DANGEROUS PRACTICE?

[Mel B]

Hi Woody

 

Sorry to disagree but no, it wouldn't happen - there is definitely a minimum 15 minute break between you turning the engine off (ie arriving at the petrol station) and the gas igniting, the only thing you would have to bear in mind is that if you were held up in the petrol station for longer than 15 minutes, such as in a supermarket type petrol station and you're shopping or in an extremely long queue.

 

We have an AES fridge and the whole point of it is so that you can leave it on to change to the appropriate supply at the time. When travelling it's on 12v, when we stop, after 15 minutes, it go to gas, if we plug in to the mains, it changes to that. If you don't have the gas on all the time it sort of defeats the object of having it. :-S

[PJay]

I understood that it is illegal to have the gas bottle on whislt driving, in France? Is this not correct? We always switch fridge to 12v while driving, but it is not so good a keeping it really cold, on 12v, as it does on Gas /mains electric

Pauline

[maggyd]

So what would happen in the Tunnel?? they ask you if your gas is switched off! I would think to stop your fridge turning onto gas it would be common sense to turn your supply off, I cant see why you would need this anyway, as long as the fridge door isnt opened it would be alright for a couple of hours . My fridge isnt Thetford so no such problem I dont think we have an auto setting anyway. Illegal or not I think it is very bad practice to have your gas switched on while driving.

[Brian Kirby]

This post has wandered, as they do, and a number of different topics have become confused.

The point about AES fridges is well made by Mel.  They select whatever fuel is available, prioritising first mains power, then 12 V power, then gas.  They will not select gas while driving (unless the 12V supply fails).  In the absence of all three, they just don't cool again until one, or other, becomes available. 

For good reason, all ferry companies, and the tunnel, ban the use of gas while in transit.  That, however, is a ban on using gas while in transit, and to prevent this all require (though few seem to actually check) that the gas is turned off at the cylinder.  However, this is a specific safety rule and of no special relevance to AES fridges or Truma heaters used on gas while driving.  I don't think anyone has actually suggested otherwise.

The Truma SecuMotion, or DriveSafe, regulators and pigtails are designed to shut off the gas supply if there is any leakage.  On the basis of evaluative tests, these units have been legally accepted as safe to use while driving in all European countries (I believe even including Spain).  Thus, gas may be left turned on at the cylinder while driving, with no appreciable increase to the fire risk in the event of an accident.

Use of a Truma heater for supplementary heating while travelling is technically acceptable to Truma, and I understand legal in Germany.  However, there are rules/laws regarding naked flames on filling station forecourts throughout Europe, and use of a Truma heater on a forecourt would contravene these (apart from being foolhardy).  Truma's advice, if I remember correctly, is that the heater should be turned off at filling stations.  To alleviate the risk, I assume a timer actuated relay could be included in the circuit to ensure this happens, in similar fashion to the Dometic AES fridge gas supply.

There are many motorhomes in use in UK, of ages up to 20 years or more, with inevitably widely differing levels of equipment and installations to varying standards.  Secumotion is by no means a standard fitment: it was an optional extra on our van.  This is a "public" forum, read by all comers, whose experience and technical knowledge range from expert to absolutely nil.  That is why sweeping advisory generalisations as to what is safe/unsafe are so unwise, however well intended, and are especially so if the generalisation is based on limited technical knowledge, in the belief that "because my van has this, all others must be similar".