Frequently Asked Questions

For connecting Floë to a caravan with an on board fresh water tank and an inlet from the outside water barrel, we have created a chapter on the DVD called, “fitting to the complicated layout”, so take a look for this in the troubleshooting chapter of the DVD.  On this, we connect the airline tee to the inlet from the outside barrel and for draining down, make sure the direction of water is set to bringing in water from the outside barrel.

For Floë units that will not stop running and are not building up in pressure, see Using Floë Induratec 636 – Floë Keeps Running and will not stop

Floë Induratec 636 is a 12v system.  The wattage required is in two parts.  There is an initial surge of 10A required to start the system (which is a bit like starting a car on a hill, as it requires more revs), but this is only a quick jolt and only for a millisecond, so it poses no threat to cables or fuses.  The second part is for the normal running of the unit.  This is approx 5-6A.  Now, there is a cigar lighter plug on that comes with 636 and we know that users have been able to use their 5A cigar sockets, so a 5A connection or socket should not be a problem.

When a Floë unit does not stop and you believe that it is not pressurising the system, the most likely reason is that there is an air leak somewhere in either the Floë airline setup, or the vehicle water system.

So, we need to make sure of a few things first

  1. Make sure all taps are closed
  2. Next you will want to check the dump valve for the water heater.  This little yellow lever is designed to be closed by flicking it down with your index finger, however, most people lower it down with the thumb and forefinger.  Now, the problem with this is that, if you push the lever down to the floor too much, it will lift the back of the hinge up and out of the floor and this opens the valve again.  So, try lifting the yellow lever up just a fraction.  This should close the valve and then Floë should stop.

 

Now, if this doesn’t work, there could be an air leak due to the seals in the Floë assembly connections.  What you need to do is check first that the box works normally, without connection to the water system.  So,

  1. Remove the little connector under the box, which normally connects the stump of airline under Floë to the long airline
  2. Switch Floë on and hold your thumb or finger over the stump of airline.  See if the box stops after a second.
  3. If not, contact us 028 9247 4040, as there is a problem with the Floë unit. This is rare though.
  4. If yes, the box works, so there is a leak somewhere. So round the ends of hose with your fingers, wet the hose ends and reattach.  Sometimes cutting makes the hose or pipework oval shaped with the cutting pressure used, leaving a poor seal.
  5. Now, to test that connector back at Floë, we need to disconnect the other end of long hose and hold your thumb over the end of the hose. Holding thumb over the ends of the push fit connectors will not work, as they don’t work that way, it needs to be the hose ends.
  6. If the box stops /starts, then reseating the hose back at the Floë fixed the problem.
  7. If not, try to reseat those connections again back at the Floë unit and try again
  8. If the problem persists, remove the tee from the water pipes.
    1. The tee is made up of 3 parts, Non Return Valve (NRV), Connecting hose and Tee.
    2. Take the assembly apart, Round off the little hose piece, wet the ends and reseat into NRV and Tee
    3. Reassemble the tee and make sure to place the red end of NRV beside the tee in the middle of the assembly.
    4. Make sure the cut ends of the main water supply pipe are not oval. They are a bit tougher, so wrap and protect the ends with a cloth and shape with pliers.
    5. Reseat all the connections
  9. Retry and if problem persists still, contact us on 028 9247 4040.

Floë Induratec 636 is a 12v system.  The wattage required is in two parts.  There is an initial surge of 10A required to start the system (which is a bit like starting a car on a hill, as it requires more revs), but this is only a quick jolt and only for a millisecond, so it poses no threat to cables or fuses.  The second part is for the normal running of the unit.  This is approx 5-6A.  Now, there is a cigar lighter plug on that comes with 636 and we know that users have been able to use their 5A cigar sockets, so a 5A connection or socket should not be a problem.

When a Floë unit does not stop and you believe that it is not pressurising the system, the most likely reason is that there is an air leak somewhere in either the Floë airline setup, or the vehicle water system.

So, we need to make sure of a few things first

  1. Make sure all taps are closed
  2. Next you will want to check the dump valve for the water heater.  This little yellow lever is designed to be closed by flicking it down with your index finger, however, most people lower it down with the thumb and forefinger.  Now, the problem with this is that, if you push the lever down to the floor too much, it will lift the back of the hinge up and out of the floor and this opens the valve again.  So, try lifting the yellow lever up just a fraction.  This should close the valve and then Floë should stop.

Now, if this doesn’t work, there could be an air leak due to the seals in the Floë assembly connections.  What you need to do is check first that the box works normally, without connection to the water system.  So,

  1. Remove the little connector under the box, which normally connects the stump of airline under Floë to the long airline
  2. Switch Floë on and hold your thumb or finger over the stump of airline.  See if the box stops after a second.
  3. If not, contact us 028 9247 4040, as there is a problem with the Floë unit. This is rare though.
  4. If yes, the box works, so there is a leak somewhere. So round the ends of hose with your fingers, wet the hose ends and reattach.  Sometimes cutting makes the hose or pipework oval shaped with the cutting pressure used, leaving a poor seal.
  5. Now, to test that connector back at Floë, we need to disconnect the other end of long hose and hold your thumb over the end of the hose. Holding thumb over the ends of the push fit connectors will not work, as they don’t work that way, it needs to be the hose ends.
  6. If the box stops /starts, then reseating the hose back at the Floë fixed the problem.
  7. If not, try to reseat those connections again back at the Floë unit and try again
  8. If the problem persists, remove the tee from the water pipes.
    1. The tee is made up of 3 parts, Non Return Valve (NRV), Connecting hose and Tee.
    2. Take the assembly apart, Round off the little hose piece, wet the ends and reseat into NRV and Tee
    3. Reassemble the tee and make sure to place the red end of NRV beside the tee in the middle of the assembly.
    4. Make sure the cut ends of the main water supply pipe are not oval. They are a bit tougher, so wrap and protect the ends with a cloth and shape with pliers.
    5. Reseat all the connections
  9. Retry and if problem persists still, contact us on 028 9247 4040.

Floë Portable Water Drainage System

Our Floë Portable Water Drainage System was the first system created by ourselves back in 2010.  This system has served many people well over the years and we are still very proud of it.  Basically it is a tool that enables air to be introduced into a water system in a sealed fashion.  This air is compressed and pushes the residual water up the lines and against the back of all taps and outlets.  Once a tap or outlet is opened, this compressed air forces the water out leading to that outlet.  So long as all of the taps and outlets are drained one by one, the system can then be considerd drained and empty.

This was our first system, which connects to an outside water tap or a washing machine tee fitted to the main water line and the process video can be seen in the Static Lodge and Holiday home section

The user connects Floe to the main water line and connects on their own car compressor.

Once pressure is built up, the user goes indoors and opens a tap.  Once drained the user needs to walk back out of the property to build up pressure again to drain the next tap.

The process does take about 25 – 30 mins mainly outside, but this is a great little system if you only wish to drain down once a year at Halloween and then lay up for the winter.

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Floë Induratec 868 Water Drainage System

Three years after the launch of our portable system, we listened to many questions and comments from our customer.  The same questions came up time after time.

