Winter

[TeamRienza]

I am surprised that so few have commented on keeping the heater on at 18 degrees. Surely this must be quite expensive. In the past I have used a 100 watt tube heater on a timer for a few hours, but with the current van I put no heat on at all (apart from when using the van). I simply make sure that on most days I have the door and vents open to allow air circulation, I suppose I am fortunate to be retired and in a position to open the van as it is at home. I tend to now give more credence to allowing the van to be in balance with the atmosphere as it is the difference in temperature that seems to cause condensation.

I agree with most of the other recommendations on empty water tanks and removing or airing cushions etc.

Davy

 

[blights]

thank you, i can fill the tanks and have everything running to keep the cold away no problem, i just dont know what would be "the right way" if there is such a thing, the battery charger is the one built in to the Sargent PSU (i am sure its the EC200) and has a switch to have the charger on or off?

I leave mine on hookup and do as Hairydog does have a little thermostat heater in there to keep it toasty I also use a trickle charger to keep the cab battery topped up even though I have a solar and its on hook up I was put out of action last year for around 3 months the cab battery will go flat the computer etc will drain it I use this one it plugs into the eobd socket or you can alligator clip it remember to unplug before starting the vehicle if you do get one my cab battery stays fully topped up with this no matter what the weather
AA Solar-Powered Car Battery Charger: Amazon.co.uk: Car & Motorbike
Failing all this info the king people on here have given you go find a nice spot in the wind and rain now and again over the weekend through the winter park up listen to the rain hit the roof and use the bits in there much better than a trickle charger and thermostat heater lol

 

[Obanboy666]

For crying out loud, I said read the manual. How could you disagree with that?
The Truma manual specifically says it is fine to use it with no water in it. And I have also confirmed that by asking the Truma technician, face to face in their workshop.
If you think you know better, you are simply incorrect.

Correct, it works on my Truma combi 4e.
On my cp classic rotary control panel position D in the manual states heating and hot water mode. ( heating without temperature monitoring or with drained water system.
https://www.manualslib.com/manual/1305431/Truma-Cp-Classic.html?page=3#manual
So if anyone finds their dump valve has opened when they go to fill up their water tanks and boiler and it won’t reset just turn the combi on in position D, once the ambient temp in motorhome has lifted the dump valve will reset.
It works, I’ve used it last winter one morning.

 

[Deleted member 5816]

Are you confusing a water heater with a combined water heater/ heater

Alf

OK, it seems I am wrong! I can understand how it will do no damage it used just for heating, but what about the water heating element heating up without water. Is it the same element used for the habitation heating.


I have also read that some electric versions cannot be used empty!

see below. Page 10 of the UK part

https://www.truma.com/web/downloadcenter/files/truma-watersystems-bg10-bge10-operating-en.pdf

 

[Martin P]

Our motorhome stays on hookup all year round . It has a 3 stage charger so maintains the batts with a float charge. We empty the tanks at the end of each trip. During cold spells we keep an oil filled heater running on a medium heat. If frost is expected i empty the water tank, turn off the pump then disconnect the shower head , open all the taps then blow any remaining water out of the system. (I do go a bit blue in the face). A compressor would help here. Also we leave our fridge running on 240 but after having to replace 2 heater elements I only leave it on low.
Works for us

 

[Mick H]

Our motorhome stays on hookup all year round . It has a 3 stage charger so maintains the batts with a float charge. We empty the tanks at the end of each trip. During cold spells we keep an oil filled heater running on a medium heat. If frost is expected i empty the water tank, turn off the pump then disconnect the shower head , open all the taps then blow any remaining water out of the system. (I do go a bit blue in the face). A compressor would help here. Also we leave our fridge running on 240 but after having to replace 2 heater elements I only leave it on low.
Works for us

Permanent connection to EHU in storage can be bad for a Habitation battery?

This is worth reading.

 

[Martin P]

We have had present motorhome for 7 years. Changed domestic batterys after 4 years and have had current pair for 3 years. Calira charger and pair of 95 amp domestics. Perfectly happy with this. Seems a fair exchange to be able to plug and forget. Have had no other issues.

 

[Martin P]

Permanent connection to EHU in storage can be bad for a Habitation battery?

This is worth reading.

Ok so maybe my way of doing things may not get the absolute longest performance from my batts but to be honest I am happy with the life they give and I like the easy life side of plugging the thing in we get home and forgetting it. I can budget for a new set of batts every 4 years and they are lasting that long. It is true that they dont have to work that hard as we dont usually stay very long in one place . Maybe a 3 day festival might be the hardest they have to work. Led lights and no telly means we dont strain them that much anyway.
As far as cost goes motorhomes are not cheap anyway, tyres cambelts brakes etc all add up so the cost of batts is a pretty small percentage
Each to their own
As far as I am aware its discharging below 50% that causes the real damage

 

[Caz]

................... I used to use moisture traps with gel crystals to protect the fabrics and furnishings but I tipped one over by accident once in the overhead bed area... if you've ever tried to clear up that invisible sticky oily-feeling mess, then you'll know why I won't touch them now! .................. View attachment 59176

When we had our first caravans, back in the 90s, I was told by other caravanners to use these over winter as we tended not to go away from October half term through to Easter as we had no heating. Then one overflowed, all over the carpet, and rotted a big hole in the carpet. I hadn't realised how corrosive that sticky stuff is! I stopped using them and surprise surprise the van was no more damp than it had been when I used them. So I thought about it - caravans (and motorhomes, of course) have ventilation built in - so all the moisture traps are doing is taking moisture out of the air in the van, which is then being replaced by moist air from outside - so they aren't going to help at all.

Bottled water contains endocrine-disrupting phenols as well as being an environmental disaster. If your water tank is not clean enough to drink out of, sort that problem out.

I think that by "bottled water" what Jeff meant was water from home in a bottle, that's what I do anyway. Even in summer I carry bottles of water for the dog as his bowl doesn't fit under the tap in the van.

 

[Donk]

I use a Ctec Smart Charge for the battery that keeps an eye on the battery and puts a float charge into it whenever it needs it.

Just fit & Forget

 

[Caz]

That's the sort of dog bowl I have, he likes a drink whilst we are on the move. :dog:

However, my little van has a very small sink.

 

[Mick H]

Each to their own
As far as I am aware its discharging below 50% that causes the real damage

I quite agree, but one issue that often occurs, is the steady reduction in battery storage capacity.

Charlie referred to this, in his post, but, without wishing to upset him, my pair of Elecsol batteries leisure, lasted 10yrs and 11yrs, respectively.
This did include not having the same "As New" capacity, but they were still perfectly servicable, into their old age.
When new, they would last for 5/7 days, on our normal usage, but this reduced to around 3 days, before they became unservicable.

The starter battery failed completely, in France, this year. It was my own fault, since I knew that it wasn't holding it's charge, requiring more frequent charging, over the last year, but it surprise me, in that it still started the engine, with no issues, until the morning that it suddenly didn't.
It was the original battery, though, and was 12yrs old.
In all my years of experience, I have never before, had this happen so suddenly, but then again, I haven't owned a vehicle for this long, without replacing the starter battery.