campervan water tank with pump

2021/05/21

We usually opt to heat in just gas which takes around 20-25 minutes to get the full 13 litre tank to near boiling point. just before tap? Grey water tanks are used for dirty water from the shower and sink, and a lot of people who plan on spending a lot of time on a campsite will have them so as to not drain their water straight onto a pitch. For some reason, these didnt come with the water pump so we had to pick up two more. Alternatively you could blank off one of the connections, but it would mean that one of your taps/half of your mixer wouldnt work, so we preferred to connect both to the cold. Hi Tom, we installed it under the sink, so between the pump and the tap. 7-gallon Aqua-Trainer containers and 5-gallon Hedpack water tanksare two of the most popular types. Hi Rob, I must admit I havent had any experience with 12V taps however it makes sense for it to be run separately so the pump can run whenever it needs to. Campervan Security: tips and ideas to protect your van conversion, Jackery 500 review 518Wh portable power station, Jackery 1000 review 1000W portable power station, EcoFlow RIVER Max review 576Wh portable power station, Best campervan fridge available in UK today. At the top of the tank is an air valve that allows the tank to fill and air to release; and also acts as an overflow in case it gets too full; which is handy as it stops your shower or sink from backing up and overflowing! Hello! At a minimum, you should be packing at least one gallon of water per person per day. 30PSI is quite a high pressure, and it means you get good solid water flow throughout the van. We then used a water tank hose connector that matched the size of our hose to connect to the water tank. It passes through a changeover switch which allows us to either run it through the inverter or through the shore hookup when connected at a campsite. Strictly speaking, grey waste shouldnt contain anything too harmful in it, but use your discretion if your tank is full and you do need to dispose of it. The rear wall of the shower is made up of 3x2 stud work (way over the top) covered in 6mm ply; and the side walls are made of 12mm plywood. One tip I did pick up online was to not fiddle with the settings on this at all. tank wheel arch water campervan vw t5 litre camper well rv trailer Once again, love all of your info! If your pump is too strong, then it can blog the components inside of different appliances which is a very costly mistake to make. We picked up one of these 3/4inch drains off eBay, and the waste pipe pins perfectly to the bottom, and then the upper edge seals inside the shower tray. Water containers like this one can be refilled or swapped out at any Walmart or grocery store for a small fee. People are meant to drink 2 litres of water per day. We chose to mount our water inlet to some ply in our boot, so we wouldnt have to drill any more holes in the side of the van, but a lot of people do mount their fill points on the outside. Based on experience, I can highly recommend the Malaga as it heats water in as little as 15-20 minutes if you opt for both 240v and gas heating. Sawyer mini water filterand MSR MiniWorks are two choices that will allow you to filter water from any lake or stream and use it as drinking water. We had already installed the majority of our vans components by this point, and were extremely lucky that it was even possible for us to fit it where we did. So you dont need to switch the water pump on/off each time you want to use water, you can just leave it on and it will turn on when required. Im grateful we picked one of these up as, after cleaning our just a few weeks after use I discovered it was full of blue shards of plastic I forgot to properly clean out of the water tank upon installation; its a good thing these didnt get sucked through our whole system! Batteries are typically the single most expensive component in your build, so its important to choose the heart of your electrical system wisely. At this point the ply was fixed to the wall, and then we could move the water tank into place and attach it by screwing up the other washers and nuts by the tank. Do you just turn the pump on and turn shower on and shower works? There are tons of great places all around the world to fill up your campers fresh water tank, including . We also have a shower pole and curtain that attaches to the back doors for a bit of privacy, and a little wooden platform to stand on. The issue is that, when water leaves the trap it would usually go into a much thicker pipe before heading to your homes mains drainage. This works out at around 6.5L per day for 2 of us, which means we only need to fill our 70L tank around once every 1.5 weeks. So in the long run, were going to have to engineer something slightly different for times that we are in cold climates for long periods. You guys are the best. Hey Malcolm, definitely would recommend a UV steriliser, we recently installed one in our own system after having similar issues due to water from questionable sources and having to fully flush our tank through! If you want to incorporate a hot water heater into your existing 12V sink system, read our post on installing a hot water heater. The fresh water tank should have two openings, one for the air valve, and one for the tubing to supply the sink. This was a lot more complicated to work out! The 240v supply is a little trickier, and I wouldnt want to offer any advice here as our auto electrician connected ours for us. In the example installation above, we are not including a hot water heater so only one tap will be necessary. Required fields are marked *, Good blog how does the shower work? Which is the right portable power station