LMC Camper Posted May 11, 2010 Share Posted May 11, 2010 Just returned from France where my Truma heater stopped working after I refilled my newly installed Gaslow cylinder with French BP GPL (LPG) at a main road BP filling station. The heater was eventually coaxed into life and worked on and off just about heating the water and air on a few cold evenings. The system worked perfectly well on UK propane before I put in 12 litres of french gas. The manual indicates that this problem may be caused by 'Butane content in the gas cylinder too high'. I am burning off the gas through the stove and fridge both of which are working 100% and intend to refill with UK propane from a reputable supplier. Had a Skype chat with Truma technical staff and they sort of indicated that the gas mix might be the problem. Has anyone else had this problem with liquid gas bought in Europe? Is it a different gas mix? Any tips on how to avoid the Truma not firing up? Any comments or advice would be welcome. Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rupert123 Posted May 11, 2010 Share Posted May 11, 2010 It is true in France they have a higher butane content but personally I have had no problems with this. I do always fill my bottles in the UK but have refilled in France on several occasions. No answer to your problem I am afraid but it would seem the gas is unlikely to be the problem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
weldted Posted May 11, 2010 Share Posted May 11, 2010 Is your gas system fitted with a Truma Securimotion regulator, It is the one with the green button on the side of the regulator, (Bulkhead type) this type of regulator can become contaminated with oil residue leaching from the rubber hose between the bottle and the regulator. We have a Truma c6000 and have toured Europe for and never had a problem when refilling the tank from anywhere, as these heaters can run on Butane or Propane there should not be a problem other than if on Butane in very cold weather the gas does not boil off turning from a liquid to a vapour and can lead to poor performance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Momma Posted May 11, 2010 Share Posted May 11, 2010 weldted - 2010-05-11 10:53 PM Is your gas system fitted with a Truma Securimotion regulator, It is the one with the green button on the side of the regulator, (Bulkhead type) this type of regulator can become contaminated with oil residue leaching from the rubber hose between the bottle and the regulator. Change the rubber hose to the aluminium hose and this will stop the oil residue ;-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LMC Camper Posted May 12, 2010 Author Share Posted May 12, 2010 Hi - thanks for the comments - no we don't have the Securimotion regulator - just the standard (old style) Truma fitted in 2007. We had the rubber hoses replaced with stainless steel when we had the Gaslow cylinder fitted. Having done a bit more reading I think that the regulator may be the culprit as all other gas appliances work well. The water heating works but when switched to warm air heating the Truma clicks and gurgles but does not fire up. Then we get the red light on the control panel. So my guess is the regulator needs replacing. The Gaslow fitter said that they use the CLESSE regulator rather than the Truma or Gaslow - any suggestions which to buy? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Kirby Posted May 12, 2010 Share Posted May 12, 2010 I'm assuming this is a Combi, though you haven't said which model. I'm also assuming, when you say "the water heating works", that you are referring to gas fired water heating via the Combi.Gas seems to be getting to the Combi OK, since it will run the water heating, and Combis use the same gas burner for both water heating and space heating.Have you tried turning on everything else, fridge, all gas burners, oven, grill, whatever (lit, of course! :-)), and then turning on the water heating, to see if the hob flames begins to dwindle as the gas demand is increased?Also, have you tried lighting up as above and then turning on the heating - and watching the gas jets on the hob as the heating tries to start, to see if the flame jumps or dwindles as the gas supply to the heater comes in?If you see the flame dwindle when trying the above, and if everything worked properly beforehand, the regulator is probably sticking part open, and cannot cope with the full heating demand (320g/hr for C 4002 or 480g/hr for C 6002), but will pass a sufficient volume to feed the water heating (170 g/hr for both models). Replacing the regulator is a relatively cheap option, so is worth trying before suspecting a fault in the heating side of the Combi. So long as the pressure (presumably 30mbar) matches, and flow rate matches or slightly exceeds, that of the Truma regulator, it would probably be wise to fit a Gaslow regulator. (However, check the fitting arrangement beforehand to see if it will be a straight swap.) As it will be fed from their refillables, and you have their hoses, that will place the supply side onus all on Gaslow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LMC Camper Posted May 12, 2010 Author Share Posted May 12, 2010 Brian - Thanks very much for the excellent advice. The unit is a Truma C6002 model. Yes - the hob flames almost go out when the Truma air heating is switched on - so the regulator looks the culprit. I have ordered a Gaslow regulator to fit onto my Gaslow system with stainless steel hoses. Should do the trick - will report back after fitting it tomorrow. It's also a relief to find out that the french LPG is not the problem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted May 13, 2010 Share Posted May 13, 2010 weldted - 2010-05-11 10:53 PM Is your gas system fitted with a Truma Securimotion regulator, It is the one with the green button on the side of the regulator, (Bulkhead type) this type of regulator can become contaminated with oil residue leaching from the rubber hose between the bottle and the regulator. We have a Truma c6000 and have toured Europe for and never had a problem when refilling the tank from anywhere, as these heaters can run on Butane or Propane there should not be a problem other than if on Butane in very cold weather the gas does not boil off turning from a liquid to a vapour and can lead to poor performance. I'm interested in your comment regarding Truma's SecuMotion regulator. Could you say, please, where this information came from? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted May 13, 2010 Share Posted May 13, 2010 I believe a significant difference between Truma/GOK bulkhead-mounted regulators and the Clesse product is in the outlet design. The former comes in two different versions, one with an outlet to connect to 8mm diameter gas tubing and the other with an outlet for 10mm diameter tubing, whereas the Clesse regulator's outlet (I'm pretty sure) is designed to connect only to 10mm diameter tubing. Consequently, if the leisure vehicle has 8mm tubing, a reducing adapter will be required for the Clesse regulator. I suspect that the Clesse regulator may also be a fair bit cheaper than the Truma products and I note that it's now possible to obtain the Clesse regulator with a pre-fitted angled inlet. This allows the regulator to be easily installed in the manner recommended by Calor following the spate of Truma regulator failures a few years ago. See http://www.bes.co.uk/products/063.asp?ref=google-BP-Caravan-Regulators&kw=caravan%20regulator&match-type=phrase&gclid=COfN59i7zqECFRI-lAodEwsJJQ It's handy to have a pressure gauge in the high-pressure side of the leisure vehicle's gas system. Besides providing a useful means of testing the system for leaks, it offers a means of checking whether LPG is reaching the regulator at the pressure that one might anticipate. Occasionally the outlet-valve on a gas bottle can stick, producing symptoms similar to LMC Camper's problem, and a gauge should detect this. As has already been said, French 'autogas' can contain up to 60% butane and, if your gauge is designed for propane, the high butane content of French GPL is very evident from the reduced pressure reading. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LMC Camper Posted May 13, 2010 Author Share Posted May 13, 2010 Just an update - the problem has been resolved by replacing the Truma EN 61-DS regulator with a Gaslow Butane/Propane 30mbar Reg. EN12867 (-01-1700) regulator. Next day service from Outdoor Bits and at £29 with 10mm connector almost half of some of the quoted prices of the Truma. No problem fitting the Gaslow regulator to the existing 10mm pipe and Gaslow SS hose. When disconnected the Truma had some contamination in the top connection wire gauze filter but whether this caused the problems I do not know. Hope that is the end of the problem ... until the next time! Thanks for all your comments. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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