One day at work I received a message from a friend saying he had been looking for something in his loft when he came across an old tap connector which exactly the connector we needed. This gave us a much better way of capping the hot water inlet. We cut the pipe down and put a copper cap on with solder. Screwed this in and after some slight adjustment was bone try with no drips. It served its one and only purpose while keeping the tap fit for the future...As for the pump, this was very inexpensive and whilst not the quietest of devices, pumps the water without the need for a hand pump. It caused a few issues to begin with as there were a few leaks coming from where the pipes attach. We used jubilee clips to clamp the hose's but later found that they were not enough on their own. We used some self amalgamating tape to add an extra seal and tightened the clamps as tight as they would go, just enough not the crack the pump inlet and outlets. A few tanks of water were run through to check for leaks for which there were none. A great success!

Improvising

A good amount of things in van live are possible by thinking up ideas and improvising. An example for us came when we needed to install a sink. We first thought of saving money and only wanted something small. Whilst out shopping for parts, we came across a small dish for serving up food in. Whilst this was roughly the right size, we found it was not deep enough. That joint with the fact it had handles on that really needed to be cut off, we took another look when we were out and about. We then came across a mixing bow which turned out to be perfect. All that was needed was to drill a hole in the bottom and use a jigsaw to cut a hole out big enough but small enough to fit a plug hole. The plug hole kit we used was from Wickes and only cos about £4.00. This meant we created and installed a sink for around £15.Looks the part but most importantly works for what we need!