Bray Posted May 10, 2019 Share Posted May 10, 2019 I have a Benimar 286 and the charger unit is mounted in the same compartment as the water heater/heating system.What I am finding is the charger fan runs all the time when there is either hot water or heating is on even though no electric is being used this can run up to 2 hour while the compartment cools down..As I am alight sleeper I can hear the fan running. When I approached Marquis about this problem the comment I got was they are all like that. My question is I thought a cooling fan on charger was to cool the unit down not heat it up. The comment from Benimar Spain was I can install more ventilation.This is a brand new van not sure I want to start cutting ventilation grills in .Any comment on this Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marcol Posted May 10, 2019 Share Posted May 10, 2019 Why don’t you turn the charger off at night ? On the charger is a large red button that turns the charger off. Just remember to turn it on again during the day. Saying that if you have a solar panel you might not need the charger at all Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bray Posted May 10, 2019 Author Share Posted May 10, 2019 I could turn it off but why should I need to do that all the time on a new van Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marcol Posted May 10, 2019 Share Posted May 10, 2019 You shouldn’t have to but because Benimar put the charger unit in the under seat area with the Truma heater you don’t have a lot of choice. So your choices are :- Turn the charger off at night Move the charger or increase ventilation Wear ear plugs :-D Our charger fan makes a noise but as we have twin single beds and a door to close off the bedroom area we don’t hear the fan at night Sorry I can’t be more help Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monique.hubrechtsgm Posted May 10, 2019 Share Posted May 10, 2019 I think Bray should be advised on this. Assume you have a Benimar Mileo Semi integral 286, NEW. Not a Van. I saw on practical motor home you tube The box in question. Every thing nice together. And a large ventilation grill on the front who extract air to the inside if a fan is their. What do you mean by a charger fan? And what a nice lay out you have. It looks like carthago liner for two at three times the price. Understand that it can be hot in that box, nice in winter however. How are the two electric lift beds. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bray Posted May 10, 2019 Author Share Posted May 10, 2019 There does not seem to be adequate ventilation the charger fan temperature sensor is telling it is hot when it is really the compartment area that’s hot .Dont get me wrong I love the rest of the van with drop down bed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted May 11, 2019 Share Posted May 11, 2019 The compartment that contains the water-heater/heating system is going to get hot (probably quite hot) inside when the heating is operating, and that’s going to happen even if that compartment is well ventilated. You could try ventilating that compartment better (eg. adding larger/extra ventilation grilles) but while the battery-charger is located in the compartment with the heater, the charger’s fan is likely to start running at some point when the heater is in operation. Motorhome converters as a breed often don’t take into account the predictable consequences of their designing (or just don’t care!). To be sure that the charger’s cooling fan does not run for extended periods, the charger would need to be moved away from the heating system and be relocated somewhere significantly cooler. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bray Posted May 11, 2019 Author Share Posted May 11, 2019 Thanks I think that what I will try to get done ,as there is a compartment which is empty backing on to the charger Will see ,what the dealer says when I get back from Spain as we are away in it . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bray Posted May 11, 2019 Author Share Posted May 11, 2019 I other question is do other manufacturers of Motorhomes do the same ,install charger where heater is Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted May 11, 2019 Share Posted May 11, 2019 My Rapido’s Truma Combi heater and some of its warm-air trunking are beneath the motorhome’s fixed rear bed. The Rapido’s electrical equipment is CBE-made and a CB-516 battery-charger, distribution-box and 230V circuit-breaker box are grouped together under the bed too. However the Truma heater is in a lidded compartment separate from the three CBE-made equipments and the latter are some distance away from the heater and well ventilated. Consequently, although it gets quite hot inside the heater compartment, and mildly warm under the bed, the CBE-made equipment does not get hot enough for the battery-charger’s fan to come on when the heater is operating. Your Benimar Mileo 286 has similar CBE-made equipment to my Rapido’s, (as will be seen from the 1st attached photo taken from this Practical Motorhome Mileo 286 video) https://www.practicalmotorhome.com/reviews/motorhome/34751-benimar-mileo-286 but the Benimar’s battery-charger, distribution-box and 230V circuit-breaker box are cuddled up agaist the Truma heater in a seat-base that also houses significant lengths of warm-air trunking. Although other motorhome manufacturers may well house a battery-charger close to a Truma Combi heater, ‘heating-up-wise' the position of the charger in the Mileo 286 is about as extreme as one could get short of actually gluing the charger to the heater’s casing. Even though the Practical Motorhome video goes on to show that there are two large ventilation grilles in the seat-base (2nd attached photo) I’m doubtful that additionally ventilating the seat-base could guarantee to prevent the charger’s fan coming on. Basically - to stop the charger’s fan running when the heater is operating - the charger will need to be relocated. (As you say that there’s room in the adjacent seat-base, moving the charger there would probably be straightforward.