Habitation check

peter palance said:
are you in a bow top or a tent regards pj
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The problem with a bow top is where to put the horse when I'm at home. The deeds specifically forbid horses or pigs in the garden.
I'm afraid I just own an old van. IMG_20170809_174915062.jpg
 
Nothing wrong with an older vehicle, we can afford to not pay to keep resale value as high as possible by buying into safety nets.
The annual depreciation of a MH that was only a few grand is not much, cosmetic maintenance = bugger all for us.
A scratch on the outside is character building not asset depleting.
 
Its alright for you competent diy ers to rubbish habitation checks and engineers, but for those of us who are not used to doing gas and electric work they are necessary. If you find a good person who is competent and does not cost a fortune give us the names!
 
Biggarmac said:
Its alright for you competent diy ers to rubbish habitation checks and engineers, but for those of us who are not used to doing gas and electric work they are necessary. If you find a good person who is competent and does not cost a fortune give us the names!
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And that is exactly why on my post I suggested personal recommendation is possibly the safest bet

Channa
 
spigot said:
They look fabulous, the quality of the interior fittings with all that solid wood look top notch. They put to shame the crap interiors of modern motorhomes.

I hate to think how much they cost!
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cant help with prices , i saw a advert years ago and called in to see them. think it was when i was running a mazda bongo as well as my truck.
was quite impressed with the build of them.
have always liked things out of the ordinary .
remember going to vw shows years ago and being one of only a few customized vans .
thousands around later but in the 70,s only a handfull in uk.
luckily mini artics havnt grown as fast i might have to change to something else. ha ha .
had a teardrop for almost 30 yrs now . might have to bring it out to play one day.
 
Habitation Test

It would not take much of an effort for a Forum such as this to start a nationwide list of recommended Habitation Testers NOTE I did say Tests not checks which are IMO worthless, a recommended list of tests could be required and I am sure there would be many self employed chaps willing to join a scheme with the weight of a quality forum behind them it could go from strength to strength.
Whilst I have always done my own tests there are many that would prefer this to be done for them.

Alf



hairydog said:
You appear to think that a habitation check involves some sort of gas and electrical work or check.
Sadly, I think you are wrong.
The check might include a test for gas leaks (a DIY task requiring a bit of clear pipe with water in) but almost certainly won't include a gas analyser check on flue products or a check on things like cylinder hose age. It won't involve any sort of appliance service (none is needed).
Similarly, it may include an earth leakage test and earth continuity test on the mains, but it won't include any worthwhile tests on the charging circuits, on the condition of the 12v wiring or the state of the batteries.
It will mostly involve prodding the interior under the window openings with a £10 damp meter. You can do that yourself.
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Caravan Servicing Workshop in Sussex, UK

SERVICE CHARGES

Motorhome Habitation service £186

Mechanical service charged at hourly rate

Single axle caravans £192

Double axle caravans £216

Please note that service prices do not include parts.

At Johns Cross Motorcaravans we can supply and fit many different accessories at very competitive rates.

Labour charges

Motorcaravan and caravan hourly rate £60.00 including VAT

Mechanical hourly rate £60.00 including VAT
 
And what exactly do you do for a service then.

Do you do a gas test or an Electrical test or is it visual check.

Alf


JohnsCrossMotorHomes said:
Caravan Servicing Workshop in Sussex, UK

SERVICE CHARGES

Motorhome Habitation service £186

Mechanical service charged at hourly rate

Single axle caravans £192

Double axle caravans £216

Please note that service prices do not include parts.

At Johns Cross Motorcaravans we can supply and fit many different accessories at very competitive rates.

Labour charges

Motorcaravan and caravan hourly rate £60.00 including VAT

Mechanical hourly rate £60.00 including VAT
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We had a habitation service done by a mobile engineer,and the price was £120.
He was very thorough and checked the electrics,gas and water system.
Its worth it just for peace of mind knowing everything is working as it should.
 
Yes but most of these firms just supply a tick box type form which is hardly worth the paper it’s writtenon, should a problem arise it’s worthless.

Alf

jo662 said:
We had a habitation service done by a mobile engineer,and the price was £120.
He was very thorough and checked the electrics,gas and water system.
Its worth it just for peace of mind knowing everything is working as it should.
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Sounds interesting I might give it a go and see if its better than my 24" manometer


I have a GasLow gas gauge connected to my regulator when I have time to spare I test my gas with that it means I can test anywhere at any time Not as accurate as a Manometer.

