First thing to do on your water set-up is choosing your water tank size and the place where it comes according your needs. You can either choose to put it inside or outside your van. Ours is inside in the 'garage' part of our van. It takes up quite some storage space, but it gives you the ability to travel in colder condiions as well. If you only travel in warmer periods there are water tanks specially made for each van to fit perfectly underneath the van.
Our water tank can hold 100l fresh water.
100l Water tank in the garage area underneath our bed
Our garage area in our van is not yet completely finished. A panel will be added before our water tank with a water tank filling port. And better compartments have to made for storing our gear. A better photo will be taken as soon as that job is done.
A water tank filling port can also be installed in the metal body of your van, being able to fill it up from the outside. We didn't want that, as we want to be as stealth as possible :)
The other components of our water system are all installed in a closet under our sink, next to our shower. This makes it easier to access and shortens the connecting pipes of the water installation. For the water pipe install we choose a ProPlus water pipe, and Reich connectors. Use Teflon tape on each connector and secure the connection with a hose clamp with screw. We didn't use Teflon the first time and only used the hose clamp, with minor leaks as result. Teflon and really securing the hose clamps and all leaks were gone :)
Shurflo water pump to Fiamma expansion tank
Elgena KB6 12V Boiler
For our hot water we use an Elgena KB6 12V Boiler. It's a 6l boiler which runs on 12V. For electrical boilers there is also the Truma Therme TT2 boiler.
In all honesty we haven't really used our Elgena KB6 boiler yet so we can not give an exact review over our water heater installation.
If using gas in your van, a gas boiler is a much easier solution as water heater.
Materials used
100l Water tank
Shurflo Trailking water pump
Shurflo water filter
Fiamma A20 expansion tank
Elgena KB6 12V boiler
ProPlus Water pipe
Reich connectors
Teflon tape
