Ideas for gizmo’s to fill non-gravity water tank

[Mateus]

Just got back from a first night wild camping in the bus in scotland - however, realised that the van (literally collected the day before lockdown from NWCC) only has a non-gravity water tank filler... anyone got any top tips for gizmo’s to fill the tank off grid? Van has both 12 and 230v off grid but needs to be as compact as can be!

If anyone is looking for a ideas for spots - south side of loch tummel has lots of options not listed on the likes of park4night etc. Really scenic, loads of walks / fishing options

 

[Teesix]

I'm not sure what a non-gravity water tank filler is but, if it's the same as mine i.e the filler is vertical rather than horizontal, I use a flexible hose that comes with a 10L AdBlue container. That provides the 90 degree bend and I can then insert a large funnel into it to fill up.

 

[Mateus]

Thanks for coming back @Teesix - What you have is what I was expecting but this is a horizontal filler that takes a standard hose lock attachment - great when you have mains water to provide the pressure but just looking for ideas to fill it when I can’t access mains water. Maybe an adapted 12v portable shower to act as a pump and a bucket of water?

 

[JasonW]

Although my tank is lower than the filler inlet I use one of these... i don't know if it could be made to work with your set up but it can be positioned higher with the suction cup and with a longish hose maybe could be adapted to work...?

 

[Mateus]

thanks Jason, mine isn’t on the side it’s underneath the tailgate next to the lpg supply... must have a valve which needs pressure to open - you can’t get enough force via a pour and fill... I’ll take a pic in the morning and add to the thread

 

[JasonW]

It sounds like you need something like this, but exchange the shower head for a suitable connector onto your water inlet...

Water pump 12V

 

[airhoguk]

You could use something like a hozelock porta shower or similar (basically a pressurised garden sprayer). If you go electric then if it needs pressure to open then your pump will obviously need to exceed that. Most 12 volt pumps are quite low pressure around 1 - 1.2 bar but would be quicker than the first option if the pressure is sufficient.

 

[DXX]

Just got back from a first night wild camping in the bus in scotland - however, realised that the van (literally collected the day before lockdown from NWCC) only has a non-gravity water tank filler... anyone got any top tips for gizmo’s to fill the tank off grid? Van has both 12 and 230v off grid but needs to be as compact as can be!

I’ve got a NWCC installed tank and I discovered the same issue as you when filling along way from the water point.
NWCC install a check valve in the hose between the hose connection and the tank, it’s also a very small bore hose, intentionally done I’m sure to avoid shocking the tank.
You could T in on the tank side of the check valve and do a gravity fill from there, I may still do this now you’ve reminded me.
I got around it while travelling by balancing a full 50L plastic portable tank on top of the open sliding door and connecting a short hose to the filling connection, the additional head provided enough pressure to open the check valve, but it was a very slow fill.

 

[Paynewright]

What about a really sturdy water bottle with a hozelock connector and a tyre type schrader valve so you can use a bike pump to pressurise the vessel forcing water into the van tank (connected via short hose)

Just an idea - not sure if it would work??

 

[Mateus]

Thanks everyone - ordered a 12v shower from amazon... hoping it does the job and doubles up as a off grid shower.

attached a pic of our filler

 

[DXX]

Thanks everyone - ordered a 12v shower from amazon... hoping it does the job and doubles up as a off grid shower.

attached a pic of our filler

View attachment 77310

I modified the filler cap that was supplied by NWCC so it now has a small lock, just so I can see if it’s been tampered with.
Regarding filling from a bottle etc, I’ve only needed to do that once. You can buy a full set of adapters online that will fit just about any tap, even the ones that are made to stop you connecting.

 

[airhoguk]

Gents the connector used on your conversions is from a Bullfinch utility point. They do two versions one to regulate input pressure the other unregulated. I had one of the regulated ones in my garage and decided to take it apart. If you have the same version then as per image below you have a big spring to overcome. Hopefully you have the unregulated one so the spring will be much smaller

 

[Mateus]

Fingers crossed that 12v is creates enough pressure - will find out later and thanks for the pics!