Alf



hairydog said:
Easy. First, understand what you are testing for. Leaks in the pipework.

So the first thing to do is to turn off all the appliances that use gas. A pilot light or a burner running low looks like a leak!

Then you need to find the leak test point. The regulator may have one: they look a bit like a grease nipple. If you can't find it anywhere, you may need to add one. Basically it is a connector that you can attach a pipe to, with a tap to stop it letting gas out when not in use.

Then you get your length of clear flexible pipe and half fill it with water. The idea is that the water sits in the bottom of a U shape. You need three or four feet of pipe with the water rising about 9 inches either side of the U bottom.

Secure the pipe nicely in place (getting this right is the tricky bit: probably easiest to tape the U section of the pipe to a vertical bit of wood).

Then turn the gas on at the test point. The water will rise about six inches at the open end and fall the same distance at the gas end.

Now turn the gas supply off at the cylinder or the tank. The water in the pipe should not fall. If it does, there is a leak. You may be able to work out where the leak is by turning off the valves that distribute gas to the different appliances and re-running the test.

If the water doesn't fall, give it a little while, just in case there is a very slow leak. You could have a coffee now, if you had remembered to boil the kettle before you started!

When you are happy that it is not falling, turn off the test valve, turn on the gas supply and turn the appliances back on.
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Last edited by a moderator:
Thanks

Thanks all. I live oop north in Durham so if anyone knows a good mobile technician let me know. The fella who fixes my car is going to do a full service each year on the mechanicals as I'm to lazy to do it myself even though I used to strip big diesel engines down. Getting old!
Mick
 
hairydog said:
There is, of course, a far easier way to test for leaks.

1. Turn everything off, leaving the gas supply on.

2. Turn the gas supply off.

3. Turn on a gas burner on the cooker and listen for the sound or smell of gas escaping for a short time.

4. Turn the burner off, turn the gas supply on again, then off again.

5. Go back the next day and turn on the same gas burner on the cooker as before. If you can hear/smell gas coming out like in Step 3, there is no leak.
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Never read anything so bizarre nor misinformed in my life. You seem the epitomy of someone that thinks they know what they are doing and patently doesn't

Channa
 
hairydog said:
Easy. First, understand what you are testing for. Leaks in the pipework.

So the first thing to do is to turn off all the appliances that use gas. A pilot light or a burner running low looks like a leak!

Then you need to find the leak test point. The regulator may have one: they look a bit like a grease nipple. If you can't find it anywhere, you may need to add one. Basically it is a connector that you can attach a pipe to, with a tap or screw in plug to stop it letting gas out when not in use.

Then you get your length of clear flexible pipe and half fill it with water. The idea is that the water sits in the bottom of a U shape. You need three or four feet of pipe with the water rising about 9 inches either side of the U bottom.

Turn the gas off, secure the pipe nicely in place (getting this right is the tricky bit: probably easiest to tape the U section of the pipe to a vertical bit of wood).

Then turn the gas on (at the test point, if it has a tap: some are screw in fittings so you need to unscrew and fit the pipe with the gas turned off). The water will rise about six inches at the open end and fall the same distance at the gas end.

Now turn the gas supply off at the cylinder or the tank. The water in the pipe should not fall. If it does, there is a leak. You may be able to work out where the leak is by turning off the valves that distribute gas to the different appliances and re-running the test.

If the water doesn't fall, give it a little while, just in case there is a very slow leak. You could have a coffee now, if you had remembered to boil the kettle before you started!

When you are happy that it is not falling, turn off the test valve, turn on the gas supply and turn the appliances back on.
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A wonderful example of a home made manometer, but the bit highlighted is bollocks you see appliances albeit closed seep gas permissible drop it is all in the regulations.

The question is by how much ? please share, Also tell us about stabilisation periods and how if the pressure rises in your contraption whats happening ? is the regulator letting by ? or if it is a warm day is gas expanding in the pipe ? I vouched I wouldn't reply to your comments but this is so wrong and misleading.

The only other gas engineer I know on here is Charlie, I will let him comment as to whether I am being harsh or scathing of your half baked techniques

Channa
 
Incidentally on a new system for pipework integrity or a suspected serious leak it is more prudent to test with air at 50 mbar tends not to be as lively as LPG ,also on a system charged with gas first thing to check is lock up pressure of the regulator and within tolerance butr we wont let little details like that get in the way .

Channa
 
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