Draining down the caravan using Floë
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- Опубліковано 21 лип 2024
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Drained down my van last week with the Flo kit, 2 Litres collected, definitely worth the cost. I normally do as you did with the taps open and the inboard tanl emptied. Ran over 150 miles home and still got the 2 Litres over a week later.No brainer.
I made my own drain down kit from a piece of pipe, a cut down car tyre valve and a 10mm pipe connector - total cost £2.95.
I bought a new caravan 11 years ago, and used a floe every year since. Works beautifully, it’s not just about winter freezing, it’s about keeping bacteria away from condensation and water in standing pipes. We previously never cleared our previous van, and after a few short years the internal pipes were quite manky, so we could never use the cold taps for fresh water for drinks or brushing teeth. For the sake on a one off purchase, I always use a flow kit.
I've been caravanning for 21 years and I've just left the taps open when driving and never had a problem.
Hi Dan, have been using one of these for the last three years and I was surprised how much water it removed, it's not when the water freezes it's when it thaws it dose the damage. Most caravans are designed to take up to 22 - 25 psi so they allow a good safety margin, keep up the good work well done mate.
Another great video Dan. I used one of these a couple of years ago I was amazed how much water I got out but I also thought that if I leave all of the taps and drains open any water left in the pipes would have space to expand if frozen without causing damage to the pipe work so not done it since.
Thank you it was a real eye opener and will look at doing this in the winter. Thanks for taking the time to do the videos really appropriate and enjoy them.
I'm new to Caravaning Dan and had never given it a thought. It's something I would consider. Cheers.
Just did drain down using the Floe for the first time today, super easy and a great job 👍well worth the investment. FYI I used a bicycle track pump to pressure the system, worked very well.
Another great video, thank you Dan. I drain down the water every time we go away and use Puriclean if the caravan has been standing for more than a month but cannot get rid of the rotten eggs, dirty drain smell we get whenever I put the Truma boiler on to heat the hot water. It's a Bailey Pursuit 2 years old and we bought it in Dec. It had one owner who found it too small and then stood on the sales site for 6 months or more. We have had it serviced and dust extracted the boiler. Don't know what else to do. Otherwise we are enjoying our ventures away and not having to put away wet canvas! You have been a god send with your tips and hints, keep up the good work. Thank you
I've been using the shower hose with a pump and leisure inflatable adaptor stuffed in the end of the hose with the shower head removed. Pressurise the system, close the shower valve and go open a tap at a time. This works for us as our van has a none return valve on the water inlet so allows the system to be pressurised.
You can also just blow as hard as you can down the shower hose and close the shower valve to retain the pressure and repeat a few times, just as I used to to begin with.
Another great video, thanks!
Extremely useful thanks Dan. Like you we have been pretty fastidious in draining down the 'van after each trip, and also sterilising it. With an average 10 trips away each year, and for the first time this year we'll be using it in winter, it's a must
Great stuff Alan,
Glad this video helped.
Dan
Bought one of those when I bought the new caravan in June, never bothered before but after speaking to someone about how his pipes were damaged by frozen water even after draining down his system manually like I have always done I decided to get one, so glad I watched your video it proves the point
Glad to be of service
Dan
I've had water problems the last 2 winters - despite draining as best I could. Basically the inlet bridge split when the water froze. A mechanic told me about this piece of kit, and I've been pondering. This vid has shown me how easy and how effective it is. Thank you.
I have one of these Floe drain down kits. I have replaced the clear pipe with a 3ft length of hose pipe. This allows me to open the window above the water inlet and use the compressor in the van, without having to go outside each time I open a tap to blow through. This makes it a much easier and quicker method of draining down. I also use a battery operated compressor.
Such a basic idea yet so good, how many other people have done that, not many i reckon, well a lot less now after reading this
Great video, had a look at buying one but surprised by the retail price of £60! Basically you are paying £40 for a plastic car valve adaptor.
I just bought a Truma Inlet hose, took the filter off the end and fitted a 40mm car valve extender. All for less than £20!!!! and it works brilliantly.
Cheers Dan for your help. Have a good Christmas.👍
Excellent video, well presented and giving all the information we need.
