I had been meaning for a long time to do a check on my van after seeing this video. Now I have just gotten around to it. I bought a water meter from Hoselink. It's a bit different to yours but does the same job. My 2023 Windsor 196RD sales sheet shows it has 2 x 82lt tanks. They only have one filler inlet and the tanks fill and drain at the same time. I emptied them as much as possible and then set up the meter and filled them to overflow. I measured 160lt from empty to full, so looks like they do OK. I checked the water meter with a calibrated bucket, like you did. We have a BMPRO TREK 3 display in our van. It has 4 bars. Bar 1 < 75lt, bar 2 on at 75lt, bar 3 on at 100lt, and bar 3 on at 130lt. Thought you might be interested.

@sepsadventures

5 ай бұрын

Very interesting must be our set up that doesn’t allow the tanks to fill to their stated maximum. I have also noticed our trek 3 display is not accurate. We have two gauges that never show the same level even though the same amount of water goes into each tank and the pump draws from both tanks at the same time. Thanks for the info. Cheers!

Excellent analysis. Thank you. My two tank fill caps are one above the other. I fill the lower tube 1st. When full, the water flows out of the inlet tube (not the overflow of the tank itself). I then fill via the upper tube until it overflows. As yet, I've not used a flow meter. I too have worked on a combined tank weight of 180ltrs as part of my overall ATM/GTM. I might check one of these days. My wife and I can get about 4 or 5 days out of the tanks assuming we are water conscious when travelling.

@sepsadventures

Жыл бұрын

Glad you found the vid useful and thanks for your comment. Cheers!

What a great video, & something that you just accept what we’re all told.

@sepsadventures

Жыл бұрын

Glad you got something out of it. Cheers!

Breather hoses need to be extended to same height as the filler ports on exterior of van

@sepsadventures

Жыл бұрын

Good solution to increase capacity that I haven’t thought of. Thanks for your suggestion. Cheers.

@davecooper4739

Жыл бұрын

Hi Sep, I was going to say to put a hose between the two tanks on the over flow outlets. I’m pretty sure my 2014 Avan Frances has them joined , it has 2x95, as I only have one fill point and when I fill them the water comes back out the fill point when they’re full. Saying that, I haven’t got a flow meter. I’ll try get one locally and let you know the outcome.

@sepsadventures

Жыл бұрын

@@davecooper4739 thanks for the solution. Cheers!

Very interesting. I will be getting one of those flow meters. After just having a van weighed we found out that we will have to travel with 1 tank empty and the other with about 30l in it. We have done a cull of gear etc but still our van is pushing the legal limit. If our tanks don’t hold 95 we may need to travel empty 🤔

@sepsadventures

Жыл бұрын

I also run right on the limit and was very surprised when I calculated the water tank volume. It’s good that you checked your weights as there would be many vans and cars out there unknowingly overloaded and unaware of the risks they are taking. Glad you found it helpful and thanks for your comment. Cheers!

@richardflywills4155

Жыл бұрын

@@sepsadventures so today I worked it out with stopwatch etc and will grab a flow meter on way through Mildura next week to confirm my measurements. Both 95L tanks will only hold 80l with a usable 70l as pump won’t draw approx last 10l. Which in weight is only 160kg not 190kg if it was the true 95l per tank. So 30kg difference which is huge when to be legal I need to drop 150kg in total on van ATM.

@sepsadventures

Жыл бұрын

@@richardflywills4155 its a bit misleading when caravans are advertised as having 2 x 95 litre water tanks as I would expect them to hold 95 litres each when in fact they may not. I also was calculating weights based on 95 litres each when I first picked up our van. Glad it helped and thanks for your reply. Cheers!

Very interesting , I wonder what the caravan manufacturers have to say about that ? Do they have some reason for it being 20 litres short perhaps? I also really like your pineapple shirt - is it vintage ? It looks classic vintage.

@sepsadventures

Жыл бұрын

It is my opinion that the location of the suction and overflow pipe in the tank effects the volume of water also the shirt is my favourite. Thanks for your comment. Cheers!

Hi. Just wondered if the shortfall is the water left in the tank below the point where the pump takes the water out.. It cant get all the water out of the tank for most set ups i have looked at.

@sepsadventures

Жыл бұрын

Yes, you are correct. It appears no matter what volumes are stamped on the tank or what they are advertised to hold the amount that you can expect to get out of them will be less, how much less will depend on the set up. Thanks for your comment.Cheers!

Our tanks are a pathetic design. The main problem is the outlets to the pump are set up from the bottom so no way you can even drain them empty. I've seen some tanks on other brands where the outlets are in a drop down section on the end of the tanks. I use a flow meter and fill from the bottom of the tanks and definitely cannot get anywhere near the 180 ltr we are supposed to have access to.

@sepsadventures

Жыл бұрын

Unfortunately manufacturers of vans do what they think will work for their vans and sometimes may not choose the best option for various reasons. It’s good that you know the volume you can carry then you can allow for your usage. Cheers!