Town Water Pressure - Non potable taps

PLEASE NOTE:
This requires a pressure reducer, and not a cheap version. The pumps and water heater are not designed for town water pressure.... The entire plumbing system is at risk, and if any part fails you could have a flooded van...

ALSO: We have reports of high pressure of 200 psi at night and water hammer, in some smaller town water systems that have cranked it up due to heavy water use during the day... Evidently some water works do work at night that results in this higher pressure.... This plays havoc with town water hookups...

There have been problems in the past, failures of pressure reducers, and problems. That is why we do not put them on as standard equipment... And there is not one in my own van....

ONE MORE THING ON HEALTH ISSUE: Actually, in my view, this whole pressure water town inlet thing is more for people living full time in a park, not for people that are traveling and passing through, that really would be better off keeping the water fresh in their tanks by using them and turning it over.... It is really a better and healthier way to live, turning over the water in your tanks on a weekly basis in a park, rather than having it go bad... I will turn over the water in the tanks and fill them on a weekly basis. There were a number of health problems on yachts the same way, traced down to tanks left with old water in them growing unwanted fungus and micro-organisms like anaerobic bacteria, so that is my voice of experience on the matter.

Sometimes people will disagree, because they only have part of the picture, say on something like this they think of it just on the convenience side of things.... Yes, it is easier from just that point of view... But there is a mechanical risk to be appraised of and yes it has happened... And there is a health consideration to be appraised of.... And yes that has happened as well...!

I guess that is my job, to try and fill in the missing pieces, so you can make the right choice for yourselves....

Ranger

Hi Richo,

I'm with Steve!

On a previous 'van with town water supply provided as standard, I went thru 2 pressure control (reducing) valves in a short period. As the plumbing was supposedly designed for a "reasonable" pressure (unstated by that van builder) we didnot flood the van or anything like that but 2 PCV failures in a couple of months is a warning re town supplies and the pressure thereof.

Good luck and cheers
from the 'Paca People

I use a modified plumbing system to allow the use of "town water" when available instead of the non potable water tanks and pump. This improves water pressure control especially when showering and eliminates pump noise, accentuated by the fact the pumps are mounted on the mudguards which act as a “boom box”, this can be annoying to neighbours, and me, especially when the pumps are “hunting”.

2 points to be made!

Health Issue.

If you drink from your non potable water system then I would question why you went to the expense of having 2 water systems (potable (drinkable) and non potable (non drinkable)) installed in your BT. The potable system in my van remains as delivered. The argument that the non potable water will “go off” by not being used simply makes it “non potable”, no problem here that I can see!

Mechanical Damage.

My system actually runs at less pressure than the 35psi of the pump (call me if you would like an explanation of the test method – 0419 235 711), I use a good quality (adjustable) pressure reducer and an in-line filter (7 microns) and brass screw on hose fittings ( no plastic clip-on fittings).

Regards

Peter Richardson

I don't have a towns connection, and probably won't on my next van either, as I have heard of lots of cases of these failing or leaking.

But what would be really handy would be a snap lock inlet fitting as an alternate way to to fill the tanks , instead of juggling a hose in the stupid 'petrol tank' style inlet.

Phil