FULLY SERVICE WATER CONNECTION, NEW IDEA.

[ALANSHARKY]

Hi all. I had an idea and thought i would share with you all. I did not like my flat hose connection from the tap to my van so i did this. I bought a Ultraflow pistol assy, 46340-51, £16, i then bought a Truma ultraflow Reducer, part 1045874 £37. I cut off the hose from the Pistol assy leaving about six inches of hose, connected the reducer then connected the other end to my flat hose. Now i plug a proper pistol gun into my van and go straight to the tap. I know Truma do a hose and reducer package (pic1) at £80+ but my idea was cheaper and i can still use my easy store flat hose. i have attached pictures of 1 Truma assy £80+, 2. the Truma Reducer £37 and 3 the pistol assy £16 which I cut back. Hope this helps anyone who wants to keep their hose and use a proper connection to their van.

 

[Beachball]

Hi all. I had an idea and thought i would share with you all. I did not like my flat hose connection from the tap to my van so i did this. I bought a Ultraflow pistol assy, 46340-51, £16, i then bought a Truma ultraflow Reducer, part 1045874 £37. I cut off the hose from the Pistol assy leaving about six inches of hose, connected the reducer then connected the other end to my flat hose. Now i plug a proper pistol gun into my van and go straight to the tap. I know Truma do a hose and reducer package (pic1) at £80+ but my idea was cheaper and i can still use my easy store flat hose. i have attached pictures of 1 Truma assy £80+, 2. the Truma Reducer £37 and 3 the pistol assy £16 which I cut back. Hope this helps anyone who wants to keep their hose and use a proper connection to their van.

it sounds like you are good with your hands me not so good thinking of going for the Truma a hose reducer package but thanks for this option

 

[RogerL]

I have the Truma Waterline, provided as standard on Lunar Clubman at the time, with 15m of hose - it is quite cumbersome so the use of flat hose would reduce the stored volume considerably, and save weight too.

 

[Hutch]

I like your idea, but I am always wary of a direct hose,even with a reducer in the line.
I had a internal pipe, " break away" from a coupling and flood the caravan, using an Aqua roll, supply, So on FSP I turn off the pump.
I know we can turn off the supply tap when using your kit, when going out, but I would forget.
Thanks for. The info though.

 

[IanB1485]

Don't leave it attached when not with the van,This is a van with such a system and as the owners were away enjoying a day out a pipe let go inside and the system continually filled up the caravan until the neighbours noticed water pouring out of the van and disconnected the system. Lots of drying out required !

 

[Buckman]

Don't leave it attached when not with the van,This is a van with such a system and as the owners were away enjoying a day out a pipe let go inside and the system continually filled up the caravan until the neighbours noticed water pouring out of the van and disconnected the system. Lots of drying out required !

That would also happen if they were using the feed from the barrel albeit only 40 ltr unless the barrel was connected to the water mains. Could even happen while sitting in the caravan which is what happened to us. We did not notice for awhile and by that time the caravan floor was soaked. New carpets had to be fitted.

 

[Mel]

Great to see that the spirit of problem solving and innovation is still alive and well and folks are still willing to give things a go. I am sure that you will take all suitable precautions when testing your device. Well done and thanks for sharing
Mel

 

[Dustydog]

I like your idea, but I am always wary of a direct hose,even with a reducer in the line.
I had a internal pipe, " break away" from a coupling and flood the caravan, using an Aqua roll, supply, So on FSP I turn off the pump.
I know we can turn off the supply tap when using your kit, when going out, but I would forget.
Thanks for. The info though.

Plus one with Hutch.
My old girl needs TLC these days and I worry that even a constant reduced mains pressure may just be a psi too far🙀

 

[birdman101]

Don't leave it attached when not with the van,This is a van with such a system and as the owners were away enjoying a day out a pipe let go inside and the system continually filled up the caravan until the neighbours noticed water pouring out of the van and disconnected the system. Lots of drying out required !

