berford Posted July 4, 2010 Share Posted July 4, 2010 At the end of last year we purchased a Chausson Flash 04 which has an eye-level gas grill. Last month we spent time in the Outer Hebrides where windy conditions are not unkown! Our grill gave us two problems. When there was a wind only slighly over a breeze the gas flame would blow out. Very frustrating! If the grill was not in use the wind would blow through the ventilation gap above the grill - very cold! I can solve the second problem but are there any ideas as to what I can do about the first? I know I can try to keep the van turned away form the wind but this is not always possible. The grill has an outside vent very similar to fridge vents. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flicka Posted July 4, 2010 Share Posted July 4, 2010 Hi Bernard & welcome to the forum. Another member "Mel B" has the same model & posted regarding problems with the grill on it. See http://www.outandaboutlive.co.uk/forums/forums/thread-view.asp?tid=18800&start=1 Page 2, refers to the grill. But other info may also be of interest. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ips Posted July 4, 2010 Share Posted July 4, 2010 Have same van and had same problem i made a cover out of white plastic sheet about 3mm thick but left bottom vent open grill doesnt blow out anymore but you have to persevere with there grills and let them heat up before use untill the flame deflector is red hot but you probably found that out already Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mel B Posted July 5, 2010 Share Posted July 5, 2010 Hi Berford, welcome to the nut house! :D Soooooooooo .... it was you we saw!!!!! :-> We couldn't believe it that in all the places in the UK, we saw another Chausson Flash 04 up on Harris/Lewis whilst we were there last month, we were there from Thursday 10 to Saturday 12 June!!! *-) We too have the flipping draught problem. Hubby cut down a spare fridge vent cover and fitted that but it hasn't cured it so we currently we have a tea-towel stuffed up there and are going to do more 'wind blocking' work on it. We also found that there's a heck of a lot of wind that comes through the steel vent at the top of the grill front itself, cured by sticking some insulation tape across (obviously the tea-towel and tape are removed when the grill is in use! 8-) ). The only reason I can think that the external vent is so large is because I understand that on the first lot of Chausson Flash 04 models a mini oven and grill combo was fitted instead of a grill, but was changed as a cost cutting exercise to just a grill (?), so I assume the larger vent was needed for that ... not sure if it really needs to be quite so massive for just a grill which is well insulated anyway! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mel B Posted July 5, 2010 Share Posted July 5, 2010 Whilst I'm at it, and we're talking Chausson Flash 04 vans .... do you also get a draught round your fridge? We do, so it looks like it hasn't been sealed to the interior as it should be if installed properly. Must have a look at that too!!! Obviously Chausson don't expect them to be used in windy or cold places!!! 8-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ips Posted July 6, 2010 Share Posted July 6, 2010 As stated on my earlier post I made a soild cover and just left the lower louvre open works fine no draughts. I can also confirm that I have had no probs with the fridge vent so presume yours is different or incorrectly installed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ips Posted July 6, 2010 Share Posted July 6, 2010 We couldn't believe it that in all the places in the UK, we saw another Chausson Flash 04 up on Harris/Lewis whilst we were there last month, we were there from Thursday 10 to Saturday 12 June!!! ! So which one of you 2 passed us on the M6 near lancaster at about 6pm on sat 5th june ?? Doing about 70mph, cycle carrier on back but no cycles, and didnt return my wave or acknowledge when I flashed you in :-D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
berford Posted July 6, 2010 Author Share Posted July 6, 2010 Thanks for all the replies so far. Much appreciated. I'm not much of a DIY man (my wife goes white if she sees me with a screwdriver in my hand!) so could I have a bit more info. on how to attach the plastic piece to the outside of the vent? Is it screwed in permanently or is it detachable? We left Harris on 8th June and were home in Shropshire by the afternoon of 9th so it was not us seen on the islands or on the M6 (no cycle rack) at the times given. Must be more of us around than we think! No draught from the fridge though the door catch has now broken twice. We are off down to Highbridge the week after next with quite a long list of minor faults to be put right - door seals coming away and breaking up, spring through on the mattress, lock barrel coming away on the toilet locker door, main door doesn't always open from the inside etc In its favour I do like the van to drive, excellent pulling power and comfortable. So is the fixed bed if you avoid the spring! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mel B Posted July 6, 2010 Share Posted July 6, 2010 ips - 2010-07-06 12:56 PM We couldn't believe it that in all the places in the UK, we saw another Chausson Flash 04 up on Harris/Lewis whilst we were there last month, we were there from Thursday 10 to Saturday 12 June!!! ! So which one of you 2 passed us on the M6 near lancaster at about 6pm on sat 5th june ?? Doing about 70mph, cycle carrier on back but no cycles, and didnt return my wave or acknowledge when I flashed you in :-D Bummer ... thought it was you ....! :-| It wasn't us at Lancaster though - we were parked up at Steel Riggs next to Hadrian's Wall at the time! This is near a place called Once Brewed which has a pub called ... Twice Brewed!!!! (lol) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mel B Posted July 6, 2010 Share Posted July 6, 2010 berford - 2010-07-06 4:06 PM We left Harris on 8th June and were home in Shropshire by the afternoon of 9th so it was not us seen on the islands or on the M6 (no cycle rack) at the times given. Must be more of us around than we think! No draught from the fridge though the door catch has now broken twice. We are off down to Highbridge the week after next with quite a long list of minor faults to be put right - door seals coming away and breaking up, spring through on the mattress, lock barrel coming away on the toilet locker door, main door doesn't always open from the inside etc In its favour I do like the van to drive, excellent pulling power and comfortable. So is the fixed bed if you avoid the spring! Not you either ... that means there must have been 3 of us on the Islands within a couple of week!!!! The locals must've wondered what was going on! Sounds like you've got a bit of a Friday afternoon job there Berford - used to have a Swift like that! