A couple of questions please

[TheFrenchConnection]

A couple of things well outside my sphere of knowledge that I'd be very grateful for advicde.

 

We live in a very hard water area and have a slow running tap to the wash basin which I suspect is due to a build up of 'calcaire'. Our domestic solution is a dose of white wine vinegar, preferably warm to hot, which works a treat. Question. Would à litre or two of white wine vinegar in the tank and flushed through cause any damage? We have a Truma diesel powered hot water/heating system.

 

Number two. In December we will set off for our regular winter 3 or 4 month stay in Portugal and Spain (we're resident in the Schengen zone so no problem). Our leisure battery is now 6 years old and has only been topped up for the last Covid-enforced year. We stay mainly on EHU, with probably one or at the very most two nights on battery power. Testing things in our courtyard shows that two hours of TV and plenty of Led lights drops the level from around 80% to just over 50% (approx, we only have indicator lights) and leaving the lights on all night has roughly the same result. A day of reasonable Autumn sunshine will bring the battery up to at least 80%.

Question. Should I replace the battery? (yes., I know, play safe but they're blooming expensive on a pension)

 

Opinions and comments most welcome.

[witzend]

No If's or But's replace it now at your leisure while you've got the chance to shop around. last thing you want is a failed battery gassing off once you pitched up and no skimping buy a quality one

[John52]

I've just changed mine after 5 years and noticed a marked improvement (on my voltmeter so I'm not imagining it)

You might get another couple of years out of it, but your alternator will be working harder (and using more fuel) to charge it. If that packs up when you are away it will make the cost of early battery replacement seem irrelevant. According to Fiat converters guide you are not supposed to fit a secondary battery more than 20% of the size of the original main battery 8-) We all do, mine is twice the size of the main battery, but it shows its more than the system was designed for, and its not helping to make it work harder charging a duff battery.

[Derek Uzzell]

Regarding removal of ‘calcaire’, there’s minimal advice in the current Truma Combi-D operating instructions.

 

However, historically, Truma has advised using wine vinegar for this purpose as mentioned in this 2008 forum discussion

 

https://forums.outandaboutlive.co.uk/forums/Motorhomes/Hints-and-Tips/Descaling-Truma-water-heater/13476/

 

and also in this 2017 MHFunforum discussion

 

https://www.motorhomefun.co.uk/forum/threads/de-scaling-truma-hot-water-boilers-mix-ratios.160541/

 

As you’ll see, using a citric acid solution would be an alternative to wine vinegar and - if you GOOGLE-search on “truma heater descaling” - you’ll find plenty more stuff about this.

 

A snag (as I see it) in your case is that - although it’s practicable to give a Truma water heater a hot-wine-vinegar/hot-citric-acid treatment - if your washbasin tap is running slowly because it has a build up of scale inside and/or in the water hoses leading to the tap, actually getting the descaling solution into the tap/hoses and leaving it there long enough to do some good may prove difficult. If the interior of the tap is badly clogged with scale (eg. if the tap’s spout is badly furred up) you may neen to remove the tap and soak it in a descaling solution and - if you are going to do that and the tap is the culprit - you might be better replacing the tap.

 

Anyway, using white wine vinegar as a descaler should cause no damage to your water heating system even though it might not cure your slow-running tap issue.

[TheFrenchConnection]

Thank you Derek. Most of the problem has been solved by de-scaling the tap but I'm also descaling the system anyway. Nothing complicated, just white wine vinegar in the tank, water heater on, run the taps to get the solution up the pipes, leave a couple of hours then leave taps open with pump off to allow gas to escape. A couple of flushes to follow.