Getting the Sink “Off The Grid” and Removing Water Hookups

indytriple

Vehicle: 87 Westy “Hurricane”

Goals of this project:

-Eliminate the need for electric power in the faucet/water tank system
-Remove city water hookup
-Remove outside water tank fill hookup
-Replace all water lines and hardware from tank to faucet
-Replace drain pipe and hardware

http://indytriple.smugmug.com/Hobbies/Westy-Sink-Refurb-Project/

Enjoy!
_________________
"See The Glass As Already Broken."

87 Vanagon Westy Auto Bostig

www.bluegrassbicyclecompany.com

vwjedi · Posted: Sat Apr 17, 2010 5:15 am Post subject:

I couldn't agree more that simpler is better. Less sh*t to break!

I would however try to make everything reversable and keep all the OG stuff boxed up for resale, a later owner might love the stock set-up and want to convert it back. Nice work. Wink

_________________
1987 Wolfsburg T25 still riding out. A bunch of other VW's passed on...

krusovice · Posted: Sat Apr 17, 2010 5:37 am Post subject:

Wow. Nice work, and great write up!

One question: does the water drain back into the tank when you are done pumping, or does it stay primed? (it looks like the water tank is air-tight. And my knowledge of plumbing in NOT air tight.)

indytriple · Posted: Sat Apr 17, 2010 5:52 am Post subject:

Good suggestion. Keeping the old stuff is a must. I bag old hardware and pieces and label it so I'll have a prayer of remembering where it came from. Just be ready to justify to the wife why you have a box/closet/crawl space/basement/garage/house full of old, worn-out, broken-down Westy parts and pieces. My male instinct to horde and save is strong!

This is one of several projects that I have planned to simplify the van and its systems and to tailor it to our liking. Expect more photo albums in the near future of:

-Fridge removal
-A/C removal
-Rear heater removal

These projects aren't for everyone as I'm sure there are lots of you out there that use and enjoy these systems. I don't want for this post to become a referendum on whether you should or should not remove parts or systems from your van. That is for each individual owner to decide. My hope is that detailed pictures of my projects might even help someone save or fix one of these systems before they give up on it.
_________________
"See The Glass As Already Broken."

87 Vanagon Westy Auto Bostig

www.bluegrassbicyclecompany.com

indytriple · Posted: Sat Apr 17, 2010 5:56 am Post subject:

The water seems to stay primed even after the van sits for a few days. The system should be airtight when you get done. When I first hooked up the faucet and put water in the tank it took 5-10 seconds of pumping and spitting air until the water arrived. Now the water comes out immediately on the first pump. I'll add a video of the water flow coming out of the faucet when I get a chance. I'm sure some people are concerned that the flow of this system/faucet might not be enough for them. I find it to be more than adequate.
_________________
"See The Glass As Already Broken."

87 Vanagon Westy Auto Bostig

www.bluegrassbicyclecompany.com

krusovice · Posted: Sat Apr 17, 2010 6:04 am Post subject:

Another (maybe obvious) question: if the tank is airtight, what replaces the removed water?

(I'm thinking using the same pump,I could make a separate sink/tank to bring along. We carry water in to our cabin and not having "running" water can be a pain.)

thanks.

indytriple · Posted: Sat Apr 17, 2010 6:16 am Post subject:

Good question. Actually, the tank is NOT airtight. I purposefully used simple black nylon plugs to plug the extra two holes at the top of the tank so that they would fill the holes snugly. This avoids water splashing out in the odd situation that water would be touching or reaching the very top of the tank, but they are not quite airtight. This allows air to seep in and out as water is used or as temperatures change. I have a feeling that if the tank was really airtight as well, it might hurt the water flow coming to the faucet. However, when the tank has water in it and the water pickup at the bottom of the tank is submerged, the system from there to the the faucet IS airtight, which is the important part. I hope I'm explaining myself correctly. It's a bit confusing. The original system is NOT totally airtight at the tank either. It can "breathe" a little bit at the black rubber grommet where the white pump power cable runs into it.
_________________
"See The Glass As Already Broken."