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ips Posted July 7, 2010 Share Posted July 7, 2010 Thanks for all the replies so far. Much appreciated. I'm not much of a DIY man (my wife goes white if she sees me with a screwdriver in my hand!) so could I have a bit more info. on how to attach the plastic piece to the outside of the vent? Is it screwed in permanently or is it detachable? OK- This is how I did it, but as its a gas appliance were talking about obviously I cannot reccomend anyone do the same ....... you can get some white plastic from various places, any sign maker has it as its the stuff they use to stick there lettering on etc. Couple of quid for a 60x20 cm ish piece. I made a clip on type system for the top however the easiest way would be just to screw the thing on with stainless steel self tappers (it must be s/s or rust will run down your van eventually) one in each corner of the existing vent. If you use countersunk screws then you can fit white plastic screw covers (look even better) I made sure I left the the bottom louvre clear for "some" ventilation. Been done 11 months with no probs with blowing out or draughts and no probs with ventilation etc. NOTE Anyone wishing to do the same or similar would be better getting a gas engineer to assess it 1st, as any alterations to gas installations can be both illegal and or dangerous. I do not reccomend the blocking off of louvred vents in any way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ips Posted July 7, 2010 Share Posted July 7, 2010 It wasn't us at Lancaster though - we were parked up at Steel Riggs next to Hadrian's Wall at the time! This is near a place called Once Brewed which has a pub called ... Twice Brewed!!!! (lol) Yes I know the place.......... very strange name is it not. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
berford Posted July 8, 2010 Author Share Posted July 8, 2010 Thanks for the advice. I will talk to them at Highbridge when we go down before taking any action. I do know that at the moment the grill is only a little better than useless so I need to do something. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ips Posted July 8, 2010 Share Posted July 8, 2010 Yes there rubbish, but usable if you can get it lit and if you leave it on for 10mins or so before you need it. Mrs ips has kinda got used to it now so with the cover on to stop it blowing out its now not a problem, good luck with the ouitcome. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mel B Posted July 8, 2010 Share Posted July 8, 2010 berford - 2010-07-08 12:16 PM Thanks for the advice. I will talk to them at Highbridge when we go down before taking any action. I do know that at the moment the grill is only a little better than useless so I need to do something. We got ours from Highbridge too ... travelled about 250 miles from home for it! Very nice people. :-D Try blocking part of the vent first. We've put a fridge 'winter' vent on ours which leaves just the bottom of the fixed vent 'open' to allow air flow, we'll see next week when we're away whether it's cured the 'draught' problem. Still got to 'attack 'the grill a bit more to see if it will start to brown the toast quicker. :D As for the fridge draught - hubby had a look today and found that the deflector plate wasn't sitting correctly at one side so was letting the cold air through, after straightening it and putting some sealant on to fill the small gaps left, hopefully it will have solved the problem. All ready for the off tomorrow..... B-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silverback Posted July 8, 2010 Share Posted July 8, 2010 surely Mel you shouldn't have to do all this to a brand new van!! get on to chausson or summat... stuff should work!!! failing that get a blow torch that will brown your toast (lol) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mel B Posted July 8, 2010 Share Posted July 8, 2010 There's always something to do to a new van! That's part of the fun!!!! *-) Seriously though, we've had a lot worse so have quite a bit of experience in the 'sorting out' field, so that when we chose to get the van from a dealer such a distance away, we accepted that there might be some odd bits we'd have to sort out ... as we're not motorhoming novices at least we know how to cure most of them ... now when hubby has tinkered with the grill a bit more it'll be sorted. :-> We've just got a rear view mirror 'monitor' off fleabay (no rear window) and hubby's been wiring that in - it came with a small camera so he's put that in as a 'parking' camera (ie pointing downwards) and the other camera, which we'd already put in and were using with a small TV monitor, so this is angled outwards more and is his 'rear view mirror', for when he's driving. He's rigged it so he can go from one view to the other. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
berford Posted July 26, 2010 Author Share Posted July 26, 2010 Thought I would give an update after our visit to Highbridge. The engineer who checked the grill said he blew air into the grill and there was no problem! I disagreed and he did clean the burner, saying it should help. Not impressed we bought a fridge vent cover which allows some ventilation and will see how that goes. We had gone down to have other things sorted (minor) and they tightened up the runners for the shower screen - result cracks from each of the runners extending down the screen! They have ordered a new screen but I will have to decide whether to fit it myself or go back down to Highbridge (three hour journey). I will probably do it and send the wife out for the day! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ips Posted July 27, 2010 Share Posted July 27, 2010 There is no fix for these grills other than re-jetting the burner, a job I have not done as the proximity of the grill to the roof and surrounding furniture in the van would be a worry due to the higher heat that a larger flame would radiate as these oven/grills are not insulated really. I think that the manufacturers have jetted the burner as big as they dare so better to get used to it and put your toast under earlier :-D As for the shower runners, I have allways beleived that its better to do the job yourself (if you possibly can) than to let someone else make it worse. ips Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.