Lack of water filter & winter drain down

[tomdave]

I have recently bought a Abbey Aventura 2003. I have already used it a couple of times and am very pleased with it. I am surprised though that I can't find a filter in the water system. Is this normal nowadays ? Or is it hidden away somewhere. My previous caravan had a filter where the pump fits in the side of the caravan. With no filter would the water be safe to drink straight from the aqua roll or is it best to drink bottled water ?
Also another question while on the water subject.
To drain the water system down for winter I opened up the yellow tap to drain the water heater as advised in the caravan manual. I was expecting several litres of water to drain but very little came out. I opened all the taps in the caravan and dropped the nose of the caravan to the ground to try and get the water running but with little success. I went out and purchased a Floe drain down kit which did work well and got rid of all the water in the system. But why didn't the water start flowing when I opened the yellow drain tap ? I would be grateful for any advice please. Thanks David

 

[RogerL]

Opinions among caravans about the need for a filter are split - some say that UK water is good quality so why bother - some say it doesn't matter as they only drink bottled water - others fit a filter and drink the water.
So there's no right or wrong answer - for me, having always used a filter I'll always do so in future.

Water pipes go up and down in a caravan so opening the taps and the drain tap will get rid of most of the volume but not all - which is why you can get a bit more out with pressure - for me, I've never had any problem despite some bitterly cold winters, down to about -25 one year in the '80s - I just drain down, without any pressure, as I leave each site so the tow home gets some extra water out - the important thing is to leave taps open with mixers set between hot and cold.

 

[Craigyoung]

Hi roger , I'm actually going to the storage to do that this morning to ours , taps and plugs etc because we arnt out again for a few months , should the toilet flush holding tank also be emptied ? It's holding about 5L I think and doesn't drain with rest off the system . Craig

 

[WoodlandsCamper]

Yes, you must drain the flush tank as well.

 

[RogerL]

Repeatedly pump the flush tank into the bottom tank until you don't get any more fluid - empty the bottom tank and leave the blade valve slightly open - from outside there may be a rubber drain plug for the flush, depending on model, but best to get most of it into the bottom tank.

 

[paws]

Hi David. Some excellent advice has been given (as one would expect!)
As its going to be very cold tonight in many areas of the UK( according to the Met.' Office, I would be inclined to see to it sooner rather than later.
Just a few extra of thoughts for you:

1 On some vans like my 1996/7 model there is an additional drain point in the flush tank filler pipe that is opened by removing a small screw plug....removing this sometimes results in a good flow of flush water being released ( if you use pink flush fluid in your system then it can be caught in a suitable receptacle labelled carefully and kept in a frost free environment for use on your next trip.) On my van pressing with a light force on the end of the filler pipe ( depressing it half inch max) results in even greater flow! but do be careful...don't use too much force!

2 Some folks have had bad experiences with having glass bottles containing fluids of one description or another bursting due to freezing resulting in a terrible mess when the temperatures rises a little.
Consequently I tend to ensure that I am diligent in drinking all the wine and beer etc to avoid such a calamity!
However do check for other fluids or semi fluids as they can make a mess as well!

3 If you do find a water filter in your fresh water system ( some folks have them ,some don't) then its wise to remember to remove it before the bad weather and replace it before your next trip.
Good luck
Regards
paws

 

[Dustydog]

Hi David

Not much to add.
But always leave all taps wide open whilst in storage. Leave the hot water yellow tap open.
We have an internal whale pump so the feed pipe that goes into the aquaroll contains a renewable charcoal filter. We change it every six months and drink water which has passed through it. You can easily fit a cartridge in line filter to the incoming water system if you wish.

 

[tomdave]

Hi all,
Thanks to everybody for your great advice. As we are hoping to use our caravan all year round now we were planning to keep it ready to go at a moments notice. Just adding food and a few clothes and away we go for a nice weekend. I had forgotten about drink bottles etc freezing. I will look into fitting a water filter as I am sure that there isn't one. Although there doesn't appear to be a great deal of room to fit anything extra.
I am confident that I have got all the water drained out of the system with the Floe kit and taking heed of all your advice the weather can now do its worst. ( not too bad I hope )
Hope you all have a lovely Christmas and a Happy New years caravanning.
David

 

[Sproket]

Hi tomdave

We have a on-board tank and always use it, but we use a water filter jug for our drinking water / tea etc:
We have had ours for five years, the filters are easy to replace and they don't get forgotten about, oh! and ours fit's into the fridge door so if needed when the weather is warm nice cold water is available for squash etc: :lol:

 

[DeliDave_]

after reading a post by iirc Damian,I cut the filter open and it was full of gungy jelly,I changed it for a weight in brass and use a jug as Mr.Sproket suggested to us for drinking water,very effective

 

[RogerL]

Filter elements vary in their replacement time - some need replacing 30 days after 1st use - some are 30 days of cumulative use - others are annually or 2,000 litres whichever comes first.

I wouldn't want to use water through an overdue filter for anything!

 

[TD42]

in our bailey the inline water filter was in the water pipe work under the sink, we had to remove the drawers in order to get to it & it was B+++h to remove it I eventually drilled though an old filter removed the charcoal/filtering element & used that & did not bother with renewing the filters each season,Just bought drinking water as required