Just got back from weekend away with 97" bailey pageant champagne . As no electric at storage we were praying all would be ok. Here's what went wrong and I'd appreciate any advise. Connected up whale pump and switched on pump. Heard water filling onboard tank and trickling out of taps. Hubby yelled to switch it off as water was gushing out of this thing above whale inlet which I think is a twisty cap that you let the water out from.? On inspection it looks like the rubber seal has gone, would this be right?. Turned fridge on to electric. Lights were on but fridge didnt get cold. Spent weekend filling bottled water and chucking the odd cup full down sink. When hubby took grandkids to monkeyworld, I tipped a basin full down sink and it came out of bottom corner of fridge onto our newly laid adhesive laminate and flooded floor. Chucked towels down and started googling. Told hubby when he returned to take vent off back of fridge (outside caravan ), and the waste water pipe wasn't even connected together. So did that and then water tipped down plughole ok and correctly flowed to drain. Lots of fridge wires so near this? Let it dry out overnight but fridge still not working. Does every fridge have a socket behind if I buy a domestic one to plug in?. Minor problem is tv won't pick up channels and it's definitely not the tv. Did full scan and no channels found. Could the built in aerial be faulty on roof? Sorry for such a long post but we're booked to go again bank hol August and need to sort. Other than that we had a great time even with it pouring
The best solution is to have the van serviced and make a list of the problems you have encountered on site. Get the engineer to explain to your hubby how the water system works which they will also check all the electrics (including the fridge) and that way the engineer will confirm what's effectively working. It's no good trying explain details regarding the fridge because it could simply be that the switch at the MCB is not switched on or it may not be working on gas either which I doubt whether you tried just to ensure that the fridge is actually operational. They will also check the 12 volt circuit so next time you go out in the van everything should be working as normal.
Hi evej24 sounds like you had an eventful time ! your probably better of getting a NEW water bung as they go brittle with age (don't we all ) as for the fridge did you turn the knob on the front of it to take the temp lower ? And as for you sink leaking that's were your hubby needs to go round the van looking for faults & fixing them if they look dodgy ! all the fixes are doable to a competent DIYer !
If it helps you sleep at night FIRST time out with our 1990 ABBEY came back from pub only to hear our pump pumping away to it's self & to pump 20lts of water into the van ! blown seals on water heater ! ALL fixed now !!
hope this helps Steve
------------- Jack of all trades master of none !!!!
Thanks tango. We probably will get it serviced at some point but funds are a bit tight at mo. Thanks also Steve, bit put off by engineer who has twice come out to my brother in law and fix his much newer caravan fridge. It's cost him an arm and a leg and still not working properly. I don't use gas and never will and did lower the temp but no change. It's not the original fridge either. We'll get there though. And god how much water, I think I'd have gone back to the pub lol
There should be a socket near the fridge for mains,if the light is on it should be ok.
The tv aeriel should have an amplifier in a cupboard,assuming its the round roof mounted type?
There should be a switch on the amp,underneath it turn it on,usually has a red light to show its on!
Make sure cables are plugged into the amp,one goes to the aerial,other to tv socket.
Tv amp is 12v so check all caravan fuses.
------------- DS-There's more to life than football!!!
Now I'm wondering about something I've just read that we didn't check. I wonder if the tank under the bed has a valve that has to be in a certain position, I'm wondering if that had anything to do with what I think is called a dump valve where the water gushed out.?
Thanks dave. The light on fridge works so I take it we could put a mains fridge in and hopefully a socket behind somewhere. The tv has a amplifier in cupboard above and is on red. The aerial socket is under shelf near tv new coaxial lead plugged in but comes up with bbc etc but no signal and no channels found. Would the roof aerial need anything doing or maybe a lòose connection somewhere.
Yeah there is sometimes a mains socket with a standard plug on the fridge. If that was on but still not getting cold and it will take long to get cold compared to a household fridge.
Also the fridge will only work if its level. Mine has a tolerance of just 5 degrees off level.
Also check the fusebox/breaker. The fridge maybe on its own fuse. On my van the fridge and charger are on the one fuse/breaker.
right start with the ariel ,sometimes the seals around the outside dry up and with the roof flexing it lets in water enough to bugger up the amplifier .only way to sort it is to by-pass it and keep trying till its working .its no big deal as you can always buy a mast and ariel and run it into van .
water pump gushing water out .it sounds like the filter is probably in need of replacement around a £10 or less for a new one which these days come in two parts for cleaning ( self explanatory ) make sure you apply cooking oil to the thread when replacing ,now it could have been that blocked or leaking around the O ring on it ,or it could be the small O ring on the bit you insert into the switch .there should also be a small plastic screw head which is used to drain the water out around that area this will also have a O ring that needs renewing . its purely and simply basic maintenance. also as you have said make sure all outlet/drain valves are closed i'll guarantee all your water problems are O rings though .i have a massive box with about 50 assorted sizes bought from lidl years ago .
to check the fridge switch it on and go outside after a hour or so you should feel heat coming out of the vents if not somethings amiss ,sounds like power is getting to it if lights are on .hard one to quantify without being there
Quote: Originally posted by evej24 on 31/7/2017
Thanks tango. We probably will get it serviced at some point but funds are a bit tight at mo. Thanks also Steve, bit put off by engineer who has twice come out to my brother in law and fix his much newer caravan fridge. It's cost him an arm and a leg and still not working properly. I don't use gas and never will and did lower the temp but no change. It's not the original fridge either. We'll get there though. And god how much water, I think I'd have gone back to the pub lol
You say you will never use gas but if you read the facts about fridges used for leisure purposes you will find that when outside temperatures reach 25 degrees or above then they don't perform well on mains electric so the only alternatives are to switch over to gas till temperatures decrease or let the food in the fridge thaw out and chuck it in the bin. Of course you being a newbie you wouldn't know that by the statement you made with reference to gas but myself having over 12 years experience I have found that there's a lot to learn but my knowledge wasn't gained by asking on a forum but from the Caravanning Handbook by John Wickersham which I bought when I started caravanning. It's amazing what you can learn from a book as instead of asking numerous questions, it tells you directly what you need to know.
The Internet also answers numerous questions and believe me since we got the caravan it's all I've done. I don't use gas at home except for heating. Never had a gas cooker so won't be using the one in caravan. I think it's a personal choice. I'm sure we will sort the problems as there's been some great advice given thanks all. Only thing I'm not convinced of is what this round cap is for that's leaking. I've seen pics of some newer ones with a key in the centre. (Ours hasnt) whether it drains or fills. Thanks black fox I'll look into what you've said.
Re the TV, we're you in Dorset? I noticed you said money world. When we stayed in south lytchett last year in Dorset it was so renowned for bad tv reception that the mains pitches had mains aerial socket on to plug direct into with aerial, cable instead of trying to use roof aerial on van as it wouldn't pick anything up. Just a thought if you were anywhere near there.
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Topic: First time out with Van. Few problems.