I have never liked these direct connections or would never have one ,always have float in aquaroll and switch pump off whenever leaving the Caravan,and when going to bed. Years ago when these direction connections came Into use, a family went out for the day. After about 4 hours later I passed the caravan when walking to the toilet block and see water running out of the caravan. I switched the tap off and disconnected the hose. When the family came back I spoke to them what I had done. But the Caravan was a complete flood and holiday abandoned and they went home.

 

[ALANSHARKY]

it sounds like you are good with your hands me not so good thinking of going for the Truma a hose reducer package but thanks for this option

its ever so easy, you just buy the Truma reducer, fit it in a hose with two hose clips, insuring the arrow on the reduce is pointing in the flow direction(from tap to van) and heh presto. Big saving on their system. In my case i have a flat hose so it all wraps away better than just a hose. Go on, have a go, its easy peezie.

 

[ALANSHARKY]

i also fitted one external Maxview waterproof single socket coaxial cable connector, and a Maxview double F type socket ready form my purchase of the Maview Prcision ID 65cm satellite system. I went straight from socket with wires supplied to a single and double socket located in the pillar, where our Tv is setup. It took me about thee hours but looks a real treat now, so any site with a TV connection, I can connect without going through a window, and of course I can connect my new satellite dish connection, when i get it. I chose a twin LNB so in future if i want to record or pause live tv i can get myself a Humax box or similar. If anyone want to do the same I would be very happy to explain in detail how I did what i did. It is relatively simple if you are handy with your hands.

 

[ALANSHARKY]

I like your idea, but I am always wary of a direct hose,even with a reducer in the line.
I had a internal pipe, " break away" from a coupling and flood the caravan, using an Aqua roll, supply, So on FSP I turn off the pump.
I know we can turn off the supply tap when using your kit, when going out, but I would forget.
Thanks for. The info though.

I was advised by Truma that my idea is fine, their Truma reducer is designed exactly for my setup.

 

[ALANSHARKY]

Don't leave it attached when not with the van,This is a van with such a system and as the owners were away enjoying a day out a pipe let go inside and the system continually filled up the caravan until the neighbours noticed water pouring out of the van and disconnected the system. Lots of drying out required !

As I said with another chap, I spoke to Truma and this reducer is specifically so you can connect a hose directly to the van, thats what its for. Also, they have the same system as a pack, you buy the hose and reducer as a set, but its £80+ and my way is the same, but cheaper, and you can use a flat hose, for easy storage. I think the cause of the water you see from the van was NOT due to using a Truma Reducer.

 

[ALANSHARKY]

I have never liked these direct connections or would never have one ,always have float in aquaroll and switch pump off whenever leaving the Caravan,and when going to bed. Years ago when these direction connections came Into use, a family went out for the day. After about 4 hours later I passed the caravan when walking to the toilet block and see water running out of the caravan. I switched the tap off and disconnected the hose. When the family came back I spoke to them what I had done. But the Caravan was a complete flood and holiday abandoned and they went home.

I wonder what they used, This Truma Reducer I use is the one recommended by Truma for exactly that reason, they even do their own direct setup hose and reducer pack, but its £80+ and no flat hose. I spoke to Truma and it will be fine. I suggest they used something else as Truma assured me my setup is fine, if it fails, it just stops water altogether.

 

[ALANSHARKY]

Hi all, update on my new system. I just spent £15 on a pressure regulator, (JUST AS AN ADDED SAFETY feature as people on here have seen disasters when pressure reducers fail. (not necessarily Truma reducers), So as an added safety measure, i saw a robust ABS plastic and durable metal materials water regulator on Amazon that attaches to the tap, and your hose attaches to that, then you set it to your required pressure. If it fails you will see it on the dial of the regulator, and your reducer will prevent damage, then you can get it replaced. If your reducer fails, then the water pressure wont be above what you set it, so safe both ways. I think i have covered most ideas thanks all.

 

[borderbilly]

Will pass on this connection, I like dragging my water roll to the tap and having a blether with others.