Thank you for saving me the money. One of these just came up second hand for £25. We do the same as you say at the beginning: drain down on the way home and rely on that to save frost damage. It's worked for us for over 20 years with no problems. Our van is stored on a farm storage site, not near any buildings. So long as all the taps are open there should be enough room in the pipes for the ice to expand. The only time we had problems was with a new van with an external shower fitting next to the water inlet. Water was trapped inside the fitting and it split open during the winter. I think this is clever marketing: telling you about frost damage and stale water. Just sterilise every spring, we don't even change the filter and we're still here!
I've never heard about draining down before. Didn't know it was somthing you should do as like you Dan I thought that if you opens everything there was no more water. Well I will be looking into it now. Thankyou. 😁
Hi Dan, we have just drained down this weekend after our weekend away, we have 4 more trips booked before xmas. I like you, open valves/taps before setting off home and let gravity do the work, this will be our 3rd winter and so far, never had a problem. I think this process would add a considerable amount of time to our 'dropping the caravan at storage' process and as mentioned 4 more outings this year, setting up in the dark is hard enough never mind inflating the water line in the dark when we get back.
HI Stephen, quite agree on the extra time,
BUT - the one thing that took me by surprise was the quality of the water, and being able to clean the pipes out thoroughly - this will make me drain down using the floe before we leave site. Also, with about a litre of water being removed from the caravan, you are also removing about 1Kg of weight too.
Small things worth considering.
Take care
Dan
Hi Dan, Great video. I made a kit from a tyre valve inserted & jubilee clipped into a 3/8” bore hose, I fitted a 3/8”BSP female hose insert to the other end & used a 3/8”x 1/2”BSP male/male adaptor to fit it to the external Truman dog shower hose on the BC4 Plus. Just unscrewed the shower head and screwed on the kit, then used it on the Truman water inlet. Worked a treat! 😊
In my opinion another great video Dan. Bought a whale floe down kit and just drained my caravan and it blew out 1100 ml. I'd rather be safe than sorry. Top Man, thanks, Mark
Thank you for this tip I use a similar device on my freedom jet stream to day and I was surprise on how much water came out of the van, worth the investment I would say. 🙂
Hello
I bought a 2020 Freedom Jetstream Twinsport in August.
I've had the c'van serviced and done some 'winter- ising' myself already but think I might buy one of these kits (even if it's on the £dear side...)
How did you find draining down the Truma water heater? Martin Kitchin
I brought my one three years ago from eBay for £30. And I use it twice a year. It's great for keeping the pipes clean.
Spot on, that was the one bit that took me by surprise.
Hopefully the pipes will be even cleaner now....
Dan
That looks like a really therapeutic job! Can I come and watch next time! 😬
um, you can help... or heckle me ;-)
Take care
Dan
Thanks for the video Dan. I had looked at these with the same scepticism, but think I might invest now. One other comment, you mentioned that you will be sterilising pipe work; would be very useful if you could demonstrate how you do this.
Sure thing Roger, it is a part of my Spring time checks video, have a search for that. I will do a separate video on sterilising though.
Take care
Dan
Was only looking at this yesterday great to see what you think. Might just have to get one when the wife isn't looking.
I've just bought my first caravan because of covid. Living in it when I'm away for work. Had to learn pretty quickly about caravans, which I knew nothing about. Your channel has been absolutely brilliant for tips, so thank you. I bought this because of this vlog and use it once sweet to clear out the pipes before going home. It's a coincidence, as I found your channel after I bought my caravan. I have a 2010 lunar clubman SI, which I think k you had a similar van.
Can I turn the yellow switch under the settee up to drain out the hot water, or is this not seem as best practice? Thank you
How did I miss this vid. Amazing info Dan thank you. I’ll be getting one now 👌👌
Hi Dan. Thought I would pass on a tip from a friend of mine. If you extend the pipe from the floe to the pump by a metre or so you can then use the pump inside the caravan by passing it through a window. This makes the job far easier. He tried this at the weekend and it worked perfectly. Cheers Steve
great tip, I've since made a change to the trigger. Ive added a 12v socket to the terminals of the floe / truma pistol, so I can plug the pump into this. This means that i can use the pump switch in the caravan to switch on and off the pump. Its perfect as when i restart it, the compressor bursts back into life.
I may cover this in a future video.
