Rod_vw Posted April 24, 2012 Share Posted April 24, 2012 JudgeMental - 2012-03-05 12:40 AM I would not have a diesel heater, have heard stories re reliability and noise, and warranty problems from a reliable source.. You would be better of with a normal 3 way fridge, truma combi space and water heating and under slung gas tank....A bit surprised you were not offered more options, aren't these custom built campers Sorry Judge but I'd take issue with a couple of points, and agree with others. Having transfered from a three way fridge with to a compressor type with our previous (and current) camper I would always recomend the compressor type. I was astounded at the gas saving not to mention the simplicity of 'switch on and forget' of the Waeco compressor. Diesel blown air heaters, yes there is a point about the noise but careful installation reduces this to an acceptable level. As for reliability, I think the main solution to keeping Eberspacher and Webasto heaters in good working order is to run them on full power regularly to keep the burner chamber clean. Underslung gas tank, yes please if only I had space for one! Combined heating / water heating all depends on needs and space available. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted April 25, 2012 Share Posted April 25, 2012 HymerVan - 2012-04-24 5:00 PM ...The neccessary fittings as recommended by Derek Uzzell have been purchased and everything works (except the Gaslow "turnwheel" connection to the propane cylinder) Unfortunately the turnwheel fouls with the cylinder itself a problem no doubt only for the 3.9 cylinder. That's a nuisance... I was going to suggest that you might be able to overcome the clearance problem by fitting a Gaslow propane gauge-adapter between the turnwheel adapter and the gas-bottle, but I see Gaslow now fits a turnwheel to the gauge-adapter. There is an alternative gauge-adapter that might sidestep the problem http://www.bes.co.uk/product/63~LPG~958~958~-Multi-Purpose-Safety-Fitting.html but that would cost another £21.51 (and adds another adapter) As Gaslow's turnwheel propane connector has a rubber end and does not need a lot of torque to obtain a gas-tight seal, I'd be tempted to judiciously modify the turnwheel until it no longer fouled the 3.9kg bottle. You might even fid that, if the turnwheel were removed, the shape of the adapter's body would allow a spanner to be used for tightening the fitting on to the bottle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HymerVan Posted July 5, 2012 Author Share Posted July 5, 2012 We are just back from Europe after nearly 8 weeks. We had a great time particularly in the inland part of Northern Spain around and across the Pecos de Europa Mountains. Our new Fifer behaved impeccably apart from a couple of very minor water related problems quickly fixed by ENC on the way north. As for gas consumption it is probably fair to say that due to very hot weather (sorry folks we did have it) we prepared relatively few hot meals but the gas was used a lot for making coffee on my "espresso" cafetiere. We used diesel for water heating and such space heating (not much) as we needed. We were still on our first 3..9 Kg propane cylinder. Consequently my quite expensively acquired Campinggaz setup was not needed but it did give up piece of mind. We traveled just under 4000miles at an average consumption of exactly 31mpg in very mixed driving conditions including some fast work on the Peage and motorway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest JudgeMental Posted July 5, 2012 Share Posted July 5, 2012 on my recent 6 weeks trip to Spain I to was surprised how little gas we used, we did have heating on travelling both ways and on elec on site so just using gas for cooking BBQ etc.. I topped it up about half-way through the trip as I was picking wife up from airport and LPG station nearby, this cost 9€. then when back home I topped up again and this was £9 so not much gas use at all. (2 x 11kg refillables) wondering how you got on with compressor fridge as van I'm thinking of for next one only uses these... are they much of a drain on battery? (I always have 2 leisure batteries) is it cheaper to run a 3 way fridge on gas or 230v any one have an idea...as on site in spain you pay per KW for your elec...so wondering if I may as well leave it on gas... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HymerVan Posted July 5, 2012 Author Share Posted July 5, 2012 Thanks Judge We found the compressor fridge worked well. There is a little noise when it is running but you soon get used to it and it has a certain quality of reassurance. In size terms because of its regular shape (no fins etc ) it has more useable space than a nominally similar condenser fridge. Clearly the fridge DOES use significant amounts of electricity. Our van has an 80watt solar and a 230ah battery (both standard) We used aires and sites and on sites always had hook up. We were not charged for hook up by use only a fixed increment. There was a drop on the battery after two days off hook up but the battery restored itself off the alternator when running and/or with the solar. We are confident that the battery would be good for three days off hook up and probably for more. Of course our use was in very favourable conditions good sunlight heating fan not being used etc. IF the van was being used with heating and/or much TV in dull or cold weather issues could arise if extended use off hook up was intended however for our useage pattern and lifestyle it worked extremely well. We were also very pleased with the Webasto diesel heating. So quick and efficient. Hope this helps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest JudgeMental Posted July 5, 2012 Share Posted July 5, 2012 So are you happy you went over to a panel van then...we are ever so pleased with ours :-D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HymerVan Posted July 5, 2012 Author Share Posted July 5, 2012 In short yes. And it IS short at 5.4 metres. Significantly less storage needs organization and discipline i.e. don't take c**p you don't need. It is a joy to drive especially on challenging roads with no creaks or groans. On our trip we met and saw many people and things ranging from cycle campers who seemed to manage fine with minimum kit to huge double axle motorhomes and caravans. One weird equation is that the larger the van the bigger the awning and the greater the perceived need for other paraphernalia. Often the biggest people had the smallest vans and vice-versa. We like to think that we are spiritually nearer the cycle campers than the double-axle brigade. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest JudgeMental Posted July 5, 2012 Share Posted July 5, 2012 and us! :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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