Water connections review

Initial situation

This motorhome has more than 30 years under its belt, and despite the fact that the motor was in generally great shape, the plastic elements of the water system were by now totally dry and hard.

Some connectors were leaking, so I decided to do a massive overhaul of the water system, keeping the healthy elements (probably bought by some previous owner), the pump, and the expansion vessel.

Jobs

• Tubes replaced with new transparent ones to facilitate visual checking for algae and air bubbles.
• Replaced the three-way connectors with 2 main conduits (one for cold lines and one for hot water lines) where all the other tubes connect.
• Added 2 tubes (below the water level) connected to the water drain valve.
• Gas boiler replaced with an electric one (SVANS 8L 200W 12V, €300).

Considerations after some years

Tubes and connections

The main difference between the 2 systems, which I didn’t consider before doing this job, was the hot water line: the three-way connectors ensured that hot water could reach the taps in the minimum required time, although they make the system totally a mess. With the new system, the hot water needs to completely fill the hot water conduit before reaching the tap line, wasting at least 1/2 liter of water. The other mistake may be the tube choice: although the pressure inside the system is low, the simple, flexible tubes I mounted tend to expand when the system is under pressure. Not a big problem, but this makes the hot water line problem worse. Furthermore, the installation was pretty hard: the sharp curves that some connections needed caused the tubes to kink. I should have used reinforced mesh tubes or harder tubes.

Anyway, the new water system never gave me any trouble, and that’s the important thing.

Boiler

The electric boiler is paradise. Although it consumes 15-20% of the battery for each shower, it never stops, it never jams, it never smells like the gas one did. The only con: it would be even more useful if it were made in dual mode, gas or 12V. Sometimes I had to take a cold shower because I was low on energy.

Suggestions for this job

• Use semi-rigid or reinforced mesh tubes
• Keep in mind the volume “wasted” inside the system: use the shortest possible paths and minimal connectors
• Watch out for frost: tubes need to stay inside the vehicle to avoid freezing
• Add a filter in the water tank or before the pump to avoid damaging the pump
• Rinse the system with (diluted) bleach twice a year to remove the algae film around the tubes, or install UV lamps in the tank
• If you have enough battery capacity, install an electric boiler. But if you have the budget, it’s better to install a dual-mode boiler (gas/electric).