Cheers Steve, hope you are well
Dan
That’s a really good idea. Anything that makes caravanning easier is a good thing in my book. A video explaining what you have done is a great idea.
A useful review. 850ml of water collected from a drained system is impressive. 👍
A useful bit of information which is a failsafe for your boiler and pipework cleanliness. well worth a watch.
Thank you Bernie, glad you found it useful.
Dan
Great video Dan and thanks for stressing the importance of draining down in the winter month.
Interesting bit of kit. I looked on their website and they have a different kit for motorhome. That involves a bit of re-plumbing because of the onboard water tank you have to out in a shut off valve and a tee-piece. Also the drain-down procedure for motorhomes seems a bit of a palaver if, like us, you use the van all year round.
When I drain down at the end of the season, I put the van nose down, open the drain valve , close all the taps except shower, remove shower head then blow down the shower tube, turn off when out of breath, then reopen, repeat as necessary until no more water emerges, signified by no pressure resistance. Seems to work if a little time consuming.
Good video Dan
I have a floe and wouldn't be without it. They are a little bit pricey, but weighing up how much it would cost for repairs, I think it is a good investment. I was supposed how much water came out that was still in the system.
Quite agree Dave, i was amazed how much came out.
Thanks for popping by
Take care
Dan
Great informational video thanks Dan, looks like a must have item to me. Off to search the net and buy one!
great stuff. Glad it helped
Take care
Dan
As I'm new to caravans I have really learnt a lot from your videos - thank you. I can a question: my 2001 caravan shows a green light for the water pump when I have my taps open. If I drain down and leave the taps open to allow for expansion over winter - am I burning out something which is indicated by the light? Wonder if you might have any ideas - I don't have the caravan's manual. Thank you
good vid but surely using a compressor designed for car tyres is introducing oil particulates and other nasty's from the compressors internal structure to your drinking water system? Its not food grade compressed air. So do you now need to flush you system with a degreasing agent?Just a thought as its advice that could potentially bring harm. thank you for all of you vids they are one of the reasons I have a van so cheers.
Hi Steve, thats a fair point. I'll discuss this with the makers of Floe, and see what they say.
Take care
Dan
After having water problems 3 years in a row I am definitely going to invest in one of these drain-down systems. Enjoyed the video and useful tips. After draining cold water from the first tap do you leave it open or closed before draining hot water, didn't show on video, thanks, Garry.
I've been looking into these to see if they're worth having? Great video by the way, helped me make the decision to get one. Thanks again
Glad I could help!
Been caravaning for years and l am the same as you just open taps ..my caravan is just a year old so l am going to invest in this tomorrow cost £50
i suppose that would be a good idea if you have any water leaks in your pipework . The reason I am asking is, my pump keeps kicking in every 5 mins. So if i connected one of these i would hear air escaping. Worth a thought.
Good point - How about once teh system is pressurised going around some of the joints with some water & detergent - to watch for bubbles etc?
hi , new to caravanning can i do this off the battery power or do i need to be mains supply , p.s. finding your video's very useful indeed many thanks
Interesting stuff Dan I was surprised how much water came out
Cheers
Jon
Absolutely - i was disgusted on the quality of the water too !
D
Made my own with a truma connector, a valve and a union clip. Cost about a tenner and works really well.
Would it work for us as we have an onboard water tank and no option not to use it
I made something similar to this year's ago but for the amount of water it was fetching out it just wasn't worth the hassle I also mounted my internal water pump on a removable board so I can remove it from the Caravan and store it in the warm
i've just got one and i travelled home last weekend with the taps open, but when i did this today, i got nearly 3 litres from the system, nearly all of which came out of the Kitchen sink tap. everyone here seems to be worried about frost damage, yes that's one point, but with the summer we have just had, if you don't use your van for a few weeks or more and the temperature of the standing water exceeds 20 deg C then there is a very real risk that legionella in the water could multiply to dangerous levels within 1 - 2 weeks. i for one am sold on this device just for that.
Just received mine having already had an issue with a blown pipe due to frost. I really makes sense
Hi Dan, don't know if you did it but you also need to blow out the water heater tank as well with the dump valve.we share ours with the inlaws= half price.
Hi Bert, yes indeed. As I stated in the video, i did this off camera.
Good job on sharing it, thats a great idea !!
