Post your confession

[Gagakev]

I'll start with;
Came back yesterday, and have just realised I forgot to;
Empty the water System/heater---Oopps

Come on don't be Shy!!!!

 

[Parksy]

I've forgotten to close the drain tap and wasted most of my first aquaroll full of water on my next trip when I connected up the water system

 

[SpudDog57]

We've never emptied the water heater and I've not known anyone else doing so.
I also never emptied one in our Aussie caravans.

 

[Gagakev]

Good job they did'nt charge you by the litre

Ps; love the signature line Parksy, and yes I did tun my lap top upside down!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Gagakev]

We've never emptied the water heater and I've not known anyone else doing so.
I also never emptied one in our Aussie caravans.

We in the UK do it for at least two reasons
1; Reduce weight
2; Water slopping around a tank can make for an unstable van
Oh and there is a third actually
3; The next full tank will be fresh water and not stale

 

[Parksy]

Good job they did'nt charge you by the litre

Ps; love the signature line Parksy, and yes I did tun my lap top upside down!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

My O/H reckoned that I needed the excersise anyway so going back to fill another aquaroll did me good.Don't even joke about charging for water, site owners might read this forum and that will be their next extra

Glad you like my siggy

 

[Lord Braykewynde]

We in the UK do

I always used to drain mine down Kev but since being told by a caravan engineer that there's no need unless there is freezing condititions I don't bother. He told me the amount of water in there is neglible and by opening and closing the valve all the time it lets in the algae spores that cause the black bits in the water. This makes sense but whether it actually happens I don't know.

 

[Lord Braykewynde]

Here goes

Got to the site in Cornwall and when I went to unclip the breakaway cable I hadn't done it before leaving. Neighbour yapping to me as I was hitching up but still no excuse.

Got home from Hampshire and then realised I hadn't emptied the toilet cassette before leaving

Both happened during my first year of caravanning so that's my defence m'lud

 

[Gagakev]

We in the UK do

I always used to drain mine down Kev but since being told by a caravan engineer that there's no need unless there is freezing condititions I don't bother. He told me the amount of water in there is neglible and by opening and closing the valve all the time it lets in the algae spores that cause the black bits in the water. This makes sense but whether it actually happens I don't know.

So there begs the question LB ,who is right and who is wrong, who do we listen to?
thats where we make our own decisions I suppose.

 

[SpudDog57]

I always used to drain mine down Kev but since being told by a caravan engineer that there's no need unless there is freezing condititions I don't bother. He told me the amount of water in there is neglible and by opening and closing the valve all the time it lets in the algae spores that cause the black bits in the water. This makes sense but whether it actually happens I don't know.

The drain plug design on our heater doesn't lend itself to regular use. Draining down if you've to lay the van up for a long period or in your cold winters if not in use I can understand. Our instruction manual only tells you to drain down at end of season. In a quite small closed container that's correctly secured a few litres of water is never going to sloosh around, in comparison to the whole caravan and equipment we carry the water weight couldn't be a serious concern.

 

[ProfJohnL]

Hi SpudDog,

Good reasoning regards the sloshing, it simply should not be enough to upset a caravan in tow, however if its is a cascade 2 (or the Henry copy) then the mass of the water in tank can stress the tank seals at both ends, if the caravan is bounced around when under way and the tank is not drained adequately.

 

[RickStevens]

I drained the toilet header tank last winter and forgot to put the bung back in. I only realised when I went to fill it up on the first site of the new season, and promptly flooded the bottom compartment with a watering can full of water and rinse agent.

Spent ages bailing it out

 

[RayS]

If you have stayed at Les Moulins de Avergne in Pons, France you may now be the proud owner of a levelling ramp I put under one wheel evening of December 28 2010 and drove off in the dark 08.00 the next morning forgetting to collect.
Moral. if overnighting and staying hitched overnight and using a levelling ramp - pull forward onto it, such that if you forget it there is a thump as the caravan falls off the end.

Anyway I still have the other one but shall also be leaving site in Spain in the wee small hours, so what with the possible farewell party this may turn out to be a double whammy.

 

[Gagakev]

Oh well Ray best to leave the other one on site, then buy a pair, unless you have a three wheeled van

Ray just a long shot , hope you dont mind me asking but did you by any chance stay at Murley Court in Dorset last May/June?
The reason I ask is I got chatting to a chap with the same outfit as yours, As I said long shot

 

[JohnGriffiths]

Got home from Hampshire and then realised I hadn't emptied the toilet cassette before leaving

I always charge up the loo before starting out and on a long journey might use it several times. I've also travelled with it regularly up to about a third full when just staying on sites for one night and moving on the next morning. What do others do? Is there a danger? I've always assumed it was OK but am I right?

 

[Lord Braykewynde]

I empty it just in case we have an accident. If so we would truly be in the proverbial.

When travelling we do use the toilet for No.1s because I've only got a 80 mile bladder these days

Well, not literally travelling, we pull into a layby.

 

[RickStevens]

I always make sure the toilet is emptied before we leave site. The only time its ever been used en route, was when we travelled down to Cornwall last year.

I always leave the flush in the header tank though, unless its going to be left for a few months over winter.

 

[Dustydog]

FIL forgot to charge his toilet with the blue chemical last year..
He nearly passed out when emptying it at the CDP.

 

[colin-yorkshire1]

We in the UK do

I always used to drain mine down Kev but since being told by a caravan engineer that there's no need unless there is freezing condititions I don't bother. He told me the amount of water in there is neglible and by opening and closing the valve all the time it lets in the algae spores that cause the black bits in the water. This makes sense but whether it actually happens I don't know.

So there begs the question LB ,who is right and who is wrong, who do we listen to?
thats where we make our own decisions I suppose.

and use a bit of common sense in the process water weighs approx 1kg per litre so a 10 litre hot water tank = 10 kg add to that the 10 litre toilet flush and thats approx 20kg that weight has to come off the user payload, this may be ok for some vans but lightweight ones with a small allowance could make the van overweight if it has been weighed with the tanks empty.
just a thought as ours would definitly be considering all the stuff SWMBO takes in the van.

 

[RayS]

Hi Kev, have tried to reply several times but gremlins at work.
1. yes caravan has three wheels but I don't often use rame on jockey wheel.
2. No, sorry not me. Odds on another S**** are not very long but on having tthe same outfit, particularly with a Burstner, must be considerable.
Shame really as I'm sure we would have had a really good chat and possible a glass or two.

 

[Gagakev]

No worries Ray, and yes if one day our paths do cross I'll have glass with you. Take care.

 

[emmitdb]

Greetings,

Before leaving the Spanish coast I forgot to 'crack' open the cassette toilet before our journey through the Spanish high ground to get to Bilboa.

Several hours later when at altitude and gasping for a 'comfort break', er.......I got my own back????????? (not pretty)

 

[Lord Braykewynde]

... so that's what they mean when they say 'extracting the urine'

 

[Willi-Wonti]

Thetford toilets should have a pressure relief valve fitted so that the pressure dose not build up whilst in the mountains

I always drain my water tanks when traveling. Inboard tank 50 ltrs, hot water tank 10 ltrs 60 ltrs = 60 kgs. a lot of unnecessary weight to be lugging around

 

[Big S]

For the first year that we started touring we hardly ever used the water in ther van due to the awful taste. Whilst we don't drink the water direct we do tend to use it for tea and coffee.
It was only at the start of the second year that I realised that I had been putting Puriclean into my Aqua Roll, which is used to clean and purify the whole water system. I thought this was similar to the water purification tablets that you can use.
How wrong this turned out to be.

Still, you live and learn from your mistakes.