New Water System

[Sandbag]

Hello all,

I have an old caravan with Carver water inlet socket. The pump stopped working and it also doesn't have an auto pressure switch so I thought it will be a good opportunity to upgrade/change to something more modern.

I have purchased the Whale system but the socket is far smaller than the current Carver one. I can always return the Whale as it's unused and unopened but I was wondering what is the best solution for this issue?

I don't want to create another hole in the caravan for a new inlet socket and not sure how to "close" current socket to fit the smaller new Whale inlet?

See images

 

[ProfJohnL]

Hello Again,

I do not know if this will help or not., but Truma manufacture an adaptor plate to replace a Carver Crystal Mk1 (like yours) to allow a smaller Truma Ultraflow punp inlet to be be fitted

Adaptor Plate Crystal/Ultraflow | Truma Code: 4006069000 | Truma Crystal Filter Housing and Compact Housing | Leisureshopdirect

Buy a Adaptor Plate Crystal/Ultraflow | Truma Code: 4006069000 | Truma Crystal Filter Housing and Compact Housing | Leisureshopdirect

www.leisureshopdirect.com

If the Whale unit is the same or or slightly larger than the Truma Ultraflow, then you might be able use the Truma plate.

Alternatively, to retain the colour match of the Carver units, with a bit of judicial care you might be able to cut out the back plate of the Crystal, and replace it with piece of marine ply and then let the Whale unit sit inside the older Crystal cover.

Incidentally the Crystal unit has an activated carbon cartridge, at the top (clear end plug) It is generally accepted these days that for UK or other trustworthy public supplies, an inline filter is not necessary, so loosing it should not be a problem. Just make sure that at lest once a year you do sterilise your water system, and follow the sterilising manufacturers instructions for strength and time, as it can start to adversely attack some of teh metallic components in the water systems.

Its very important to make sure you fully drain down your water system if its going into storage and there is a risk of frost.

 

[Sandbag]

Thanks for your reply!

£32 for a piece of plastic adapter .
I'll check the truma dimensions compares to the whale.

 

[Sandbag]

Do you know if Truma offer a built-in pressure gauge to stop the pump working when taps are off?

As mentioned, i can return the Whale and use another brand if it has the same features and especially if it fits.innthe existing socket...

 

[ProfJohnL]

Truma do have a pressure switch available, but In my opinion the Whale Watersmart IC pump control system is a superior product as it helps to protect the pump from surging, and running dry when the outside tank empties.

 

[Buckman]

Incidentally the Crystal unit has an activated carbon cartridge, at the top (clear end plug) It is generally accepted these days that for UK or other trustworthy public supplies, an inline filter is not necessary, so loosing it should not be a problem. Just make sure that at lest once a year you do sterilise your water system, and follow the sterilising manufacturers instructions for strength and time, as it can start to adversely attack some of teh metallic components in the water systems.

Good advcie as usual. We had a similar arrangement on an old Lunar caravan that we bought many years ago and I seem to recall that the unit would not work without a filter and we had to have it upgraded to a later Truma connection. The filters are no longer available or were not in 2010. Luckily we had just purchased the caravan so dealer did it free of charge.

 

[Sandbag]

So, I went ahead and got the whale system to fit into the carver socket.

The issue I now have is that there's a strong leak from the back of the whale blue back socket cover.

I thought it was a faulty part so returned it.and.got a new one just to find that I have the same issue!

This leads me to think my issue is somewhere else?

The leak is definitely from the casing.

Edit: I tried to run it without connecting it to the pipework on the caravan and it seemed to work fine but then I took 1 m pipe and connected it outside the caravan and the leak happened again

 

[ProfJohnL]

Obviously without being able to inspect the issue first hand, its difficult to diagnose, but I have found this which might be of help

Wizards Caravan Repair

Caravan damp repair page

www.1carpc.co.uk

 

[Sandbag]

Could it be that my pipe is 12.5mm and not 12mm?

 

[Gralay]

Hi welcome to the forum, I know the difference is only half a mm but can make a difference.,in a previous post you said it was the casing leaking? Do you now think the leak was coming from the joint to pipe and spraying back to the casing?

 

[Sandbag]

The leak is definitely from the case but perhaps lack of tightness is causing some.water to go inside the casing and leak from the back.

When running the pump without any pop connected it seems to work.

 

[Damian]

It is really impossible to say why you have the leak without actually seeing it.
However, looking at your photo, whoever made the crimped terminals should find another job !!
There should be no core showing behind the crimp and the positive should be fully insulated.

 

[Sandbag]

Problem solved. My pipe was 12.5mm and the new whale needs 12mm. Although it was snug with the jubilee clip, it probably was unnoticeably loose and caused all the chaos. Changing to 12mm pipe solved the issue.

Thanks for the help!