Take care
Dan
You done all the taps,but can you tell me when you empty the water tank ?.
In Canada we also empty and pour antifreeze down our drain lines ie sink toilet as well. If it freezes water will crack these pipes and valves too. Fixed one this spring That's a neat gadget. We also use air compressors to blow out our lines the anti freeze is pumped in via the water pump.
ah, thanks for sharing Nadine. Its great to hear how other parts of the world drain down, and i suppose you have a lot colder winters than us too.
Thanks for popping by.
Take care
Dan
Due to your video I'm seriously thinking of buying one (£40.00 from Go Outdoors). The black bits in the water was an eyeopener.
Hi , love the channel and came across this, I ( being a retired plumber ) always wonder why these units try to push the water up hill, I pressurise my system via the shower hose and vent it via the drain down valve, seems to get more water out than these ‘systems’ appear to, mine is home made using a tyre valve and some spare plumbing fittings into the shower hose after removing the shower head, seems more logical to push the water out downwards rather than upwards 😜
Yes learned the hard way about draining water!!!! I'm not sure this system would work for me as it would feed into a large storage tank (20l or so) and wouldn't have enough pressure to push the water out. I would need to hook it up to the kitchen or bathroom tap!
I purchased one of these to empty my system and did a brilliant job 6 months ago now, went back today after lockdown to reconnect system only to find the water wouldn’t come through and all I could here was a faint gurgling. I spent 1/2 an hour trying to solve problem only to realise that because system was dry, the filter had dried up as well and blocked solid, after changing to a new filter, hey presto problem sorted full flowing water, so it might be worth noting for future, hope this helps someone.
Great video, very surprised on the amount of water you got out of your system. I have always used a very old product, been on the market for years, its called Gravity and so far its worked fine, but would be very interested to see how much water is still left in my system. I will say that my drain is at the front of my van, so when left in storage, its always left nose down and like you ,I always drain before leaving site.
Ha, yep I've been using that very same product for many years. we store nose down, to aide water run off, and even after 200 miles of wobbling, sitting nose down and all taps open, i still was able to remove 850ml of water.
Its been brilliant at helping with the cleaning of the pipes though. That is a real plus point.
Dan
Dan just wondered if you know if you need to connect the truma floe kit to both the waterline inlet and the inlet when using a aqua roll, Found no vlogs anywhere even from dealers to say if you connect to one or both inlets
Hi Dan, Have you ever considered moving the location of the water drain valve to make it easier to get too? Cheers, Nick
Hi Nick, not on the current van, but a couple ive seen have been well hidden. Not sure how easy that would be tbh.
Are thesesuitable for larger static caravans.....and is there a different adapter needed
£45 it is a bit expensive, as you said, particularly if you have had no problems without it. As for cleaning the pipes, do you not flush them out at the beginning of the season anyway?
HI,
yes I do flush out at the beginning of each season - in fact i cleaned the system in July this year, but the force of blowing through seems to have removed more "gunk" from the pipes. It does seem that our filthy pipes is in relation to the shower, i suppose because we just don't use it that often.
Dan
Do you reckon you could do this every time you have used your caravan or just when you store it over cold months
i think we would do it quite often if we knew the van would be unused for a couple of months as it will keep the pipes clean.
Dan
Hi some advice please we are new to caravanning, we just got our first one , do you drain it first then sterilise the pipe work or the other way around please
Thanks
Okay I know that this is three years old (I'm having a lazy day), but three years on has the drain down water improved or is it still yuk!
A very good and clear review..thanks
Just wondering if I left the taps open if my vehicle does freeze up wouldn’t the water expand throughout the pipe work?
Good vid Dan cheers, I am going to buy. I have a question tho. The only problem I have had with frost was it cracking round the bottom of the blue rinse pump for my toilet, I removed it last year re glued & had no problems but how do you really flush your toilet flush system to avoid frost damage? Any help would be appreciated. Marc.
Hi Marc, depending on the toilet you have will depend on the drain down tube. In a C250 / 260 you have a small rubber hose in the top of the cassette locker, use this to remove the vast majority of the flush liquid. Also run the flush pump until the pump is free of liquid. That will remove pretty much all fluid from the flush tank.
