# Air Lock Problems



## 115519

Hi. We have a Fiat Rapido 7098F Motorhome, and are new to the Motorhome world. We have a persistent problem which I am hoping and praying one of the more experienced of you might be able to help with please. We fill our fresh water tank at home before leaving, but invariably when we arrive, we have an air lock and spend hours bleeding the system before we can use any water. This is totally ruining our enjoyment of the vehicle and has often lead to feelings of desperation. Please can anyone give us any advice? Many, many thanks. Lin


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## chapter

hello and welcome to mhf
try opening all the taps when filling the tank as it is filling switch the pump no and off then turn off the cold taps and leave the not open until the water its running with out spits turn the hot off wait until the pump stops then open and close each tap in turn with the pump on to check that all the air is out of the system
chapter


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## 100127

Hi and welcome. Do you bleed the system when you fill up? You need to fill the heater/hot water container ( usually around 9 or 10 ltrs ) before it is ready. Like opening the hot water tap till it runs without any air coming out.


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## drcotts

chapter is quite right and i have to do the same. 
I take it you are talking about what happens after you have drained down the fresh tank at the end of your last trip. You then fill the tank again before the next trip.

What i do is fill the tank and when its aboutb 1/4 full switc the pump on and open the cold tap. When water starts to run with no spits then open the hot tap. The water will take some time (say 2 mins) to come through as you have to fill the hpot cylinder, but when it does close the hot tap off. Noe do the same with the tap in the bathroom. 
When ok the pumpshould shut off after about 5 seconds.
Theres not a fault as such. Its just something you have to do when you have drained down.
Does this sound like the answer?

Phill


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## ColinC

Hi Lin1

If following the procedures outlined in the earlier replies does not cure the problem then it is likely that air is getting into your water system somewhere. When we had this problem with our Rapido 749M I traced it down to the drain valve for the fresh water tank. I don't know what type is fitted to your model or where it is located. In ours the drain valve incorporated a spring-loaded plunger that was lifted using a small lever. When the lever was released the plunger slid back to the closed position; but occassionally it got stuck before closing completely. A squirt of WD40 and then working the valve open and shut a few times was sufficient to ensure that it operated normally.
If this does not help then you may need to check that all hose connections are properly tightened.
Finally, as a long shot, check the non-return valve behind the external shower outlet. After our first winter with the van we had a leak here. Poor insulation and a small remnant of water trapped in the pipe resulted in a cracked non-return valve caused by frost.

Hope you get the problem fixed.

Colin


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## teensvan

Hi.

We had a similar problem and found that if the water level in our tank was about a quarter full the sloshing about while driving forced air somehow into the pump and it would not clear unless i removed the pump from the tank and blew through the non return valve. We now travel with the tank full or empty with no problems. Try just filling the water heater and all the pipes and running empty until you get to your site. 

Water is very heavy 1 ltr of water = 1Kg.

steve & ann. teensvan.


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## 115519

chapter said:


> hello and welcome to mhf
> try opening all the taps when filling the tank as it is filling switch the pump no and off then turn off the cold taps and leave the not open until the water its running with out spits turn the hot off wait until the pump stops then open and close each tap in turn with the pump on to check that all the air is out of the system
> chapter


Many thanks for your very kind advice, we are certainly going try your suggestions.

Lin


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## Bagshanty

Well we've never experienced this (Rapido 746), but neither do we empty the tank at the end of each trip, just fill it up. Compared to the weight of the van, the water element is small, and years ago we did some tests which showed no difference in mpg.

The other consideration is that the pump is not self priming, or more likely, should self prime but isn't doing it. In our last van I sometimes resorted to sucking the tap to get some water into the pump to prime it.


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## greygit

Hi All
We have just bought a 742F and this morning I spent half hour trying to get the air out of the water system with no luck, pump still thumping away.
I have tried all of the suggestions here but no go so back to the dealer I think!

GaryB :evil:


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