We have had luck escape from a flood.

Submitted: Tuesday, Dec 18, 2012 at 07:50
ThreadID: 128452 Views:2999 Replies:4 FollowUps:0
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We are camped at our new small property in Rylstone NSW and in the process of converting a two-story shed into a house, which will be an escape from city life when we are not enjoying the life on the road with a Bushtracker
We had been ‘hard at it’ all day & were on our way to town (20 minutes) for a ‘nosh- up’.
I had just had a shower, (we are connected to tank water,) & was getting dressed, when the Flojet pump started running.
This shouldn’t be happening, so I called to Pat to switch it off.

The slider holding the outlet port of the pump had become unlatched allowing the outlet port to come out and discharge water everywhere!
In the few seconds it was running, we had a lot of water to mop-up.
What worries me, if this had happened 5 minutes later, since we are connected to a 20,000 litre rain water tank, while we were away for about two & a half hours, we could have had the van flooded with a couple of thousand litres!!

Has anyone experienced an outlet port coming free? This is a first for us, & should we maybe put a cable tie around the slider to keep it in?

I checked the pressure generated by the pump on a plumbers pressure gauge at 45 psi. The book says the rating of the Flojet is 35 psi, so maybe we need a new pressure switch??

Any advice or suggestions?

Neil & Pat
A Bushtracker (or BT) is a "Boys Toy"

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Reply By: Gone Bush - Tuesday, Dec 18, 2012 at 07:59

Tuesday, Dec 18, 2012 at 07:59
Hullo Neil & Pat,

When we leave our van unattended, we always turn off all the rocker switches except the one for the fridge. This means that the pumps can't run at all.

If we are in a van park, we sometimes also turn off the tap for the park's water supply, just in case something fails.

I hope this helps.

cheers
AnswerID: 585170

Reply By: Spydor - Tuesday, Dec 18, 2012 at 20:03

Tuesday, Dec 18, 2012 at 20:03
Hi Neil & Pat,
I agree with Stephen. We have a "hard & fast" rule. We NEVER leave the van without turning off all switches other than the fridge. Even if going next door to another van for a few minutes. This saved us once when we were out bush with limited water. When we came back from a gorge walk, I turned the switches on and one pump started discharging water into the sink cupboard. Apart from the inconvenience, we would have had a lot less water left for the rest of the trip. Cheers Spydor & Robyn
Spydor
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Reply By: Bobrovin - Wednesday, Dec 19, 2012 at 08:00

Wednesday, Dec 19, 2012 at 08:00
Same as Stephen And Spydor
Never go away from the van without turning off all the rockers except fridge. A fitting can come off anywhere in the system at any time or a hidden hose could rub through.
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Reply By: Fred & Marj - Wednesday, Dec 19, 2012 at 19:53

Wednesday, Dec 19, 2012 at 19:53
Hi Neil

I have had the problem especially after a really rough trip - like the others we always have the pump circuit breaker off when travelling and away from van - and after a rough stretch I always check the pump before swithing it on again. I have also replaced the hose fittings as they tend to wear over time and then the catch does work itself loose.

Regards

Wayne



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