Q. Do you sell Tyre Compressors

A. No, but you can get one at a local auto shop or online.  Spend some money as cheap ones are not very reliable

Q. So, do i need to constantly monitor the pressure.

A. Yes, you dont want to over pressurise and damage the system.

Q. Does it mean that I have to go in and out of the property to pressurise and drain each tap

A. Yes, that is correct

So, we took all the good stuff from Floë portable and then added what customers wanted, together with some of our own ideas.  The result in 2017 was our second generation – our Automated Floë Induratec 868 Water Drainage System

868 is fitted indoors, so the entire process is carried out from the warmth of inside, which is good for people with restricted physical abilities.  It has its own internal compressor that will pressurise up to the desired amount and automatically stop for the owner to drain the first tap.  Once a tap is opened, the water is pushed out, but as the air pressure drops, 868 will sense this and automatically restart again, without user intervention.  So, when draining down, the owner simply switches of the water supply, goes indoors again and then walks around the property opening and closing taps until the system is empty.

Taking only 4-5 mins to drain the system, this is a great system if you want to drain down at Halloween and have the peace of mind that your property is protected whatever the weather.  However, 868 also delivers the flexibility of being able to enjoy winter getaways during the winter months, simply taking a few minutes to drain before leaving again.

The 868 Induratec may be more expensive at £234.99 over the portable system at £26.99, this would pay for itself over two years of once a year draindowns.  However, it is more convenient and if you wanted to visit a couple of times up to season end, then it may would pay for itself in the first year possibly a couple of times over.  It really depends on physical abilty and how you wish to use your van over winter.

Further information and videos can be found on the link below

https://keepfloeing.com/product/static-lodge/floe-automated-induratec-868-240v-drainage-system/

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There are two types of water systems in leisure and permanent properties, those with direct mains water straight to all of the cold and hot taps (Closed Systems) and those properties that use a cold water storage tanks in the attic (Open Systems)

For this question, we shall be concentrating on Closed Systems as, there are a number of places you need to winterise on Open Systems.  Also, its must be iterated at this point that, you should consult a qualified plumber for using Floë on an Open System.

In a Closed Direct Mains System, cold water comes in to the property from the outside.  It will travel through a shut-off valve to be able to isolate the system.  It then splits into two branches.  The first goes as fresh water to all of the cold water taps, kitchen, bathroom, toilet, washing machine, dishwasher etc and of course the outside tap.  The other branches off to the boiler, then to the hot taps in the property.

Floë should be connected to the main water line on the property side of the stopcock.  This can be done a number of ways.  The most popular is to connect it to the 3/4″ thread of an outside tap, as long as it is also been connected on the property side of the stop valve.  If you dont have an outside tap, then you can fit either a washing machine tee or a self cuting tap on the main water line, again on the property side.  These are available on the website and can also be used as an outside tap as they have the same 3/4″ thread.  Further information can be found on the DVD that comes with Floë.

The whole aim of Floë is to build up air pressure and follow the natural flow of the water from the outside of the property.  This means that the water is being pushed from the stop valve outside, up into the property and out of each tap and outlet.  This ensures that the user can see that all water has been removed.

Following the natural flow of the water also means that the water is effectively chased through the system components in the direction that is naturally intended.  The boiler and the shower both have one way valves inside them, which basically means that, cold water can enter the boiler, made hot and travel on to the hot taps, however, the hot cannot travel back into the cold system again.  By using Floë, water is chased through the boiler at low pressure and on to the hot taps.  For every hot tap you drain, you have drained the boiler.  So four hot taps, four boiler drains.  On a Floë draindown, you do not need to touch the boiler.

In the case of the shower, again, the water can travel out of the shower valve and then the shower head, but cannot travel in reverse.  This is in case the shower head is left in a kneeling bath.  If someone were to turn a tap on in the kitchen to fill the kettle say, there is the rare phenomenon of “Back Siphoning”, where the water in the bath could be sucked back up into the system.  This is very rare though.  Nevertheless, bylaws dictate that one way valves are fitted.

Whatever the situation, it is important to drain a property following the natural flow of water.  Should a person try to drain in reverse, by attaching an airline to a tap, or using the drain valves outside, then the water in the boiler would have to be removed manually, which is a pain and not for the casual DIY’er.  In the case of a shower, the shower valve is usually removed in these drain downs, which is punishment that the attaching threads were never meant to endure.  Also, unless  reconnected, the water system is rendered useless, with two ugly holes in the wall of the shower

If you don’t have an outside tap, then you can always fit a Compression Washing Machine Tee or a Self Cutting Tap (both available from us in the static/lodge section).  You would fit any one of these on the main water line leading into the property.  These will allow you to get a clear airway and can be fitted anywhere on the property side of the stopcock.

By fitting here, you can be assured that you are facing the correct direction and following the natural direction of the water, that all taps and outlets can be drained and the biggest advantage is that you don’t need to manually drain boilers or dismantle the system in any way.  This means that the draindown is incredibly quick and that, without reconnections, you are free to enjoy your property through the winter months, draining when and as often as you like.

Sometimes when you try to push air into an outside tap, you will find that the compressor shoots up to 30PSI in about 1 second.  This means that there is a blockage.  A good way to check if you have a blockage is to open a tap inside and try the compressor outside again.  If air is getting in to the system, there should be gurgling in the tap, If not, there is a blockage and you will hear nothing.

There are a couple of reasons and solutions for this

  1. Some outside taps have one way valves fitted to them, which allow water to come out, but not allow air to travel back.  You will know this if you take off the hose connector and look up inside the mouth of the tap and you see a little white valve insert. This is a one way valve.  There will also be another in the back of the tap.  The solution is to either replace the tap, or remove and modify it.  To remove, first turn the mains water off, unscrew the tap from its backing plate.  In the front and back there will be a little circular clip holding the little white cartridges in place.  Remove these by using the pointed end of a knife, to slip under it.  Then remove both white cartridges.  When replacing the taps, wrap plumbers PTFE tape about six times around the threads in a clockwise direction and screw the tap back in.
  2. If there is no white insert, but the tap still won’t let air travel through, there could be a chance that the brass stem is broken inside.  This tap cannot be repaired and should be replaced with a typical outside tap without one way valves.  You can tell it is broken, by turning off the water supply, remove the tap and turn the tap on while it is in your hand.  If you shake the tap and it rattles, it is broken inside.  For a quick draindown, you can use this tap temporarily though.  Wrap plumbers PTFE tape about six times around the threads in a clockwise direction and screw the tap back in, but leave it upside down.  Open the tap fully while the water is off and tap gently with a hammer of similar weighted tool.  This should make the broken piece fall back down into the tap and open the airway.  Screw Floë back on, open a tap inside and try to enter air.  If air is getting in to the system, there should be gurgling in the tap, If not, the tap is still blocked and should be replaced, if there is gurgling, close the tap and continue with the draindown.  The tap should still be replaced though.

You can of course abandon this tap and fit a Compression Washing Machine Tee or a Self Cutting Tap (available from us) on the main water line leading into the property.  These will allow you to get a clear airway and can be fitted anywhere on the property side of the stopcock.

The short answer is yes, but we just to explain why.  The drain valves under a Caravan or Lodge date back to a bygone era of draining down.  There were two schools of thought at that time.  Either open the valves and open a tap inside so gravity alone will allow the water to come out.  (This really never worked).  Or, open the valves and try to use a compressor or pump airline attached to the tap inside, to push the water out in reverse from each tap, down through the system and out of the drain valves.

This process was used for years, but due to one way valves in the shower and boiler, it is nearly impossible to carry out a proper draindown without dismantling these devices.

