Date: Wed, 17 Aug 2011 10:38:42 -0500
Reply-To: mcneely4@COX.NET
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Dave Mcneely <mcneely4@COX.NET>
Subject: Re: Bottom-filling water tank
In-Reply-To: <CB2B64A0D949484AAE3951AC175B4274@RON>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=utf-8
---- The Bus Depot <vanagon@BUSDEPOT.COM> wrote:
> > Trevor, if the inlet could be made so that it allows a faster
> > feed, that would be great. Of course, that would simply
> > entail a larger opening at the inlet, larger diameter inlet
> > tube, and larger opening into the tank. It has always seemed
> > absurd that the inlet is so inadequate. I always fill my
> > tank through the tank lid inside, but there is always risk of
> > getting the cabinets wet.
>
>
> Sounds like a lot of hassle to me. Personally, the time it takes to fill
> the tank via the inlet has never bothered me at all. Sure it's a bit slow,
> and if I'd designed it I'd have used a larger tube. But it still fills in,
> what, 5 minutes or so? If I was so rushed that I couldn't spare 5 minutes,
> I wouldn't be driving a Vanagon in the first place. :-) I put the hose in,
> do my quick pre-trip walk-around (coolant level, oil level, tire pressure),
> and by the time I'm done it's just about full. My last Westy had a busted
> inlet hose that I never got around to fixing, so I had to fill it from the
> top opening in the tank, and I found that much less convenient.
>
Please explain to me how you get the tank to fill in 5 minutes? Mine takes 20-25 depending on how much water is already in it. If nearly empty, it takes over 30. I have tried to use one of the plastic valves with a tube on the end sold at RV stores. The tube is too large a diameter to fit into the inlet sufficiently deep. With that thing I have to stand and hold it in the inlet, carefully controlling flow rate to get maximum flow in without backup. Not easy. I tried to use a funnel. The inlet won't accept the water fast enough to avoid gross spillage. The angle of the inlet opening is too low to allow a funnel to properly fit. The whole damned thing is just poorly designed and needs a complete overhaul. You'd think that a vehicle that was sold for so many years, someone at the conversion plant would have figured out that the inlet was a piece of crap, and redesigned it to be adequate. I can fill the tank from inside in 5 minutes or so. Oh well.
mcneely
> - Ron Salmon
> The Bus Depot, Inc.
> www.busdepot.com
> (215) 234-VWVW
>
> _____________________________________________
> Toll-Free for Orders by PART # : 1-866-BUS-DEPOT
--
David McNeely
|