Obtaining Water from an Aire, Advice please. (1 Viewer)

Emmit

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Greetings,

In advance of a proposed trip across the Channel I'd like to ask a question.

In the UK it is usual (but not universal) that a tap on a campsite will have a thread onto which one can screw a female connector ready for the hose which has a Hozelock type connector on the end.
What is "the norm" in France?

I have just read a report on a french camping car web site where the correspondent made the following comment re an Aire he had visited, (translated from the French)
"Nice area, very clean. Everything is free even electricity.
Male / male for water."

What did he/she mean by 'Male / male for water"

I don't want to arrive at an Aire sans water to discover that I need some sort of adaptor found at the ironmonger 10 kms. away.

Any assistance gratefully received.
 
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Emmit

Emmit

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Hi SB,

So do we, but I'm thinking of those situations where the borne??? throws out 100Lts for your 2€. What do you do then?
 
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magicsurfbus

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Hi SB,

So do we, but I'm thinking of those situations where the borne??? throws out 100Lts for your 2€. What do you do then?

Take a range of adapters - hozelock, screw thread, rubber with jubilee clip, bare hose. I've yet to see an aire that didn't have any of these.

I do recall one aire (Le Croisic) where the water came out with amazing pressure, and muggins here unclipped the hose before it had finished pumping. A spout of water shot about 20ft horizontally across the service point.

My unwritten rule of aires is fill everything you can fill and empty everything you can empty before departing, regardless of how full/empty they are already. That way you never have problems if you arrive at the next aire and find the bog drain blocked or the water point unusable.
 
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schojac

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I purchased a tapered rubber tapered; fits nearly everything. You are able to reverse it for even more options.

Never use attached hoses, I have seen people fill toilet cassettes using the very same hose.

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Rayb182

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I have an old rubber bicycle inner tube connect the end to the hose, bit of gaffer tape and the other end (inner tube) will fit any size tap, wash the tube well before use
 
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Allanm

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Some aires have drinking ( potable) water and Non potable water very close together and you never know who has used which tap and what for!
I always take a spray bottle of anti bacterial cleaner and copiously spray any tap I am not sure about.
I also have a box of different sized adapters. Most are standard sizes, but some, especially in the east of France are oversized. I know, because I left my oversize adapter on the tap at the aire in Mutigny!
I also noticed an awful habit that many French people seem to have adopted. They keep a cloth in with the toilet cassette. Empty the cassette, wipe the outside of the cassette with the cloth, then wipe their hands on the cloth, before putting it back with the cassette. :eek:
No hand washing or gloves in sight. Maybe we are just too fussy!

Allan
 
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peter marshall

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Some aires have drinking ( potable) water and Non potable water very close together and you never know who has used which tap and what for!
I always take a spray bottle of anti bacterial cleaner and copiously spray any tap I am not sure about.
I also have a box of different sized adapters. Most are standard sizes, but some, especially in the east of France are oversized. I know, because I left my oversize adapter on the tap at the aire in Mutigny!
I also noticed an awful habit that many French people seem to have adopted. They keep a cloth in with the toilet cassette. Empty the cassette, wipe the outside of the cassette with the cloth, then wipe their hands on the cloth, before putting it back with the cassette. :eek:
No hand washing or gloves in sight. Maybe we are just too fussy!

Allan
No your not lovely country but some dirty people on the aires we have seen the same, we only drink bottled water. Pete

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lynnian

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We have just returned today and most aires we used had taps with I think a 25mm male thread which is slightly larger than the hozelock adapters we use in uk. You don't need to go to the ironmongers the supermarkets sell a selection in the gardening section (Auchan in Coqueals and Carrefour at City d'europe)that is where I got mine quite cheap. As said make sure you rinse the tap we didn't use antiseptic just water and we didn't die ! and if you are french you have to rinse out your toilet cassette a dozen times each time you empty it, WHY??????
Ian and Lynn
 
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tambo

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On our recent trip everyone I used had the standard screw on hose fitting

I carry my own hose and never use the one fitted ......but I also don't drink the water from my tank I carry additional bottles for drinking water and use the tank for washing etc

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JeanLuc

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By male-male, they mean a hozelock-type connector to join two hose ends together. Also, I would take both sizes of tap connector. These three items should cope with most bornes de service on aires - see images
Hozelock connector.jpg
Std tap connector.png
large tap connector.png
.
 
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Aug 18, 2011
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No your not lovely country but some dirty people on the aires we have seen the same, we only drink bottled water. Pete
Have seen the same in UK,,,,dirty people everywhere. We buy bottled water for drinking, cooking etc. Tank for showers, washing etc. BUSBY:)
 
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scotjimland

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Have seen the same in UK,,,,dirty people everywhere. We buy bottled water for drinking, cooking etc. Tank for showers, washing etc. BUSBY:)

and where does this super clean water come from ? same source as the tap.

bottle water can be contaminated with bacteria .. and can also have poison from
traces of antimony, a chemical used in the making of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottles, used by most mineral-water sellers.

