Hi, we took our new old caravan, a 1994 Elddis Jetstream GT, on her first holiday this week and found her to have a few ailments.... one is that when we turn the water heater on, no hot water comes from the tap, in fact no water atall comes from the hot tab but a little dribble, the cold runs but it spits and spurts with such force that it forced a cup from my partners hand, we have noticed a small crack in the water inlet bit but not sure if thats the problem, the red pipe from the water heater and the heater itself get hot very quickly so i am puzzled also under the sink is a leak and it smells like clean water so i kept kitchen roll there but it got wet quite quickly and i could here a regular drip drip sound, cant seem to get to it to fix it though as its a small thin space underneath the sink
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Enjoyed trailer-tenting,
Now loving caravanning 😊😊
If water is spitting like you describe then I would think that air is getting into the system, would be worth following the route of the water from inlet to taps, replacing and cracked bits and tightening any clips or joints etc. Does the hot water dribble out of all of your hot water taps? you may have a pipe blockage or micro switch not working or something. Doesn't sound anything major, just a bit of trial and error, water systems in caravans are fairly basic beasts.
No hot water or very little but getting cold water sounds like a faulty return valve, we had the same problem. Cheap to get sorted. Cant help about the leak though.
hmmm we turned the water heater on at the switch, waited for the heater itself to get hot, and the red pipe coming from it to get hot and then ran the tap but nothing came out only a dribble of cold water, a bit of warm came out of the shower though but not much.......i assumed that because we had cold running water that it automatically filled up the hot tank ready for it to be switched on, should i have turned it on and then waited a bit longer do you think? My friend with a much newer van turned hers on and had hot water continuously for the week, i am sorry but im afraid im running on a bit of a trial & error basis at the moment
------------- Enjoyed tenting,
Enjoyed trailer-tenting,
Now loving caravanning 😊😊
Great thank you, do i just need to buy a 'return valve' and is it an easy DIY fix or would i need to tow it to a caravan repair place..... funds isnt in abundance these days so anything that can be done cheaply is music to my ears :-)
------------- Enjoyed tenting,
Enjoyed trailer-tenting,
Now loving caravanning 😊😊
I'm sorry, can't help with DIY or not. It was a fault when we firsy got van and got it fixed as part of the service. I do know it only added a fiver or something similar to invoice. Maybe someone else can advise on DIY.
My cold water in the kitchen wouldn't run at all until I had cleaned the system with Puricleanse. Now it is fine so I am thinking it was gunk in the pipes. You never know, it might be something really simple like that.
Thanks Babyfish, we are going to have a right good play with it and see if we can see whats what, thanks for your suggestion, much appreciated.. as is all help on this site x
------------- Enjoyed tenting,
Enjoyed trailer-tenting,
Now loving caravanning 😊😊
We had water coming from the cold tap so i just assumed that was sufficient, am i wrong? should i run the hot tap until theres a steady flow and then switch the heater on? also, when it is fixed, do i leave it on constantly throughout the holiday or only switch it on when i know i'll need it? sorry for all the q's but i really am a bit clueless xx
------------- Enjoyed tenting,
Enjoyed trailer-tenting,
Now loving caravanning 😊😊
Quote: Originally posted by saz121299 on 18/8/2013
We had water coming from the cold tap so i just assumed that was sufficient, am i wrong? should i run the hot tap until theres a steady flow and then switch the heater on? also, when it is fixed, do i leave it on constantly throughout the holiday or only switch it on when i know i'll need it? sorry for all the q's but i really am a bit clueless xx
Turn on the water heater (Make sure the flue cover is off!! I have done that too!!) turn the tap to hot, it will splutter etc until the heater tank is full, as soon as you get a constant flow whilst in the hot position the flowing water will be cold but the tank will be full, give it 30 mins or so then your water should be piping hot (Depending on what temp tou set the water) Then just leave it and use as and when...I regards to the leak I had a similar situation with the hot pipe and luckily for me it was just a case of it had come loose from the base of the tap and it was just a case of pushing it back firmly into position.
Hopefully that helps.
Cheers
Paul
------------- I refuse to join any club that would have ME as a member!! (Graucho Marx)
Thanks PW555, will drag the old girl out and give it a go... she is currently in a place where im unable to put a vessell full of water near enough to use the whale pump so will probably be next weekend....the previous owners said it worked so i must have been doing something wrong....thank goodness for this site, we would all be in a lot of strife without it!, thanks again xx
------------- Enjoyed tenting,
Enjoyed trailer-tenting,
Now loving caravanning 😊😊
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Topic: Minor problems on first holiday :-(
also under the sink is a leak and it smells like clean water so i kept kitchen roll there but it got wet quite quickly and i could here a regular drip drip sound, cant seem to get to it to fix it though as its a small thin space underneath the sink
