zaria123 Posted February 2, 2010 Share Posted February 2, 2010 Having safely, and sucessfully done the 400 mile trip back home (+ Irish Sea Crossing), we are delighted with our motorhome, even after our first very cold night sleeping in it with a layer of fresh snow outside. We have a few questions about the blow air heating which aren't really adressed in the manual: 1) Is it safe to use whilst driving? 2) Is it safe to use overnight wholst sleeping? 3) The instructions tell us to Step 1 - 'Remove Cowl Cap'..Step 2 - Switch on Gas......Where is the Cowl Cap? 4) When we briefly tested the unit back at home we did get warm air (only briefly as we didn't find any cowl cap to remove), but after a short while the red idicator lamp started to flash. Does this mean there is a fault? Ref the Thetford Cassette Toilet. When we use the electric flush, the 'Blue' flush water is coming out a little lumps (but does flow freely), I assume as the motorhome hasn't been little used recently the tank needs cleaned out...any ideas on how, or if a detergent can be used? Thanks Again Alan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HWO Posted February 3, 2010 Share Posted February 3, 2010 Hi Alan I am not an expert on these things but here goes 1 No, generally the gas should be turned off when travelling. Some modern van can travel with the gas on, but you will need a special regulator at least and not sure a truma heater is for use on the move. 2&3 these are tied together. I think that the cowl cap will be the plastic cover that protects the balanced flue to the heater when not using the gas supply. It is on the outside somewhere near wheel level usually. It will just pull off then the gas will work. If that is the case then the gas is flued to the outside it should be safe to use at night. Personnally I don't like to leave the gas on to heat the van all night if I can get away without it. Have you got a mains heating element built into the heater that you can use at night, or a small fan-heater you can leave on low. Your toilet problem, The blue liquid usually goes in the bottom holding tank not the flush water tank , there is some special fluid for that ( usually pink). It probably needs a good flush thro with clean plain water Hope thats been some help Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
weldted Posted February 3, 2010 Share Posted February 3, 2010 Hi, the COWL refered to is a cover fitted over the outside of the heater, it protecs the heater from rain etc when not in use. It must be removed before using it either for heating or hot water. I think you will find that you cannot use it whist driving unless it is fitted with a special regulator and this is only fitted to some 2008 models onwards. It is perfectal safe to use whilst sleeping but make sure that it is inspected annually to ensure safe operation, if you have only just bought the van make sure it has been checked. Some reasons for the red light flashing, outside cover still on, low battery voltage, possible air in gas pipe, try relighting it two or three times. If cover is off, leisure batteryvoltage is good, fails to stay on after several attemps, get it checked by lpg approved fitter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted February 3, 2010 Share Posted February 3, 2010 zaria123 - 2010-02-02 7:24 PM Having safely, and sucessfully done the 400 mile trip back home (+ Irish Sea Crossing), we are delighted with our motorhome, even after our first very cold night sleeping in it with a layer of fresh snow outside. We have a few questions about the blow air heating which aren't really adressed in the manual: 1) Is it safe to use whilst driving? 2) Is it safe to use overnight wholst sleeping? 3) The instructions tell us to Step 1 - 'Remove Cowl Cap'..Step 2 - Switch on Gas......Where is the Cowl Cap? 4) When we briefly tested the unit back at home we did get warm air (only briefly as we didn't find any cowl cap to remove), but after a short while the red idicator lamp started to flash. Does this mean there is a fault? Ref the Thetford Cassette Toilet. When we use the electric flush, the 'Blue' flush water is coming out a little lumps (but does flow freely), I assume as the motorhome hasn't been little used recently the tank needs cleaned out...any ideas on how, or if a detergent can be used? Thanks Again Alan Alan 1) Is it safe to use whilst driving? It depends on which model of heater your motorhome is fitted with, how it has been installed and the rest of the gas-system's specification. Your "cowl" comment suggests that the heater is a Trumatic S-3002 convector model (with blown-air option) and I think one version is designed so that it can be used in a moving vehicle. If the heater-related documentation you've got doesn't mention this, then you should be able to download Installation and Operating Instructions for your heater from Truma's website(www.truma.com) that should confirm the heater's on-the-move capability one way or the other. Alternatively, you could ask the technical staff at Truma(UK) for advice (contact details on www.trumauk.com). You'll need to confirm EXACTLY which heater model you've got from the information on the heater's data-plate. Until you've ascertained your heater's design capability, I strongly suggest you don't attempt to use it while driving. Received wisdom is that, even when gas heaters are designed for use in moving vehicles, the practice presents potential safety risks that are best avoided. 2) Is it safe to use overnight whilst sleeping? Yes - as long as there's nothing wrong with the heater or the gas-system. 3) The instructions tell us to Step 1 - 'Remove Cowl Cap'..Step 2 - Switch on Gas......Where is the Cowl Cap? A "cowl cap" is Truma-speak for a plastic cover designed to protect a gas-appliance's 'flue' where it emerges from a leisure-vehicle's side bodywork. Have you actually got a heater-flue outlet in your motorhome's side-bodywork? Truma S-3002 convector-heaters are often (usually?) fitted with a flue that exits through the leisure-vehicle's roof and, in such cases, no cowl-cap will be used. It's probable that your motorhome has a Truma Ultrastore boiler for water heating. This appliance's flue will emerge from the motorhome's side bodywork and there should be a cowl-cap to protect the end of the flue when the boiler is not being operated on gas. Before the boiler is operated on gas the cowl-cap MUST first be removed. (It should make this plain in the boiler's Operating Instructions.) 