It is also bad for the environment and totally unnecessary.

Tap water all over Europe is perfectly safe to drink.. in fact it is safer than bottled..

To be absolutely sure, do as advised, wash the tap before use.. .. I always spray with bleach before using..

In more years than I care to remember we have never had a bug from drinking tap water straight from the tank..

If you are really concerned then instal a Nature Pure filter from General Ecology ... you can safely drink canal water that has gone through it..
 
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Aug 18, 2011
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and where does this super clean water come from ? same source as the tap.

bottle water can be contaminated with bacteria .. and can also have poison from
traces of antimony, a chemical used in the making of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottles, used by most mineral-water sellers.

It is also bad for the environment and totally unnecessary.

Tap water all over Europe is perfectly safe to drink.. in fact it is safer than bottled..

To be absolutely sure, do as advised, wash the tap before use.. .. I always spray with bleach before using..

In more years than I care to remember we have never had a bug from drinking tap water straight from the tank..

If you are really concerned then instal a Nature Pure filter from General Ecology ... you can safely drink canal water that has gone through it..

But bottled water has not come out of a tap that some dirty bugger has had inside his cassette. I have actually seen someone empty there cassette down the grey waste drain on their pitch and then put it up to the water tap to rinse it out... Will play safe, BUSBY:):)

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But bottled water has not come out of a tap that some dirty bugger has had inside his cassette. I have actually seen someone empty there cassette down the grey waste drain on their pitch and then put it up to the water tap to rinse it out... Will play safe, BUSBY:):)
Quite right and for us it also gives you extra water capacity, if your tank is suddenly empty in the middle of nowhere, at least you have water to drink even if you have to go unwashed for a day or two.
 
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Ber090

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I can clearly remember a Dutch lady caravanner on a French site using the motorhome service point to empty her toilet cassette. She ignored the tap next to the toilet emptying point and walked 5 yards to the "drinking water only tap" stuck the hose in the toilet spout and left the tap running until it overflowed. I asked her why she was doing this and her reply was " The other tap could be dirty! For probably the only time ever I was speechless.
I always use wipes before filling and always remove any hose first.
Bernie.
 
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mid4did

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started in a minivan 1970's when I could fit into it.
I,m in the watering can team also,you get a bit of exercise that way(y) but have a hose and connectors as well.
I wash off the tap also and cannot believe that there are 2 different water pipe supplies to the same borne,therefore any tap that works does for me potable or not.I havent grown any horns yet but also boil the water before using.
The smaller adapter is the most common size,cant remember where i,ve used the larger one but I did need it once.(y)
connectors.JPG

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oldun

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and where does this super clean water come from ? same source as the tap.

But at the water bottling plant the workers haven't (hopefully) washed out their toilets using the drinking water tap like many have probably done at the Aire.

I have seen some very disgusting behaviour on Aires and campsites over the last 50 years and it's not getting any better.

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Just got back we had to use a larger than usual connector once on a 3/4" (yes they do call it that even in France) tap in Kaisersberg but found the rubber tap connector could be separated to fit!!. Got my connectors at poundland for .....you've guessed it!. As for using a watering can it takes a lot of space and I do like to carry a fair bit of wine on the return and to fill our tank of over 100 litres I dont think I could be bothered. I do use a hose it attached but always run some water down the outside and wipe it not dead yet

David
 
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MikeandCarolyn

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We carry a selection of adaptors,and,until this year had not been beaten :LOL: This year,at Nantes we had a water pipe on pitch with a female connector. I did have a male/male connector I could use,but,reception were selling a tap (Robinet) with a male connector (y) I had seen one being used on the Aire at Caro (Cote Bleu) and had been looking for one-I now have one :clap2:
Hopefully my collection is now complete-but you never know lol.
Happy collecting.

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Just got back we had to use a larger than usual connector once on a 3/4" (yes they do call it that even in France) tap in Kaisersberg...
David
Yes people get confused over pipe thread sizes. The most usual 1/2 BSP thread was designed to fit the outside of a pipe with 1/2" bore, so its about 3/4" diameter. Carrying all three common sizes is recommended. Last year I bought a connector with adapters for the three from ADSA for 50p. Last weekend they had some connectors on th selves but not the extensive range they had last year. Maybe new supplies may arrive soon.
 
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Don't use a double male but put one male and one female on the hose and that way you've got both ready dependant on tap and when you roll the hose up you put them together and it doesn't leak.

Joe



Great idea thanks for that(y)
 
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