for me? It does not have a lot of the inlets in useful places, and if we were to do it again, we would get a custom tank made which sits over the wheel arch. This looks AWESOME and is a 2-in-1 system that does your air heating as well as your water heating. We use eco-friendly washing up soaps to make sure were not putting any harmful substances into the environment, and we also have a strainer in our sink to ensure no food waste ends up outside. rv pump water boondocking freshwater running does modification keeps cycling tank fresh fill know operate easier makes sooner didn why Fresh and Gray Water TanksFresh and gray water tanks should be securely fastened so they dont slide around or spill while youre driving. Your email address will not be published. Placing your container at a higher point than your sink or water bottle is all that it takes. We bought ours from a local marine store as I couldnt find links to them online. I dont have much experience with the latter as we opted for the Malaga 5E which has a 13 litre capacity. Good luck with your build! Zero Breeze Mark 2 Air Conditioner Review, How To Build A Campervan Electrical System, A big sink area for cleaning dishes (with hot water on tap), A way to store enough fresh water for up to a week for 2 people, A way to store waste water without dumping straight away, You can pause and restart policies each month, They are more affordable than many providers, 3/4inch waste pipe (I talk more below on how our grey waste system works), Household sinks (with a suitable adaptor). The difference between a hand pump and a foot pump is you will get a little bit more control over the water flow as well as hands-free operation. We picked up a cheap towel rail and toiletries holders from a local store, and made sure they are fixed with plugs so they can be easily removed without damaging the cladding. These then pin the tank up under the van using two thick metal bars; and so far I can report its worked perfectly. fiamma motorhome a20 caravan expansion universal pump tank water When purchasing a foot pump, keep in mind they come with either left-hand or right-hand levers. Although this part is optional, because accumulators are relatively inexpensive we recommend installing one if you are going the route of an electric sink. This can also serve as an emergency shut-off in the event that there are any leaks. Since doing this we have had no issues, whereas before we had small continual leaks every other day. Strainer DrainA 2-2.5 strainer drain is mounted directly into the sink or bowl. The purpose of this is to pool a little bit of water creating a seal that keeps odors from passing through. A constant supply of water is probably the most important thing you are going to need in your campervan. Here's a full rundown of our system, including sink, shower & water heater, Note: Some posts may contain affiliate links. I'm an Economics graduate with a passion for travel. Tip: You can read more about this in our campervan electrical system guide. I am so chuffed with how it turned out, and super impressed that we havent had a single issue with leaks or anything! Drain Tap with HoseIn a campervan, a camp sink trap acts like a mini-version of the larger U traps under a household sink. The water pump is then connected to the accumulator in the same way. To get your campervan water system fully up and running, there are a few components you will need to connect to your electrical system (for more information on electrics, read our blog post on how to wire up your camper van electrical system). Our water heater also has a 13 litre capacity, so in reality we actually carry 98 litres of water when full. Water TanksA key part of any water system are the water tanks. For a few dollars at Walmart, you can purchase a standard 5-gallon jug and fit this device on top. We have easy access to this area by lifting up the seat, so we can easily turn the pump on and off and check the water level. Thanks. Storing water can be as simple as packing a few inexpensive plastic jugs. We used a 12mm barb to 1/2 BSP fitting to connect the pipe to our tap. Our Camplux instant hot water shower runs off LPG and only requires a spark to ignite, and this is powered by 2 D size batteries, so doesnt need to be wired into the electrical system. We chose not to install a boiler that we would need to vent out via a flue, so we just have cold water going to our tap. Gav n Wendy. SwitchYou will want to install the switch in an easy-to-reach area so your motor doesnt have to be on 100% of the time. Reliable and long-lasting, the Shurflo 4088 pumps 3GPM at 55PSI and uses 7.5 amps. Weve always been able to find drinking water in various spots, but it could be worth looking for one if you think youll struggle to fill up! The waste trap is then connected to 40mm rigid pipe via a 135 bend connector, and then another piece of 40mm pipe is connected via another 135 bend connector so the pipe is going straight down. So we spent roughly 800 on the entire water system which includes the following: 70L water tank, pump, accumulator, hose, all connectors and fixings, a Belfast sink (~140), a posh tap (120) and an instant hot water heater (~120). TubingExpandable hoses that are lead-free can be difficult to find. I emptied out the trap after 3 months and there was some buildup of food particles. This is enough water for a shower each and plenty of hot water to wash the dishes. Early on, its easy to overlook how many solar panels you will need, but you could end up without enough space on your roof to effectively recharge your batteries. We opted for the 30PSI Shurflo 12LPM pump and it has proved excellent. However, it is widely regarded as one of the best water heaters available