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Topic: Winter draining water system

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John4703

30/12/2022 at 8:31pm
Location: Glasgow
Outfit: Elddis Avante 454

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I fitted a Floe Drainage system. I've not used it often as we usually go away often all year. Yesterday I opened the drain on my hot water tank and opened the taps in the wash hand basin and kitchen sink and drove 50 miles home.
Today I switched on the Flow pump and I was surprised at how much water came out of the pipes.
I used to take the easy solution and leave a heater on while the caravan was in storage but with the huge increased costs of electric, I will be using the Floe a lot more. It is not cheap to purchase but if it stops any damage, it will be well worth having.

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We camped for years. In 2019 we bought an Elddis Avante 454. We like it as it is short (6.9m) and fits in our driveway and has a fixed bed.
We had 127 nights away in the caravan in 2023.

Richardfin

30/12/2022 at 9:20pm
Location: Cwmbran - Outfit Nr Llandridnod Wells
Outfit: Bailey Pageant Bordeaux S6

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I was amazed too watching at a You tube video at the amount of water that was expelled.
I could not get a Floe Drainage System delivered before I go back to the van to winterise it.

As a temporary measure I have made up something from my junk box and the the scrounged valve from a tire place. Hope this makes sense -

There is a piece of regular garden hose withe the tire valve at one end

in the other a short piece of copper pipe

the copper pipe is connected to a garden type tap (at the inlet)

hopefully the outlet from the tap will connect directly to hose I got for connecting the caravan inlet to a mains tap (it has a pressure reducing valve built in).

So hopefully my last job will be remove the leisure battery and connect my tire pump to valve and battery, opening each tap in turn to see what comes out

That's the plan, will post how it goes.

Rich

tango55

30/12/2022 at 11:38pm
Location: Lichfield
Outfit: Coachman Amara 450

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I purchased the Floe drain down kit for a Truma Ultraflow system a few months ago after watching the Trudgians YouTube video. I used it for the first time today and shockingly surprised just how much water was expelled from the system using the kit. The advise is to use a tyre inflator submitting a maximum pressure of no more than 15 psi. / 1 bar. As demonstrated in the video, I used a plastic paint kettle (small bucket) to observe any bits that were being flushed out of the water system and was amazed that the bucket was filled 3 times which is a lot of water left in the system that could freeze and cause severe frost damage and an unnecessary expense. I was also amazed how many black bits were visible in the water even though I sterilise the water system once a year with Puriclean. I also removed the shower head and hose leaving just the dual shower tap outlet exposed with no hose attached and the fountain of water that gushed up like a fireman's hose was unbelievable which I had to repeat the process several times to run it dry. Yes, it was somewhat expensive to buy at the time but having first hand experience and reporting on the positive results I would confirm that the device is well worth the investment to save problems in the long term. I won't hesitate to use it in the future prior to winterising the caravan merely because I've personally seen the evidence for myself. If anyone wants to know more about the product and the effects of the Floe kit, you can watch the Trudgians video in the link below.

Here

Richardfin

02/1/2023 at 5:54pm
Location: Cwmbran - Outfit Nr Llandridnod Wells
Outfit: Bailey Pageant Bordeaux S6

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Thanks for the replies and input.

Earlier today I drained the system down, closed all taps and drain tap then connected my diy device. Turned on the inflator, the wife opened taps one at a time and must have had at least half a pint from each tap.

I was surprised to see this amount of water had still been left in the system. Thanks again for all the advice offered.

Rich

cliffbrown

via mobile 02/1/2023 at 5:59pm
Location: chesterfield
Outfit: Ford Kuga AWD & Lunar Clubman SI

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