Hillside Birchover

Anyone know how to access water gubbins to clean?

I have the big ass 60litre under van tank. I’ve done the fill/ chlorine solution/ drive repeat a couple of times but wonder if need to know/ access any filters etc.

When I am up in the hills I happily drink from tap, but want to ensure clean/ safe for fam

Thanks in advance
 
  • Like
Reactions: CAB
@Captain Quick
Re the cupboard side: Definitely just 4 screws to remove; it is a bit tight.
The Victron 100/30 won’t fit inside the electrical void at the side of the cupboard. There won’t be enough depth.
I’ve been looking at fitting the same and have decided that I’m going to fit mine in the same void as I’ve put my mains charger; below the cupboard at the side of the rear seat where the water pump is. I’ve mocked up a cardboard model and it fits in there nicely, together with an isolator. Victron have clearance requirements on the installation of the unit as well. I’m going to fit it all onto a backboard and pre wire it before slipping it down and securing it to the side: Just haven’t found the time to do it as ideally you’ll also want to feed additional (fused) larger gauge wiring through from the battery to connect to the MPPT o/p. The original Hillside leisure feed to the rear cupboard isn’t very big and by running a separate cable means you can still isolate the leisure circuitry just by pulling the original 40A fuse: When I get round to doing mine I’m also going to replace the original Hillside feed wire too (I’ve already replaced all the fusing due to my lithium install).
I personally think the original rear feed is a bit undersized for the fuse rating: And I’m going to tidy up the wiring in the cupboard while I’m at it too.
 
View attachment 272202so it does! Thank you.

Anything in there need a regular clean or indeed even cleanable?
What's the thing before the pump, immediately after the blue pipe which comes from the bottom of the photo? Is that a filter set off to the right with a transparent plastic cover?

Hope you picked up that packet of sugar :slow rofl:
 
What's the thing before the pump, immediately after the blue pipe which comes from the bottom of the photo? Is that a filter set off to the right with a transparent plastic cover?

Hope you picked up that packet of sugar :slow rofl:
I don’t know.

And yes, sugar was previous owners haha
 
What's the thing before the pump, immediately after the blue pipe which comes from the bottom of the photo? Is that a filter set off to the right with a transparent plastic cover?

Hope you picked up that packet of sugar :slow rofl:
It’s a filter
 
  • Haha
Reactions: CAB
This is the waterpump/filter installation in my Birchover. Looking downwards into the pump housing (with the lift-out panel removed), the freshwater filter (maked with the red arrow) is located on the feed side before the pump. In my van it is oriented straight down with just enough room to put a small plastic food tray underneath to catch any water. If you need to adjust the water pressure for any reason, you can do this by turning the pressure adjustment screw (marked with the yellow arrow).

WaterPumpAndFilter2.jpg

And in detail...

FreshWaterFilter.jpg
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: CAB
@Captain Quick
Re the cupboard side: Definitely just 4 screws to remove; it is a bit tight.
The Victron 100/30 won’t fit inside the electrical void at the side of the cupboard. There won’t be enough depth.
I’ve been looking at fitting the same and have decided that I’m going to fit mine in the same void as I’ve put my mains charger; below the cupboard at the side of the rear seat where the water pump is. I’ve mocked up a cardboard model and it fits in there nicely, together with an isolator. Victron have clearance requirements on the installation of the unit as well. I’m going to fit it all onto a backboard and pre wire it before slipping it down and securing it to the side: Just haven’t found the time to do it as ideally you’ll also want to feed additional (fused) larger gauge wiring through from the battery to connect to the MPPT o/p. The original Hillside leisure feed to the rear cupboard isn’t very big and by running a separate cable means you can still isolate the leisure circuitry just by pulling the original 40A fuse: When I get round to doing mine I’m also going to replace the original Hillside feed wire too (I’ve already replaced all the fusing due to my lithium install).
I personally think the original rear feed is a bit undersized for the fuse rating: And I’m going to tidy up the wiring in the cupboard while I’m at it too.
Thanks @EAN. I had considered putting some wood packing pieces behind the removable panel to increase the depth of the void. However, this will reduce the wardrobe space so I think the most practical solution is to fit the MPPT along with a 30A two-pole isolator (for the PV panel) to the drop down panel where the CBE charger is currently located. This will be removed when I fit the Victron IP65 charger which I plan to install on the front panel of the wheel wheel (ahead of the freshwater pump).
 
Looks like mag just screw off, to replace it clean maybe?
@Chris1983 Looking at the Shurflo user guide, the inline strainer (aka filter) is described as having a "twist-lock feature allowing simple cleaning" with a "taper seal" and should be "hand tightened". Teflon (PTFE) tape must not be used on the threads. No guidance is given regarding maintenance other than to periodically inspect the filter and clean if debris is seen in the strainer.
 
Last edited:
@Chris1983 Looking at the Shurflo user guide, the inline strainer (aka filter) is described as having a "twist-lock feature allowing simple cleaning" with a "taper seal" and should be "hand tightened". Teflon (PTFE) tape must not be used on the threads. No guidance is given regarding maintenance other than to periodically inspect the filter and clean if debris is seen in the strainer.
Thank you, I will have a look
 
Finally we have access to the rear electrics locker - that cover panel was well and truly wedged in. As others have confirmed, just four screws hold it in place.

BackLocker00003a.jpg
As you can see, it's a bit of a rat's nest in there but hooking up the MPPT to the +ve 40A leisure battery feed looks feasible via a female spade connector pushed onto the spare yellow piggy-back connector on the rear of the CBE fuse panel. I'm curious to know what the two loose unconnected purple wires with female spade connectors hanging down are for.

The depth of the locker measures 45mm so as @EAN said it most definitely won't accommodate the Victron MPPT 100/30 unit which is 70mm deep. It's a shame as it means the feed from the solar panel will have to run further down to the MPPT in the charger locker then back up to the 40A leisure battery feed.

BackLocker00002.jpg

Having struggled to remove the cover panel I've decided to fit a couple of handles (one at the top and another at the bottom) to make future removal easier.
 
Last edited:
@Captain Quick Reference the purple wires: I’m guessing that they will be associated with lighting circuitry.
Fuse FA2 on the CBE fuse panel is for lighting and has purple wiring.
Hillside’s electrical layout diagram shows purple wiring going to the control panel light switch and as a permanent live feed for integrated wiring. The orange wiring should be the feed to the lights after the lighting panel switch.
There is wiring in the rats nest that isn’t on the electrical diagram (Yellow wiring to the light switch as an example on yours and the fact the lights get disabled when there’s an “engine run” signal indicates the relay/s are involved but again undocumented).
The only relay on my electrical diagram is for the 12V water heater and that doesn’t exist as its only 230Vac on the later models.
 
Back
Top