The modern drain down involves following the direction of the water from the outside in and pushing the water out of taps and outlets.  If you can see that it has been removed, it is removed.

Now, water doesn’t travel anywhere randomly.  It goes to taps, toilets, showers, outside taps, washing machines and dishwashers.  If you drain each one of these fully, then the water in the system has been removed.  Therefore, having the drain valves connected are now surplus to requirements.  They are an appendix or an additional leg that can be removed.  As you will push the water out of the outlets, you do not need the drain valves.

However, the first time you use Floë, you will want to drain the drain valves at the end, just to see how much is in there.  If you find there is a cup full, then you might want to consider draining them each time, or removing them.  If there is only a quick spray of water, then you might want to just wrap foam lagging around the ends.  It’s a decision call.

Should you wish to remove them, you will probably need to remove the lagging around the pipes first.  If you find that the pipe to the drain valve is connected to a tee, then replace the tee with a 90 degree right angled elbow.  This will remove the drain valve pipe, but complete the system again.  You can also cut the pipe close to the connection and use quick push fit stop ends.  The removal of the pipe completely is not necessary, as it can simply be left where it is.

  1. If only after a couple of seconds the compresssor stops, then there is a problem.  First of all, make sure you are not connecting to a non return tap (see below) or there is not a non return valve after the point of your connection.  When connecting the tool to a tap or fitting, you should ensure that the tap has been opened and run dry before positioning the tool.  Also, make sure that the tap is open and that the tool is seated well, to allow the compressed air to pass through.  In addition, sometimes older taps stick inside, so twist the head left and right to loosen the inside of the tap. (These problems are discussed further in the Essential Winterising Techniques Series of How-to DVD’s)
  2. With static caravans, sometimes a compressor will stop at 30PSI(2BAR) or reach that pressure and continue very quickly.  Check your mains feedpipe and see if it lies on the ground before rising up to the tap.  If this happens, then when you turn the tap on not much will come out and the remaining water in the line will be topped up to the tap itself.  Try opening a tap inside first, then compressing again.  As the compressor pressurises water should be pushed out of the tap inside.  If not go to the next step.
  3. Another issue we have found is that some older taps have a little closing lid inside the tap for the purposes of shutting off the water when the tap in turned off.  This lid disconnects from the tap handle inside and falls down into the tap (ie it is broken).  Ordinarily this would not be noticed, as when the tap is turned on the water pressure pushes the lid out of the way and water flows from the tap.  However this is a problem for winterising as when we apply pressure in the opposite direction, the lid falls down again and acts like the tap has been turned off.  You will know this is happening if the compressed air pressure starts to reach a high level very quickly.  This is a faulty tap and should be replaced with a normal outside tap and not a non return type.  Remember to use PTFE tape on the tap threads.

When a Floë unit does not stop and you believe that it is not pressurising the system, the most likely reason is that there is a small air leak somewhere in either the Floë airline setup, or the property water system.

So, for testing purposes, we need to make sure of a few things first

  1. Make sure all taps are closed inside and outside
  2. Washing machine and Dishwasher valves are turned off. (but only if easily reached)
  3. Make sure none of the toilets have been flushed before the drain down process
  4. While Floë is running, lift the lids of the toilet cisterns and listen to the inside. If there is a hiss, then there is air escaping from the cistern mechanism. Although there may not seem to be a leak or hiss here, it is advisable to remove the toilet(s) from the equation.  To do this you can seal them off temporarily by turning off the isolation valve half way up pipe from the floor to the cistern.  The valve is either turned by a thumb screw or a screwdriver slot.  Either way, the valve should be be turned from vertical to horizontal.

 

Now there could be an air leak due to the seals in the Floë assembly connections.  So what you need to do is check these and that the Floe unit works normally, So,

 

  1. Before starting, make sure Floe has not built up pressure in the pipework.  You can get rid of this pressure by making sure that Floe is switched off, then open any tap inside.  Any pressure will come out of the tap.
  2. Remove the little straight valve or elbow connector under the box, which normally connects the stump of airline pipe under Floë to the long airline.  All of these joints are removed simply by pulling back on the little collar at the outer ends of the joint.  Slightly push joint further up the pipe, to release and then using index and middle finger at either side of the pipe, simply pull back on the collar towards the joint.  This will loosen the teeth inside and you should be able to pull the joint down and remove the pipe from the joint.  If you have to pull back excessively, then the collar is not pulled back far enough to release the teeth, or perhaps there is still air pressure there.  See No 1.
  3. Switch Floë on and hold your thumb firmly over the stump of airline to seal the pipe.  See if the box stops after a second.
  4. If not, contact us 028 9247 4040, as there is a problem with the Floë unit. This is extremely rare though.
  5. If yes, then Floë works, so there is a leak somewhere. Sometimes cutting makes the hose or pipework oval shaped with the cutting pressure used, leaving a poor seal.  So press and round the ends of hose with your fingers, then wet the hose ends and re-attach the connector squarely and firmly.
  6. Now, to test that connector back at Floë, we need to disconnect the other end of long airline pipe under the property.  Remove it from the tee using the same technique above and hold your thumb over the end of the hose. Holding thumb over the ends of the push fit connectors will not work, as they don’t work that way (air will escape around the sides of the collars), it needs to be the raw hose ends.
  7. If Floë stops /starts using your thumb on and off, then it is operating normally, so round off and reseat the pipe back into the tee and retest.
  8. If Floë doesn’t stop, then try to reseat the connections again back under the Floë unit and try again
  9. If Floë is performing correctly at this stage, then you need to check further towards the taps, so remove the tee from the 15mm water pipes.

 

    1. The tee is made up of 3 parts, Non Return Valve (NRV), Connecting hose and Tee.  The NRV is the straight part with the red collar.
    2. Take the assembly apart following method above, Round off the little hose piece, wet the ends and reseat into NRV and Tee
    3. Reassemble the tee assembly and make sure to place the red end of NRV beside the tee in the middle of the assembly.
    4. A true test of the Floë components would be to place two short 6 inch pieces of normal water pipe into the tee, run Floë and cup the ends of the pipes in the palms of your hands.  This will seal the ends.  If Floë  stops the assembly is fine and there is a leak in the water system.  However, you may not have any small pieces, but if you cup your hands over the ends of the tee, you can at least slow Floë down.
    5. Removing the short ends of pipe again, make sure the cut ends of the main water supply pipe are not oval in shape, or cut in a ragged fashion. Now, these 15mm pipes are a lot tougher, so wrap and protect the ends with a cloth and shape with a pair of pliers.  Do not use pliers on their own, or you could leave teeth marks in the pipe and make the problem worse.
    6. Reseat all the connections.
    7. Now, if the problem persists and you haven’t already done so, isolate the toilets, by turning the valve off, half way up the pipe leading to the underside of the cistern.  This will ensure that no water can escape from the toilet mechanism.

Retry and if problem persists still, contact us on 028 9247 4040 Mon – Fri 9-5 or 07895 465 956 Sat 11-1.

Hopefully, we can assume you know how a traditional ball valve in a toilet works.

  • Flush toilet
  • Ball cock in cistern falls down
  • The valve opens to let more water in
  • The ball cock then rises and shuts off valve when the water reaches the fill line of Cistern

 

Well, the modern ones work in exactly the same way, except they have a little float in the mechanism, but we need to identify the float.  So, before you carry out a drain down and while your water is still switched on, as a trial, take the cistern lid off and look at the mechanism inside.

