20' Series Some plumbing questions

[Crusty181]

Hi Forum'ittes

We recently sold our beloved 2009 16.49.1OB and ordered a 20.63.1OB for delivery in Oct ... I suspect our 20.63 is on the same run as the recently ordered 20.63s for other forum members. We have yet to confirm the ever increasing list of add-ons and take-offs which constantly changes .... some the blame for that can be directed at you guys. Oddly, some items on the add-on list have also made it onto the take-off list and visa versa.

Its a very weird kind of, almost overwhelming excitement to launch into this upgrade after happily "camper" campering. In the 5 years we had the 16.49.1 we clocked up over 30k km and over 230 nights away.

Ive always been happy to avoid "caravanning" in favour of "camper'ing", hell, I even referred to the 16.49 as "the camper" and never "the caravan". This leap into 20.63.1 land is both physical and emotional. I can't call this new one a camper; its just a big thumping caravan whichever way I look at it. Unlike the 16.49, the canvas is too insignificant.

Ive been camping/campering all my life, and the luxury of on-demand hot water and an "indoor" shower is a genuine novelty to us (and slightly hard to imagine), We'll probably all just sit on the bunk and stare at the bathroom for the first few trips (bathroom; Im laughing as I type. We have a bathroom !!!). The reason behind the upgrade is our tentative plan to take a 16 month trip around our little island ....

I have a few questions that the dealer struggled with. How does the the plumbing i.e. hot water, mains pressure, 12v pump work etc all mesh together when swapping from off-mains to on-mains use. Is the pump bypassed on mains, and if it is, is the flow suppressed to a lower pump type flow rate.

The 20.63 pump seems quiet high flow for what I'm used to, an issue we didn't have with a 4lt/min Coleman HWS we used for showering "outside" the 16. Im assuming an 80ltr tank wouldn't last too long with showering etc. Depending on how the on mains/off mains, mains/pump thing works, I would be looking to connect a lower flow pump in line and switch between two pumps depending on free camping and caravan parks ... to get the most economical use of onboard water whilst free camping.

In terms of hot water water and not water tank capacity, how long would a full water heater last continually if I showered until the water went cold.

We ordered the 2013 20.63.1OB configuration, i.e. the one without the slide out. I wasn't happy with the weight the slide out added.

I know there are some other forum members that have the "better, non slide out model" (that should spark some vicious feedback) and Im curious what the actual tare weight saving is by deleting the slide out ..... or in the case of the 2013 adding the slide out. The dealer quoted about 150kg.

Crusty

 

[mfexpanda]

Hi
We just sold our 16-49 but it did have the hot water system fitted with an outside shower.
They use small plastic one-way valves in the piping so everything works fine and there is no need to turn valves off or on switching from tanks to main, other than in our model turning on the 12v pump switch .
Someone on here said the pump uses around 7ltres per min

 

[relgate]

The hot water is approx 22 litre. I cant give you an exact time for showering. Others on the forum have found it very short, but in our case we could easily shower our 3 kids with one tank. I also recall having a couple of 'long' showers where I felt quite satisfied before the hot water ran out!

With regard to plumbing, my understanding is the pump is 'in line'. When turned on (wall switch) it will always operate and draw water from the tanks when it senses a drop in pressure (tap on). This is regardless of a mains hose being connected. Once you connect a mains hose you simply turn the pump off, or in some cases we would switch it on to boost the caravan park pressure for a good shower! (of course, this would draw water from the tanks)

Again, cant tell you about L/Hr, but you can regulate the flow with the taps as normal so unless you have naughty children who turn the tap on full and walk away whilst free camping, you might not need a smaller pump.
As a reference, our family of 5, with 2 80L tanks, would get 2-3 days of use WITHOUT RATIONING : ie. full showers, washing hands every 5 seconds etc.
With a bit of rationing and sensible use , but still all having short showers, we would get 4-5 days

 

[Crusty181]

Thanks guys. All seems very easy and not too much user input, which is nice to known. 3 kids would be enough of a gauge I think, and I know how people have differing opinions of the same subject. For eg. we found the little aircon in the 16.49.1 terrific, but it was poo poo'ed relentlessly by other users as inefficient and ineffective. relegate, are your showers constant, i.e. with the Coleman we would wet down only, wash and then rinse. We could do a shower like that with about 7 litres. (I'm bald, so I was only 5 litres)

 

[relgate]

Yes. When rationing we would get wet, turn off water, soap up, then rinse

 

[chartrock]

Yes. When rationing we would get wet, turn off water, soap up, then rinse

Same here.

 

[skippy]

Same here.

That makes 3 of us :bathbaby:

 

[Bellbirdweb]

We have found the hot water pretty good, but it can run out on a long shower. We run it on 240 power to heat for washing up etc, but turn on the gas as well when showering and have found it lasts long enough for a good shower, and recovers quickly for the next person.

If running off the tanks, you shouldn't have any problems.