filling water barrel from tap with rigid plastic pipe instead of flexible hose hose supplied.

[g1]

I have recently seen a number of caravanners on sites using a short length of rigid plastic pipe ( about 2" diameter) to fill up water barrels from drinking water taps on site, instead of the flexible hose supplied with barrel. Basically one end goes over the end of the tap and the other end goes into the barrel.

Is it a particular kind of plastic or will any do from a DIY place?

Seems excellent idea to me.
1. More often than not the pipe supplied with barrel won't fit over end of tap or you get cramp holding it on for 5 mins
2. the water doesn't flow from tap in a steady stream on it's own and sprays all over the place - and me.

Thanks
g

 

[colin-yorkshire1]

I have recently seen a number of caravanners on sites using a short length of rigid plastic pipe ( about 2" diameter) to fill up water barrels from drinking water taps on site, instead of the flexible hose supplied with barrel. Basically one end goes over the end of the tap and the other end goes into the barrel.

Is it a particular kind of plastic or will any do from a DIY place?

Seems excellent idea to me.
1. More often than not the pipe supplied with barrel won't fit over end of tap or you get cramp holding it on for 5 mins
2. the water doesn't flow from tap in a steady stream on it's own and sprays all over the place - and me.

Thanks
g

hi g,
the contraption you describe sounds very much like the one invented on this very forum some 6 or 7years ago.
( I cannot remember by who possibly "Plotter, or pop up john" ) for sites that did not have the screw in thingy on the taps, I made one myself from the design and it has served very well, I think ideally it should be made from food grade pipe but as we never drink the caravan water I just used 40mm poly drain pipe about 30in long, with a push on bend at one end, cut a oval slot at the other end (to put the tap in) and drill a small hole at the other side (same end ) to attach some kind of tether to tie the tap to the pipe and there you have it,
ps it helps if you fill the aquaroll laid on it's side and filled via the central hole,

 

[MikeyW]

Hi, sorry to jump in on this post but I've been thinking of getting one of these. The ones I've seen used on site were just straight pipe or so I thought. What's the reason for the push on bend and slot? Wouldn't a straight pipe do the job.

Thanks

Mike

 

[colin-yorkshire1]

Hi, sorry to jump in on this post but I've been thinking of getting one of these. The ones I've seen used on site were just straight pipe or so I thought. What's the reason for the push on bend and slot? Wouldn't a straight pipe do the job.

Thanks

Mike

hi Mike, a straight pipe would probably work but us caravanners like to improve the things we use

,
the problem is not all site taps are standard, some are higher/lower some have a drain some have different tap fittings and some sit on top of a concrete plinth, also water pressure varies, the reason for the pipe was explained in the original thread which I will put a link to (if I can find it!!)
the slot and bend are my own modifications done over years of use, as I found using the pipe on different sites created new challenges, modifying the design,
bend first, I put this on after getting wet feet a couple of times when the pipe slid off the aquaroll, the bend sits in the filler hole nicely and all the water goes in no matter what the pressure is,
the slot, is so the tap spout is inside the pipe and doesn't splutter water all over when the pressure is a bit high, the hole and tether are so the tap can be left running (while I *** to the loo) running water and alll that!!!!.

 

[HenryB1]

Been doing this for years. Saves a lot of wet feet. I use white waste pipe purchased from local DIY store. Probably about 2" diameter. Bottom goes in aquaroll top around tap. If you get the lenghth right it will accomodate many heights of tap as pipe will go up and down in aquaroll as required. Can't see any need for food grade pipe as water flows rapidly through pipe and does not spend any time in contact with pipe.

 

[Sproket]

I use a piece of 50mm pipe approx 30" long with a piece of cistern chain hooked into one side & a hook made out of a link on the opposite side .....
Pop the pipe up to the spout & hook the chain over the top & into the hook & turn the tap on ....sorted
Most of the time we fill the aqua roll through the side filler cap
This is how it works on the Mk1 model .....

As you can see the pipe was too small to fit onto the tap properly, hence the Mk2 was made with 50mm pipe

No more cold hands or wet feet

 

[Dustydog]

I use a piece of 50mm pipe approx 30" long with a piece of cistern chain hooked into one side & a hook made out of a link on the opposite side .....
Pop the pipe up to the spout & hook the chain over the top & into the hook & turn the tap on ....sorted
Most of the time we fill the aqua roll through the side filler cap
This is how it works on the Mk1 model .....

As you can see the pipe was too small to fit onto the tap properly, hence the Mk2 was made with 50mm pipe

No more cold hands or wet feet

Sir Sproket CJ (BAR)
All that extra weight and you forgot the padlock

The system described by Colin has been around a very long time , all DIYs. Like Colin we have two 135 deg elbows plus the pipe. Look around you shed garage and you probably have the bits already.
Some taps are so positioned it alters how and where you fill the aquaroll, ie top or on its side.

