a Shureflo electric pump. Both tanks have breather elbows fitted to the breather holes in the top of the tank plumbed to a breather line that exits near the top of the trailer.
I have filled the tanks slowly until water is running out of the breather, so am assuming they can't get any fuller.
The issue is that when I dump the water I am only getting 80L out of the tanks. I have measured the tanks and they are the same dimensions as the part no listed so I'm pretty sure I've got what I paid for in that respect.
I've spoken to the trailer manufacturer and he's saying there's nothing more he can do, which I'm not too happy about. Has anyone else measured the water they actually get from their tanks and if so is this a common problem with these style of tanks? Should I kep pursuing the manufacturer of the trailer or am I better off taking this up with Camec?
BTW I only started measuring the capacity because we ran out of water on our first trip out and needed to get to the bottom of the problem as we have a bigger trip planned for later in the year.
Any help or advice appreciated.
Thanks
Paul
Reply By: dags666 - Tuesday, Mar 28, 2006 at 16:43
Tuesday, Mar 28, 2006 at 16:43
g day buckingfox i just bought a camper and have 2 60 ltr water tanks fitted and really never even give it a thought when they say 60 ltr you believe them. i say being a plumber do the maths lenth x width x depth should give you the volume they might be selling stuff thats not the right product try this link
http://www.dep.state.pa.us/dep/deputate/waterops/Redesign/calculators/volcalchtm.htm dags
AnswerID:
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Reply By: guzzi - Tuesday, Mar 28, 2006 at 16:44
Tuesday, Mar 28, 2006 at 16:44
Have you actually measured how much is going in? or whether there is any water left in there after youve drained out your 80 lts? 39 liters would be noticeable.
Have they worked out the capacity from the outside dimensions or from the available inside space dimensions?
Have they fitted the correct tanks?
If 80 litres is all you can get in and out point out theyre 39 litres short and ask why, youve asked for and paid for a water capacity of 118 litres + whats in the pipeing.
If all the trailer manufacturer can come back with is the gallic shrug it may be time to take it up with the tank manufacturer, they may have been mislabled and youve actually recieved 2 40 liter units.
AnswerID:
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Follow Up By: buckingfox - Tuesday, Mar 28, 2006 at 17:39
Tuesday, Mar 28, 2006 at 17:39
Well as it happens I've just had the manufacturer on the phone and he offered to reimburse me for the 2nd tank or wait until he finds a solution on the
test rig he is going to put together. It may be a couple of weeks until he finds a solution but I can wait that long.
I'll keep you posted.
Paul
FollowupID:
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Reply By: Sand Man (SA) - Tuesday, Mar 28, 2006 at 20:04
Tuesday, Mar 28, 2006 at 20:04
Paul,
Might sound silly but
check to see if one or other of the dual tanks is not installed upside down.
If the pickup is towards the top of the tank, then obviously much less water will be extracted from that particular tank.
The outlets of both tanks should be at the bottom, or near bottom of the containers to allow all water to be drawn out.
Have never tested actual capacity of my 59 litre tank. (This is a common size by the way)
I also tote an extra 20 litre container of water in one of the 4 gerry can holders, just in case. One never knows whats going on underneath while travelling and even though the
water tank has a metal guard protecting it, Murphy's law says.......
AnswerID:
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Reply By: OLDMAGPIE - Tuesday, Mar 28, 2006 at 21:43
Tuesday, Mar 28, 2006 at 21:43
ok here goes nothing, if both suction pipes are fed from the top of the tank to the pump , the tank with the shortest suction pipe is going to empty first, the second tank will still have water in it but the pump will be sucking air from the first tank , it doesnt matter about the air vents because depending on the speed of the pump & the fact that the suction pipes come from the top the tanks, they wont even out.the other thing is that when you fill the tanks depending on the plumbing ofthe air vents you might be getting an overflow from the first tank and not the other which might be only 3/4 full , s--it now im confused. cheers
AnswerID:
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Follow Up By: V8 Troopie - Wednesday, Mar 29, 2006 at 00:48
Wednesday, Mar 29, 2006 at 00:48
And to add a little more confusion, it matters if the trailer was level when being filled, assuming the tanks are fitted level with the frame.
Imagine the air vents are at the forward end of the tanks. You parked the trailer with the forward end a little lower. There is now air space inside the rear of the tanks even if the vents overflow.
Klaus
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Reply By: nuboy - Wednesday, Mar 29, 2006 at 01:31
Wednesday, Mar 29, 2006 at 01:31
Paul,
Think u will find if you take a look at the breather, by the time it screws down into the tank it ends up quite a way down into the tank, ensuring that any air in the tank above that point can't escape. Spent a couple of days trying to find my missing water in my camec tanks untill the penny droped. U can fix the prob by sealing up the provided vent and fitting another directly in the TOP of the tank.
Regards
Terry
AnswerID:
163563
Follow Up By: buckingfox - Wednesday, Mar 29, 2006 at 10:37
Wednesday, Mar 29, 2006 at 10:37
Good point. I'll try that (or at least pass that on to the CT manufacturer). I think there is probably a combination of factors that are affecting this particular set up. The tanks are both installed right way up and they have been level when I've filled them, we've even drilled breathers holes in the top of the tank on the other side from the standard breather hole however I don't know how
well these are functioning as they may be pressing up against the floor of the trailer and sealing anyway.
Either way I'll wait and see if he comes up with a solution and if not then I'll get my money back for the 2nd tank and look into it myself .
Thanks everyone.
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