Len Salisbury Posted September 15, 2015 Share Posted September 15, 2015 We have a Truma Heater Combi 4E and although we have had the MH 15 months we have never had the heater working until today. I put the MH on to EHU and was getting warm air through the ducting with the unit on gas. There is no mention in the instructions about 12 volt ony 230.We are going to Belgium next week and will be wild camping with no hook up.. How can/do I get warm air to blow out into the MH? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maggyd Posted September 15, 2015 Share Posted September 15, 2015 As I understand it the 12v is only to ignite the gas , unless you are on hookup Im afraid you are going to be running on gas. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aka4ajax Posted September 15, 2015 Share Posted September 15, 2015 What type of accessory blowers do you have fitted? If you look at there website the specs will inform if they are 12v or 240v systems. http://www.truma.com/uk/en/heating/downloads.php Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keithl Posted September 15, 2015 Share Posted September 15, 2015 Unplug the EHU and see if you can get it to work solely on gas and 12 volts. You may need to turn on your control panel to get the fan to run (I think a Combi is blown air only). Keith. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Len Salisbury Posted September 15, 2015 Author Share Posted September 15, 2015 I know that I shall have to run on gas will the power to blow come from/via the leisure batteries and solar panel? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colin Posted September 15, 2015 Share Posted September 15, 2015 We have a combi4 it's been 4 or 5 years since i've operated a combi4e but AFAIK the only difference is the adition of an electric element which has its symbol on the dial, all other functions should be 12v/gas, it is on ours and it runs on the leisure battery. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keithl Posted September 16, 2015 Share Posted September 16, 2015 Len Salisbury - 2015-09-15 11:10 PM I know that I shall have to run on gas will the power to blow come from/via the leisure batteries and solar panel? Yes, it will be a 12 volt fan run from the leisure battery. Keith. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ken the kontiki Posted September 16, 2015 Share Posted September 16, 2015 What Keith said - 12v is needed to run the fan side of things. Also, don't ever turn the main MH control panel off unless you've turned the Truma controls off first and let the heating system go through its "cool down" programme. If not, there's a possibility that the Combi will sense an overheat and next time you come to turn it on, it will show one or more fault codes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Len Salisbury Posted September 16, 2015 Author Share Posted September 16, 2015 Taken on board. I'm going outside now to test the device as if I have arrived on site and go through the throes. How long do you think my leisure batteries last with power? I have a solar panel 120 watts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bolero boy Posted September 16, 2015 Share Posted September 16, 2015 longer than your gas, provided that theres a modicum of sunshine.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Len Salisbury Posted September 16, 2015 Author Share Posted September 16, 2015 i have been to the MH and fired up after switching on the Control Panel and noted the settings for my own way and shut down as you have suggested and everything works. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ken the kontiki Posted September 16, 2015 Share Posted September 16, 2015 The more heat the Combi kicks out on gas, the more the fan will run. Basically, on EHU (1800w?), there's not that much heat inside the Combi to be dissipated so that's why the fan never runs that fast or appears to not have much oomph. Switch to gas, potentially 3200w, and as the heat builds up in the Combi, the fan will run much quicker to dissipate the heat, therefore putting more drain on your battery.So by keeping on a low gas setting and assuming this level will keep you warm, then the fan will run slower and use less battery amps. According to the Truma tech info, the Combi 4E takes 1.1A average, 5.6A for short periods. Not too clued up on how much your solar panel will put into the battery, assuming it going to be sunny all day. So I can't really put a time scale on how long you'll be able to go off-grid as you'll be using lighting and other 12v stuff. Hope all this makes sense. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Len Salisbury Posted September 16, 2015 Author Share Posted September 16, 2015 Thanks Ken for that info. I wonder how members on here cope with their heating and no EHU and away longer than us? Generator! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peterjl Posted September 16, 2015 Share Posted September 16, 2015 Len Salisbury - 2015-09-16 6:40 PM Thanks Ken for that info. I wonder how members on here cope with their heating and no EHU and away longer than us? Generator! It depends how cold its going to be. If we are in the UK or heading south to Spain. its seldom it ever get really cold so battery has always been fine. If temp forecast to be really cold i make sure i am on a site with an EHU. For winter holidays in the Alps (skiing etc) i always use sites with an EHU. Haven't really tested the current van. In the Alps with our last one (same model) the temp has never dropped below minus 10C. We had a Hobby a few years back and, camping in the shade of the mountain, for one week it never was warmer than minus 12C and sometimes down to minus 18C - it was fine. I usually also carry an electric oil radiator for the cab area and have outside AND inside window covers. Out of the mountains and travelling through France in winter battery has always been fine. Peter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colin Posted September 16, 2015 Share Posted September 16, 2015 Len Salisbury - 2015-09-16 6:40 PM Thanks Ken for that info. I wonder how members on here cope with their heating and no EHU and away longer than us? Generator! As I posted above we don't have the E option on our van, we also don't use EHU unless it's included in basic price, we have no problems coping with being static on site in November using just 85w solar panel to top up the batteries. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikebeaches Posted September 16, 2015 Share Posted September 16, 2015 As others have mentioned, there are a variety of factors that will determine how long your leisure batteries will run the blown air heating for, and obviously having a solar panel should help provided there is some solar gain (and it's not covered in snow). But one of the key things for us when 'off-grid' is how frequently we keep travelling in the van. In other words, if you're moving on every couple of days, you probably won't have a problem, because the engine will keep your leisure battery charged up - but if you want to park in one place for a fortnight, say, then you will need plenty of sunshine or mild weather - or a hook-up. Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Len Salisbury Posted September 17, 2015 Author Share Posted September 17, 2015 Excellent info, Ta. We shall be staying in a field at a Sidecar Rally but they don't allow cars, MHs on site but we shall be next door. I shall take our continental 13 amp double adaptor to plug into mains if I run into a problem. I shall also keep an eye on the control panel to see state of leisure batteries, I have two. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted September 17, 2015 Share Posted September 17, 2015 Len You can view/download Truma English-language documents relating to your heater from here https://dealernew.truma.com/_anweisungen/Truma-Katalog/gb/combi_gb/combi_gas_gb.html The Combi 4(E) in your Autocruise Pace will be the model manufactured between 06/2007 and 12/2013. It will have two separate control-panels - one to select the Energy Source (gas, 230V, or 230V + gas) and the other panel selecting the desired Operating Mode. The operating procedure for these gas/electrical heaters is not particularly intuitive and it definitely pays to read carefully (and understand) the operating instructions. Basically, you begin by choosing the Energy Source and, once that is done, then use the other control-panel to select whether you want the appliance to just heat water or to heat air as well. The Quick User Guide may be helpful https://dealernew.truma.com/_anweisungen/Truma-Katalog/pdf_verzeichnis/30_000/34020_29800.pdf Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Len Salisbury Posted September 17, 2015 Author Share Posted September 17, 2015 Thank you Derek for taking the time and effort in providing instruction sheet and links. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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