Similarly you will see people using bits of plastic pipe joined up for use as their waste outlet. I have seen some shops selling these but for a fortune compared to a bit of DIY

 

[JohnM20]

I made two filler pipes several years ago after having a frustrating time trying to fit a flexible hose on the push button taps frequently found on French sites. I cut two pieces of white 30mm drain pipe, one about 12" and the other about 30" so that I could use whichever length was best suited to a particular tap height. In practice I actually use the 12" one almost all of the time. To hold it to the tap I taped a piece of 'loop' Velcro around the top of the pipe and then made a strap of the 'hook' Velcro which went over the top of tap and back onto the 'loop'. This strap was also secured to the top of the pipe using gaffer tape. Total cost was probably less than £2.00 for for the two.
So far I have never found a tap that this arrangement will not work with (even French ones) as the Velcro makes postioning totally flexible.The other advantage is that a tap can be turned on fully without the pressure blowing the tube off as seemed to always happen with the flexible pipe.I don't think the composition of the plastic that the pipe is made from is an issue as not only will only some of the water actually touch the plastic but that that is in contact is only in the pipe for a split second. As a matter of course I give the pipe a very quick flush before I fill the barrel but this is to flush out any spiders or 'bits' that might have lodged in it between fills.

 

[otherclive]

I just use a length of the grey corrugated waste pipe which is very flexible and can be bent to accomodate any height tap. It is kept separate from the other short waste pipes and flushed through before each use. Before each trip it gets the same cleaning fluid as does the aquaroll and caravan water pipes. I know it is not food grade but the proportion of water that is in contact with it is for short time food grade is not necessary. It is also very light.

 

[Terry_5112949]

I have been using a length of white plastic pipe for a few years, I drilled two holes opposite each other about half an inch from the top and put in a length of covered elastic similar to what is the bottom of a waterproof jacket along with the push lock adjuster. I place the pipe in my barrel lift it to the tap and pull the elastic cord up over the tap and adjust as required length held by the push lock, when full just stretch elastic over the tap and its read for the next time, cost 0 as I had the materials left over from other projects

 

[gyp]

I bought a ready made one of these from the site office at Chatsworth Caravan Club site earlier this year for less than £2. I had seen these type of fillers but had not got around to making one up. Good buy.

Incidently I have alwys used a piece of standard blue cold water pipe with a standard Hozelock connector which can be used on some sites , together with a screw in adaptor to fit it , and always good for CC sites.. The other end has a standard rubber bell fitting , which is rarely used.

 

[Bill.D]

Hi all, I have been using this method for a couple of years after seeing someone else with it.
Just a length of white plastic waste pipe (new of course not that slimy bit you took of the old kitchen sink!) I drilled a couple of holes in the end and fitted an adjustable bungee cord to hook on the tap (the type of cord you find on jackets/ anoraks etc) slide up the fastener to keep it tight around the tap and bingo, tap on full bore with no problems. I made two lengths as my original one I found too long for one tap I came across
Like all good ideas simple but brilliant.
Bill D

 

[Bill.D]

PS I am guessing the plastic used for waste pipes may not be 'food quality' but my reasoning is that it is not a permanent water pipe that could leach out plasticisers, rightly or wrongly I work on the basis that for a few seconds it would not be a great problem.
Bill D

 

[Beehpee]

I had always found filling the aqua roll a pain due to the pipe not fitting very good around the tap, no amount of gripping it would stop it squirting out the top with the tap turned on too much, I'd never seen anyone use the plastic pipe until earlier this year and I went straight out and bought a length of waste pipe, probably around 6 foot for just a few quid, I cut off a piece around a couple of feet long and this gives me loads of scope, if the tap is low I just poke the pipe down in the aqua roll and up on to the tap and it gives me a usable pipe that still works if the tap is up to 2 feet higher than the top of the aqua roll I've not bothered with any sort of fixing for attaching to the tap as because you can have the tap at full flow with no splash back at all it takes no time to fill so hardly worth fixing it, one of the handiest bits of kit I've got in the van.

BP

 

[otherclive]

The flexible grey waste pipe I use is not food grade but that's not really relevant as the small amount of water in contact is there for such a short time it's not going to leach anything out; cling film is a bigger hazard!
Anyway with it being flexible I dont have to insert it into the Aquaroll by other than a couple of inches and its corrugations tend to prevent it coming out when the water is under full flow. I just bend it, or place the Aquaroll away from the tap, in order to adjust its length to varying tap heights.