[simon w]

Been a long time since I've needed to maintain mine, but want to take the strainers off and wash them out. Can anyone remember if you need an empty tank before removing them? Don't want to flood the van floor out 

[The Jester of Wibbly]

You just need a John guest fitting ( if that's how it's connected) to bypass the strainer when you disconnect it.  But be quick.

Or if you have an isolation tap on the tank, use it.

[simon w]

You just need a John guest fitting ( if that's how it's connected) to bypass the strainer when you disconnect it.  But be quick.

Or if you have an isolation tap on the tank, use it.

Cheers. Think I'll do it when the tank is empty then

[Simon Trapani]

One of the reasons you should have an isolation tap.

[Bungle]

You just need a John guest fitting ( if that's how it's connected) to bypass the strainer when you disconnect it.  But be quick.

Or if you have an isolation tap on the tank, use it.

Cheers. Think I'll do it when the tank is empty then

When the tank is empty park on a kerb so that the water can't go down the outlet (if you don't have a tap).

[The Jester of Wibbly]

Also why not just disconnect the strainer and plug an end cap into the pipe? 

If you empty tank, be prepared for the dreaded airlocks.

It's best to have a failsafe to hand in case the strainer or something else breaks.   Only a few weeks ago I had a cracked strainer cap.

[Spruce]

As long as the water level in the tank is lower than the filter, then there is no issue.

However, I didn't have a stop valve on my original setup. I used a C clamp with a bit of wood to squeeze the supply hose to stop the water flowing out.

It was an old trick we used in the motor trade on brake hoses if we wanted to remove the brake caliper and still retain the brake fluid.