Insulated Waste Water tank

[BikerDJ]

Apologies if this has been covered somewhere. I did have a quick search but couldn't see an answer..

Van arrived today. Quick check over. A dealer member of staff who does handovers came over for a quick chat about the van as he has a Dreamer himself. I think we were talking winter use and I mentioned it was useful having the insulated waste water tank. He had a quick look underneath and said "Nope, that's not insulated. It looks the same as mine and mine isn't insulated either".

Insulated waste tank is an option on our model van and this was specified on the order and should have been included in the spec. After much head scratching among the sales staff, there was no conclusive view as to how to verify whether it is in fact insulated and the view was that it had been specified on the order and if the manufacturers invoice to the dealership showed this as fitted then it must have been!

Aside from the fact that the cost of this option is not an insignificant amount and I don't particularly want to pay for something that I haven't got, I do plan on using the van all year round. This is actually a feature highlighted in the brochure ie that the van can be used all year round and when the external temperature is -15c, an internal temperature of 20c can be reached in 3.5 hours due to superior levels of insulation. Of course if the van is occupied then the heating will doubtless provide warmth to the waste tank but insulation will provide protection when the van is unoccupied for any length of time.

So my question is, does anyone know how one might check definitively whether the waste is insulated or not (hopefully this isn't as dumb a question as it sounds)

 

[CazPaul]

What make model van is it?

The van heating used for the habitation areas won’t heat the tank though will it, they usually use 12v heaters which use a lot of power.
Just it just look like plastic when you look underneath, I suppose it could be double skinned waste with insulation inbetween.

Is there a separate switch to put the waste tank heating on?

 

[Lenny HB]

I would think it would be fairly obvious, uninsulated it will be a plastic tank if its insulated the tank will be inclosed in a GRP or wood box. Sometimes it can be just an insulation blanket around the tank but I wouldn't expect that if it was an expensive option. I would also expect the enclosure to be heats by the vans heating system.

 

[Googlebot]

Mine isn’t heated but is insulated, it is warmed by the blown air heating.

Can you measure the wall thickness of the tank?

 

[Lenny HB]

The van heating used for the habitation areas won’t heat the tank though will it,

Every van we have had it does.

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[BikerDJ]

It's a Dreamer D68 PVC. I've only had the opportunity for a cursory look thus far so I don't know if there is any separate switch but it didn't sound like it. I'm reliant on the dealer staff and that wasn't mentioned.

 

[BikerDJ]

Mine isn’t heated but is insulated, it is warmed by the blown air heating.

Can you measure the wall thickness of the tank?

Not sure how I'd do that? Next chance to look will be handover so trying to get clued up in advance.

 

[CazPaul]

Every van we have had it does.

Yes our 2 Hymers as well had the same but the majority of them especially PVCs just use the 12v ones.

 

[Googlebot]

Not sure how I'd do that? Next chance to look will be handover so trying to get clued up in advance.

I know it’s difficult. If it helps, mine is obviously insulated as in when you tap it, it sounds insulated if you see what I mean?

 

[autorouter]

Send a load of hot water into it, then feel it with your hand. If it feels warm it's not insulated.

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[TheBig1]

If you, or anyone else, lay on the floor just under the van and tap your knuckles on the exposed tank, it will be obvious if it is insulated. An insulated tank will be a dull thud, an uninsulated empty tank will resonate. If you paid for an insulated tank the dealer should supply and fit one

 

[BillyKontiki]

My last Elddis was insulated just wrapped in a silver padded blanket and bands to hold it in place.

 

[Bobby-gg]

My last Elddis was insulated just wrapped in a silver padded blanket and bands to hold it in place.

Yup, all the insulated one's I've seen have been what almost looks space blanket insulation and then duct taped corners to hold it in place - then with a simple 12v element to prevent it from freezing

 

[BikerDJ]

If you, or anyone else, lay on the floor just under the van and tap your knuckles on the exposed tank, it will be obvious if it is insulated. An insulated tank will be a dull thud, an uninsulated empty tank will resonate. If you paid for an insulated tank the dealer should supply and fit one

The van we bought was already spec'd by the dealer which included the option for an insulated waste tank. We just made some additional modifications to the order. Tbh, my take on it was if the dealer had seen fit to order it then they obviously see it as a popular/worthwhile option and I do plan to use the van all year round so was happy to leave that in. In fact, my discussion with the salesman revealed that they specify that option on all orders. Just struck me as odd that they don't know how to verify that it has one. My concern is that one of their own staff observed/stated that it is not insulated and, as this is a £300 cost option, I'd like to know for sure one way or the other.

I hope the rain has stopped when we do the handover! I can see me lying under the van trying to play a tune on the tank

 

[lorger]

When we bought our PVC Possl we ordered an insulated waste tank, on first inspection I thought they’d forgot to include it. The insulation looked like a normal tank but when you removed the inspection hatch on the bottom you could see the insulation plus’s you then had to unscrew the cap to the tank.

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[Coolcats]

Apologies if this has been covered somewhere. I did have a quick search but couldn't see an answer..

Van arrived today. Quick check over. A dealer member of staff who does handovers came over for a quick chat about the van as he has a Dreamer himself. I think we were talking winter use and I mentioned it was useful having the insulated waste water tank. He had a quick look underneath and said "Nope, that's not insulated. It looks the same as mine and mine isn't insulated either".

Insulated waste tank is an option on our model van and this was specified on the order and should have been included in the spec. After much head scratching among the sales staff, there was no conclusive view as to how to verify whether it is in fact insulated and the view was that it had been specified on the order and if the manufacturers invoice to the dealership showed this as fitted then it must have been!

Aside from the fact that the cost of this option is not an insignificant amount and I don't particularly want to pay for something that I haven't got, I do plan on using the van all year round. This is actually a feature highlighted in the brochure ie that the van can be used all year round and when the external temperature is -15c, an internal temperature of 20c can be reached in 3.5 hours due to superior levels of insulation. Of course if the van is occupied then the heating will doubtless provide warmth to the waste tank but insulation will provide protection when the van is unoccupied for any length of time.

So my question is, does anyone know how one might check definitively whether the waste is insulated or not (hopefully this isn't as dumb a question as it sounds)

You should have a switch for the heating element if you paid for a heated and insulated wast tank. What amazes me is the lack of knowledge by dealers as to what is expected. Dealers are woood by manufacturers factory visits etc yet when you ask them for details they just scratch their heads and say dunno

 

[dipsie]

A couple of motor homes we have owned have had insulated tanks but no heater elements. As mentioned just remove the inspection cap to check. Neither ever had problems freezing in cold weather of up to minus eight degrees.

 

[BikerDJ]

Okay, so a query by the dealership resulted in the following clarification from the manufacturer:

"The basic version is a plain water tank bolted to the underneath of the vehicle with direct contact with the outside air. The confusion is originating from the fact that the insulated tank is a tank cover fitted over the basic tank which allows warm air from the Truma heating to be circulated within this cover to keep the waste tank frost free."