Devon Water Tank | The Split Screen Van Club

Devon water tank Reproduction

The Devon tank which came with my 01/65 Caravette was rusted out. It came with a neat line of rust holes about 1'' above the base, rusted right through.

The Devon tank which came with my 09/64 Caravette was a later 67 style tank which had been cut down to 3/4 size and painted with red lead outside: Neither of these did I fancy using. They would only be for show! Even then hidden behind the wooden surround!

I visited a fabricator and showed him my 65 and 67 style water tanks and commissioned him to make me a Devon water tank hybrid. I left the 65 for him to template from. I wanted a 65 style tank with the later easier to make 67 style bolted on top, made from 316L food grade stainless. Folded up and welded.

The first water tank was fitted in the tall front cupboard by the division over the Osokool fridge. The introduction of sinks in Devon conversions was linked to the introduction of the 11 gallon slab water tanks. The Owners instructions say the galvanised tank was designed for holding water for washing water. A 2 gallon plastic container was provided for drinking water.

The first slab tank was fitted in 1961. This tank was fitted under the front seat. The filler went down through an inlet in the driver's wheel tub into the wheel well and then through the division to the tank. Filled with a hose and or a funnel.

There was an outlet with a drain plug so that tank could be cleaned and drained and to catch sediment. Off this T was a feed pipe which was a length of "brewers" tubing which went through the floor and under the van and re entered at the rear in the rear seat space. It was clipped to the seat base and entered the sink cupboard and ran to the rocking water pump to feed the sink. This tank route fed the 61 62 63 rear sinks.

The need for and use of a fixed sink in the rear was discontinued in 1964 and a redesign was made to the tank with the filler passing directly through the division into the water tank. The feed spout is removable from the tank in order to fit the tank. The capped filler spout was located behind the driver's seat. The later tank was clamped to the division with the outlet fed via a plastic pipe along the front of the front seat to feed the Whale pump.

The Devonette introduced at the October 1961 Earls Court Motor Show did not have a fixed water tank but came with three plastic 10 litre 2 gallon plastic water bottles with blue caps. These were mounted under the rear seat. The redesigned 1964 dinette seat styled Devonette had the water bottles mounted in the space for the missing Easicool.
Water tank was next fitted with the Whale pump mounted in the swing out cooker cabinet in the Walkthrough models.