Then, flush the toilet and you will notice a little float inside the mechanism that will drop down to the bottom of the cistern.  This will open the water inlet valve in another part of the mechanism, to refill the cistern.

Although these modern toilets all work the same, there are many kinds of mechanisms out there, so we don’t want to direct you to a specific part, but watch carefully as the water drains from the cistern.  A float will definitely fall.  When you see the float, just remember where it is.  So, once you are ready to carry out a drain down, you’ll know where to find it from now on.

Draining Down

OK, so when draining down, you will want to drain the pipe leading to the toilet as part of the process.  This is ignored on many paid for drain downs by the way.  So, when Floë has pressurised the system, simply press down gently on the little float.  Go easy, as the water level may rise with the water coming in from the pipe.  But do this until the water has come out and only air is being forced into the cistern.  It only takes a second to drain and you’ll probably notice the water rising excessively.  This is the air doing its job.

Remember that draining the pipe to the toilet is only part of the draindown and that the draindown is only part of the winterising.  Therefore remember, do not flush the toilet after draining the pipe leading to it.  Only when you have completely finished the entire drain down process around the property, can you carry out the rest of the winterising, which involves flushing the toilets and putting half a glass of antifreeze down into the toilet bowl and a half a glass into what remains in the cistern.

Now, rarely some cistern mechanisms can be problematic.  If you find that after you drain the toilet pipe into the cistern, that you can no longer build up pressure, then you have a couple of options.  This is very rare, but happens from time to time.

  • Fill the cistern with more water to raise the float higher in the water, shutting the valve
  • If this does not work, hold the float up with your hand to close the valve and ask someone to drain the other outlets.
  • If there is a shutoff valve half way up the pipe to the cistern, turn it off for the remainder of the drain down and back on again when finished

In this rare situation, it is the water in the pipe that makes the seal and without it, some cistern mechanisms can be a little flaky about staying shut.  In this instance, it is advisable to leave the toilets to the end of the drain down, however with an ensuite toilet, you may need to have someone hold the ball valve, or float up, or turn the shut off valve half way up the toilet pipe to off, just for the last toilet.

As a complete solution, it is advisable to replace this part of the toilet mechanism for about £12-16.  Simply take a picture of the cistern to a hardware store and they can replace the part for you.  Floë is simply showing a future problem, as air will escape more easily than water.  In time, this will end up being one of those toilets that drips and refills continuously.

From the 1960s and 70s, static caravans have had water heaters or geezers.  Today it is the same, but with the introduction of central heating radiators, most modern caravans today will have what is known as, a gas combination boiler.

 

A combination boiler or combi for short, is one that will heat the fresh hot water for washing and bathing as before, but they will also heat the water in the radiators.  Now, without getting too technical, think of a combi boiler as being in two halves.  The top half looks after the central heating and the lower half looks after the heating of your hot water.

 

In the top radiator half, there is a device slightly smaller than a house brick called a heat exchanger (HE) and inside it looks like honeycomb.  The water from the radiators is passed through the HE, where it is heated and then a pump pushes the water around the radiators in a closed and sealed loop, until it eventually comes back into the boiler again, where it is heated and off it goes to the rads once more.

 

Now, since central heating was introduced to caravans, the manufacturers have always pumped antifreeze into the loop of radiator water, so that it is protected against winter.  You don’t need to do anything with your radiators or indeed this part of the boiler in winter, however, next time you get your boiler serviced, get the plumber to check that there is enough anti-freeze in the loop.

 

This brings us to the lower part of the boiler which looks after the heating of your fresh water.  Here there is another Heat Exchanger (HE) like the first, but specifically there to heat the fresh cold water.  Basically, when you open a hot tap, the mains water pressure pushes cold water into this HE, where it is heated, and then comes out of the HE as hot water, that travels on to the hot taps. This is on demand water heating.  Very simple, but very effective.  I you don’t have a combi boiler, but just a water heater, this works exactly the same and the rest of this section relates to both combi’s and water heaters

 

So, what about draining down.  Well, we have already established that the radiator part of the boiler does not need any intervention, however, the lower fresh water side is vulnerable against frost.  You cannot put any anti-freeze (AF) into this water, as you would be polluting it.  People have tried to introduce Food Grade AF, but it has not been passed by the Water Regulations Advisory Scheme (WRAS) and is therefore illegal.

 

So, we need to do something about this water, as it will freeze and damage the boiler.  In days gone by when engineers were trying to drain the system in reverse, they knew that there is a one way valve in the boiler.  This allows water to travel as cold into the hot side, but not the other way around.  Again, that would be polluting the cold water system.  So, to drain down they would have to remove parts of the boiler to drain it out.  Incidentally, there is a one way valve in the shower mixer valve, which is why many engineers remove them and lay them on the floor of the shower.

 

However, Floë is different.  Whether it is using our Portable Water Drainage System that connects to the outside tap, or our new Floë Induratec 868, both will remove the water by pushing it through the system and out of the taps, following the natural flow of the water.  By following the natural flow, the cold water is pushed through the boiler and on to the hot taps.  So, by draining one hot tap, you will have drained the boiler.  There is absolutely no need for dismantling the boiler or the shower.  As a matter of fact, there is no need to go near the boiler.  It will be drained as part of the process.

 

Better yet, in a typical caravan, there are 4 hot outlets to drain, Kitchen, Bathroom Wash Hand Basin, Shower and the En-suite sink.  Therefore, when all four have been drained, you will have drained the boiler 4 times.

 

As an additional feature, it is worth draining the hot taps through the summer once or twice.  On a normal draindown, the air going through the boiler will disturb any sediment that naturally gathers in the Heat Exchanger.  This is nothing like the rust sediments picked up by magnets in the central heating side.  As we have discussed, that is a separate system.  But left unchecked, this sediment will naturally increase and make the boiler burn inefficiently, costing more on gas and will eventually ruin the HE.

 

However, if you drain the system and especially the hot taps, Floë will disturb the sediment.  If you then turn your water back on and run the hot taps while the sediment is disturbed and jiggled up, the new water will flush this sediment out of the taps.  The result is a more efficient boiler that can save up to 15% on your gas bill and you will extend the life of the Heat Exchanger indefinitely.  As mentioned, this is something you’d want to do through the summer season.  Very effective though.

Over the years people have adopted other means of winterising their property.  One of these ways is to leave a combination (combi) boiler on Frost Stat mode.  This means that at about 3-4oC the boiler will fire up and push water around the loop of radiators, therefore heating the property.

While on the face of it this seems great, this really is only a short term measure for a property left vacant for winter holidays etc, as there are a few limitations.

 

  1. A boiler in Frost Stat mode was never designed to protect the property, it is to protect the boiler and radiators. In order to protect the fresh hot and cold water pipes, the pipework needs to be exposed in cupboards in order for the heat to get to them. Moreover in caravans and lodges, the loop of radiators will have antifreeze in it, so it can’t really freeze anyway.  However, the fresh hot and water for showers etc has no antifreeze in it, so therefore it is still vulnerable inside and out
  2. Heating the rooms will do nothing for the pipes under the property. Although they may be lagged, they can still freeze given our recent winters, particularly the fresh water pipes as mentioned above.

In essence, this function was designed to protect the radiators and boiler that was originally made for a “2 up/2 down” house without antifreeze and not the main pipes of the house itself.  Also, outside pipes would be buried in this example, unlike a caravan or lodge.

