Floe Installation

[Sparkalicious]

So the time came and I have now installed the floe 



Was a pretty simple install once we got going. In actual fact I think we did more work installing the mounting board for the stop cock and external tap more than anything else. Before we just had the tap and stop cock arrangement just lying on the floor with a right angled push fit bend (which came undone several times due to the extreme angle) all on the floor which was never a nice experience turning on or shutting off the water. Can't really see the floe one way tee in the image as the one way part actually runs through a hole we drilled in the mounting board. It is basically the black fitting in the pic.



There have been several minor changes to what is in the box compared to the installation videos online and the installation DVD that came in the box. Thankfully there is a small installation flyer which basically talks you through it quite easily.
The butterfly bolts have gone. I did email and ask and they said that they were overkill and the screws would do the job more than efficiently. This may be more to how the unit runs now but I'll get on to that in a bit.



There is now a secondary manual shut off valve for the air pipe. Also a small insert for the pipe that is already fixed to the unit (you can just about see it in the image by the bulge in the vertical pipe). This is for the right angle push fit bend to fix to. Installing this insert was the hardest and most frustrating part of the job. The pipe is tough and you have to heat it up several times with a hair dryer to get it flexible enough to push the barbed end in. Almost felt like giving up several times but we got there eventually. They have obviously had some failures in the one directional tee and the right angle bend on the unit, hence the extra bits in the box to prevent it happening in the future.



We had a handy air vent in the boxed off section under the boiler. Cut some of the bits out and shoved a grommet in there to prevent damage to the pipe but I'm sure it would of been fine without that. So feeding the air hose down to where our stop cock is was a doddle. In fact, I don't think we drilled a single hole to install other than the mounting board and that was our choice.

So once it was all up and running it was time to give it a spin. Worked perfectly. It is a lot quieter than I thought it would be and I would say half the volume and smoother sounding than the one in the demonstration video. This smoothness is probably why the butterfly bolts were no longer needed. It has a smooth hum when running rather than a rattling judder as if you were pumping up a car tyre.

Overall extremely impressed. I'll do a full drain down tomorrow to give it a full run out and work out the best way of doing the loos which don't have a ball cock.

Anyone have any question just shout.

Linkback: https://staticforum.co.uk/index.php/topic,857.msg2342.html#msg2342

[Slattster]

Nice post sparky  👍, looks like they have done some improvements since I got one .
For the loos , I have a piece of plastic that sits across the the top of the cistern with a hole drilled in it half way along , I then put a pipe cleaner thru the hole , put a knot in the pipe cleaner so it can’t drop thru the hole then use the other end of the pipe cleaner to keep the the ball valve type thing up. As toilets are done last you only need it for one toilet. Other way to do it is to get the missus to hold it up while you go flush the next one

Linkback: https://staticforum.co.uk/index.php/topic,857.msg2343.html#msg2343

[Sparkalicious]

Cheers Slattster.

I had a little look in the cistern last night. there is like a vertical "ball" valve on one side. Seems like it would be pretty easy to hold up to shut it off. Will do a small update once I have done a run through today. I am also interested to see the results of the so called boiler cleanse that is supposed to be possible when you drain down and then turn the water back on. I don't understand, and he is pretty vague in the the video, why this just doesn't happen anyway when an end of season drain down is done. And if you only have to do it once a year then surely that is just job done?

If I can find a way of sticking a small video with sound up on here I'll take a recording so you can hear the new tone when the unit is on. I was shocked and how non violent it was.

Linkback: https://staticforum.co.uk/index.php/topic,857.msg2345.html#msg2345

[Sparkalicious]

So did a time on the drain down. 20 mins. We did every tap twice to try to really get as much water out as possible. Going to cut up a wire coat hanger to fashion a "S" hook so that I can do the loos easily and keep the modern "ball valve" closed by hooking under the lever and then over the side of the cistern. Real easy solution.

Reckon I can get it down to 15 mins easily once I've had a bit of practice. Really happy with it. Will save a fortune over the years especially as prices for services keep on going up.

So here is a video of it turning on. Sounds a lot louder than it actually is as I'm in the small boiler room. Oh and ignore my dad shouting in the background, haha

https://embed.api.video/vod/vi7JZiNHUEaPQHVM9AjvGzOl

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[Slattster]

And the beauty is …it’s all done from inside the van ….sounds a lot quieter 👍


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[Sparkalicious]

I agree with you Slattster, even though I could buy a much cheaper option with a car pump valve connector for the outside bib tap it is still way more convenient not having to leave the van at all. Only thing I have to do outside is shut the water off and drain the bib tap. Also means I am not using the car to run the pump off of. Not a problem for me as I have an electric vehicle so oodles of power but others could see their 12v battery drained considerably.

One last update. I was having a thing about the cistern and was thinking about chopping up a coat hanger etc but then it dawned on me to get craft wire. I got 2m of 3mm thick craft wire off of Amazon for about £2 which is used for all sorts and fashioned it into a hook to hold the fill up valve shut.



Wire is made out of ally so won't snap over time as not as brittle as a coat hanger and much easier to manipulate.

Did a full drain down, took approx. 20 mins. Could definitely get that down to 15 min the more I do it especially with my hook things at hand as I had my dad holding up one cistern last time. Ran the new hot water into a bowl and left to settle but no sediment appeared. Maybe my boiler is just too new.

One question, Floe recommending leaving all the taps open after the drain down is complete to allow air to circulate. Do you think that should include the outside tap as well? Don't really want a route for little critters to get in and make home over 3 months or am I worrying about nothing?

And one more thing. Do you think my 'van, a 2017 Willerby Linwood, will have external drain down points that I should trim back as in the instructional video? Or do we think that on modern 'vans these won't be present as all 'vans are now drained down from a source close to the stop cock? Just not sure if I have to climb under the 'van to trim some pipework back or if it's really not worth the bother.



Linkback: https://staticforum.co.uk/index.php/topic,857.msg2364.html#msg2364

[Slattster]

The outside tap should have a check valve so opening it after drain down won’t do anything.
Worth having a look under the van , the van will have drain offs .. mine has some under boiler and under bathroom ….Don’t open the central heating ones.  see how long the pipe is to the drain off tap , mine are next to the mains feed so I’ve just left it that way …. If there’s was a bit of pipe leading to the drain offs creating a dead leg then it might be worth sorting out.

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