To dump or not

barryd said:
Not if you have an old knacker like mind it wont. Fair few years ago our hot water boiler literally blew up on Christmas day. Mrs D was sat in the dinette above it when it happened. Water everywhere. Think the pressure valve was blocked or something. I cant remember what the replacement cost from the breakers but it was less than a hundred quid. Good thing about having an old Swift. You can usually fix most stuff with rubber tape and bailer twine.
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?????

Agreed I had a old swift 640 kontiki.95 .
Everything very easy repaired .but to honest that was very little... I should of never up graded.
New vans are a pain and bits cost loads of wonga
 
In 6 years of owning our latest van I have only ever emptied the water pipes twice.
One year I forgot to open taps but the water found its way past the closed taps and formed icicles hanging from the tap head. At that point I could not turn the tap on or off so left it, but thankfully there was no damage after the taps had thawed.
I dump the contents of the water heater if/when it looks like really cold weather, but I have been caught out there too, luckily without damage.
As for draining the pump...? never done it.
A heater in the van during cold weather?... Nope.
I do think the design of the double flooring and the flexible piping in the motorhome helps prevent serious freezing damages.
I did find that it took quite a while for the water system to get back to some normality after draining, as it would cough, gurgle and sometimes the water would stop flowing until the air was out of the system.
 
Yes, every morning at approx 06.30 problem is i don`t get up until approx 7.30 o_O
 
Campervanannie said:
But do you guys do this every time you come home at this time of year or do you not travel at this time of year what do you do if you are only home for short periods say 2 weeks max.
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It only takes one cold night to burst/break component parts of the water system which is usually very expensive to repair/replace. I on my last journey home for a stay open all taps and valves driving home usually ensures the water is out of the system. For the few minutes it takes to refill it is well worth it
 
Trotter said:
Been dithering all day. Do I? Don't I? This post has made my mind up. Just got back indoors from doing it. Thanks for the motivation Annie.

As this still my first year, and I've learned loads, I'll run by you what I've done.

1, Water pump off.
2, Truma water heater valve in "down" position.
3, I've blown down the mixer taps, Wash room shower hose, kitchen tap, they were in the middle position. Left open.
4, Drained water holding tank. When I go out in the van next time I'll remove the bung. Because of the steepness of the drive, there will always be some water in there.

Have I forgotten anything ?
I'll take 15 litres of fresh water in containers with me when I go out next time. Shouldn't be a problem, I'm told only dirty people wash.
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Ours always ends up with a little water in the tank, I have an old bath towel I just put in the tank just to soak up the last few drops
 
I always dump at the end of every trip, even if I know I am going to be off again in a few days. I think it's good practice to empty the system whatever the weather, and more important in the winter. Only takes 10 mins to fill up again
 
We drained down this weekend and will just fill up again next time we go away. If the temperature is forecast for a cold spell (rather than the odd frost), we also plug in and leave the heating on at 5 degrees for additional protection. Our old caravan suffered freezing damage even with the system drained down. Drops of water in the push fit plumbing joints froze and distorted the joints so they started to leak. We ended up replacing all the joints, which was hassle so in the motorhome we'd rather spend a bit on electricity than suffer damage.
 
I do the same as Jeff, empty all the water after Halloween and don't fill again till spring.

The bad winter about 7 years ago that Barry mentioned - I found everything liquid in the van had frozen except the Bacardi.
Shampoo, conditioner, shower gel, washing up liquid, coke, loo blue stuff, everything had to be brought out of the van and dumped in the bath to thaw out and quite a few of the bottles had cracked so I'm glad I got it all out before it thawed in situ. (One of the reasons I don't use loo blue stuff anymore)

If I see it's getting that bad again I'd be tempted to plug in and put the heater on.
 
Edina said:
Toilet flush ?
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I've never done anything for the toilet, not even sure how or what to do.

I do need to go find the water heater though, and flip the lever, I forgot that.
 
Pudsey Bear said:
I've never done anything for the toilet, not even sure how or what to do.

I do need to go find the water heater though, and flip the lever, I forgot that.
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If your Mohican has the same toilet model as my Scout, you need to empty the flush tank, which is separate to the main fresh water system. On my Scout, I have to fill the flush tank each time I empty the cassette by swiveling out a filling arm, removing the cap and then adding water and "pink rinse". To empty the flush tank, there is a small cap at the bottom of the filling arm. Removing this allows most of the 10 litres or so in the tank to drain. It is then necessary to unclip the level indicator tube and lower the open end to below the closed end to drain out the residue.

Judging by photos I've seen of 01 Mohicans, the water heater is on the offside under the seat box on the other side of the wall to the vent the cover of which you have to remove before igniting the gas water heating.

HTH, Geoff
 
Trotter said:
Been dithering all day. Do I? Don't I? This post has made my mind up. Just got back indoors from doing it. Thanks for the motivation Annie.

As this still my first year, and I've learned loads, I'll run by you what I've done.

1, Water pump off.
2, Truma water heater valve in "down" position.
3, I've blown down the mixer taps, Wash room shower hose, kitchen tap, they were in the middle position. Left open.
4, Drained water holding tank. When I go out in the van next time I'll remove the bung. Because of the steepness of the drive, there will always be some water in there.

Have I forgotten anything ?
I'll take 15 litres of fresh water in containers with me when I go out next time. Shouldn't be a problem, I'm told only dirty people wash.
Click to expand...
what about the grit between you teeth ,pj
 
One winter I drained down the water system. Late December we rolled off to catch the Dover ferry to France. First night in France water across the floor. Burrowed down the the water pump and it was leaking. Luckily found a French dealer and bought identical replacement .
My prognosis is that what little water was left in the system after draining found its way down to the pump and froze causing the seal(s) to blow. This was confirmed later when I bought a service pack and replaced the seals and pump head.
Now, every winter the pump comes out (2minute job) is thoroughly dried and aired and only reinstalled prior to any winter trips.
 
Spacerunner said:
One winter I drained down the water system. Late December we rolled off to catch the Dover ferry to France. First night in France water across the floor. Burrowed down the the water pump and it was leaking. Luckily found a French dealer and bought identical replacement .
My prognosis is that what little water was left in the system after draining found its way down to the pump and froze causing the seal(s) to blow. This was confirmed later when I bought a service pack and replaced the seals and pump head.
Now, every winter the pump comes out (2minute job) is thoroughly dried and aired and only reinstalled prior to any winter trips.
Click to expand...


That's what we used to do on our boat, because a small amount of water always found its way back to the pump.
 
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