 

[otherclive]

Will pass on this connection, I like dragging my water roll to the tap and having a blether with others.

Also weight bearing excercise is beneficial to bone strength 😂

 

[ALANSHARKY]

When your 68, weight bearing exercise needs not to be overdone, ill stick with my lighter hose connection type exercise thanks.

 

[borderbilly]

When your 68, weight bearing exercise needs not to be overdone, ill stick with my lighter hose connection type exercise thanks.

I'm 68 with a dodgy ticker and enjoy dragging my water container, it's not weight bearing 👍

 

[otherclive]

When your 68, weight bearing exercise needs not to be overdone, ill stick with my lighter hose connection type exercise thanks.

Could that be why I ached yesterday after a session mixing two 20 kg bags of mortar and then on my knees grouting an area of patio. 🤔

 

[ALANSHARKY]

Yesterday I added two tv satellite and one coaxial arial connections to my caravan exterior and today i feel like i just helped you mix the mortar

 

[Beachball]

its ever so easy, you just buy the Truma reducer, fit it in a hose with two hose clips, insuring the arrow on the reduce is pointing in the flow direction(from tap to van) and heh presto. Big saving on their system. In my case i have a flat hose so it all wraps away better than just a hose. Go on, have a go, its easy peezie.

if the flat hose is easier to store and lighter it a go from me thanks

 

[JTQ]

That would also happen if they were using the feed from the barrel albeit only 40 ltr unless the barrel was connected to the water mains. Could even happen while sitting in the caravan which is what happened to us. We did not notice for awhile and by that time the caravan floor was soaked. New carpets had to be fitted.

This is only a valid comment if the system is a pressure switched system.

If it is a faucet micro-switched system then it would need a double failure, both a microswitch going closed to power the pump and a pipe failure in the van to let the water enter the van.

Adding to this the pumps used in caravans are selected to have peak pressures under the safe working pressure of the van's system, whereas direct feeds can with single failures apply the water pressure of the utilities supply.

Single and double failures, plus the ability to way over pressurise van systems, can make the risks faced massively different.

 

[ProfJohnL]

As far as I can see Alan, there is no reason why your scheme should not work, provided all the components do work as intended. However you also do need to look at the risk of failures and how they could adversely affect the caravan. I worked for an test house in the 1990's and I was involved with comparing caravan water systems, both pumps and direct connection systems. when analysing the results, and considering the Failure Effect and Mode Analysis (FEMA) scenarios we came to certain conclusions.

The first concern major FEMA concern was where the pressure reducer failed to regulate the pressure, which allowed full mains water pressure through to caravan's pipe work. When you consider caravan water systems are only designed to withstand about 2.5 Bar, whilst mains pressure (of up to 6 Bar with dynamic pulses of up to 10Bar. If that pressure got passed the regulator you might imagine what havoc it might cause in a caravan. Fortunately such failures were very rare, but I know of about five that occurred between 1990 and 2000 which not only ruined the holiday for the caravanners but also

The second major concern was pressure creep which would occur if debris got trapped in the regulator valve which prevented it from closing completely and allowing a small bypass where the pressure would build up slowly. Generally this would not damage caravan appliances becasue especially the water heaters normally have an excess pressure relief valve which dumps the small flow of high pressure but can't manage a full flow failure as in the first case above.

A problem we noted was that most of the pressure reducing valves could not match the full flow capacities of larger submersible pumps, which can mean high demand water flows such as showers are less powerful.

A collateral problem that can occur with sites where water pressure can be highly variable due to demand caused by several caravans drawing water at the same time, the water flow into your caravan may not be sufficient for your needs. That is not a problem with the direct hose but the sites water supplies.

My personal view is if you want a continual water supply, it is safer to have float valve in your water barrel to accept a mains hose pipe, and to use the barrel as a local reservoir for your submersible pump to deliver the water into the caravan. The pump is simply incapable of over pressurising your water system, and the barrel catters for poor flow from the sites tap.

Happy showers