  1. A typical boiler on Frost Stat mode will typically use one and a half tall 47KG cylinders of propane over a winter season. Many have fallen foul of this, as their gas system can only hook up to one cylinder at a time. Therefore the question, When do you change over the bottle ?  In addition, a gas bottle is approx £80, so there’s the £120 cost to consider.
  2. Winter time is usually when the caravan site carries out repairs and renovations. This may involve the use of a digger and not knowing that there are properties dependant on electricity to run boilers etc, the site will disconnect the electricity supply for the duration, to prevent possible electrocution. And you can bet that this will be during the coldest part of the winter.

In a combi boiler, there are two heating systems.  One for the radiators and one for the fresh hot water.  By draining the system using Floë, you are evacuating all of the water from the fresh hot and cold water system.  Floë does not touch the radiator water, as it is a closed loop system with antifreeze and doesn’t require draining.

 

While draining the hot taps, you will have drained the Fresh hot water side of the boiler into the bargain and in doing so, the boiler will be emptied and is now safe for winter.  From this point you don’t need to do anything else to the boiler.  As the entire water system will have been drained, there is no need to run the Frost Stat mode and it is not advisable.  It’s a bit like trying to boil an empty kettle.  As the saying goes, If the water’s not there, it can’t freeze.

For further information on how the boiler operates, please see the FAQ – Draining the boiler and discussing the radiators.

In general, Floë will push the water out of one tap/outlet at a time, but it does have the ability to do two, however, you need to have plenty of space in the system to fill with air.

The vertical shower has a factory preset temperature of 38 oC and has an override facility to increase the temp to 43 oC.  Now, the typical boiler will push out hot water at approximately 45-55 oC, so this means that, both the Hot and the Cold (H&C) pipes leading to the shower obviously have to be open, to reduce the temp.  That said, there is no facility, as per our DVD, to turn all the way to hot and drain and then all the way to cold and drain.  In this example, both H&C will be open and therefore we need to drain both pipes at the same time.

So, the shower should be left to the end of the draindown procedure.  This way, most of the pipework will be empty (except the shower) and give lots of space in the pipework for compressed air.

Now, there is the override, which will allow a slight adjustment, so you could drain the shower twice.  First with the override down at its lowest temperature and then a second time with it at its highest.  This will open the H&C independently, giving you more H than C and vice versa and a better drain on both sides.

Basically, once you drain the water and get to the fine spray stage, you’ll know that, whatever water is left, is simply mixing with the air and therefore the two H&C pipes leading to the shower are empty.

The answer is no, you will be fine.  Its an issue you we made allowances for.

When you get the non return valve (NRV), try to blow through it and you will see that it is very strong.  Now, the water will touch the front face of the NRV in normal use, but that’s it, no further.  It can gather limescale as much as it wants, but it will only be on the front face.

When Floë is in operation, the air pressure has built up enough to instantaneously push any water away from the opening of the NRV after it opens.  This is because your water has been switched off and therefore dead in pressure and easy to move out of the way.

Floë Portable Water Drainage System

Our Floë Portable Water Drainage System was the first system created by ourselves back in 2010.  This system has served many people well over the years and we are still very proud of it.  Basically it is a tool that enables air to be introduced into a water system in a sealed fashion.  This air is compressed and pushes the residual water up the lines and against the back of all taps and outlets.  Once a tap or outlet is opened, this compressed air forces the water out leading to that outlet.  So long as all of the taps and outlets are drained one by one, the system can then be considerd drained and empty.

This was our first system, which connects to an outside water tap or a washing machine tee fitted to the main water line and the process video can be seen in the Static Lodge and Holiday home section

The user connects Floe to the main water line and connects on their own car compressor.

Once pressure is built up, the user goes indoors and opens a tap.  Once drained the user needs to walk back out of the property to build up pressure again to drain the next tap.

The process does take about 25 – 30 mins mainly outside, but this is a great little system if you only wish to drain down once a year at Halloween and then lay up for the winter.

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Floë Induratec 868 Water Drainage System

Three years after the launch of our portable system, we listened to many questions and comments from our customer.  The same questions came up time after time.

Q. Do you sell Tyre Compressors

A. No, but you can get one at a local auto shop or online.  Spend some money as cheap ones are not very reliable

Q. So, do i need to constantly monitor the pressure.

A. Yes, you dont want to over pressurise and damage the system.

Q. Does it mean that I have to go in and out of the property to pressurise and drain each tap

A. Yes, that is correct

So, we took all the good stuff from Floë portable and then added what customers wanted, together with some of our own ideas.  The result in 2017 was our second generation – our Automated Floë Induratec 868 Water Drainage System

868 is fitted indoors, so the entire process is carried out from the warmth of inside, which is good for people with restricted physical abilities.  It has its own internal compressor that will pressurise up to the desired amount and automatically stop for the owner to drain the first tap.  Once a tap is opened, the water is pushed out, but as the air pressure drops, 868 will sense this and automatically restart again, without user intervention.  So, when draining down, the owner simply switches of the water supply, goes indoors again and then walks around the property opening and closing taps until the system is empty.

Taking only 4-5 mins to drain the system, this is a great system if you want to drain down at Halloween and have the peace of mind that your property is protected whatever the weather.  However, 868 also delivers the flexibility of being able to enjoy winter getaways during the winter months, simply taking a few minutes to drain before leaving again.

The 868 Induratec may be more expensive at £234.99 over the portable system at £26.99, this would pay for itself over two years of once a year draindowns.  However, it is more convenient and if you wanted to visit a couple of times up to season end, then it may would pay for itself in the first year possibly a couple of times over.  It really depends on physical abilty and how you wish to use your van over winter.

Further information and videos can be found on the link below

https://keepfloeing.com/product/static-lodge/floe-automated-induratec-868-240v-drainage-system/

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There are two types of water systems in leisure and permanent properties, those with direct mains water straight to all of the cold and hot taps (Closed Systems) and those properties that use a cold water storage tanks in the attic (Open Systems)

For this question, we shall be concentrating on Closed Systems as, there are a number of places you need to winterise on Open Systems.  Also, its must be iterated at this point that, you should consult a qualified plumber for using Floë on an Open System.

In a Closed Direct Mains System, cold water comes in to the property from the outside.  It will travel through a shut-off valve to be able to isolate the system.  It then splits into two branches.  The first goes as fresh water to all of the cold water taps, kitchen, bathroom, toilet, washing machine, dishwasher etc and of course the outside tap.  The other branches off to the boiler, then to the hot taps in the property.

Floë should be connected to the main water line on the property side of the stopcock.  This can be done a number of ways.  The most popular is to connect it to the 3/4″ thread of an outside tap, as long as it is also been connected on the property side of the stop valve.  If you dont have an outside tap, then you can fit either a washing machine tee or a self cuting tap on the main water line, again on the property side.  These are available on the website and can also be used as an outside tap as they have the same 3/4″ thread.  Further information can be found on the DVD that comes with Floë.

The whole aim of Floë is to build up air pressure and follow the natural flow of the water from the outside of the property.  This means that the water is being pushed from the stop valve outside, up into the property and out of each tap and outlet.  This ensures that the user can see that all water has been removed.

