Fresh water tank overflow

paul18

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Dec 16, 2014
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Somerset
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34,503
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newbie, but was caravanner for 20 years
My on board water tank is 60 litres, and if I overfill it water runs out of an outlet a few inches away from the drainage port. I assume this is intentional and I can do no harm by overfilling? My guage shows it as 3/4 full when its overflowing so its hard to judge! Sorry for another newbie question!
 
Hey Paul, ask away, we all had to start somewhere, and I know I'm still learning loads from some of the more knowledgable Funsters on here; (y)
 
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I always fill mine until it overflows, providing the inspection cap is tight.
Some British vans Bailey & Eldiss for a couple fit caravan style tanks and they loose over half there contents if you travel after filling them.

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I always fill mine until it overflows, providing the inspection cap is tight.
Some British vans Bailey & Eldiss for a couple fit caravan style tanks and they loose over half there contents if you travel after filling them.
End of Overflow tube too low in tank causing syphoning when driving.
once water gets in the tube it will continue to flow until the end becomes free of water....cornering etc.
shoddy workmanship when the tank plumbing was fitted.

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I filled mine up to the filler neck and it seemed to dribble for some time after, i got a bit worried and took a look underneath. looked as if it was coming from somewhere off the top of the tank. couldnt quite see where due to the lack of fighting room, but managed to take this picture:

I think it actually stopped after some time, but i'll keep my eye on it.
 

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Paul,,, when we were selling Benimars back in the day (I worked for RDH) we had a problem with the water gauges. They were then,,, 5 probes into the water which got calcified, they read full when only 1/2 or 3/4,, we found if we put our hands in the tank with a green pad and rubbed the probes then they worked a little better after cleaning. I now have an Autocruise which I am prepping for new season,, today I filled the tank,, guess what,, shows 3/4 when water all over drive,, when sterilizer done tomorrow,, green pad to probes.. see what result is.

:)
 
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1969548.jpg


Having had a number of vans that you could fill to the filler neck, we were surprised when we bought a new Autocruise panel van conversion to find that when filling, water gushed out from all sides of the tank.

We wrote to Swift for advice! This is what they said:

Thank you for your email.

The tank has castellation's as shown on the attached image, with a breather/overflow at each high point.

Because of the multiple overflows, and the fact the tank sits in a jacket, it may appear that the water is escaping from various points around the tank. This could be described as 'normal' if a tank was overfilled.

Yours sincerely


Above is the drawing they sent me of the tank fitted to their range of Autocruise PVC's.

We used to lose water whilst travelling and were concerned about lots of water laying between the tank itself and the neoprene gaffer taped jacket covering it.
 
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I always fill mine until it overflows, providing the inspection cap is tight.
Some British vans Bailey & Eldiss for a couple fit caravan style tanks and they loose over half there contents if you travel after filling them.

We had an Elddis Autoquest and now have a Bailey MH. The Elddis did loose some water enroute but not half of it, the small analogue gauge was useless to say how much. Our Bailey reaches 100% a few seconds before the overflow starts to run. After a journey it read around 80%.

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View attachment 57009

Having had a number of vans that you could fill to the filler neck, we were surprised when we bought a new Autocruise panel van conversion to find that when filling, water gushed out from all sides of the tank.

We wrote to Swift for advice! This is what they said:

Thank you for your email.

The tank has castellation's as shown on the attached image, with a breather/overflow at each high point.

Because of the multiple overflows, and the fact the tank sits in a jacket, it may appear that the water is escaping from various points around the tank. This could be described as 'normal' if a tank was overfilled.

Yours sincerely


Above is the drawing they sent me of the tank fitted to their range of Autocruise PVC's.

We used to lose water whilst travelling and were concerned about lots of water laying between the tank itself and the neoprene gaffer taped jacket covering it.
Any manufacturer who had any common sense with a tank like that would have fitted pipes to the overflow points so that the jacket did not fill with water and give a clear indication when the tank was full. Unbelievable bad design.
 
