Pressurised Water Plumbing - Florida |
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F***OWL
Groupie Joined: 09 Jan 09 Location: Wiltshire field Status: Offline Points: 198 |
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Posted: 01 Feb 09 at 18:38 |
I've been asked a couple times about what and how I upgraded my Florie's water system. To my mind the plumbing and Porta-Loo was its weakness and was all that was needed to be upgraded to make it the bees-knees (also would like grill/oven).
Almost all the bits have come from ebay. I needed to remove the wardrobe, the ceiling in the kitchen and the rear bench seat to make access easier. Firstly I started with a permanent flush loo, I removed the hand basin (it seemed pointless) and was able to get in a Thetford loo and leave plenty of room to shower. The toilet cartridge is changed from outside behind the nearside back door which means no messyness inside. The trick is to get the cartridge to fit between the metal webs on the inside of the back door. The cartridge has only a mm of clearance top and bottom and literally touches the inside of the outer skin of the back door. It could not be closer. Once the Porta-loo had been dumped I fitted a pump to pressurise the water system. I used the space where the Porta-loo is usually stored in the shower cubicle. I checked the spec of the water heater in roof and I reckoned it would take the 30psi version of the pump. The pump only comes on when the pressure drops below ~15psi and then switches off at 30psi. To help the pump I fitted an expansion tank (3 or 5 litre I think) mounting it with a couple of soil pipe clips from my local builders merchant. The expansion tank means the pump is quieter and it comes on infrequently to top-up the expansion tank. The water flow is much better and steady. I fitted an on/off switch to enable the pump to be isolated. As I mentioned above I had to remove the wardrobe and kitchen ceiling and though its a fiddle at times the original excellent coachmanship becomes apparant and things do go back together ok. Nothing needs to be silicone rubbered!! My biggest fiddle was getting power to the flush loo. I wanted to use the (now) redundant hot water pipe that went from the water heater to the shower cubicle handbasin and in the end I was able to thread a cable through it. The handbasin cold water pipe is used for the toilet. The water heater has a limited supply of hot water and to get a decent shower I wanted to run the heater at maximum temperature and then blend it down to a comfortable shower temperature. This works well, I fitted a good quality low pressure thermostatt valve (ebay). It pretty well means that you turn on one tap wait a moment for the cold water to pass and it is ready with the desired preset temperature. I made my own shower rose to avoid a limp shower and my experience is that a normal household domestic thermostat valve does not work. Lastly I hunted high and low for a decent quality but inexpensive (ceramic valve) kitchen mixer tap that would not look too out of place in a Florida. Precaution, because it is a pressurised system it is worth remembering that if the plumbing springs a leak the pump will insist on emptying the contents of the water tank just where the leak is!! Partly as a precaution I have put the pump and expansion tank in the shower cubicle and fitted an on/off switch. I tend to disable the leisure batteries when I leave the van for any length of time. I have not (touch wood) had any problems with leaks (that I'm aware of). I did this work last summer and though I sourced almost everything off ebay I no longer have the supplier details. If you get stuck do say I'll try to help. |
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'89 LT28 2.4TD Westfalia Florida
'89 BMW K75 Flying Brick '89 Yamaha YFU1W Pro-hauler Quad |
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F***OWL
Groupie Joined: 09 Jan 09 Location: Wiltshire field Status: Offline Points: 198 |
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'89 LT28 2.4TD Westfalia Florida
'89 BMW K75 Flying Brick '89 Yamaha YFU1W Pro-hauler Quad |
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F***OWL
Groupie Joined: 09 Jan 09 Location: Wiltshire field Status: Offline Points: 198 |
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Sorry guys, other than the first one, somehow the images I uploaded have shrunk, I'll try again,
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'89 LT28 2.4TD Westfalia Florida
'89 BMW K75 Flying Brick '89 Yamaha YFU1W Pro-hauler Quad |
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F***OWL
Groupie Joined: 09 Jan 09 Location: Wiltshire field Status: Offline Points: 198 |
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Hopefully these will be full size,
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'89 LT28 2.4TD Westfalia Florida
'89 BMW K75 Flying Brick '89 Yamaha YFU1W Pro-hauler Quad |
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F***OWL
Groupie Joined: 09 Jan 09 Location: Wiltshire field Status: Offline Points: 198 |
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I should explain that the thermostatic valve is in the roof space mounted in front of the water heater. I removed the cover to its circuit board because it was in the way and remounted it more securely on a piece of wood,
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'89 LT28 2.4TD Westfalia Florida
'89 BMW K75 Flying Brick '89 Yamaha YFU1W Pro-hauler Quad |
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66 joker
Yardie Joined: 31 Dec 05 Location: Torbay Status: Offline Points: 440 |
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WOW!!!
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T4 Westfalia Exclusive.Tdi LT work van..
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clownspicy
Groupie Joined: 23 Sep 08 Location: Hampshire Status: Offline Points: 79 |
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Great article, thanks for showing the photos as well. It's encouraged me to have a go at an upgrade too. Stupid question probably; how do you open the left hand door? I can't see any catches to pull to open it. |
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1990 VW LT Florida 2.4td
1968 Citro-en DS 1998 Vespa ET4 |
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F***OWL
Groupie Joined: 09 Jan 09 Location: Wiltshire field Status: Offline Points: 198 |
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Thanks, let me know if I can help. There is a square shaft where the handle would have been, a 8mm open-ended spanner will fit,
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'89 LT28 2.4TD Westfalia Florida
'89 BMW K75 Flying Brick '89 Yamaha YFU1W Pro-hauler Quad |
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86ClubJoker
Groupie Joined: 29 Oct 07 Location: Norfolk Status: Offline Points: 140 |
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Reviving this old discussion... looks like a great installation. Which model of Thetford toilet is this? The closes I can see available now (4 years later) is the C200, which looks as if it has a back bit behind the bowl. Yours doesn't seem to - there appears to be a panel mounted up the back wall of the bathroom.
Now you've had it this set up a while, how has it worked out? Have you made any improvements along the way? Cheers John |
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86ClubJoker
Groupie Joined: 29 Oct 07 Location: Norfolk Status: Offline Points: 140 |
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My question is already answered here :) Excuse me! Danke, Herr Mueller.
http://www.brick-yard.co.uk/forum/cassette-toilet-in-a-florida_topic50030.html http://www.mkmueller.de/florida/christian/casette.JPG Edited by 86ClubJoker - 21 Oct 13 at 22:40 |
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clownspicy
Groupie Joined: 23 Sep 08 Location: Hampshire Status: Offline Points: 79 |
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I've fitted a Thetford C200S to my Florida. It fits in the corner furthest from the shower cubicle door. It does cover the drain hole in the floor but because the floor dips in the centre, water can still flow into the drain. So the toilet is supported at each corner, I fitted plastic supports where necessary underneath.
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1990 VW LT Florida 2.4td
1968 Citro-en DS 1998 Vespa ET4 |
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