You would think that connecting your hose to your rig is as easy as hooking up the garden hose at home, but this is a habit that could easily lead to your equipment breaking!
You’ve pulled up to your camping spot for the night, everything is set up and now you just need to connect your water. But when was the last time that tap you’re about to connect to was used? There could be old water in the pipeline, or even spiders, ants or wasps living up in the tap!
We live in one of the driest countries in the world - but health should always come first. Give the tap a good flush before you connect to it. If you’re concerned about wasting water, run it into a bucket and use it for something else. You’ll be surprised at times what comes out!
The next step is very important. Connect your hose and fill it with water before you connect it to your rig. Do NOT connect the water filter yet.
It is a water filter, not an air filter. Pushing air into a filter can fill all those microscopic pores in the carbon with air and the water will come out looking like a glass of lemonade.
It isn’t bad for you, however air compresses where water doesn’t. If the hose and/or filter has air built up inside, it will come out at great force and splutter away until the air is dispelled.
This compressed air is what can cause major failings in your plumbing systems.
The water sector of the Australian RV industry is unregulated. Meaning manufacturers don’t have to use approved plumbing materials. Even if they do use the good stuff, sometimes the installers are unqualified which can cause issues in itself.
So why is this an issue? If the fittings are connected correctly, the compressed force could rattle your pipes and blow them apart. However the main problem is the pump!
On your pump is a built in non-return valve. This stops the water going back into the tank when you are hooked to town water, and stops the water in the pipes running back into the tank when you are on pump water.
The shuttering and compressed air will weaken the non-return valve over time, causing the water to flow into the tank, which ultimately ends up with water flowing out of your filler port.
At this point, you’re up for a new pump.
An easy alternative is to use a tap elbow. It has a lever that allows you to turn the water on and off. You can pre-flush your hose line and filter before you hook it up.
Whichever way you choose to do it, by running the tap quickly before you connect your hose, you'll save yourself a lot of hassle down the track (and avoid locking little critters into your hose line)!
