Water connection on serviced pitch

Yes, as you say, it's always usage v capacity. perhaps the longevity (or not) of one's supply is a mindset thing?

When we first got into MHing I soon realised that, if you left things under running taps, someone had to replenish the supply (and empty the waste) far more quickly.

cleaning teeth under running water will soon get through many litres, similar to showering...

also, it doesn't take a full bowl of water to wash a couple of plates and cups at lunchtime.

it's easy to forget that vans (not on serviced pitches) aren't connected to mains input or waste just as at home.

our pals seem to get through water like it's going out of fashion, mind you I've seen xxx washing up...full bowl for a couple of cups, rinsing (seemingly forever) under a running tap.

yes, we don't want our hobby to seem to be any sort of a hardship, but turning the tap off while cleaning teeth will save loads of water as will using an appropriate amount of water for dishwashing.

when we are long terming, we have a serviced pitch but this doesn't change how we operate. As I said, it's probably a mindset thing.

Thanks for that Corners; it was the float valve that concerned me, not anything in the van. I've only ever seen pictures of them, but they look so flimsy. I would just feel uneasy about the possibility of a failure and water spilling out on the pitch. That's just how I am. If I used one and found it reliable, I would relax! 

I probably do use more water than some, maybe many. There have been threads on this before and I remember reading of some using only around 10 litres a day. I shower every morning albeit not usually for very long - say about three to four minutes. Even with the low-flow shower head that will use a fair bit. I never use site facilities for anything, including washing up, except, rarely, depending on the site, for the loo. On the other hand, I never use the fresh water from my tank for drinking and instead have a 5-litre container filled from a fresh water tap on site. This is used even for the kettle. I do not allow the water to run when brushing my teeth, whether in my van or at home. I have always worked on an assumption that I probably use around 30 litres a day.

Both my tanks are 100 litre.   

But probably more telling in my case is that I do like my fresh tank to be topped up regularly. My van has a very inaccurate water gauge involving four steps represented by blocks on an LCD display. I try never to let it fall below two blocks unless it is during the really cold weather (if we ever get any again) when, at the end of a stay, I try to use as much of the fresh water as possible to minimise the final drain. I have found that two blocks is more than half full, but even so it is how I like to work. It is a mild OCD thing, and I can’t help it. I also like to keep the waste never more than “two blocks” full so I will empty at least every couple of days (if not on a serviced pitch obviously).  

I tend, mostly, to only use a serviced pitch if I am on a site for more than two or three days - and then by no means always and, anyway, I am often on sites with no serviced pitches.  I do stay on sites probably longer than the average motorhomer. I prefer sites near towns or cities, or with good public transport; I often stay for a week or sometimes even longer.  

I never move my van once pitched and I don’t use MSPs at all. I’d sooner do everything on my pitch and if not on a serviced pitch, which is more often than not, I find I get on fine with the Aqua roll (or as mentioned above a watering can) and the Wastemaster.

A pleasure, I've had mine (a branded aqarroll one) for 20 years now and apart from that one time overnight in August 2015 it's never failed to work as it should. I never did find out what caused it, and a bit like a computer with windows - took it out, put it back in and all has been well since. I see a few turn the tap off overnight so they too must share your feelings. 

I just had to report this extraordinary coincidence, Corners.

I am at Chapel Lane at the moment and I just went on an evening constitutional around the site. As I passed one van, on a service pitch, I noticed that the roadway was very wet - it is otherwise dry - and then I could hear the sound of running water. I directed my torch at the van's Aqua Roll and water was spewing out of the top. I reported it to the van owner, who was very grateful. I could have flooded the site, he said. Well hardly that, but if left it would have been embarrassing. Perhaps when they had gone to bed they would have heard the sound of running water. It seemed the float valve had not shut off the water.

I've never seen anything like that before and it happens three days after our exchange. Why do coincidences like that happen? Weird. Anyway, I just thought you might like to know.

It didn't do much for my confidence in those float valves!

Thanks for posting and yes what an amazing coincidence, and yes it always happens like that, you talk about something to someone and just after there it is!

It does happen and probably if you saw the same outfit again it will be fine, from dim and distant memory someone did post on here once that it might happen because the side entrance screw-in cap that houses the float is not fully screwed in and hence the float inside is at an angle rather than pointing straight downwards and hence the rising water won't shut it off? 

Actually as we've spoke about it now I'm going to start turning the tap off at night and if we've out! 

 Not just the cap not being screwed fully on that could cause a problem. The ball valve fitment is ( usually ) held in position on the cap solely by the tightness of the screw fitments. So it is able to rotate from the correct position and fail to close.

A visual check the valve is in the correct position just as one drops the intake pipe into the Aquaroll ( or such ) could take two seconds. I have marked the pipe fitment on the one I use so it can be checked externally on set up and subsequently.

Quite a few caravans, generally twin axles, do have on board tanks, we have one, but they are generally quite small, 35-40 litres, and not intended for use when on a serviced pitch.  In that case, as you said, we use the Aquaroll with ball valve inside to keep water available.

In our case, a 2008 caravan, when not on a serviced pitch, we fill the on board tank from the Aquaroll, then refill the Aquaroll, giving us 80 litres of water, but the waste tank is still only 40 litres.

We have an unusual system in our van - the same as that fitted to Airstream's, apparently and was fitted by the dealer before purchase since, surprisingly, our twin axle van didn't have an inboard tank as standard..  All of our water comes from the inboard tank.  There is a float switch in the inboard tank which activates the Aquaroll pump via a microswitch.  As the water level in the inboard tank drops, it is automatically topped up by the Aquaroll. Couple this with the float switch in the Aquaroll when on serviced pitches and we have a constant supply of water without having to turn any valves or worry about the i/b tank running dry.

...but isn't the advantage of having an on board tank that you don't need another one (or two) sat outside the van in the cold?

I can't see why water needs to pass through a large external tank just to pump it into an identical one inside the van.

why can't these clever systems just fill the internal tank...with some form of 'valve' if need be...though anything with 'Whale' on it needs to be avoided like the plague of other forums are to be believed.

Our 'valve' is me turning on the tap every 5-10 days when the guage moves into the red and filling the tank. No barrels, no valves, no pumps, no worries.

why carry a huge barrel (or even two) and associated pumping kit when the tank is part of the vehicle?🤷🏻‍♂️