Gas fire

Really miss the Carver in our old van, heated up the van in jig time and didn't use any battery power. We have a Whale blown air now, takes ages. I make sure we blast the cabin heaters on full before we park up, leave the engine running while I fit the outside cover and have the heating system working at the same time as I've figured out how to have it all working with engine on. By the time I get back in, and we organise ourselves for the night, the van is toasty.
 
We have just replaced our old Eberspacher "wet" boiler (combitronic) with an Autoterm D5 using the rest of the combitronic system except the controller. Temperature control, 3 timers a day and I can add a modem to start it when we are on the way back to the van. In our old Talbot (1994) Compass Calypso, there was a small gas heater, it didn't seem to make any difference unless it was left on all the time. I certainly don't want to have that thing back! There it is, no fan on the back, but not sure it would have made a difference...
 

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if noone's mentioned it , carver type heaters can be tricky to fit in a self-build van ,because they need a large hole in the floor if floor-vented ,or a small flue venting through the roof . all you need is a large and comprehensive tool kit and a good knowledge of electrics , plumbing ,carpentry ,metalwork etc , and the confidence to use them
 
barryd said:
I forgot to mention that they could be explosive. It clearly states in the manual that if you struggle to light it and the pilot light keeps going out to wait three minutes to try again. Well obviously you take no notice of that and in a frenzy and rage you keep plunging away. In Italy I found out why you should wait. There was a loud bang and the cowl on the roof outlet literally got launched into space. I don't know how far it went but there was what seemed like an incredibly long period of time before it came crashing back down on the van roof. :ROFLMAO: I think that actually happened twice, also up on the isle of Arran I seem to remember. I'm not sure I recovered that one as I do remember having to buy a new one.

The Fridge was no better. The flue would get sooted and rusted up and it wouldnt light. In the absence of a compressor on one trip I can remember driving around at speed with the fridge vents removed trying to get enough air into them to blow out the crap. It worked and I got it lit. I left it lit until we went home. :D
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Sounds like you need to to find a good service engineer - before your van is launched 🚀 to a great height. 😳
 
r4dent said:
These days most have Central Heating.
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Presumably you are referring to the Alde wet heating. I did the engineers training course for them. I wouldn't have a van if it was fitted with this system. Why do you want to lug around lots of litres of coolant - which equals lots of Kg (weight) of expensive (££££) coolant plus plumbing (£££) plus radiators (£££) plus annual servicing (£££££) ? I wouldn't. It takes longer to warm up than a diesel heater, which as I am experiencing is not as quick as the old Carver convector heater. Most new vans don't have Alde, it is just the latest showroom bling to try to make you buy the van, thinking it's better.
 
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Glynno said:
Sounds like you need to to find a good service engineer - before your van is launched 🚀 to a great height. 😳
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Correct. If you learn how they work you can fix any fault yourself, cheaply. They are very logical: press the button and check there is a spark. If there isn't a spark it won't light, check the igniter - you could call it a spark plug, except it isn't a plug. It may have some carbon build up - clean it with a toothbrush. Its gap may have got too big. Move the sparky end closer to a bit of chassis.
If it explodes after several tries, that's correct you should wait 3 minutes for the collected gas to disperse. The explosion is called post-ignition and is caused by there being gas all the time, but the spark only intermittently present. The spark is not working correctly so just take it apart and find out why. When you push the button, the click is a small hammer hitting a piezo crystal which generates a short pulse of high voltage. The volts run along a heat proof, insulated wire to an igniter next to the gas jet where there is gas. If it doesn't ignite then either the spark is weak - the igniter piezo may need replacing, or there is a short to earth from the insulated wire, or the spark gap is too big - or unusually some soot may have built up around the spark plug.
It's all very simple, and I just wish some dealers would be more honest. I have heard of people paying £800 to remove a gas heater and having an oil one installed. Purely because the dealer is a greedy dishonest money grabber playing on the ignorance of their customers. I have just got my first camper where the Carver has been replaced with a Chinese diesel heater, and I wish I still had the gas one.
 
gasgas said:
Presumably you are referring to the Alde wet heating. I did the engineers training course for them. I wouldn't have a van if it was fitted with this system. Why do you want to lug around lots of litres of coolant - which equals lots of Kg (weight) of expensive (££££) coolant plus plumbing (£££) plus radiators (£££) plus annual servicing (£££££) ? I wouldn't. It takes longer to warm up than a diesel heater, which as I am experiencing is not as quick as the old Carver convector heater. Most new vans don't have Alde, it is just the latest showroom bling to try to make you buy the van, thinking it's better.
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Each to his own,
I love Alde heating.

Not sure how " it is just the latest showroom bling to try to make you buy the van" if "Most new vans don't have Alde".

The total weight of the Alde system (including fluid) is abour 20kg,
 
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gasgas said:
Presumably you are referring to the Alde wet heating. I did the engineers training course for them. I wouldn't have a van if it was fitted with this system. Why do you want to lug around lots of litres of coolant - which equals lots of Kg (weight) of expensive (££££) coolant plus plumbing (£££) plus radiators (£££) plus annual servicing (£££££) ? I wouldn't. It takes longer to warm up than a diesel heater, which as I am experiencing is not as quick as the old Carver convector heater. Most new vans don't have Alde, it is just the latest showroom bling to try to make you buy the van, thinking it's better.
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I had Alde heating in my narrow boat.

I never used it. Gas hungry, slow, and a pain to maintain.

My solid fuel stove was way, way better!
 
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