Supplementary Pumped Water Option Using Surplus Solar Panel & Lithium Battery Capacity (1 Viewer)

[deleted79651]

We had a lithium battery fitted about a month ago and it's been brilliant. I don't think it has fallen below 95% Charge level and it has yet to complete its first discharge cycle [think it's guaranteed for 500 cycles!], even in the evening when the drop down bed is used plus LEDs, phone chargers and Elaine tries to test the water pump to destruction! The downside of the latter activity is frequent disposal of grey water and daily topping up of the fresh water tank, something I am reluctant to do by driving Brunhilde for, say, 50 metres from cold, to refill.

I have a spare 19 litre pm Reich submersible pump from caravaning, after the Whale predecessor failed whilst we were in Spain, and I wondered about the feasibility/safety of using the lithium battery surplus capacity to pump the water top up from the existing 25 litre Jerry Can [usually fill it to around 12 litres and then lift it to pour slowly down a Chinese Shop Spanish funnel and hose attachment to the inboard tank]; this leads to a sore right shoulder and some lower back discomfort, hence the brainwave about using a pump. I'm just not sure how to go about the work. There is insufficient space in the water tank filling cupboard to site a power supply, either from the external access or from inside the Van [which would involve removing seat swabs, seat backs, plywood supports et al in a 5.99m Van that struggles to replicate a furniture repository!

The Lithium Battery is also under the seating, so I was thinking about perhaps using the 12v TV socket, which only gathers dust since we don't carry a telly, and up to 5m of cable attached to a Hellla or cigarette lighter connector at the TV end, and a Wago block connector or similar in a jointing box to connect the pump via the kitchen window. It won't be the most elegant solution, but it will be used once each day for about 5 minutes, including walking to/from the water tap. Then the cable can be stored in the external locker with the water carrier and all the other clobber.

There is a commercial kit available at £55 Water Pump Connecting Kit, but this includes another pump that I don't need! The cigarette lighter connection looks really neat though! As usual, I confess to being a complete numpty in matters electrical, so would appreciate any advice or suggestions [in words of 1 syllable, e.g. 'connect the 2 red cables ...'] to help me with this task.

TIA

Steve

 

[Swifter]

You are over complicating it Steve . Just use the cab 12v plug and pump the water from the container. We use a pump that I made up for £14 . Will post a picture

 

[Swifter]

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[cmcardle75]

That's pretty much the arrangement for filling my water tank. My water tank is quite high and the inlet is a hoselock type actually below the top of the tank. It needs to be pressurised to get any water in and can't be filled using gravity.

I normally fill from a hose at home. However, for longer stays where a hose can't reach, I have a transfer pump that just plugs into a 12V socket and pumps from a container. I just connect to the hoselock inlet, plop the submersible pump into the container or aquaroll and plug in. When it sounds strained unplug. Repeat until full (it's a 210 litre tank!)

 

[deleted79651]

You are over complicating it Steve . Just use the cab 12v plug and pump the water from the container. We use a pump that I made up for £14 . Will post a picture

Can't argue with your assessment! Thank you so much!

Steve

 

[autorouter]

I constructed a similar setup, with a pump and long wire. The first thing is to see if the Reich pump will actually fit into the hole in your water container. I have a cigarette-lighter socket near the passenger door, so I just open the door and plug in. Feeding it through the window would be just as good.

I fitted a switch near the pump, just a simple in-line type that is used for desk lamps. If it's a 2-pole switch (4 screw terminals, you can wire the positive and negative to the switch. If it's a single-pole switch (2 screw terminals) then just wire the positive to the switch, and don't cut the negative wire, just pass it straight through inside the switch.

On a cigarette-lighter plug, the centre pin is positive, and the outside contacts are negative. On the Reich pump, the brown is positive and the blue is negative. I used red 'butt connectors' that crimp onto the wires to join them together permanently. You could use Wago connectors or screw terminal block (chocolate blocks) instead.

On my system I have a filler cap with a hose connector (Heos brand). On the pump there's a metre of hose with a mating connector on the end. Alternatively just holding the hose in the filler hole would be almost as easy.

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[Revolvor]

Ive got one of these sockets by the water filler. I'm just too stingy to pay £17 for the Whale plug. I'm thinking of making a 3D printed one with copper rods.

 

[poppycamper]

Go on internet and search 12v diesel transfer pump...
They fit in an aquaroll.. have fitted inline switch... have bigger capacity and are cheaper than whale/reich
Looking above that looks like what Swifter has used.!!!
Edit.. all you then need is a piece of hose.

 

[deleted79651]

I constructed a similar setup, with a pump and long wire. The first thing is to see if the Reich pump will actually fit into the hole in your water container. I have a cigarette-lighter socket near the passenger door, so I just open the door and plug in. Feeding it through the window would be just as good.