in the UK. For example, don't dump 50 litres of grey waste in a public car park! Kate is the lead content creator for ParkedInParadise.com and has spent over two years living in a camper van conversion. But hey ho, heres what we found . We hope this site can help you plan your next road trip. Campgrounds are an easy place to find water, and sometimes city visitor centers will have water spigots available as well. First up, you need a way to store water. We bought this one here from Screwfix and its absolutely perfect for our needs! Make sure your jugs are securely fastened so they dont move around while driving. Instead, dispose of your black waste appropriately, at motorhome service points or at a campsite. Basically, it stops that sputtering that happens when you turn the tap on and air is struggling to escape through the system. Wed recommend purchasing these parts from a local plumbing store so that you can double check fittings before buying. Many vanlifers opt for an external shower that pins to the back door of a van; and you can even install a shower curtain for extra privacy. The water filter screws on in front of the pump, so cleans water before it passes through the pump. We are Kate, Ian and Harper. Drain Tap with HoseA drain tap acts like a mini-version of the U-pipe underneath your home sink. Should you install a campervan induction hob? Its the biggest one we could get to fit the space, and is actually quite shallow compared to the majority of household sinks. There are so many options that its easy to spend days researching and still not feel confident. So, what we did was picked up this hose connector from Screwfix which is usually meant for draining washing machines I think. In terms of space, we really werent sure how much room we would have for the shower, so simply bought the smallest possible tray we could get. You have 2 options here: We went for option 1 and decided to store our water tank inside of the van. And it all works through pressure from our 30psi Shurflo pump. Electric vehicles have so much to offer in terms of sustainable transport and cheaper refuelling, but the distance, Space Xs new satellite internet service, Starlink, has just released Starlink RV, a satellite dish for campervans! Sure, the water pressure isnt what you would get in a house, but at the end of the day this is a good thing as it prevents water wastage. One important thing to note is that it cant be installed behind the sliding door as the vent gets blocked when the door is open. An optional fill hole can be added as well. Well, I absolutely LOVE our sink! It is also possible to install an underslung water tank on the bottom of your van which will save valuable room inside, but this might not be the best choice if youre planning on spending time in colder snowy climates where the water could freeze. We find that this lasts us 4-6 days, depending on how many showers we take in that time. Absolutely! our water pump is always switched on. What size water tank should you install in your campervan? Its also the perfect size to fit in our Thetford 365 Porta Potti, which again I highly recommend as one of the best campervan accessories you can buy. As we mentioned before, the tank did not have many useful prebuilt inlet spots, so we had to drill our own to attach the tank connector. EcoFlow power stations combine a lithium battery, an, ThisJackery Explorer 240 review will tell you everything you need to know about this all-in-one solution to portable off-grid power. Instead, it just makes more sense to me to stack dishes on the draining board and let them dry themselves, ideally overnight. Should you design your own campervan electrical system? Leave it as it comes in the box. So the solution we came up with required a little but of ingenuity and tinkering. Hi Climbing van Again, its best to have a professional do your gas work, or at the very least pressure test the whole system. Well, things get a little more complicated from here but not much! We recommend using food-safe tubing for your plumbing. In the end, it is as if we calculated it to perfection! Thanks we are hoping to share a blog post about our shower setup! What components do you need for your campervan water system? Hi Guys! Also, ensure the shower area is fully sealed at any joints, as over time a leaky shower can cause serious issues to your campervans structures. Under just 240v it can take up to an hour and, unless youre plugged in at a mains outlet, will drain your leisure batteries like crazy and put a lot of pressure on the inverter. Oops! The plastic feed point started leaking slowly and no matter what we did we couldnt get it to stop. Simply twist this and the waste water empties out simples! The accumulator connects on after the water pump and it avoids surges in water and allows for a nice consistent flow. Its useful using red and blue, especially in dealing with fixes in the future. I feel like just boiling the kettle if hot water is needed in the sink is easier then cutting another hole in the side of the van. In 2016 I decided to ditch the office environment, work from my laptop and travel to every country in the world. We also chose not to install a grey water tank. If I was to redo our water system I would definitely look down this route. Water storage is the one of the universal necessities for vanlife. Okay, so youve got your fresh water and can now pump it through the van. Installing the gas is straightforward, there is a very clear point to connect onto, and we have an elbow going straight onto it. All I had was a rough idea of where we knew it would be and where the hot and cold feeds would be coming out in the kitchen area. We are in the beginning stages of our conversion and just