Is this safe?

Darcey

Guest
Hello again, I have another question for you! Is it safe to sleep in your van with the gas heating on? Thanks!

D
 
I have done it once, when it dropped to -10 deg C, but I try not to.

Safe? Probably marginally less safe than using it while you are awake because you are not keeping an eye on it, but not intrinsically more dangerous I don't think.

The other way is to go to bed fully dressed...fleece, thermal socks, woolly hat





Polly
 
Yes as long as the heater is burning properly and efficiently (regular servicing and maintenance should ensure this), that waste gases are removed properly from the heater and that permanently open vents specifically intended to ensure a flow of fresh air are unobstructed.

Consider also putting in a CO2 detector. I have installed a combined Fire and CO2 detector and at the start of a season I check the batteries and make sure it is working although do not install it too close to the cooker / fridge / heater.
 
SAFE if you mean proper gas heater (propex trauma etc)with exhaust emissions outside certainly wouldn't if you mean using cooker or one without external exhaust!
 
torwood said:
Yes as long as the heater is burning properly and efficiently (regular servicing and maintenance should ensure this), that waste gases are removed properly from the heater and that permanently open vents specifically intended to ensure a flow of fresh air are unobstructed.

Consider also putting in a CO2 detector. I have installed a combined Fire and CO2 detector and at the start of a season I check the batteries and make sure it is working although do not install it too close to the cooker / fridge / heater.
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You need a CO detector/alarm not a CO2 detector. Carbon monoxide is poisonous to the blood stream rather than carbon dioxide which just displaces oxygen in the atmosphere.

With a proper external flue to the boiler, ventilation, and a CO alarm you should be OK.

Deaths have been caused from CO poisoning by people running a naked gas burner eg Gas ring or gas fire in an unventilated van while asleep. That's definitely not advisable.
 
"safety' is always relative, and you are more likely to die in the drive to the camp spot than die from using your gas heater.

As already advised, a CO detector AND a smoke detector AND an LPG alarm will make life a whole lot safer.

The first two (also available as a combined unit) should go up high and the last one should be within a few inches of the floor.
 
I'd never considered an LPG alarm before, as I thought LPG would sink out of the way.

Nevertheless, I guess if you had a big leak, this could warn you before an explosion happened, explosion being more likely than asphyxiation in this instance. Thanks for the heads up :wave:
 
Nearly all modern Motorhome heaters are Room Sealed and work on heat exchanger principle,ie exterior air is used for combustion and then exhausted externally.
The air in the van passes separately through the heater and is warmed and vented back into the van without coming into contact with the burner and therefore remains uncontaminated.
Catalytic heaters heat the van air and are usually fitted with oxygen depletion sensors and carbon monoxide sensors, personally I wouldn't kip with one of these on (also produce a lot of water vapour), but I would with the room sealed type some of which such as the Propex and Truma fan types are used by overnight truckers.
 
We have slept with our Truma blown air heating on all night and are still alive to tell the tale. We did get a lot of condensation as at the time we didn't have any silver screens. The temperature dropped to -10 and there was thick snow outside (last winter) and as the heater has an external exhaust we felt we would be safe as surely it is designed for night time use as well as day time. We were lovely and warm and it didn't use a lot of gas either.

We would certainly do it again when we go camping this winter if its cold.
 
you must have the relevent detectors fitted .then with a fully serviced modern heating system i cannot see a problem realy as they will be fitted with fail safe devices ,
 
in scotland last year it was -18, soooooooooo cold, i was not happy about leaving the heating on so, it was hats gloves and socks, i think if we do it again i will get an alarm and leave the heating on:rolleyes2:
 
I'm still here, been using the fitted gas fires in motorhomes and caravans for 20 years. No reason not to use as they are vented to the outside. But I wouldn't leave a naked flame such as the stove or a parabolic heater on whilst I was asleep, or even use it for more than a 10 minute quick blast if I was awake.
 
Even in minus 20 was OK in the van last winter without heating with two duvets and dressed in fleece bottoms and hoodie in bed.

I don't think there is much reason to use heating while asleep unless you want to cut down on condensation. For warmth it's not essential for me anyway.
 
I have used room sealed heaters in various caravans and motorhomes since 1971 winter and summer. I have lived full time in vans for many of those years including the winter of 1982 when it was down to -20°c at night for weeks.

I would regularly light the fire in October and it burnt continuously other than bottle changes until May.

This last winter I beat the weather by over wintering in Spain.
 
Firefox said:
I'd never considered an LPG alarm before, as I thought LPG would sink out of the way.

Nevertheless, I guess if you had a big leak, this could warn you before an explosion happened, explosion being more likely than asphyxiation in this instance. Thanks for the heads up :wave:
Click to expand...

Yes, it does sink, but not necessarily out of the way. If your MH has a low level vent (usually in the door) and the vent isn't blocked, then it will flow to the outside, but if no vent (as was my Hobby until I put one in), then the gas could gradually fill up the bottom half of the motorhome. Switching on a light or striking a match could then prove interesting.

If all your gas appliances - especially the cooktop - have a working flame failure cutout then you could probably do without an LPG alarm
 
where LPG gas is concerned the best way to understand how it will act if it escapes, is to think of it as water, as it is heavier than air, it sinks and pools where ever it is stopped, so imagine pouring water from your appliance and think were will it run too, to escape or not......
 
Thanks again for all these helpful replies. Will definitely be keeping the heating on at night!

D
 
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