draining the Autoquest for winter (1 Viewer)

DBSilverfox

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Hi,

I am not going to be around for a weekend till middle of November due to work commitments, so I am wintering the van in case of frosts.

I have drained the heater and the fresh water, and even emptied the toilet cassette (with a big note on the steering wheel to remind me..). however, the only thing I cannot seem to drain is the separate flushing tank for the toilet. Is there a way to do it, or is it not really a risk?

Will have to fill it all back up again later, as we are hoping to drive across for the Christmas market in Brugge...

Thanks for any guidance

David
 

scotjimland

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the only thing I cannot seem to drain is the separate flushing tank for the toilet. Is there a way to do it, or is it not really a risk?



David

Hi David

I would say yes, it is a risk, I'm not familiar with your toilet tank, the old style Thetfords had a sight glass you could un-clip and use to drain.. can you not just pump it dry ?

You could borrow my daughter.. she's an expert at emptying tanks.. :Doh::roflmto:
 
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Terry

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Hi David

I would say yes, it is a risk, I'm not familiar with your toilet tank, the old style Thetfords had a sight glass you could un-clip and use to drain.. can you not just pump it dry ?

You could borrow my daughter.. she's an expert at emptying tanks.. :Doh::roflmto:

:thumb: should work -do not forget to leave taps open after blowing down them :thumb:
terry

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GJH

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Hello David,

I can't remember how old your Autoquest is. On our 2003/4 model we have the C4 bench toilet. As Jim says you unclip the plastic sight tube and bend it down to drain the tank. I also usually take off the small plastic cap at the bottom of the filler spout to drain from there as well.

There are manuals on the Thetford web site Here which contain instructions for the different types of toilet.

I echo what Terry says about leaving taps open but make sure that mixer taps (on the shower and sink in our van) are centred so that both hot and old pipes are open.

Following a tip from Don Madge I take off the shower head and blow down the flexible pipe to try to empty that of water. Never does it completely so when I put the head back on I lay it on the shower floor where any residue can drain without doing any harm.

Before it gets really cold open the cupboard doors and the curtains for the Luton to avoid cold spots.

Graham
 
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DBSilverfox

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Thanks everyone - will check that sight glass - did not realise it unclipped.:Doh:

I did leave the taps open and centred (well i moved to hot when i first started to drain the heater, then centred when that was underway and i opened the main drain tap), but never thought of blowing!

every day is a learning experience :thumb:

david
 
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DBSilverfox

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All done. Thanks again.

Next time I must remember to tell SWMBO what I am planning, before she catches me in a compromising position with the tap...

David

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DBSilverfox

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Thanks Graham

with the water tank being where it is, should it be ok going to the christmas market in Brugge? I was hoping that the general cab/habitation area warmth would be okay, but I am not sure on the pipe routing to get to sink and shower...

David
 
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movan

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Sorry, thicko here again.... What do you mean blowing down them? Do you mean blow up the taps!!!!!!! Utterly confused!:Blush:

Also do you mean leave the OUTSIDE tap open where the water drains from?

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DBSilverfox

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My interpretation (and i may be wrong) is to leave the drain tap open and blow down the sink tap to push out any residual water. That is what I did anyway

then I believe you need to close the drain taps to stop anything undesirable getting in that way...

David

(I am sure I will be corrected if I got it wrong :Smile: )
 
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GJH

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Thanks Graham

with the water tank being where it is, should it be ok going to the christmas market in Brugge? I was hoping that the general cab/habitation area warmth would be okay, but I am not sure on the pipe routing to get to sink and shower...

David

Our water tanks and all the pipes to the sink & shower are inside the van. The only external parts are the grey tank and the short runs of waste pipe between the tank and the floor. I suppose it all depends just how low the temperature gets but we've used our van in pretty frosty conditions in this country and it's been OK so far.

We always use EHU in winter and normally have a small oil-filled radiator in use overnight.

Graham
 
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GJH

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Sorry, thicko here again.... What do you mean blowing down them? Do you mean blow up the taps!!!!!!! Utterly confused!:Blush:

Also do you mean leave the OUTSIDE tap open where the water drains from?

It's only the shower Joy. Unscrew the shower head and then blow down the flexible pipe to remove what water you can. As I mentioned, it never does it completely so when I put the head back on I lay it on the shower floor where any residue can drain without doing any harm.

When the van isn't in use I leave both the fresh and grey drain pipe taps open. When the van is being used then obviously the tap on the fresh drain is closed. We normally leave the grey closed as well but I've heard of some people leaving it open with a bucket to catch any waste that comes through.

Graham
 
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