trying to budget , Hey Sophie, Glad you are finding our website useful! Campervan electrical systems can be confusing. For fittings, I recommend proper 8mm compression gas fittings from Wade, which can be bought from BES. Read our post on Best 12 volt Electric Sink Pumps for a Camper! But any higher would have been too much for our campervan water heater; so be sure to check your chosen appliances to ensure your pump isnt too much for them. Hi guys, Copyright ParkedInParadise.com | Disclosure: We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program. Another update we had to make after our 2 month Scotland road trip, was switching out the plastic fittings for brass plumbing ones. Want to wake up to a breathtaking new view every morning? If you want to have hot water coming from your kitchen tap, or if youre installing an indoor shower in your van, your system will need to include a boiler with a flue that can vent outside. Great resource, thank you! If you do not have this, air pressure will build up in the system essentially creating a vacuum (think about what happens when you drink from a plastic water bottle and you dont let any air back in). Its a case of drilling 4 holes in the chassis runner brackets under the van and putting some hook bolts inside. Alternatively, you could do what we do which is have separate 5 litre bottles that we use for drinking water (unless we are boiling first). Would you advise fitting a UV steriliser in the water pipe? Our outdoor shower is an instant water heater connected to our LPG tank. Which makes sense now looking back on it!!! Whether you want to escape the city for the weekend or travel the world, van life makes the dream a reality. Spout FaucetA spout faucet should come with a single water tap since there is no water heater built into this system. Waste trap 1 1/2" for 40mm pipe connection, 1/2" BSP to 12mm female barb hose fitting, 1/2" female 3/4" male water tank connector, 1/2" x 14 NPT x 1/2" barb straight wingnut swivel adapter, 65mm belfast sink basket strainer & waste, A tap and sink with running water (cold only), An instant hot water outdoor shower (blog post on our shower setup coming soon!). Look for tanks that have handles so they can be easily moved. There are little to no parts involved so you can count on it working every single time. Sure, it means you dont get every ounce of water in the tank, but what it does mean is that it avoids you sucking up small waste particles into your system. Secondly, if you plan on using the same food grade hose as us, then these black fittings are no good. And do not dump water in or near stream as all soaps are bad for aquatic life (even the biodegradableones). You also need to consider whether you are physically able to move or fill the water containers. Strainer DrainYou can choose to purchase a campervan specific sink and drain combo or build your own DIY sink using a metal bowl and steel strainer drain. Your email address will not be published. Hey Bea, glad youre finding the information helpful! We have a 70 litre fresh water tank, as well as three 5-litre containers for drinking water. However, you need to carefully weigh up how much you realistically need as well as how much weight you can afford to carry. We then used a lot of silicone to ensure we wouldnt have any leaks. As a downside, you will get little control over this water and the pressure is not always the strongest. Below is a table of our estimated weekly water usage for the 2 of us to give you a bit of an idea. In a home, the U-shape creates a seal to prevent sewer gas from passing through the drain pipes. I am struggling to connect the waste pipe with the u bend to my rigid pipe. Then, just run the control panel loom to an easy access point. All it takes is a pump faucet and some flexible tubing. We used a 1 1/4 waste trap to 40mm pipe connector, but once again this size will vary depending on the waste on your sink, so make sure to check this. A larger accumulator will give you more water during the periods in which the pump is off. I would imagine that a large water tank can become more of an issue as it starts to empty and water is continually sloshing around when driving. The easiest and driest way to fill a campervan water tank is through an external fill point on the side of the van. First you need to ask yourself, what are you going to be using hot water for? Im just starting to put a water system together very similar to your set up. Sink with FaucetDepending on which type of faucet you choose to purchase, there will either be one water tap or two. How much all in all would you expect a water installation to cost? Best 12 volt Electric Sink Pumps for a Camper! Thanks for flagging the broken links, Ive fixed those now so hopefully you should be able to use them. It draws a maximum of 7.5A when running. A gray water tank stores any unused or waste water that comes from your fresh water tank. For the shower curtain, we bought a full-sized world map shower curtain off Amazon and trimmed it down. Its fed from the sink and shower through a 3/4inch waste pipe that connects up using a Y connector shortly before it reaches the tank. That being said, some point in the next year I would like to move our fresh water storage tank underneath the van. Weve just finished your wiring diagram, please find this attached. We used 12mm food grade water pipe, which works really well for this purpose. If you will be moving water containers in and out of your vehicle, we recommend choosing a tank that is 5-gallons or smaller. I guess it didnt help that the sink we have is for a standard household kitchen! To finish off the edges of the shower and to better waterproof, I picked up some PVC corner trim from Wickes.