kevbutler Posted April 21, 2016 Share Posted April 21, 2016 I have a Carver P4 heater and although it runs nice and is hot it is very fume I have checked all the gas joints for leaks but it seem to come from the air in take when its shut down, has anyone else found this and what can I do? :-( Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Will86 Posted April 21, 2016 Share Posted April 21, 2016 Hi Kevin and welcome, I assume you mean the exhaust fumes and not actual gas that is entering the van interior. My first thoughts are ... if the exhaust side of the heater is facing into the wind then the wind pressure will send the exhaust fumes back into the air inlet. Perhaps you could provide a little more info from what has been said. If there's a fix that will solve the problem you are certain to be offered good advice. Will. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sheer lunar-see Posted April 21, 2016 Share Posted April 21, 2016 My advice is to have it checked out by a professional and not to mess with a gas appliance. If you do something wrong it may cost you more than just money. Speaking as a retired gas engineer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kevbutler Posted April 22, 2016 Author Share Posted April 22, 2016 Good morning Will, it smells like gas, and now looked a bit closer it seem like when its alight and running its ok but when you turn it off it starts to smell gassy again. I have had to fit a new coupling female gas connector as it seems the heater was changed by the owner before the lady I bought it from, but not connected so I assume that I have got the ollive around the right way on the pipe which was not symmetrical the connection is not leaking and the gassy fumes only seem to come out when it switches off and you can smell them around the air ducts and not the joint. so I have just turned the gas off at a safety valve at the same time I turn off the heater. I am now wondering that the gas is not shutting off when the heater is turning off and just wondered if the connector I have fitted is where the gas should shut off or if its a problem in the heater, This is the first camper I have had with a heater and it has been unused for about a year so things are probably sticking up. Any advice would be appreciated. Kev. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keithl Posted April 22, 2016 Share Posted April 22, 2016 Hi Kev, What gas are you using, Propane or Butane, and more importantly how full is your cylinder? If your cylinder is nearing empty the smell of gas increases as the stenching agent tends to 'fall out' of the gas and hence smell stronger. I can always tell when we are about to run out of Calor Propane as it really smells like we have a gas leak. Keith. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Will86 Posted April 22, 2016 Share Posted April 22, 2016 You must now to turn everything off and have it checked by a gas authorised mechanic. You obviously have a leak from one of the connections. Leaking gas will kill you. It may ignite and kill others ! Will Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kevbutler Posted April 22, 2016 Author Share Posted April 22, 2016 Thanks, it is definitely coming out of the air in take when it switches off, might there be a non return valve somewhere not functioning ? Kev. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paulmold Posted April 22, 2016 Share Posted April 22, 2016 This was posted by Kev on another thread.. ''I have a carver P4-30 heater which I have in a new (to me) camper I am told it only about 5 years old but although its working etc there is no gas plumbed into it ,I have the pipes there from the old one but I can not get a 8mm pipe fitting that attaches the pipe to the heater, does anyone know what fitting I need ? ,its around 18mm and needs to be a female connection screw in. '' He states 'no gas plumbed to it''.... makes me wonder why it was disconnected. Could this gas leak/smell be associated with the disconnection? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Will86 Posted April 22, 2016 Share Posted April 22, 2016 Then presumably someone will have told him what he's being told on here. It seems as if he refuses to take advice and is trying a DIY remedy which is against all safety rules and endangering his own and others lives. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kevbutler Posted April 22, 2016 Author Share Posted April 22, 2016 Hi every one, I have listened to advice and have been in touch with Cranham caravans and at the end of May I will take it there (theres awaiting list for repairs) I was not ignoring your valuable advice ,I was just interested in what can go wrong. I also wanted to know if I could remove it and the repairers have told me how. So thank you all for your advice, it did help..... The connector fitting I have was from ebay ad number 161300735725 only about £3.00, hope this will help someone. Kev Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Will86 Posted April 22, 2016 Share Posted April 22, 2016 Good to hear you're progressing well. Its not easy on these forums assessing those who pose questions, some are gifted at doing their own adjustments and some not so. Will Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kevbutler Posted April 22, 2016 Author Share Posted April 22, 2016 no worries will, just wanted to make sure it was worth getting it out and taking it somewhere, only to find someone say, "if you had asked I could have told you how to get it fix easily" any way, thanks for your time and will ask if I ever get other problems. Kev. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted April 22, 2016 Share Posted April 22, 2016 The attached photo is of a typical Carver P4 heater installation. The P4 is a straightforward blown-air-only appliance similar in principle to Truma’s E-Series product-range and to current Propex blown-air heaters. The heater’s gas burner takes in combustion air from outside the motorhome via the larger-diameter silver hose. A finned heat-exchanger within the appliance is heated by the burner and waste gases are exhausted through the narrower silver hose. The P4 is a recirculatory heater. It sucks in air from within the motorhome’s living-area through the rightmost of the two air trunks to the right of the photo, heats that air by passing it over the heat-exchanger and then blows the warmed air back into the living-area through the left of the two air trunks. The gas-burner side of the heater is sealed (or should be sealed) from the warm-air side, so it’s a mite worrying if fumes of some sort are emerging from the air trunk through which living-area air is sucked in. I recall seeing a P4 being test-run at Truma(UK)’s Derby premises (about 15 years ago) and being told that it had been fitted to a horse transporter and been found to be full of straw when it had been dismantled. So a good internal clean might not come amiss. There seem to be two companies that have practical Carver P4 expertise - Arc Systems (run by Gary) http://www.arcsystems.biz/ and A&R Electronic Developments Ltd https://www.arelectronics.co.uk/contents/en-uk/d29_Carver-P4-Blown-Air-Heater-Repairs.html Hopefully the ‘fumes’ problem is minor and Cranham will be able to sort it out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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