I fitted a switch near the pump, just a simple in-line type that is used for desk lamps. If it's a 2-pole switch (4 screw terminals, you can wire the positive and negative to the switch. If it's a single-pole switch (2 screw terminals) then just wire the positive to the switch, and don't cut the negative wire, just pass it straight through inside the switch.

On a cigarette-lighter plug, the centre pin is positive, and the outside contacts are negative. On the Reich pump, the brown is positive and the blue is negative. I used red 'butt connectors' that crimp onto the wires to join them together permanently. You could use Wago connectors or screw terminal block (chocolate blocks) instead.

On my system I have a filler cap with a hose connector (Heos brand). On the pump there's a metre of hose with a mating connector on the end. Alternatively just holding the hose in the filler hole would be almost as easy.

Thank you so much Autorouter. Your instructions are perfect for the 'electrically challenged' me! I can follow this process without having to understand it!

The Reich pump will definitely fit in the Jerry Can, but I may go mad and buy a 23L [? re capacity] aquaroll to avoid my Quasimodo impersonation walking from the water refill tap to the van, so that will have acres of space

Steve

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[cmcardle75]

Thank you so much Autorouter. Your instructions are perfect for the 'electrically challenged' me! I can follow this process without having to understand it!

The Reich pump will definitely fit in the Jerry Can, but I may go mad and buy a 23L [? re capacity] aquaroll to avoid my Quasimodo impersonation walking from the water refill tap to the van, so that will have acres of space

Steve

Another alternative is a collapsible bucket which takes up less storage space, especially if it is only for occasional use, although you might slosh a lot of water out on a long walking trip with one if you aren't steady.

 

[deleted79651]

Update:

Amazon delivered an inline switch today [connection terminals are shockingly bad, no pun intended] and we now have a cable that will stretch from the TV Hella socket on the far side of Brunhilde, across the kitchen worktop,out of the window and drops just outside the water tank filler. The Reich Pump is rated at 19L per minute and we shifted around 13 litres in a little under 1 minute. No lifting of 25L Jerry Cans [other than to get the last 3/4L before the pump started to run dry].

Functional rather than elegant, but it'll do a job. Think it's what Lenny HB described on another thread as 'Heath Robinson', but mine is the economy class version of this genre ...

Steve

 

[cmcardle75]

Update:

Amazon delivered an inline switch today [connection terminals are shockingly bad, no pun intended] and we now have a cable that will stretch from the TV Hella socket on the far side of Brunhilde, across the kitchen worktop,out of the window and drops just outside the water tank filler. The Reich Pump is rated at 19L per minute and we shifted around 13 litres in a little under 1 minute. No lifting of 25L Jerry Cans [other than to get the last 3/4L before the pump started to run dry].

Functional rather than elegant, but it'll do a job. Think it's what Lenny HB described on another thread as 'Heath Robinson', but mine is the economy class version of this genre ...

Steve

Yes, I don't need mine very often (210 litre tank normally filled by hose), but it is extremely useful when I do need it. I last needed it on a 2 week scout camp in a farmer's field when it seems some of the other leaders appreciated a hot shower now and again, after all! The full tank would easily has lasted me otherwise...

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[deleted79651]

Yes, I don't need mine very often (210 litre tank normally filled by hose), but it is extremely useful when I do need it. I last needed it on a 2 week scout camp in a farmer's field when it seems some of the other leaders appreciated a hot shower now and again, after all! The full tank would easily has lasted me otherwise...

We've a 120L Tank, which seemed a luxury after the 40L Aquaroll with the caravan. But doing a bit of clothes washing [no clothes washing sinks on CLs et al!] does give the supply a belting! Surprising how quickly the 'luxury' becomes a necessity!

Steve

 

[tonyidle]

If it's of any interest I modified one of those cheap towball cycle carriers to carry an Aquaroll. The type that grip the ball with the upper ends forced apart. Saves trying to find a home for the Aquaroll.

 

[deleted79651]

If it's of any interest I modified one of those cheap towball cycle carriers to carry an Aquaroll. The type that grip the ball with the upper ends forced apart. Saves trying to find a home for the Aquaroll.

If you have any photos/drawings, Tony, that would be good! We don't have a towbar on Brunhilde, and being a 6 metre van with broom cupboard instead of a garage, the storage space for bulky items is very much at a premium. But the choice was 6m m/home v. no m/home, and we are getting routines sorted out as we go.

Our Cycle Cover arrived on Friday, and is very good. Unfortunately, it blocks the reversing camera, so I began a 5 minute job to adjust the camera viewing angle. One bolt removed inside 1 minute, the offside counterpart seized solid and the Allen key slot rounded off, so an earlier problem. Almost 4 hours later we finally got the Cover adjusted and the camera remounted with replacement screws [non Allen Key and Copper Grease on threads!]. It really is a '1 step forward, 2 steps back' period at present, but we will get there ... eventually.

