I bought my first caravan a few months ago and have had about 3 trips out in it so far, my next is this weekend (I've been lucky as a friend has been with me the 1st few times who's been caravanning for a few years so I didn't have to go it alone.)
I wonder if anyone can give me any pointers on the following please.
The cold water system on my caravan has both a foot pump and an electric pump, the electric pump doesn't always push the water though the system (it just whirrs) unless I prime it first with the footpump, which defeats the object of having a electric pump, is there a solution to this?
Secondly, does anyone know of a 240v to 12v transformer available that will run the lights and water pump when hooked up so I'm not draining the battery all the time.
Finally is it ok to load up the caravan with any heavy items over the axle (I know they shouldn't be at the ends) and am I restricted as to how much, or would I be better cramming as much as I can in the car.
Assuming your van is the same as ours, all it needs is the footpump to prime the system when you arrive on site and each time that you refill the barrel, then the pump will do the rest. Newer vans have the pump in the barrel so don't need the system priming like our older systems do.
Does your van have a mains hookup or just a 12v battery? as the mains supply should keep the battery topped up.
Most new vans now come with a charger which runs of the 240v. This keeps the battery charged while it runs the 12v system. You can fit these to older vans.
Yes, you can load heavier items over the axle, as long as you don't overload the van.
I have tried to prime it with the foot pump, but the next time I come to use it, it needs priming again and will sometimes stop pumping even when the electric pump is pumping......... err is that too many pumps?
It sounds as if you have an airleak somewhere letting in air so that it becomes "un-primed", It may be that a non-return valve is needed / is not working on the supply to the electric pump, as once primed our system - on an '84 van - stays primed until we remove the supply pipe out of the aquaroll or it's empty - hence letting air into the pump supply.
If you have 240v does the control panal allow you to charge the caravan battery?
Does your battery not get charged while you are hooked up to the mains? If so then it should get sufficiently recharged while you are not using it. If not then you could connect in a simple car battery charger. While not ideal, it is better than nothing. We carry a simple charger for emergency use as our caravan 12v power supply has failed a couple of times. You can fit a system like is used in newer vans but it costs a bit.
On all (but one) of our previous caravans the EHU did not charge the battery, the two circuits were separate and there was no "zig" unit fitted. I always carried a basic Halfords battery charger in case the battery got too low, although I don't remember it ever getting that low on site as it only ran the 12 volt lights and water pump, which don't take a lot of power. In between trips I used to use the charger to top up the charge in the battery. You should not leave this type of charger connected all the while.
------------- Caz
If you can't see the light at the end of the tunnel, just keep going till you go round the bend.
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Topic: Waterworks & 12v query