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Our Autoquest used to slop a little water through the overflow pipe when going round a sharp bend when it was full. Our Burstner doesn't slop water at all.
 
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Our Autoquest used to slop a little water through the overflow pipe when going round a sharp bend when it was full. Our Burstner doesn't slop water at all.
I should hope not it's a German van.:)
Our Hymer has the overflow in the side at the top of the tank and never looses any water either.
 
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Why fill it up? We put in two watering cans before leaving home and one can a day thereafter, faster and easier than using a hose and less weight to lug around.
 
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Why fill it up? We put in two watering cans before leaving home and one can a day thereafter, faster and easier than using a hose and less weight to lug around.
Because you can never be certain when you will next be able to get water, much safer to travel with a full tank.

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Never really had a problem finding water, the two watering cans will do us for 3 days max. plus the kettle, we tour all over Scotland and in the most remote parts there is usually a harbour, or, strangely, most cemeteries have a tap. Topped up from a burn before now as well.
 
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As newbies, I've been thinking how handy it would be to have a water gauge like the one on kettles outside by the water inlet....... :LOL:

image.jpg
 
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When we first got the van I always filled up before leaving home, after a couple of year I realised when I returned home I was dumping nearly as much as I left home with. We know that our consumption is around 5 litres a day, plus a kettle and a jug for drinking water. So, in theory, the tank has 18 days supply in it. Result is I don't bother much, just a watering can a day. In over 40k miles we have never run out of water, anywhere.
 
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I should hope not it's a German van.:)
Our Hymer has the overflow in the side at the top of the tank and never looses any water either.
I would think not when we looked at getting a Hymer although it had a 100l tank you could only put 20l in it for travelling.
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Clever these Germans 20L in a 100l tank and it doesn't overflow! :rolleyes:

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I would think not when we looked at getting a Hymer although it had a 100l tank you could only put 20l in it for travelling.
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Clever these Germans 20L in a 100l tank and it doesn't overflow! :rolleyes:

Hymer have stated two water figures on some vans for many years now. It does not mean you can only have 20 litres onboard whilst driving. It is to ensure the vehicle stays below 3,500 kg MVW if that is its limit. If the MVW is uprated (as many Hymers are) you can fill up the tank for travelling. Ours states 70/120 litres. The former figure relates to versions that are down-rated to 3.5 tonnes, rather than the standard 3.8 tonnes as ours is.
 
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how can you have two showers and washing up dishes etc using only 5 lts ?

even without showers.. doesn't seem possible..
We use on-site showers when available, same with washing up if we are on a site. Always have a jug of water for drinking and a full kettle on top of the watering can, it's a 10 litre can by the way, couldn't do it on 5 litres.
 
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I would think not when we looked at getting a Hymer although it had a 100l tank you could only put 20l in it for travelling.
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Clever these Germans 20L in a 100l tank and it doesn't overflow! :rolleyes:
The 20Lt is only a recommendation & it is the figure they use when calculating payload, Hymer tanks are designed so you can travel with them full without any loss. We always travel with at least 75%, and often with a full tank plus 2 x 20 Lt containers in the garage. If we find a nice spot don't want to have to travel 10 or 20 miles to get water.
 
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We use on-site showers when available, same with washing up if we are on a site. Always have a jug of water for drinking and a full kettle on top of the watering can, it's a 10 litre can by the way, couldn't do it on 5 litres.
We don't use sites and on the rare occasion when we do we prefer to use our own shower.
 
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The 20Lt is only a recommendation & it is the figure they use when calculating payload, Hymer tanks are designed so you can travel with them full without any loss. We always travel with at least 75%, and often with a full tank plus 2 x 20 Lt containers in the garage. If we find a nice spot don't want to have to travel 10 or 20 miles to get water.

Had Hymer had said that on their web page, I wouldn't have crossed them off our list so abruptly. We like to take a full tank when moving 'cos we never be sure where we will end up and what facilities will be there.
 
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