My epitaph will be a variation of a Victorian wording: 'Marchie, left this earth on xx/xx/202x.' followed by a pithy '3 days later, he's not arrived, getting worried. St Peter' [or Satan ...]

Steve

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[cmcardle75]

If you have any photos/drawings, Tony, that would be good! We don't have a towbar on Brunhilde, and being a 6 metre van with broom cupboard instead of a garage, the storage space for bulky items is very much at a premium. But the choice was 6m m/home v. no m/home, and we are getting routines sorted out as we go.

Don't bother carrying an aquaroll if there is insufficient space for one. Caravans can carry them easy, as they need to be outside on the ground when pitched, so can just live in the shower or on the floor when moving and not get in the way when stopped.

There are much more compact solutions to transporting water top-ups if required, including the oft-suggested watering can, collapsible water containers etc.

 

[tonyidle]

Don't have a pic sorry but like this:

Amazon product ASIN B0193JEH9I

 

[Scully]

Ive got one of these sockets by the water filler. I'm just too stingy to pay £17 for the Whale plug. I'm thinking of making a 3D printed one with copper rods.
View attachment 527456

Cheapest whale plug I could find was £22, so I replaced my socket ( which was sited in the toilet cassette chamber) with

Amazon product ASIN B07NSRQQ6B
Came across this today, which might have been a better option

Amazon product ASIN B07DLPSR7V

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[deleted79651]

The Reich pump was one I bought as a spare against the next failure, after the Whale version in the Gobur packed up in Spain in 2018. I thought I would have enough odds 'n' ends kicking around to rig something up, but I was told that the TV supply was a CBE Hella, the cable I had wasn't long enough, I needed a new inline switch [or two ...], etc etc. So, far from using bits of redundant kit, I think I've added to my stock, spent more money than I intended, and took far longer than I hoped to put it all together ...

In other words, exactly the same as all the preceding '5 minute jobs' I've undertaken. It's not my fault that theory and reality inhabit different planets, and neither are in my galaxy!

'Wired to the Moon', and with a duff connection

Steve

 

[Revolvor]

Thank you - That's interesting. However this might be a better option, as it has a female socket, and male plug.

Amazon product ASIN B07DNBQB25

 

[deleted79651]

Thank you - That's interesting. However this might be a better option, as it has a female socket, and male plug.

Amazon product ASIN B07DNBQB25

It looks a bit OTT for our needs! The trial run for transferring the water went OK and the switch is about 2 feet above the top of the Jerry Can [which can sit on the floor, so no precarious balancing containers on caravan steps or similar!]. I'll probably mess about with the set up to find the best settings for tube length and cable run, and I can then decide whether we need to produce the Mark 2 version!

Steve

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[poppycamper]

It looks a bit OTT for our needs! The trial run for transferring the water went OK and the switch is about 2 feet above the top of the Jerry Can [which can sit on the floor, so no precarious balancing containers on caravan steps or similar!]. I'll probably mess about with the set up to find the best settings for tube length and cable run, and I can then decide whether we need to produce the Mark 2 version!

Steve

£13.99 on Amazon (sorry don't know how to load on here)
Submersible diesel transfer pump in stainless steel, 30l/min complete with cable and inline switch and cigarette socket plug.
marchie dont understand why you faffing around so much with other alternatives.
I have had one for 5 years and never let me down...
When tugging I used to get thru a reich or whale pump every couple of seasons.
Foot note... as a matter of Interest EVERY single ltr of water that goes in my tank is via auqaroll and this pump... so yes it is used.!!!!

 

[deleted79651]

£13.99 on Amazon (sorry don't know how to load on here)
Submersible diesel transfer pump in stainless steel, 30l/min complete with cable and inline switch and cigarette socket plug.
marchie dont understand why you faffing around so much with other alternatives.
I have had one for 5 years and never let me down...
When tugging I used to get thru a reich or whale pump every couple of seasons.
Foot note... as a matter of Interest EVERY single ltr of water that goes in my tank is via auqaroll and this pump... so yes it is used.!!!!

The online stuff wouldn't reach, simple as that! The Hella socket is on the driver's side of the van and the water tank is on the nearside, so there's 4 metres of cable joined to the cable that comes attached to the Reich Pump and there's very little slack cable, just enough to avoid strained connections.

I use a flat hose to fill the inboard tank onsite, and then top ups are via a Jerry Can, lifted up to near shoulder height to pour into a funnel and hose to avoid water going everywhere. The filler neck is about 15cm inside the services locker, so far from the most convenient transfer siting! Being able to use the spare capacity from the Leisure Battery to pump the water top ups easily whilst staying dry instead of developing trench foot via soggy sandals makes life a little easier!

Steve