Date: Sun, 1 Oct 2000 19:52:59 -0700
Reply-To: Bill Davidson <wdavidson@THEGRID.NET>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Bill Davidson <wdavidson@THEGRID.NET>
Subject: Westy Water Filler Solution!
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Many people have reported having difficulty filling the Westy Water tank. I
have come up with a solution for the later model fillers... square black
plastic filler... plastic key opens top which hinges out and down.
First I identified the problem to be that black rubber baffle about an inch
inside the filler neck. This baffle was probably intended to keep things
like bugs and dust out of the water tank... but it also inhibits the entry
of water... I think it took me 15 or 20 minutes one time to fill the tank
from a hose... and still wasn't sure the tank was full because there is so
much spillage that it's not obvious if any water is going into the tank or
not! (not to mention the looks of people in small desert towns as I spill
their precious water out onto the ground!)
Solution... I took a pair of needle nose pliers... reached in and pulled out
the rubber baffle by breaking off the three directional plastic grill that
it mounts to.... careful to keep pieces out of the water tank... a good
reason not to use a hack saw that would allow plastic shavings into the
tank. You could also remove the entire filler unit, pull the fill tubing
from the back , and then cut the baffle/grill assembly out.
Now, to keep the bugs and dust out now that the rubber baffle is gone? Turns
out a simple 1 1/8 sink drain plug works perfectly (pick one with a low
profile)... actually better that the original rubber baffle that I removed.
Result? ...
Large water jug with a pour spout... the water filler will now take the
water as fast as the jug can supply it... no drips!
From a hose... no problem.. fill the tank in 2 or 3 minutes... no drips!
Want a shut off at the end of the hose... no problem... go to RV store and
buy the filler tube with valve ... the one that was always too big to fit
beyond the original rubber baffle...
Water from jugs with no spout? ... no problem... turns out the filler door
opens to form a funnel... it does leak at the bottom, but a short piece of
duct tape at the bottom edge of the door (after it's open) stops almost all
of that... just pour into the door opening of the filler!
One more solution.... want to fill from one of those really big 5 gallon
purified water jugs?... but don't want to hold 40 lbs. up while pouring?
My solution: I bought a small submersible pump at a RV parts place in
Sacramento (Model 160-8 made by Leisure Components 16730 Gridley Rd,
Cerritos, CA 90703). This 12 volt submersible will pump 3 gallons a
minute... hook it up to the mail end of a cigarette lighter plug (buy at
FLAPS) and you simply drop the pump into the jug (I measured one brand of 5
gallon jug to have a 1 5/8" inside diameter inlet... the diameter of the
pump is 1 1/2") and let it do the work of pumping the water into your tank.
(If certain brands of large jugs have openings smaller than the pump
diameter you can just pour the water into a jug with a larger opening... I
bought a 5 gallon collapsible at REI for this and other purposes... or just
pour directly into the van filler 'funnel' if you feel strong).
BTW this is the same pump that I have in my water tank so the 2nd one that I
use for filling from large jugs also acts as a spare in case the one inside
the water tank burns up while I'm out in a remote area.
So that's about it... no more fill problems!!!
Bill
