Fresh water tank (1 Viewer)

[Bart]

Still finding my feet around our newly acquired Bessacarr E560 when today i was filling out the fresh water tank and was thinking this was taking ages to fill , when i then seen water run out from below the MH.
Now when filling a vehicle with petrol or diesel you fill the tank up untill it comes up the neck of the filler, well u thought it would be the same for the freshwater tank , but nope on mine at the two highest points on the fresh water tank there are over flow pipes coming out of there so when you fill up the tank the only way to see if its full is to lissen for the overflowing water.
Is this correct / normal or is something wrong or missing with my freshwater tank.

 

[Speve]

I used to do that on our Exsis but found we were getting water in the tank enclosure on speaking to engineer at Premier they said to keep checking the gauge and stop as soon as it reads full not wait for overflow.
It's worked so far and no water in enclosure.
I believe it's because they are winterised and the heater heats around the tanks.
If yours is not winterised it's probably not a problem.

 

[Derbyshire wanderer]

I have always filled my Bolero (same van different name) the same way till it flows over. It cannot do any harm and I know it is really full and not nearly full. As the tanks are underslung, there is no risk of wetting the internal floors ect.

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[Bart]

@Derbyshire wanderer & @Speve Thanks for letting me know that was normal as i thought for a moment a pipe was missing or something
p.s i had the inspection panel of about the tank to have a look , and even right below the inspection panel there is another overflow point which is BELOW floor level , so theres no chance or overflowing into the MH

 

[FIDGET]

I've got a Bessacarr 484,I always fill it until it over flows, as the water tank is mounted under the floor & even if it came out of the tank lid ,it still wouldn't get in to the van

 

[WillH]

I rarely put more than 40 litres in the tank, the gauge never shows more than 1/4 full.

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[WillH]

Just another thought on the E560, the waste tank is impossible to overflow. If you get under the rear of the van and look closely at the side of the tank, near the top, there are a series of holes drilled so the water flows out rather than back up the waste pipes. Probably the same on many other vans.

 

[FIDGET]

Just another thought on the E560, the waste tank is impossible to overflow. If you get under the rear of the van and look closely at the side of the tank, near the top, there are a series of holes drilled so the water flows out rather than back up the waste pipes. Probably the same on many other vans.

I thought he was talking about the fresh water tank over flowing when filled.

 

[pappajohn]

If you have a fast enough flow through the hose INTO the tank then water will flow in faster than the smaller bore overflow will let it out so eventually it will run out the filler hole....but that's wasting water.

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[WillH]

He was but most people don't know about the overflow holes on the waste water tank.

 

[angusboy]

Yes my e745 does

 

[John and Jo]

i fill our bolero until it overflows. Same as you i listen. Don't seem a great way of doing it but i've not come up with a better way to fill it right up yet.

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[RogerThat]

Just to add to the reassurances (albeit a different van), I always fill mine until it comes out the overflow too. As @Derbyshire wanderer said, that way I know it's really full

 

[Bart]

Wow really surprised they make so many motorhomes fresh water tanks like this , so much for save the planet and save water etc
About time MH designers started making the freshwater tanks like petrol tanks , as sealed tank with a breather pipe leading into the filler neck

 

[Bart]

Just another thought on the E560, the waste tank is impossible to overflow. If you get under the rear of the van and look closely at the side of the tank, near the top, there are a series of holes drilled so the water flows out rather than back up the waste pipes. Probably the same on many other vans.

Strange enough i noticed them over flow holes today when i was in below my waste tank. i thought someone had did them as an aftermarket modification

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[WillH]

I use my trusty watering can and usually leave home with 30 ltrs. in the tank. No waste and much faster than using a hose.

 

[John and Jo]

i have a watering can too, which is handy but not as quick as a hose. Also carry a aquaroll and a whale pump.

 

[FrankCoffi]

I find that I carry the least amount of water I need to get me to where I'm going,so we can have a drink on the way if needed and a little extra for any other need.
The more water you carry the more fuel you use,due to the extra weight carried ??? Fill up when you arrive at the site,unless you are wild camping I don't see the point of carrying so much water.All this is irrelevant if you are talking about filling when on site (lol).

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[Allanm]

Our Autosleeper had an auto shut off so you couldn't overfill. We always travelled with it full (110 litres) as we never went on sites.
When I filled our current van up, I didn't even think about auto shut off or overflow, then realised water was coming out of the overflow and the tank was full.
It took a bit longer than our other van, the new one holds 270 litres. We travel with this one full too, and although we have a level indicator in the van, we can see the side if the tank and being translucent, are able to check accurately how much is in it.
We also have a city water feed that can be connected permanently, this has an auto shut off so the tank won't overflow when it's connected.

 

[Jaws]

Same as the Autotraill we have..
Always keep it as full as pos cos we are fairly hard core motorhomers and sometimes do not see a tap for several days when touring !

 

[The Lobster]

The more water you carry the more fuel you use,due to the extra weight carried ???

Someone did an interesting calculation around this on another thread showing how this was a myth - and that the extra weight of a full water tank made a minute difference to the mpg.

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[Allanm]

Similar to the air con vs window open.
You save more petrol ( or diesel) by accelerating and braking gently and anticipating road and traffic conditions than you would with a few kilos of water.

 

[John and Jo]

Our Autosleeper had an auto shut off so you couldn't overfill.

hi, how does the auto shut off work?

 

[Allanm]

There was a Whale connector that plugged into a connector on the side of the van. To fill up, you needed to turn on the control panel and a solenoid opened to let the water into the tank. When the tank was full, the solenoid operated again and shut the supply off.
One of the benefits of this system is that you could leave the supply connected and it would automatically top the tank up when needed.
Similar to the City Water Line on American RV's. We have that on ours.

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[pappajohn]

Have to be stupid to run with a full tank in my last motorhome.

Full tank weighed over 1/4 ton....265ltrs

 

[vwalan]

carry more beer and wine than that pappa .
havnt bought any in uk for years .
oh and 400litres of diesel. ha ha .
not including the red for the genny.