Post by chris (zaphod) on Mar 5, 2012 9:50:37 GMT 1
Just back home from a long weekend in the caravan, and a problem with the whale water supply. I have searched for solutions to give some me some idea.
All was well the last time we used the 'van.
When we went to set up, the switch for the pump was very hard to operate, which was puzzling - and may be a red herring - the second time we operated it, it was stuck and broken in the on position, so, we switched the electrics off, and I swapped it with a spare switch.
Switch on again with the new switch.
The pump was checked and primed, to ensure that it had no airlocks - shaking, and the like, underwater, and it was fine.
The pump pulsated, click, click, once every couple of seconds or so. OK, so it needed a slight adjustment. Turning the grub screw anti-clockwise, I could never get it to the point when the microswitch would stop pulsating. Turning clockwise, I could never reach the point where the pump would just stop operating when the taps were turned off. That golden area with pump off, but would operate when a tap was turned on could never be found.
Checked the anti-return valve did not have grit in it, and was seating properly. The microswitch operates as it should - even manually, and was replaced and seated correctly, as was the rubber diaphragm above it.
There were no airlocks in the water system - we ran all taps full for a good time, and no water leaks apparent in the piping throughout the van.
There is a Carver hot water and heating system with the caravan - but we only use the electrical option.
Does anyone have any idea of what I might have overlooked? It seems to me that it might be something so simple and obvious.
In the end, we made do with no hot water, and used water via an empty 3 litre bottle I had in the car.
__________________
All was well the last time we used the 'van.
When we went to set up, the switch for the pump was very hard to operate, which was puzzling - and may be a red herring - the second time we operated it, it was stuck and broken in the on position, so, we switched the electrics off, and I swapped it with a spare switch.
Switch on again with the new switch.
The pump was checked and primed, to ensure that it had no airlocks - shaking, and the like, underwater, and it was fine.
The pump pulsated, click, click, once every couple of seconds or so. OK, so it needed a slight adjustment. Turning the grub screw anti-clockwise, I could never get it to the point when the microswitch would stop pulsating. Turning clockwise, I could never reach the point where the pump would just stop operating when the taps were turned off. That golden area with pump off, but would operate when a tap was turned on could never be found.
Checked the anti-return valve did not have grit in it, and was seating properly. The microswitch operates as it should - even manually, and was replaced and seated correctly, as was the rubber diaphragm above it.
There were no airlocks in the water system - we ran all taps full for a good time, and no water leaks apparent in the piping throughout the van.
There is a Carver hot water and heating system with the caravan - but we only use the electrical option.
Does anyone have any idea of what I might have overlooked? It seems to me that it might be something so simple and obvious.
In the end, we made do with no hot water, and used water via an empty 3 litre bottle I had in the car.
__________________