87 Vanagon Westy Auto Bostig

www.bluegrassbicyclecompany.com

krusovice · Posted: Sat Apr 17, 2010 6:44 am Post subject:

Ahhhh. Now it makes sense. As long as the circuit from the pickup to the spigot is sealed, it holds prime. If the tap leaked somewhere the circuit would drain either into the sink or back to the tank.

Thanks for taking the time to explain. I think I can use this.

photogdave · Posted: Sat Apr 17, 2010 12:43 pm Post subject:

That is really great! I didn't know about those hand pumps before.
Let's say I didn't want to do all that work right now, can I just install that pump to bypass my (burnt out) electric pump? Did GW provide instructions?
_________________
89 Syncro GL Westfalia 2.1 WBX/WBXaustSS

My Westy Movies:
photogdave On Vimeo
photogdave On YouTube

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DAIZEE · Posted: Sat Apr 17, 2010 1:18 pm Post subject:

Scooby Blu has a hand pump and I'm used to them from sailing. You can also get them with foot pump as well. On sailboats that have a DC water pump/faucet like the Westy they can also be pulled up and pushed down to pump water in the event of 12V source failure.

I'd like to remove or do something with the "potable water tank and seal it off somehow. On a Riviera the potable filler is different than the Westy. I'd never drink water out of a tank even if it was brand new and I javexed it as you should.

I have to wait until I get inside cleaning SB before doing anything or even knowing what to do. Cleaning with a tooth brush should make me familiar with all. But I almost forgot, my sink has 2 taps, one a pump and one manually off and on. I think the latter is connected with the hose connected and is simply opening and closing the flow.
_________________
'09 2.5L Jetta 5 cylinder, 5 spd, super turbo, see thread in H2O Cooled Jetta, etc...
83.5 Vanagon L Riviera Model with 98 1.9L TD AAZ 4 speed Daily Driver 3 out of 4 seasons (sold)
84 Vanagon GL Wolfsburg Westy WBX 4 speed (sold)

indytriple · Posted: Sun Apr 25, 2010 4:47 pm Post subject:

westynova · Posted: Sun Apr 25, 2010 5:18 pm Post subject:

I am just in the middle of putting my interior back together after taking everything in the back out. While I had it all apart, decided to simplify the van.

- Installed GW Hand Pump (removed electric pump and all associated wires)
- Removed Fresh Water Tank and replaced it with a 10 litre jug under the sink
- Replaced Sink Drain Line with the GW Kit. I may even divert the waste water into a 5 litre Grey Water tank under the sink. Figure it can be smaller then the Fresh Water Tank.
- Removed Propane Tank and converting to 1bls Cylinders/ or Extended Stay connection to run off a 10 lbs tank
- Removed Fridge (Replaced with Engel Fridge and fab cupboard shelves)
- Replaced 120V with GW 120V connection but will only run it to a couple of GFI plugs

The only issue is the connections on the side. I would have liked to have closed them off but I just painted the van last year and I did not want to repaint. So. I removed most of the hardware and siliconed them all closed. That will keep the water out until I come up with a better solution. I made a rubber gasket to close off the Fridge Exhaust Vent. The Vent is still there but the rubber gasket will keep the water out.