Following the natural flow of the water also means that the water is effectively chased through the system components in the direction that is naturally intended.  The boiler and the shower both have one way valves inside them, which basically means that, cold water can enter the boiler, made hot and travel on to the hot taps, however, the hot cannot travel back into the cold system again.  By using Floë, water is chased through the boiler at low pressure and on to the hot taps.  For every hot tap you drain, you have drained the boiler.  So four hot taps, four boiler drains.  On a Floë draindown, you do not need to touch the boiler.

In the case of the shower, again, the water can travel out of the shower valve and then the shower head, but cannot travel in reverse.  This is in case the shower head is left in a kneeling bath.  If someone were to turn a tap on in the kitchen to fill the kettle say, there is the rare phenomenon of “Back Siphoning”, where the water in the bath could be sucked back up into the system.  This is very rare though.  Nevertheless, bylaws dictate that one way valves are fitted.

Whatever the situation, it is important to drain a property following the natural flow of water.  Should a person try to drain in reverse, by attaching an airline to a tap, or using the drain valves outside, then the water in the boiler would have to be removed manually, which is a pain and not for the casual DIY’er.  In the case of a shower, the shower valve is usually removed in these drain downs, which is punishment that the attaching threads were never meant to endure.  Also, unless  reconnected, the water system is rendered useless, with two ugly holes in the wall of the shower

If you don’t have an outside tap, then you can always fit a Compression Washing Machine Tee or a Self Cutting Tap (both available from us in the static/lodge section).  You would fit any one of these on the main water line leading into the property.  These will allow you to get a clear airway and can be fitted anywhere on the property side of the stopcock.

By fitting here, you can be assured that you are facing the correct direction and following the natural direction of the water, that all taps and outlets can be drained and the biggest advantage is that you don’t need to manually drain boilers or dismantle the system in any way.  This means that the draindown is incredibly quick and that, without reconnections, you are free to enjoy your property through the winter months, draining when and as often as you like.

Sometimes when you try to push air into an outside tap, you will find that the compressor shoots up to 30PSI in about 1 second.  This means that there is a blockage.  A good way to check if you have a blockage is to open a tap inside and try the compressor outside again.  If air is getting in to the system, there should be gurgling in the tap, If not, there is a blockage and you will hear nothing.

There are a couple of reasons and solutions for this

  1. Some outside taps have one way valves fitted to them, which allow water to come out, but not allow air to travel back.  You will know this if you take off the hose connector and look up inside the mouth of the tap and you see a little white valve insert. This is a one way valve.  There will also be another in the back of the tap.  The solution is to either replace the tap, or remove and modify it.  To remove, first turn the mains water off, unscrew the tap from its backing plate.  In the front and back there will be a little circular clip holding the little white cartridges in place.  Remove these by using the pointed end of a knife, to slip under it.  Then remove both white cartridges.  When replacing the taps, wrap plumbers PTFE tape about six times around the threads in a clockwise direction and screw the tap back in.
  2. If there is no white insert, but the tap still won’t let air travel through, there could be a chance that the brass stem is broken inside.  This tap cannot be repaired and should be replaced with a typical outside tap without one way valves.  You can tell it is broken, by turning off the water supply, remove the tap and turn the tap on while it is in your hand.  If you shake the tap and it rattles, it is broken inside.  For a quick draindown, you can use this tap temporarily though.  Wrap plumbers PTFE tape about six times around the threads in a clockwise direction and screw the tap back in, but leave it upside down.  Open the tap fully while the water is off and tap gently with a hammer of similar weighted tool.  This should make the broken piece fall back down into the tap and open the airway.  Screw Floë back on, open a tap inside and try to enter air.  If air is getting in to the system, there should be gurgling in the tap, If not, the tap is still blocked and should be replaced, if there is gurgling, close the tap and continue with the draindown.  The tap should still be replaced though.

You can of course abandon this tap and fit a Compression Washing Machine Tee or a Self Cutting Tap (available from us) on the main water line leading into the property.  These will allow you to get a clear airway and can be fitted anywhere on the property side of the stopcock.

The short answer is yes, but we just to explain why.  The drain valves under a Caravan or Lodge date back to a bygone era of draining down.  There were two schools of thought at that time.  Either open the valves and open a tap inside so gravity alone will allow the water to come out.  (This really never worked).  Or, open the valves and try to use a compressor or pump airline attached to the tap inside, to push the water out in reverse from each tap, down through the system and out of the drain valves.

This process was used for years, but due to one way valves in the shower and boiler, it is nearly impossible to carry out a proper draindown without dismantling these devices.

The modern drain down involves following the direction of the water from the outside in and pushing the water out of taps and outlets.  If you can see that it has been removed, it is removed.

Now, water doesn’t travel anywhere randomly.  It goes to taps, toilets, showers, outside taps, washing machines and dishwashers.  If you drain each one of these fully, then the water in the system has been removed.  Therefore, having the drain valves connected are now surplus to requirements.  They are an appendix or an additional leg that can be removed.  As you will push the water out of the outlets, you do not need the drain valves.

However, the first time you use Floë, you will want to drain the drain valves at the end, just to see how much is in there.  If you find there is a cup full, then you might want to consider draining them each time, or removing them.  If there is only a quick spray of water, then you might want to just wrap foam lagging around the ends.  It’s a decision call.

Should you wish to remove them, you will probably need to remove the lagging around the pipes first.  If you find that the pipe to the drain valve is connected to a tee, then replace the tee with a 90 degree right angled elbow.  This will remove the drain valve pipe, but complete the system again.  You can also cut the pipe close to the connection and use quick push fit stop ends.  The removal of the pipe completely is not necessary, as it can simply be left where it is.

  1. If only after a couple of seconds the compresssor stops, then there is a problem.  First of all, make sure you are not connecting to a non return tap (see below) or there is not a non return valve after the point of your connection.  When connecting the tool to a tap or fitting, you should ensure that the tap has been opened and run dry before positioning the tool.  Also, make sure that the tap is open and that the tool is seated well, to allow the compressed air to pass through.  In addition, sometimes older taps stick inside, so twist the head left and right to loosen the inside of the tap. (These problems are discussed further in the Essential Winterising Techniques Series of How-to DVD’s)
  2. With static caravans, sometimes a compressor will stop at 30PSI(2BAR) or reach that pressure and continue very quickly.  Check your mains feedpipe and see if it lies on the ground before rising up to the tap.  If this happens, then when you turn the tap on not much will come out and the remaining water in the line will be topped up to the tap itself.  Try opening a tap inside first, then compressing again.  As the compressor pressurises water should be pushed out of the tap inside.  If not go to the next step.
  3. Another issue we have found is that some older taps have a little closing lid inside the tap for the purposes of shutting off the water when the tap in turned off.  This lid disconnects from the tap handle inside and falls down into the tap (ie it is broken).  Ordinarily this would not be noticed, as when the tap is turned on the water pressure pushes the lid out of the way and water flows from the tap.  However this is a problem for winterising as when we apply pressure in the opposite direction, the lid falls down again and acts like the tap has been turned off.  You will know this is happening if the compressed air pressure starts to reach a high level very quickly.  This is a faulty tap and should be replaced with a normal outside tap and not a non return type.  Remember to use PTFE tape on the tap threads.

When a Floë unit does not stop and you believe that it is not pressurising the system, the most likely reason is that there is a small air leak somewhere in either the Floë airline setup, or the property water system.