The man next door to us in the storage yard told me to put straight anti freeze into the tank to prevent it freezing.i did it last year and didnt have any problem with the toilet cistern.we stay in scotland where it gets very cold
Do you turn the pump off before you open your taps please
Quick question....the caravan is on a seasonal pitch, we try to get there at least every other weekend even during the winter ( why not, it's paid-for and it's nice n cosy) :-)
When we first flush the loo (thetford-swivel seat) a bit of mildew is ejected...much to the discust of my mrs!! Lol... is there anything i can do to eleviate this? TIA....jason.
HI Jason,
The black bits in the flush is quite common. Its not mildew, but an algae caused by the pink toilet flush chemical. Its easy to remove - watch my video here on cleaning the flush tank. ua-cam.com/video/3Wh5EzGaDWA/v-deo.html
Hope that helps.
Dan
Thank-you so much. Extremely helpful and informative as usual...keep up the amazing work...lovin it 😀
Hi there, may I say that I am new to caravan. Ownership. A family member has been caravaning for 35 years. Red nose member, the works.
I recall them using puriclean at the end of the season. To my knowledge there was never a problem. Now deceased so can't ask them. Therefore... This device probably never used. With your charcoal filter, is it necessary? Or a luxery item? Thank you kindly.
That’s the water that the bacteria are left to grow in! If the system is now dry do you still need to sterilise it ?
could you make your own drain down kit ??????
I just have a typical hozelock pipe connection with an on board shurflo pump. Is there anyway I can use this? Many thanks Dan great video. Charlie.
HI Charlie, to be completely honest I don't know. It might be worth asking them directly. I do know that they have "motorhome" versions that accommodate onboard tanks and inboard pumps, so maybe these might be the way to go. Either way - i would contact them and ask this very question.
Thanks
Dan
The Trudgians ok will do! Thanks! 😉
Hi Dan just to let you and others know there is an attachment available as you said after having spoken to Jason at Floe via email and he sent me the link as follows thanks. www.keepfloeing.1gbx.com/categories/Park%20&%20Home/products/APT1101/Flo%C3%AB+Water+Drainage+System+for+Park+and+Holiday+Homes/
I wonder if the black bits could be coming from your charcoal filter ?
Jim Arnott I
I think some of them are Jim, also watching the footage back, the muck came out of the shower pipes, which kind of makes sense as we just don't use it that often, so the pipes always have standing water etc.
Dan
Hi our caravan is at a storage site with no access to a hose is there a way to do this without a hose pipe? We can’t get the caravan near to our house.
The 15 p.s.i. pressure will expand plastic pipe work and shower pipe and when pressure is relieved 'crud' will come away.
Your pipework is never subjected to this pressure normally. I wonder what manufacturers pressure test systems to ?
There are good and bad points, keep your pipes clean and drain down in the winter is my take on this. Save £45!!
Hi Alan,
Thanks for your comment - i understand the water systems are tested at 2bar, (30psi) - certainly for the inline Whale Pressure switch thats its upper limit of operating. The 12mm push fit connections (the weakest point) are rated at 3bar, which honestly astounded me !! Not sure on the actual pipework, but would assume it could tolerate more than 1bar of pressure (certainly when we get those annoying air bubbles in the system)
Yes - agree with the toilet cassette cleaning lol.
thanks for your comment !!
take care
dan
what about the waste pipes?
🤔 With any small amounts of water that remain throughout (we drive for miles after last trip with taps etc all left open for winter the water gets well cleared out with the road vibration) such water can easily expand if it needs to ice damaging nothing.
Cheers for taking a punt Dan, two outcomes 1. Mass sales or 2. You save your viewers £45. The value of impartial reviews. Did Mrs T know?
Ha, she does now ;-)
Take care
Dan
Very interesting video
Seems expensive for what it is. I'd be interested to know if the 850mL came out AFTER you did your journey home with taps open etc.
yes, the taps are always left open after we leave site, and this 850mL was after a 95 mile tow home the previous week. Hope that helps.
@@TheTrudgians Thanks for your reply - and for this and all the other videos that you've posted. Two weeks ago I bought my first caravan - a 2008 Baily Senator Wyoming. I have had a very steep learning curve, flattened in no small way by your YT content, so thank you again.
The Germans just attach a party balloon filled with air (you blow it up) to each tap and the air blows the water back out of each pipe....
