Water running from hot water drain when pump is running.

[Ravenswood71]

Just recently bought a 2010 Sterling Cruach Ben Lomond. First time away with it over the weekend and had an issue with the water.

First of all, the internal pump seemed really noisy. Found out that one of the screws holding it on to the bulk head was missing, so replaced that. That made it a bit quieter, but still noisy. Seems to vibrate quite a lot.

Second and biggest problem though was that every time we ran the water, there was a steady stream leaking out of the drain pipe underneath the caravan, with the tap in the closed position. At one point I heard a whooshing/flushing noise.

It also looks like the hot water tank has had repairs done in the past as the cover is gaffer taped together.

Wondering if I should just replace the drain tap and non return valve next to it?

All suggestions and advice gratefully received.

Johnny

 

[Mel]

I can’t help with the drain valve question, but standard issue Swift pumps are notoriously noisy. This seems to be due to the mounting and the pump vibrating against boards. Folks have tackled this with rubber mounting and padding between pump and floor/back board.
Hopefully some else will help regarding the drain valve.
Mel

 

[ProfJohnL]

Hello Johnny, and welcome to the forum,

From the description you have given, it seems the drain valve is not closing properly. I assume your water heater is a Truma Model, in which case the drain valve also acts as an pressure relief valve, so it's correct function is important to the safe operation of the water heater and the wider ware system in the caravan. Your description so far does not raise my concern about the non return valve.

I presume you have tried the toggle the valves lever? And it it's still leaking? This seems to suggest the valve is being held open slightly, this might be debris or the valve may be damaged.

I suggest removing the valve and inspecting it, you might be able to clear the debris, otherwise it means replacing it.

 

[Ravenswood71]

I can’t help with the drain valve question, but standard issue Swift pumps are notoriously noisy. This seems to be due to the mounting and the pump vibrating against boards. Folks have tackled this with rubber mounting and padding between pump and floor/back board.
Hopefully some else will help regarding the drain valve.
Mel

The pump already has rubber mounts attached to it, but TBH, they don't look great. May try another layer of padding behind it.

 

[Ravenswood71]

Hello Johnny, and welcome to the forum,

From the description you have given, it seems the drain valve is not closing properly. I assume your water heater is a Truma Model, in which case the drain valve also acts as an pressure relief valve, so it's correct function is important to the safe operation of the water heater and the wider ware system in the caravan. Your description so far does not raise my concern about the non return valve.

I presume you have tried the toggle the valves lever? And it it's still leaking? This seems to suggest the valve is being held open slightly, this might be debris or the valve may be damaged.

I suggest removing the valve and inspecting it, you might be able to clear the debris, otherwise it means replacing it.

Thanks for your reply. Yes, have tried the valve in both horizontal positions, and it leaks both ways. They are only a few £'s on the internet so will get a new one to try it.
Johnny

 

[Raywood]

One caravan engineer did say that he has never found anything to fully silence on board pumps. A bit of carpet underneath may help a bit though, but as they generally run only short periods I am afraid you have to live with it to a large extent.

 

[Ravenswood71]

One caravan engineer did say that he has never found anything to fully silence on board pumps. A bit of carpet underneath may help a bit though, but as they generally run only short periods I am afraid you have to live with it to a large extent.

Thanks for your reply. It does eventually quieten down to more of a hum. But as it is right under where your head would be when sleeping, it could become a nuisance. It runs and runs, but I think that could be more down to the water running out of the drain. We ended up just turning the pump on and off when we weren't running the taps.
We have always had older vans where there wasn't an internal pump, so all this new fangled technology is a mystery to us.

 

[ArcaneAsh]

Thanks for your reply. It does eventually quieten down to more of a hum. But as it is right under where your head would be when sleeping, it could become a nuisance. It runs and runs, but I think that could be more down to the water running out of the drain. We ended up just turning the pump on and off when we weren't running the taps.
We have always had older vans where there wasn't an internal pump, so all this new fangled technology is a mystery to us.

The pump shouldn't be running all the time. It will only run when there is a call for water - i.e. when you open a tap or a shower. There will be a slight overrun when you shut the tap/shower - but we are talking seconds.

 

[otherclive]

Thanks for your reply. It does eventually quieten down to more of a hum. But as it is right under where your head would be when sleeping, it could become a nuisance. It runs and runs, but I think that could be more down to the water running out of the drain. We ended up just turning the pump on and off when we weren't running the taps.
We have always had older vans where there wasn't an internal pump, so all this new fangled technology is a mystery to us.

It’s such a silly place to mount a pump where as you say it’s right under your head. Nighttime visits to the toilet invariably lead to the pump cutting in and possibly disturbing the other occupants. Also the actual mounting of the pump on flimsy structure means a sounding board effect is created. I remounted mine on a solid piece of wood and used resilient mounts between the pump and the board and the board and the caravan. Then made sure the inlet and outlet pipe runs were soft mounted too. In fact it quietened it enough that I got fed up answering the inevitable question “ have you washed your hands?”

 

[audiorob]

Presumably the drain tap has the John Guest push fitting which I found on EBay about £33 described as JG 12mm push fit safety drain valve if you do need a replacement

 

[Mandarin]

Most likely running all the time due to the leak, its switched via a pressure switch and if its leaking it will be constantly trying to get up the pressure.

 

[Ravenswood71]

Thanks for all your replies. Bit the bullet and bought a new drain valve from a local accessory shop, and a new pump from FleaBay (saving £30 on the shop price). Everything now working perfectly
Roll on the next adventure