So, for testing purposes, we need to make sure of a few things first

  1. Make sure all taps are closed inside and outside
  2. Washing machine and Dishwasher valves are turned off. (but only if easily reached)
  3. Make sure none of the toilets have been flushed before the drain down process
  4. While Floë is running, lift the lids of the toilet cisterns and listen to the inside. If there is a hiss, then there is air escaping from the cistern mechanism. Although there may not seem to be a leak or hiss here, it is advisable to remove the toilet(s) from the equation.  To do this you can seal them off temporarily by turning off the isolation valve half way up pipe from the floor to the cistern.  The valve is either turned by a thumb screw or a screwdriver slot.  Either way, the valve should be be turned from vertical to horizontal.

 

Now there could be an air leak due to the seals in the Floë assembly connections.  So what you need to do is check these and that the Floe unit works normally, So,

 

  1. Before starting, make sure Floe has not built up pressure in the pipework.  You can get rid of this pressure by making sure that Floe is switched off, then open any tap inside.  Any pressure will come out of the tap.
  2. Remove the little straight valve or elbow connector under the box, which normally connects the stump of airline pipe under Floë to the long airline.  All of these joints are removed simply by pulling back on the little collar at the outer ends of the joint.  Slightly push joint further up the pipe, to release and then using index and middle finger at either side of the pipe, simply pull back on the collar towards the joint.  This will loosen the teeth inside and you should be able to pull the joint down and remove the pipe from the joint.  If you have to pull back excessively, then the collar is not pulled back far enough to release the teeth, or perhaps there is still air pressure there.  See No 1.
  3. Switch Floë on and hold your thumb firmly over the stump of airline to seal the pipe.  See if the box stops after a second.
  4. If not, contact us 028 9247 4040, as there is a problem with the Floë unit. This is extremely rare though.
  5. If yes, then Floë works, so there is a leak somewhere. Sometimes cutting makes the hose or pipework oval shaped with the cutting pressure used, leaving a poor seal.  So press and round the ends of hose with your fingers, then wet the hose ends and re-attach the connector squarely and firmly.
  6. Now, to test that connector back at Floë, we need to disconnect the other end of long airline pipe under the property.  Remove it from the tee using the same technique above and hold your thumb over the end of the hose. Holding thumb over the ends of the push fit connectors will not work, as they don’t work that way (air will escape around the sides of the collars), it needs to be the raw hose ends.
  7. If Floë stops /starts using your thumb on and off, then it is operating normally, so round off and reseat the pipe back into the tee and retest.
  8. If Floë doesn’t stop, then try to reseat the connections again back under the Floë unit and try again
  9. If Floë is performing correctly at this stage, then you need to check further towards the taps, so remove the tee from the 15mm water pipes.

 

    1. The tee is made up of 3 parts, Non Return Valve (NRV), Connecting hose and Tee.  The NRV is the straight part with the red collar.
    2. Take the assembly apart following method above, Round off the little hose piece, wet the ends and reseat into NRV and Tee
    3. Reassemble the tee assembly and make sure to place the red end of NRV beside the tee in the middle of the assembly.
    4. A true test of the Floë components would be to place two short 6 inch pieces of normal water pipe into the tee, run Floë and cup the ends of the pipes in the palms of your hands.  This will seal the ends.  If Floë  stops the assembly is fine and there is a leak in the water system.  However, you may not have any small pieces, but if you cup your hands over the ends of the tee, you can at least slow Floë down.
    5. Removing the short ends of pipe again, make sure the cut ends of the main water supply pipe are not oval in shape, or cut in a ragged fashion. Now, these 15mm pipes are a lot tougher, so wrap and protect the ends with a cloth and shape with a pair of pliers.  Do not use pliers on their own, or you could leave teeth marks in the pipe and make the problem worse.
    6. Reseat all the connections.
    7. Now, if the problem persists and you haven’t already done so, isolate the toilets, by turning the valve off, half way up the pipe leading to the underside of the cistern.  This will ensure that no water can escape from the toilet mechanism.

Retry and if problem persists still, contact us on 028 9247 4040 Mon – Fri 9-5 or 07895 465 956 Sat 11-1.

Hopefully, we can assume you know how a traditional ball valve in a toilet works.

  • Flush toilet
  • Ball cock in cistern falls down
  • The valve opens to let more water in
  • The ball cock then rises and shuts off valve when the water reaches the fill line of Cistern

 

Well, the modern ones work in exactly the same way, except they have a little float in the mechanism, but we need to identify the float.  So, before you carry out a drain down and while your water is still switched on, as a trial, take the cistern lid off and look at the mechanism inside.

Then, flush the toilet and you will notice a little float inside the mechanism that will drop down to the bottom of the cistern.  This will open the water inlet valve in another part of the mechanism, to refill the cistern.

Although these modern toilets all work the same, there are many kinds of mechanisms out there, so we don’t want to direct you to a specific part, but watch carefully as the water drains from the cistern.  A float will definitely fall.  When you see the float, just remember where it is.  So, once you are ready to carry out a drain down, you’ll know where to find it from now on.

Draining Down

OK, so when draining down, you will want to drain the pipe leading to the toilet as part of the process.  This is ignored on many paid for drain downs by the way.  So, when Floë has pressurised the system, simply press down gently on the little float.  Go easy, as the water level may rise with the water coming in from the pipe.  But do this until the water has come out and only air is being forced into the cistern.  It only takes a second to drain and you’ll probably notice the water rising excessively.  This is the air doing its job.

Remember that draining the pipe to the toilet is only part of the draindown and that the draindown is only part of the winterising.  Therefore remember, do not flush the toilet after draining the pipe leading to it.  Only when you have completely finished the entire drain down process around the property, can you carry out the rest of the winterising, which involves flushing the toilets and putting half a glass of antifreeze down into the toilet bowl and a half a glass into what remains in the cistern.

Now, rarely some cistern mechanisms can be problematic.  If you find that after you drain the toilet pipe into the cistern, that you can no longer build up pressure, then you have a couple of options.  This is very rare, but happens from time to time.

  • Fill the cistern with more water to raise the float higher in the water, shutting the valve
  • If this does not work, hold the float up with your hand to close the valve and ask someone to drain the other outlets.
  • If there is a shutoff valve half way up the pipe to the cistern, turn it off for the remainder of the drain down and back on again when finished

In this rare situation, it is the water in the pipe that makes the seal and without it, some cistern mechanisms can be a little flaky about staying shut.  In this instance, it is advisable to leave the toilets to the end of the drain down, however with an ensuite toilet, you may need to have someone hold the ball valve, or float up, or turn the shut off valve half way up the toilet pipe to off, just for the last toilet.

As a complete solution, it is advisable to replace this part of the toilet mechanism for about £12-16.  Simply take a picture of the cistern to a hardware store and they can replace the part for you.  Floë is simply showing a future problem, as air will escape more easily than water.  In time, this will end up being one of those toilets that drips and refills continuously.

From the 1960s and 70s, static caravans have had water heaters or geezers.  Today it is the same, but with the introduction of central heating radiators, most modern caravans today will have what is known as, a gas combination boiler.

 

A combination boiler or combi for short, is one that will heat the fresh hot water for washing and bathing as before, but they will also heat the water in the radiators.  Now, without getting too technical, think of a combi boiler as being in two halves.  The top half looks after the central heating and the lower half looks after the heating of your hot water.

 

In the top radiator half, there is a device slightly smaller than a house brick called a heat exchanger (HE) and inside it looks like honeycomb.  The water from the radiators is passed through the HE, where it is heated and then a pump pushes the water around the radiators in a closed and sealed loop, until it eventually comes back into the boiler again, where it is heated and off it goes to the rads once more.

