Apologies now for questions that are probably covered several times over elsewhere but.....
Re filling fresh water tank with water. Been using cheap garden (never used for the garden) hose from Argos. This never caused me a problem in my old van but when my darling little person came along I stopped using the fresh water from the van for anything other than washing up, as van v. old and not sure what condition the external water tank was in. So used the cheap 17p per litre table water from Sainsburys for drinking and then refilled empty bottles on site for cooking. Now changed van and have water tank inside. Looks lovely and clean so wouldn't be averse to using for cooking/drinking. However, since joining this site I've discovered reference to food grade hoses. What is this about? Do the normal garden hoses release chemicals into the water? Should I be changing mine? Also, how do I keep the hose clean....I always run the water a little before filling and replaced it last year? Are flat hoses better in that respect? Not too worried for me (hasn't killed me in the last 4 years) but my little person is only 2 so like to be a bit more careful on her behalf!
Then I have the waste water issue. Last van was a small panel van conversion with just cold water to sink. So never used that much water. 25l waste water tank could go a couple of days without emptying, rarely stayed on a site without a m/h service point and generally drove off the site at some point in the day so no trouble visiting the drainage point. Now in coachbuilt m/h I can see us not moving it off sites quite so often. Seems a shame to have to move off a pitch just to empty the water, and I can see us using more water with toilet flush, shower etc. Also, don't really want to be restricted to sites with a service point. Water outlet is really easy to access at side of van. Has a metal screw thread at end of pipe and you just pull the handle round to open, so looks like it should be possible to attach a hose, but larger diameter than normal garden hose? Thought we could then invest in the Fiamma m/h waste water 23l rollalong container as takes forever using a bucket....have to tilt bucket to fit under so can only empty 1/2 bucket at a time! Only had 1 weekend away so far and stayed on serviced pitch whilst I worked out how everything works, so no hardship tipping bucket straight into drain...but don't fancy a long walk backwards and forwards umpteen times. Is the Fiamma product ok? (liked compact size as will have to travel in the bathroom when on the move). Any suggestions re attaching hose? Are these items I'm likely to be able to pick up at the Shepton Mallet show next weekend?
Sorry for the long babble....too tired to write more succinctly
Thank you
Daisy2
Re filling fresh water tank with water. Been using cheap garden (never used for the garden) hose from Argos. This never caused me a problem in my old van but when my darling little person came along I stopped using the fresh water from the van for anything other than washing up, as van v. old and not sure what condition the external water tank was in. So used the cheap 17p per litre table water from Sainsburys for drinking and then refilled empty bottles on site for cooking. Now changed van and have water tank inside. Looks lovely and clean so wouldn't be averse to using for cooking/drinking. However, since joining this site I've discovered reference to food grade hoses. What is this about? Do the normal garden hoses release chemicals into the water? Should I be changing mine? Also, how do I keep the hose clean....I always run the water a little before filling and replaced it last year? Are flat hoses better in that respect? Not too worried for me (hasn't killed me in the last 4 years) but my little person is only 2 so like to be a bit more careful on her behalf!
Then I have the waste water issue. Last van was a small panel van conversion with just cold water to sink. So never used that much water. 25l waste water tank could go a couple of days without emptying, rarely stayed on a site without a m/h service point and generally drove off the site at some point in the day so no trouble visiting the drainage point. Now in coachbuilt m/h I can see us not moving it off sites quite so often. Seems a shame to have to move off a pitch just to empty the water, and I can see us using more water with toilet flush, shower etc. Also, don't really want to be restricted to sites with a service point. Water outlet is really easy to access at side of van. Has a metal screw thread at end of pipe and you just pull the handle round to open, so looks like it should be possible to attach a hose, but larger diameter than normal garden hose? Thought we could then invest in the Fiamma m/h waste water 23l rollalong container as takes forever using a bucket....have to tilt bucket to fit under so can only empty 1/2 bucket at a time! Only had 1 weekend away so far and stayed on serviced pitch whilst I worked out how everything works, so no hardship tipping bucket straight into drain...but don't fancy a long walk backwards and forwards umpteen times. Is the Fiamma product ok? (liked compact size as will have to travel in the bathroom when on the move). Any suggestions re attaching hose? Are these items I'm likely to be able to pick up at the Shepton Mallet show next weekend?
Sorry for the long babble....too tired to write more succinctly
Thank you
Daisy2