# Do I have a problem ?



## wp1234 (Sep 29, 2009)

It may be my imagination but I cant help thinking that I may have a water or air leak in my hot water system.

I drained my 2012 Dakota down during the cold winter and ever since refilling it recently I get the feeling that the system might be leaking water somewhere or alternatively is air is being drawn in. 
What makes me think this is that when filled up and the heating on the water pump is silent i.e no leaks no problems. First thing in the morning though , having had the system off all night, when I switch the heating system on the pump operates for some time in order to refill the lines up again , its as if the system has leaked water overnight .

Does anybody have any thoughts on this – is it normal for the pump to operate this way first thing in the mornings or is this a water / air leak or is it because its so cold overnight and water has cooled in the system?

I wonder if anyone has had a similar issue with the Truma combi boiler / Autotrail water system .


----------



## organplayer (Jan 1, 2012)

*organplayer*

Could it be that the water contained within the Truma heater has been discharged overnight due to drop in temperature. As soon as you switch the pump on, this starts to refill the Truma tank from the water tank. Just a thought. Eventually when we get warmer weather this of course should"nt happen. Best of luck.


----------



## FranknJan (Dec 18, 2007)

Hi WP.
It could be a couple of things. 
After draining down and refilling you could of created an air lock in the system. This has happened to me a couple of times.
When refilling, turn pump on and open the hot taps a little to allow air to release slowly, not forgeting the shower tap. Then do the cold side.
Also it's worth checking all the push connectors on the water pipes in the storage areas and under the seats ect. We had a leak on one and it only became apparent when the carpet became soaking wet.
They only need a firm push together it's worth checking as I found a couple which were only just connected.
Hope this helps.
Frank


----------



## wp1234 (Sep 29, 2009)

'Could it be that the water contained within the Truma heater has been discharged overnight due to drop in temperature.'

Yes I thought that as well but I have the manual dump valve not auto type ( which I think are the ones that dump water when temp drops). It may be the simple fact that hot water in the pipe cool down a lot ( in this weather ) and contracts overnight and leaves a void which is then filled when I switch the sytem on in the morning .

Will check all the connections though just in case I have a loose one. I doubt it though as I would expext the pump to run all the time in that case .

Thanks both


----------



## cabby (May 14, 2005)

does your system have a non return valve.

cabby


----------



## rosalan (Aug 24, 2009)

Depending on how long the pump runs for, can it just be the pipes that have expanded with heat during the night?.... or an air pocket!

A leak will almost certainly become visible, either as a wet patch inside the van or a small puddle outside.

Alan


----------



## MrWez (Sep 25, 2011)

On one of our earlier MH, there was something stuck between the valve and the seal which meant there was a slight weep which meant a little bit of water would weep out of the dump valve, not much but over a few hours with the pump off the system will drain down a little bit. When the pump comes back on it needs to repressurise the system.

It would also be worth looking for a leak at a joint or a possible chafe point where the pipe could rub against a sharp edge.

MrWez


----------



## sideways (Jun 2, 2008)

Although my van is older i,ve just had 3 months frustration and switching the pump off after every use, last year all was fine we went to Spain after Christmas and prior to going had drained down, we went with no water in the tank as to save weight and it was freezing hard.
On arrival in Spain after filling and bleeding, the pump chirped every minute or so for 2 seconds, i hunted high and low and eventually found the manual truma valve was weeping a drip every few seconds and wouldnt seal. i bypassed it with some 15mm spanish plastic pipe and it improved but didnt fix it, The pump now chirped every 3/4 minutes.
I spent hours looking and eventually after leaving the pump on for 3 hours found water dripping off the rear wheel arch directly below the bathroom at this point i gave up despairing that the bathroom had a hidden leak.
After arriving back here more investigations followed and it transpired that one of the taps on the outside shower was passing a tiny amount of water, it was weeping onto the black rubbing strip and where the strip met the wheel arch it was cut letting the water dribble onto the body where it was getting between the spat and the body and running to the bottom of the wheel arch, it was hard platic push fit pipe so i went to the plumb centre, got two stop ends and blanked it off, so far so good. Just a tip, a manual truma valve is £35 ish replace it with a tee and fit a 15mm push fit toilet check valve with a bit of pipe in a right angle through the floor total cost less than £10


----------



## peribro (Sep 6, 2009)

It's worth checking everywhere very closely for a leak and particularly looking for damp spots under the motorhome. My Cherokee developed a very slight leak where one of the push fit connections in the pipework near the boiler had become stretched due to it having been incorrectly routed. I first noticed a damp patch under the rear wheelarch and it took me quite some time with a torch to find the leak as the water was running away from the leak and down inside the body of the motorhome before coming out into the wheelarch.


----------



## wp1234 (Sep 29, 2009)

peribro said:


> It's worth checking everywhere very closely for a leak and particularly looking for damp spots under the motorhome. My Cherokee developed a very slight leak where one of the push fit connections in the pipework near the boiler had become stretched due to it having been incorrectly routed. I first noticed a damp patch under the rear wheelarch and it took me quite some time with a torch to find the leak as the water was running away from the leak and down inside the body of the motorhome before coming out into the wheelarch.


Many thanks , will check as sugested . The funny thing with my problem is that it only seems to happen at night . If there was a leak I would have thought I would hear the pump kick in at other times as well !


----------



## sideways (Jun 2, 2008)

My pump is under the bed and when alls quiet is when you notice it, i bet its doing it all the time.


----------



## erneboy (Feb 8, 2007)

I never turn our pump off at night or any other time when we are in the van.

We have had three leaks develop in some bad welding on our stainless boiler over the last five years. I can tell immediately that a new leak has developed because the pump will run for a short burst to bring the water pressure back up after a certain quantity has leaked out.At first that may only happen every few hours. This would only be valid if your water system works by the pump maintaining pressure. Some systems have the pump operated by micro switches in each tap in which case the pump will only run if a tap is turned on.

Yours sounds like a system where the pumps maintains the pressure. Leave it on overnight and you will hear the pump running for a quick burst if you have a problem. If it does you may have a leak, or it may just be a little water making it's way back through the pump reducing the pressure and making it run for a moment. A non-return valve would rule that out.

It's highly unlikely to be air getting in as your water pressure is higher than ambient air pressure and therefore water would leak out before air would leak in.

Hope this helps, Alan.


----------



## Christine600 (Jan 20, 2011)

I've had a leak once. Found it because the pump did a short burst every 30 mins or so. Woke me up. 

It turned out to be a tiny leak in the shower. The cold water pipe. When I looked at it a tiny drop formed and then dripped off every 10 seconds or so. Eventually creating a small pool in the shower tray.

The plummer cut the pipe and joined it with itself where the leak was.


----------