 

Now, since central heating was introduced to caravans, the manufacturers have always pumped antifreeze into the loop of radiator water, so that it is protected against winter.  You don’t need to do anything with your radiators or indeed this part of the boiler in winter, however, next time you get your boiler serviced, get the plumber to check that there is enough anti-freeze in the loop.

 

This brings us to the lower part of the boiler which looks after the heating of your fresh water.  Here there is another Heat Exchanger (HE) like the first, but specifically there to heat the fresh cold water.  Basically, when you open a hot tap, the mains water pressure pushes cold water into this HE, where it is heated, and then comes out of the HE as hot water, that travels on to the hot taps. This is on demand water heating.  Very simple, but very effective.  I you don’t have a combi boiler, but just a water heater, this works exactly the same and the rest of this section relates to both combi’s and water heaters

 

So, what about draining down.  Well, we have already established that the radiator part of the boiler does not need any intervention, however, the lower fresh water side is vulnerable against frost.  You cannot put any anti-freeze (AF) into this water, as you would be polluting it.  People have tried to introduce Food Grade AF, but it has not been passed by the Water Regulations Advisory Scheme (WRAS) and is therefore illegal.

 

So, we need to do something about this water, as it will freeze and damage the boiler.  In days gone by when engineers were trying to drain the system in reverse, they knew that there is a one way valve in the boiler.  This allows water to travel as cold into the hot side, but not the other way around.  Again, that would be polluting the cold water system.  So, to drain down they would have to remove parts of the boiler to drain it out.  Incidentally, there is a one way valve in the shower mixer valve, which is why many engineers remove them and lay them on the floor of the shower.

 

However, Floë is different.  Whether it is using our Portable Water Drainage System that connects to the outside tap, or our new Floë Induratec 868, both will remove the water by pushing it through the system and out of the taps, following the natural flow of the water.  By following the natural flow, the cold water is pushed through the boiler and on to the hot taps.  So, by draining one hot tap, you will have drained the boiler.  There is absolutely no need for dismantling the boiler or the shower.  As a matter of fact, there is no need to go near the boiler.  It will be drained as part of the process.

 

Better yet, in a typical caravan, there are 4 hot outlets to drain, Kitchen, Bathroom Wash Hand Basin, Shower and the En-suite sink.  Therefore, when all four have been drained, you will have drained the boiler 4 times.

 

As an additional feature, it is worth draining the hot taps through the summer once or twice.  On a normal draindown, the air going through the boiler will disturb any sediment that naturally gathers in the Heat Exchanger.  This is nothing like the rust sediments picked up by magnets in the central heating side.  As we have discussed, that is a separate system.  But left unchecked, this sediment will naturally increase and make the boiler burn inefficiently, costing more on gas and will eventually ruin the HE.

 

However, if you drain the system and especially the hot taps, Floë will disturb the sediment.  If you then turn your water back on and run the hot taps while the sediment is disturbed and jiggled up, the new water will flush this sediment out of the taps.  The result is a more efficient boiler that can save up to 15% on your gas bill and you will extend the life of the Heat Exchanger indefinitely.  As mentioned, this is something you’d want to do through the summer season.  Very effective though.

Over the years people have adopted other means of winterising their property.  One of these ways is to leave a combination (combi) boiler on Frost Stat mode.  This means that at about 3-4oC the boiler will fire up and push water around the loop of radiators, therefore heating the property.

While on the face of it this seems great, this really is only a short term measure for a property left vacant for winter holidays etc, as there are a few limitations.

 

  1. A boiler in Frost Stat mode was never designed to protect the property, it is to protect the boiler and radiators. In order to protect the fresh hot and cold water pipes, the pipework needs to be exposed in cupboards in order for the heat to get to them. Moreover in caravans and lodges, the loop of radiators will have antifreeze in it, so it can’t really freeze anyway.  However, the fresh hot and water for showers etc has no antifreeze in it, so therefore it is still vulnerable inside and out
  2. Heating the rooms will do nothing for the pipes under the property. Although they may be lagged, they can still freeze given our recent winters, particularly the fresh water pipes as mentioned above.

In essence, this function was designed to protect the radiators and boiler that was originally made for a “2 up/2 down” house without antifreeze and not the main pipes of the house itself.  Also, outside pipes would be buried in this example, unlike a caravan or lodge.

  1. A typical boiler on Frost Stat mode will typically use one and a half tall 47KG cylinders of propane over a winter season. Many have fallen foul of this, as their gas system can only hook up to one cylinder at a time. Therefore the question, When do you change over the bottle ?  In addition, a gas bottle is approx £80, so there’s the £120 cost to consider.
  2. Winter time is usually when the caravan site carries out repairs and renovations. This may involve the use of a digger and not knowing that there are properties dependant on electricity to run boilers etc, the site will disconnect the electricity supply for the duration, to prevent possible electrocution. And you can bet that this will be during the coldest part of the winter.

In a combi boiler, there are two heating systems.  One for the radiators and one for the fresh hot water.  By draining the system using Floë, you are evacuating all of the water from the fresh hot and cold water system.  Floë does not touch the radiator water, as it is a closed loop system with antifreeze and doesn’t require draining.

 

While draining the hot taps, you will have drained the Fresh hot water side of the boiler into the bargain and in doing so, the boiler will be emptied and is now safe for winter.  From this point you don’t need to do anything else to the boiler.  As the entire water system will have been drained, there is no need to run the Frost Stat mode and it is not advisable.  It’s a bit like trying to boil an empty kettle.  As the saying goes, If the water’s not there, it can’t freeze.

For further information on how the boiler operates, please see the FAQ – Draining the boiler and discussing the radiators.

In general, Floë will push the water out of one tap/outlet at a time, but it does have the ability to do two, however, you need to have plenty of space in the system to fill with air.

The vertical shower has a factory preset temperature of 38 oC and has an override facility to increase the temp to 43 oC.  Now, the typical boiler will push out hot water at approximately 45-55 oC, so this means that, both the Hot and the Cold (H&C) pipes leading to the shower obviously have to be open, to reduce the temp.  That said, there is no facility, as per our DVD, to turn all the way to hot and drain and then all the way to cold and drain.  In this example, both H&C will be open and therefore we need to drain both pipes at the same time.

So, the shower should be left to the end of the draindown procedure.  This way, most of the pipework will be empty (except the shower) and give lots of space in the pipework for compressed air.

Now, there is the override, which will allow a slight adjustment, so you could drain the shower twice.  First with the override down at its lowest temperature and then a second time with it at its highest.  This will open the H&C independently, giving you more H than C and vice versa and a better drain on both sides.

Basically, once you drain the water and get to the fine spray stage, you’ll know that, whatever water is left, is simply mixing with the air and therefore the two H&C pipes leading to the shower are empty.

The answer is no, you will be fine.  Its an issue you we made allowances for.

When you get the non return valve (NRV), try to blow through it and you will see that it is very strong.  Now, the water will touch the front face of the NRV in normal use, but that’s it, no further.  It can gather limescale as much as it wants, but it will only be on the front face.

When Floë is in operation, the air pressure has built up enough to instantaneously push any water away from the opening of the NRV after it opens.  This is because your water has been switched off and therefore dead in pressure and easy to move out of the way.