A skipper told me to put 2 - 3 l Vodka in the "empty" system. This is cheap and will keep the watersystem sterile and frost-resisting. And there are some more options to apply vodka ... :-)
An interesting idea but I wonder what problem it is trying to solve. I have been caravanning for more than 30 years and have never had a frost problem even when the temperature went down to -10degC, I also suggest that the water bits would remain even after you have completely evacuated all of the water so that the next time you will see them again. Thanks for the review.
Hi Mike, i agree.
We have never had an issue, and if the truth be told it would be unlikely that we would use this device for draining down. I think I would use this device to blow water through and help with the cleaning of the pipes. It certainly did push through a lot of "bits" which, when i reviewed the footage seemed to come from the shower. Which kind of makes sense as we don't use the shower that often.
Dan
It's not trying to solve a problem. It's preventing 2 potential problems. 1. No chance of freezing if there's nothing there to freeze but if you're happy to chance it, fair enough. The best is number 2. It prevents the water lying in the pipes from becoming stagnant because there's no water lying in them. I bought one and always use it and I'd highly recommend it.
The Trudgians Dan, I also have a clubman and find the pipe on the floe is long enough for the pump to rest on the window ledge. That way I can do all taps etc from inside the van and without tooing and froing in and out. Try it might just save your legs!
It depends on your caravan water system, my Swift has a diaphragm pump, poor drain down (my fault) resulted in this very expensive pump failing due to frost damage. I'll be investing in one of these gadgets and will use it prior to putting my caravan into winter storage.
What would be good is if camp sites let them out when leaving for say £1 a time as it is only really something you would use once at the end of the season so not worth the money in my opinion but would hire it for £1
Thats a great idea !
Take care
Dan
you forgot to mention the cost of a air compressor as well
Why would I mention the cost of a tyre inflator? Don’t you have one already in your car ?
bet most people dont have one this what not a go at you just trying to point out extra cost if you dont one a compressor
Ouch. Expensive. Wonder if I could make up my own contraption with an old water pump connection and bits and bobs from the shed..hmmmm
Hi, Let me know ho you get on.
Take care
Dan
£45 down the drain made mine from old tyre valve and old it of hose & spare hose clip cost hee haw
Somebody will invent an automated machine to empty cassette toilets next and charge people £2 to use it, just watch !!!
Sorry, great instructional video by the way, please keep them coming. AJ
LOL
They already have, Thetford have them in Europe
I'm a plumber and the amount of water remaining in your system will do no harm and this gadget is a total waste of 45 quid. The dirt in your water is from the gadget pushing water out the tank forcing sediment with it.
Hi Cailean,
Thanks for your message. Do you think the sediment is from the tank, as unto the point of filming i did not open the hot water side of the mixer taps or shower etc.
Im pretty sure I won't be using it again for draining down, after all I've not had a problem thus far, but i would use this to clean the pipes out etc. It looks like the sediment and general crud is from the shower, which kind of makes sense to me as we rarely use the shower, thus water just sits in those pipes etc.
Thanks for your feedback, you probably know a lot more than me in this field.
Take care
Dan
Keeping a little water in your system will do no harm, in fact it will help to keep O rings and seals etc. lubricated. Otherwise they would dry out and crack. A full tank of water can burst, as when the water freezes and expands as ice, it has nowhere to go. A little water is not a risk. All systems will experience a build of sediment in low points and especially on unused appliances such as your shower. Try running it on full flow in the hottest setting and the hot water should flush it out, then follow this with the cold. Do this once a month during the touring season. A wee tip, is to remove your showerhead from the hose, both in the caravan and in your home and pop it in the dishwasher. This will clear the jets and kill the bacteria that builds up within them. You could also blank off the pipes at source and remove the shower, if you're never going to use it. Shower Removal.......I can see another good vid from you! I've removed the top bunk in mine after watching your previous vid, great tip thank you! Showers just don't run long enough off an Aquaroll for a family and unless it's a fully serviced pitch with a mains water hook up, they are pretty pointless. Thanks Dan for the brilliant videos, which have helped me many times.
Z
Made my own bought water inlet pipe ebay £5 cut filter off the end tyre valve from Kwik fit put tyre valve in end of pipe job done works perfect