getaway Posted July 7, 2016 Share Posted July 7, 2016 The water heater fitted in my 1999 Autohomes Wayfarer recently exploded quite violently. It was on mains (French) electricity and no gas supply. Anyone had this problem and any suggestions as to the cause? The main water tank was low, but any shortage of water in the heater should have caused the thermostat to blow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted July 8, 2016 Share Posted July 8, 2016 I’m not Carver Cascade-literate, but I note an on-line mention of a pressure release valve fitted to a Cascade heater ‘exploding’. I think you’ll need to be more specifiv about what happened - whether the explosion involved something relatively minor (eg. a valve) or was much more significant (eg. the water in the heater boiling and blowing the heater’s water-storage reservoir to bits). Your heater is, after all, now 17 years old, so age-related component failure is a reasonable possibility. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keithl Posted July 8, 2016 Share Posted July 8, 2016 Hi, There was an article in July's MMM about someone who rebuilt Rapide heaters giving contact details. It sounds like he may be worth getting in touch with to try and get your heater rebuilt. Keith. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
George Collings Posted July 8, 2016 Share Posted July 8, 2016 If the explosion was just a massive water leak its odds one the plastic connections into the heater have died of old age and broken. these are bast replaced every five years. Replacements are still available in the UK or on the internet about £25 for all three but getting the old bits out can be fun. The unit has to slide out to give access. If by explosion due to steam pressure build up it sounds like the thermal overload protection did not do its job by cutting the electricity supply. From memory there are fusible plugs as well that melt and release pressure but I will have to get the book out to check Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted July 9, 2016 Share Posted July 9, 2016 Keithl - 2016-07-08 8:56 AM Hi, There was an article in July's MMM about someone who rebuilt Rapide heaters giving contact details. It sounds like he may be worth getting in touch with to try and get your heater rebuilt. Keith. Several firms offer a repair service for Carver Cascade water heaters. https://www.google.co.uk/?gws_rd=ssl#q=carver+cascade+water+heater+repairs If it’s likely that a Carver Cascade is so knackered that it’s not going to be worth attempting repair, replacement with a “Henry” water heater might be preferable. http://www.henrywaterheaters.com/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
getaway Posted July 9, 2016 Author Share Posted July 9, 2016 Thanks for the replies. I have just removed the old one and the water jacket has parted company from the main flange, can't find the pressure release valve or the fusible plug. Anyway, it is a write off so will try a Henry. Many thanks to all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Basil Posted July 10, 2016 Share Posted July 10, 2016 That's not necessarily terminal. Sounds like a well known problem of the rod that holds the water jacket together has sheared, normally due to corrosion of the rod. Contact ARC systems http://www.arcsystems.biz/ they have lots of spares and are able to repair this problem, or sell you the parts to repair yourself, at a much cheaper cost than a new Henry, though that is another good route to go down if the condition of the rest of the heater is not good. Basil Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Basil Posted July 10, 2016 Share Posted July 10, 2016 Just as an addition this page lists the tie rod and seals from e-bay http://stores.ebay.co.uk/Potteries-Caravan-Supplies/Carver-Cascade-2-Spares-/_i.html?_fsub=3035505013&rt=nc&_pgn=2&_ipg=48 Basil Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
George Collings Posted July 12, 2016 Share Posted July 12, 2016 The centre rod can also get stretched by frost damage if the unit get frosted. It might look OK but its become too long. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Basil Posted July 19, 2016 Share Posted July 19, 2016 Yes quite right George, only went for the rod shearing as the OP described an 'explosion' and stated the jacket was apart, so felt it was a sudden letting go rather than stretched. Basil Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bubba Posted July 23, 2016 Share Posted July 23, 2016 Last Sunday, parked up at Whitby at 6.30am our Cascade 2 GE did exactly the same thing. My first thought was a seagull had flown into the side of our Duetto! What a hell of a loud dull thump it made. My wife jumped outside and shouted water was running from the offside bulkhead the length of the van. I immediately rode the van onto a steep pavements kerbside to keep the escaped water contained to one side of the van. At that point, all I could determine was the water storage jacket had parted company from the Carvers heat exchanger. Once home, following removal of the Carver, it quickly became apparent the rod (which I believe is called a 'T bar') which runs through the water storage tank and secures the unit had indeed sheared at the rods thread. A replacement T bar on ebay cost approximately £30 Teesside industrial fasteners sell 12 mm stainless steel threaded bar at £6 for a 1 metre length. This I believe is a much stronger alternative to the white metal currently used in the Carver cascade 2 GE. One week on, I can report my repair appears successful - fingers crossed *-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
George Collings Posted July 25, 2016 Share Posted July 25, 2016 I cannot remember the actual water pressure the fuel pump is supposed to deliver although 13psi rings a bell but whatever it is multiply it by the considerable surface area of of the Cascade reservoir and the Tie rod is under a fair bit of tension so no wonder there is a fair old thump when even a weakened one lets go. That's another thing to check on this winter when I renew the plastic connections on mine for the third time. Yes that is right. Once when I bought it , once 5 years ago so its due. Lovely reliaable bit of kit as long as full 12 volts get to it to run the control system. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
getaway Posted July 30, 2016 Author Share Posted July 30, 2016 Thanks to all for information. I fitted a Henry unit from Caravanstore, good price with free delivery. It fitted exactly as the old with some wiring modifications (supplied). Even the flange securing screw holes into the van outer skin lined up perfectly. :-D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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