4) When we briefly tested the unit back at home we did get warm air (only briefly as we didn't find any cowl cap to remove), but after a short while the red indicator lamp started to flash. Does this mean there is a fault? Obviously the heater thinks there is! ;-) There's normally a trouble-shooting list in Truma's Operating Instructions that may help. Could be your gas-bottle is nearly empty, or there's air in the gas pipework, or you are using butane and the weather's very cold, or the regulator is faulty or icing up. Try running all the motorhome's gas-hob burners simultaneously at full blast for a while. This should prove whether or not the gas-flow is adequate and should help purge any air that may be in the pipework. It's not that uncommon for gas appliances to 'play hard to get' after a leisure-vehicle has been out of action for a while, so, even if there is no actual fault, you may have to repeat the start-up procedure quite a few times before the appliance agrees to cooperate. (This is equally true for boilers and fridges, not just air heaters.) If the problem persists and the heater has a roof-mounted flue-outlet, it would be worth checking that this outlet it's not obstructed (leaves, spiders'webs, etc.) Thetford Cassette Toilet. Drain and refill the toilet's flush-tank repeatedly, at the same time repeatedly operate the electric flush. Continue this procedure until the water entering the toilet-bowl runs clear. It would be best to try to get rid of the muck in the tank first and, when that's all gone, you can refill with clean water and add a rinse/cleanse-agent if you so wish. I suggest you don't use any sort of 'domestic' cleaning product (eg. bleach) to try to break down the junk in the tank, as this could damage seals. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zaria123 Posted February 3, 2010 Author Share Posted February 3, 2010 Hi Folks Thanks so much for the excellent and comprehensive information. When I tested the gas heating it was -2 degrees outside, so I will have another try on a warmer day. It appears the Blow Heating System is a Trumatic E Series 2 (can't find out whether its a 2800 or 4000 at the moment). It is fitted with a rotating temperature controller (with a green light behind), and also two switches on for High / Low, the other for Heat / Off / Ventilation. I found the info and instruction manual on trumas site. I'll have to investigate to details ref using on the move, although I don't think it would be strictly necessary. It appears the heating is gas only, no electrical option. Ive booked in for a gas safety certificate as well. I have another quick question ref electrics. There is an orignal wall switch labelled beside the main control panel: leisure battery / vehicle battery. When I switch it either way there doesn;t appear to be any significant or visual changes (there are no warning lights etc). Should something noticeable happen? Cheers again Alan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tonyishuk Posted February 3, 2010 Share Posted February 3, 2010 Hi, If you use the search facility on this site, try words like "travel heat" entries for the year, you will find quite a few opinions on travelling with gas live and connected. Other options using engine heat are also offfered. Rgds Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted February 4, 2010 Share Posted February 4, 2010 Alan When trying to answer technical questions it's always helpful (and sometimes essential) to know the make/model/year of the vehicle involved, as there may well be a forum-member who has intimate knowledge of that particular motorhome. In your case (having trawled back through your earlier postings) I'm assuming that you've got a 2002 Elddis Autostratus, but it would be handy if you could confirm this. Truma's E-Series appliances are pure blown-air heaters and (as you rightly say) are gas-fuelled only. I thought there were only three models - the E-2400 (2.4kw maximum heat output), the E-4000 (3.7kW maximum heat output) and the E-4000A (a variant of the E-4000 designed for mounting outside the vehicle's interior) - so I'm a mite wary of your "2800" reference. E-Series units are uncommon in largish motorhomes and I'm surprised that Elddis would have chosen to fit one. According to my Truma products-leaflet, E-Series heaters can (according to model) have their flue going through the vehicle's floor, roof or side-wall. If the flue is side-wall mounted, a protective 'cowl cover' can be attached to the end of the flue and would need to be removed before the heater was operated. (I think the cowl-cover' may have been an option, so, if 'your' heater's flue emerges through a side-wall and there's no cowl-cover, don't be unduly concerned over its absence.) I'm near certain these heaters are designed and certified for use in a moving vehicle. Having re-read your original posting, and knowing what type of heater you've got, I think weldted's low battery voltage suggestion is a good bet for why the red light was flashing. I've no practical experience of E-Series heaters, but a red flashing 'monitor light' on the control-switch of a Truma C-Series appliance certainly warns that the voltage of the electrical power-supply to the heater is too low. As you've managed to get the heater to fire up and actually begin to provide hot air, and (presumably) the heater continues to run when the red light is flashing, then the first thing to check is the battery's state of charge. As an experiment, try hooking the motorhome to a 230V power-supply, switch on the motorhome's on-board battery charger (or make sure it's already switched on), and then turn on the heater. If you're lucky the light won't flash and you'll have confirmed that the battery's charge-state was the culprit. The "leisure battery / vehicle battery" switch may allow you to select which battery is to be charged by the motorhome's on-board 230V-powered battery-charger. Alternatively, it may allow you to select which battery powers the 12V accessories (lights, heater, etc.) in the motorhome's living area. An Elddis Autostratus owner may know, but it should be easy enough to find out what the switch does if you've got a multimeter and some basic electrical skills. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zaria123 Posted February 4, 2010 Author Share Posted February 4, 2010 Hi Sorry, and yes the motorhome is a 2002 Elddis Autostratus CK2000SE, based on the Peugeot Boxer 2.5 TD. I have checked in daylight and it is definately a Trumatic E Series with the flue exiting on the sidewall (not far away from a bigger flue exit for the Truma Ultrastore). there isn't a cowl cover on the flue though. I have checked the Truma site, and their downloads sections and there seem to be many versions of the E-Series units. I had assumed that the unit I had fitted in the vehicle was the E2800 or E4000 because it mentioned they were made from January 1989 to Dec 2002, however on closer reading yes the 2400 was produced from 1993 onwards and doesn't display a production end date. I tried to get a look at the unit (thining the main unit would be labelled with the model number etc) but is is totally encased inside the kitchen cupboard and would beed stripping to see it, however the good news is I put on all the cooker rings at the same time as the heating (and this eveing the temp outside was 6 degrees, rather than a minus) and it ran absolutely fine for over an hour on test. I ran it turned up to the highest temp setting of 30, and it generated a decent amount of heat in both the main living area and the bathroom. After switched off it ran for a while to discharge to remaining heat. I also checked the battery voltages, etc and everything is spot on, I haven't tey ran the vehicle on mains power. I did read on the Truma site somewhere that the unit could be used while driving, but have failed to find the information a second time. It would certainly appear pehaps the wrong liquid additive has been put in to the loo flushing tank, so I'll have a go at flushing that out when I get home in daylight hours. I'll keep twiddling and reading until I get more familiar with all the systems. Once again, many thanks for the detail of the replies. Alan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted February 6, 2010 Share Posted February 6, 2010 Alan Until I looked at Truma's website I hadn't realised either that there had been so many E-Series heater variants. No idea how you'd be able tp identify yours without being able to see it, unless you can guess at which model it is by the amount of heat it provides. Current E-2400 and E-4000 appliances are advertised as being "reliable when driving and under extreme wind conditions", and I believe that will have been true of all earlier versions. You'd probably find a statement to that effect in the "Function description" section of the appropriate Truma Operating Instructions and in the "Approval" section of the Installation Instructions. If you did decide to use the heater while driving, to do it legally you'd need to confirm that the country you were driving in did not prohibit that practice. I tried to establish via GOOGLE which E-Series heater yours might have, but with no success. I did come across a statement that Elddis switched from a 2.5litre to a 2.8litre motor for February-2001-onwards Autostratus models, so your motorhome's Peugeot chassis may have been built some while before it was first UK-registered (not unusual for motorhomes). A Peugeot dealer might be able to provide the chassis build-date based on the vehicle's VIN-number if you were interested. I notice that there's a dedicated "Explorer Group" section amongst the forums on the MotorHomeFacts website http://www.motorhomefacts.com/ and (if you are lucky) you might be able to get in touch with someone there who has Autostratus expertise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Kirby Posted February 6, 2010 Share Posted February 6, 2010 zaria123 - 2010-02-04 9:06 PM ............. I tried to get a look at the unit (thining the main unit would be labelled with the model number etc) but is is totally encased inside the kitchen cupboard and would beed stripping to see it, ............... Alan As you have sufficient access to see the unit, might you be able to see the type No etc with the aid of a torch and a small mirror? You'll have to read mirror image text and numbers, which for some reason I find particularly confusing, but it might help to get a positive ID.To use the heater while travelling you would need the Truma DriveSafe regulator and "pigtails" fitted, which I doubt is there. The general claim that this is possible refers to German regulations and, like a lot of German companies, Truma has tended to be a bit "blind" to regulations and practise in other countries. Double check that any claim the heater is safe to use in this way is applicable to your heater type/model before going the DriveSafe route, though, as doing this with an unsuitable heater could present you with a bonfire in the back of your van while driving! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zaria123 Posted February 6, 2010 Author Share Posted February 6, 2010 Thnaks a lot for all the information. the only real reason we wondered about using the heating when driving was if we were carrying one or two passengers in the rear belted seats, as the cab heat didn't travel much further than the cab itself but maybe we'll just wrap them up a bit warmer. The toilet system is now flushed and empty ready for refilling too. the next port of call will be to get the gas systems checked and a certificate that all is ok. Once again thanks, our next trial will be operating the Truma Water heater when it is refilled in warmer weather! Cheers Alan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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