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Hello,

Can anybody advise me or help me please?  I've just bought my caravan and after using it for the first time attempted to remove the drain plug from my carver water heater and guess what it snapped completely off leave the thread on the inside!!  What can I do?  Has anybody got any idea's?  Is there anyway of fixing it from the outside (it seems really stuck)  or do I have to start dismantling from inside the caravan? 

you can wrap a small hacksaw blade in tape and a rag and cut four slots in the bit left and then remove bits so as not to push any in. see garys page

http://www.arcsystems.biz/manuals/rcpf.pdf

I had the exact same problem when I bought my 1988 Lunar van.  I ended up removing the plastic drain plug by drilling most of it out very carefully and then clearing the thread with a fine screwdriver.  Fortunately on the Carver Cascade 2 that's on my van, the plug is plastic and the thread it goes into is steel so if you take it carefully you should be ok. 

Getting a new drain plug was a different story though.  I couldn't get hold of a new drain plug the right size so had to improvise.  The thread is a standard 1/2" BSP thread so I popped into my local screwfix and bought one of these.

http://www.screwfix.com/prods/66876/Plumbing/Brassware/Comap-Brass-Flanged-Plug-Pack-of-2

With a little bit of PTFE tape wrapped around it, it works a treat

"Getting a new drain plug was a different story though.  I couldn't get hold of a new drain plug the right size so had to improvise.  The thread is a standard 1/2" BSP thread so I popped into my local screwfix and bought one of these."

Why not contact Gary at Arc Systems and get the proper one?

Mike

click on

Carver Cascade Drain Bung

Hindsight is, as they say, an exact science!

Being very new to caravanning I took advice from my local dealer as gospel, they said "you can't get the drain plugs for old Cascade 2 heaters any more".  I now know my local dealer to be no better than your average car dealer.  Hence getting out the thread gauges, finding out it was a 1/2" BSP thread and improvising.  Having googled pre-'87 Drain Plugs tonight, it seems I'm not the only one!  Look at this, I found on Ebay......

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/drain-plug-pre-1987-carver-cascade-2-caravan-water-851_W0QQitemZ200379789239QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_Campervan_Caravan_Accessories?hash=item2ea790efb7&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14

Cheeky or what! Selling a "drain plug" for £3.99 when you can get the exact same item from  Screwfix for 73p!

Quote: Originally posted by michael on 22/9/2009

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click on

Carver Cascade Drain Bung

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That's OK if you have a post '87 metric threaded drain hole but if you have the pre'87 version you need one with a 1/2" BSP thread. 

Incidentally, I have brand new one of the above drain plugs free to a good home if anyone wants one!

Quote: Originally posted by JTQU on 21/9/2009

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To limp along till you can do a proper job why noy "whittle" a tapered wooden dowel with your boy scout knife.
OH no they are band so it will have to be a kitchen knife!!

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