Overall I think that this makes the van much simpler to use and the less stuff there, the less stuff to break.
_________________
84 Westy
2010 VW Golf TDI Wagon
2009 Jeep Rubicon Unlimited, Lifted and Locked

indytriple · Posted: Sun Apr 25, 2010 6:06 pm Post subject:

purplepeopleeater · Posted: Sun Apr 25, 2010 8:54 pm Post subject:

If you decide to sell the a/c stuff let me know Smile

DAIZEE · Posted: Mon Apr 26, 2010 4:32 am Post subject:

Westy did you gain valuable storage space when you removed the water tank? I'd like to do that and put a removeable new gas tank below the sink.
_________________
'09 2.5L Jetta 5 cylinder, 5 spd, super turbo, see thread in H2O Cooled Jetta, etc...
83.5 Vanagon L Riviera Model with 98 1.9L TD AAZ 4 speed Daily Driver 3 out of 4 seasons (sold)
84 Vanagon GL Wolfsburg Westy WBX 4 speed (sold)

westynova · Posted: Mon Apr 26, 2010 4:01 pm Post subject:

Overall I think I have more storage space. I went from a 40L tank to a total of 15 litres (10L Fresh water 5L Grey Water). My wife would not drink the water in the tank no matter what I did with it. I had to haul an extra 10L of water in a new jug and all that space was never used.

That space where the water tank was, will hold a lot of nice stuff. I also got ride of the fridge so I gained a lot of space there.

I think the main issue to reduce what is inside the van. Sometimes I feel like I am carrying 400 lbs of junk for nothing; but I like it when I am camping and I or a fellow camper comes a calling for something and I have it. JUSTICE for carrying around the extra 400 lbs.
_________________
84 Westy
2010 VW Golf TDI Wagon
2009 Jeep Rubicon Unlimited, Lifted and Locked

DAIZEE · Posted: Mon Apr 26, 2010 5:50 pm Post subject:

I''ll have to do a crawl around as I'd really like to remove my potable tank (on my Westy I think it was under the passenger's seat underneath the van so that won't save space inside BUT perhaps it would be good for some Panama Jack's) as I too would never use it no matter what. I'll carry drinking water. I drink a lot of water, a lot. Then depending on the size of the city water tank I may remove it for storage space and use a container under the sink for washing dishes etc... hooked up to the hand pump. I do have a second faucet (just open & closed) which I will most likely hook up to a container of reg water under the sink for dish washing, teeth etc. I'm going for the 'more storage space syndrome'.
_________________
'09 2.5L Jetta 5 cylinder, 5 spd, super turbo, see thread in H2O Cooled Jetta, etc...
83.5 Vanagon L Riviera Model with 98 1.9L TD AAZ 4 speed Daily Driver 3 out of 4 seasons (sold)
84 Vanagon GL Wolfsburg Westy WBX 4 speed (sold)

PDXWesty · Posted: Tue Apr 27, 2010 7:43 am Post subject:

I think you're all being overly cautious about your water use. There's no reason not to use the tank that's there for drinking. I've been drinking that water for years and have seen nothing out of the ordinary, and I do nothing special to treat my system. Just for fun, I have a friend in a water quality lab' I'll send him a sample and see what he finds. The water coming out of your pipes at home probably contains more contaminants than you'll find in the Westy system. Nobody thinks twice about that.
_________________
89 Westy 2.1 Auto

indytriple · Posted: Tue Apr 27, 2010 8:51 am Post subject:

I'd have to agree with PDXWesty. As a mountain biker I've lost track of how many grungy hydration pack bladders and water bottles I've been forced (or chosen) to drink from! In my world the Westy tank is the least of my worries. That being said, I clean the Westy tank occasionally with a water/bleach solution.
_________________
"See The Glass As Already Broken."

87 Vanagon Westy Auto Bostig

www.bluegrassbicyclecompany.com

DAIZEE · Posted: Tue Apr 27, 2010 1:32 pm Post subject:

yes that is what is recommended. Smile

_________________
'09 2.5L Jetta 5 cylinder, 5 spd, super turbo, see thread in H2O Cooled Jetta, etc...
83.5 Vanagon L Riviera Model with 98 1.9L TD AAZ 4 speed Daily Driver 3 out of 4 seasons (sold)
84 Vanagon GL Wolfsburg Westy WBX 4 speed (sold)


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