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aandncaravan Posted May 11, 2019 Share Posted May 11, 2019 Bray - 2019-05-11 12:21 PM 1 other question is do other manufacturers of Motorhomes do the same ,install charger where heater is Thanks Message from Natalie - Allan has asked me to post :- "All battery charger manufacturers stipulate that the battery charger must be kept cool in a well ventilated space, that is because they generate their own heat which may not only stress the charger unit but may also cause it to reduce the charge rate. It is vital for a chargers efficiency and longevity that the charger doesn't get too hot. CBE write for the CBE 516 - - Install the battery charger in an appropriate housing, dry and ventilated; maximum efficiency can be obtained when the battery charger is installed in vertical position (see figure 2), keeping the front side at minimum distance of 300 mm and the bottom and top side at a minimum distance of 100 mm from the housing sides. - Do not cover air intakes. - To guarantee a proper change of air the installation of two air intakes (one placed on the top and one on the bottom, see figure 2) ensuring a working temperature inside the (charger) housing not exceeding 50 °C. You can see from the CBE spec that the front of the CBE 516 should have no object in front of it closer than 11.8inches/300mm and nothing closer to the sides than 4 inches. Your install does not match the spirit of the Charger manufacturers specificaton. The max 50C value quoted by CBE is that inside the charger which will be many degrees higher than the compartment temperature, which I am guessing is already 40C if the fan is running constantly. A CBE 516 manual you can print for Benimar can be found near the bottom of this page :- http://www.aandncaravanservices.co.uk/how-does-a-charger-work.php I suspect the lives of the relays, and maybe electronics, inside the DSxxx Controller box will suffer longevity issues as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bray Posted May 11, 2019 Author Share Posted May 11, 2019 Thanks very much for all information armed with this I will attempt to get the suppliers of the Motorhome to move charger let see how good there customer services are will keep you posted Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marcol Posted May 11, 2019 Share Posted May 11, 2019 Unfortunately it’s Marquis so I wouldn’t hold your breath Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bray Posted May 11, 2019 Author Share Posted May 11, 2019 I have just also sent a e mail to Benimar in Spain with the new information I have obtain and asked them if they can prompt Marquis to do something.Hope I get a satisfactory result from them as I have bought 4 Motorhomes from them in the last 6 years Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marcol Posted May 11, 2019 Share Posted May 11, 2019 4 motorhomes in 6 years. You really need to do more research :-D :-D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bray Posted May 11, 2019 Author Share Posted May 11, 2019 Think might have right one now except for charger problem watch this space Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geeco Posted May 12, 2019 Share Posted May 12, 2019 Like Derek's Rapido my AT has the Truma combi boiler under our bed. It is an excellent location in winter as it keeps the area under the bed nice & warm. However in warmer weather we need to turn it off as soon as the washing up from dinner is completed by the kitchen hand (guess who) as it makes the mattress too hot. I understand that on later model Tracker FB's AT repositioned the boiler to under the near side lounge. So it seems not all MH designers use the motorhomes they design! Maybe they wait for buyers to complain and they then come out with a mod. Seems like there is a strong parallel with the computer software industry. Cheers, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted May 12, 2019 Share Posted May 12, 2019 Bray - 2019-05-11 9:48 PM Think might have right one now except for charger problem watch this space This is a direct link to CBE’s CB-516 Instructions Manual http://www.cbe.it/sites/default/files/CB510-516.pdf and I’ve attached a picture from the Manual showing the charger mounted vertically. As you’ve owned four motorhomes in six years I’d be startled if you’ve not by now realised that motorhome converters do not always keep to the letter of the law regarding other manufacturers’ recommended practice. Comparing what’s in your Benimar’s seat-box with what’s beneath my Rapido’s bed, I can see that Benimar has carefully followed Truma’s advice for installation of their Combi heater, whereas how the Combi in my Rapido is installed leaves much to be desired. Although the same group of three CBE-made equipments that are in your Benimar's seat-base are housed outside my Rapido’s heater enclosure, my Rapido’s CBE kit is still jammed closely together, with little clearance on each side of the charger. What Benimar has done is exploit spare space in the seat-base that houses the Truma heater. This maximises storage space elsewhere, but the undesirable consequence is that the CBE kit will be exposed to the heat produced when the Truma heater is operating. I assume that the adjacent seat-base is empty and the CBE equipment could have been put in there, but then some storage space would have been lost and there would have been the potential for the motorhome’s owner to bury the charger beneath ‘stuff’ crammed into the seat-base. (This is something you’d need to beware of if your charger is moved into the adjacent seat-base.) The reality is that my Rapido’s Truma Combi installation is poor and - although I’ve made some modifications - I can’t improve the installation to come anywhere near to the standard of your Benimar’s. Although my Rapido’s CBE charger’s fan does not run when the Truma heater is operating, the charger’s installation still does not comply with CBE’s recommendations. In fact, it would be interesting to know how many (if any) CBE chargers are installed in motorhomes exactly as CBE advises they should be. My Rapido’s is not, and neither was the CB-516 charger in my previous Hobby motorhome where the charger was shoehorned under the cab passenger-seat next to the leisure-battery. I’d far rather have a motorhome with your Benimar’s ‘correct’ Truma Combi installation and deal with the CBE charger fan-running matter - that sight-unseen shouldn’t be hard to do to match the photo in the CB Manual - rather than have a ‘quiet’ charger and a Combi heating system that largely ignores Truma’s installation advice and cannot be rectified. (I have to say that, if the charger-fan noise is the only ‘design fault' you come across with your Benimar, you will have been fortunate.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bray Posted May 12, 2019 Author Share Posted May 12, 2019 I agree ,like you say it is easier to move my charger into the next compartment and form a guard around it and vent for air flow .This would still give.me ample storage.My moan is that no thought has gone into the charger working at these extreme temperatures Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted May 12, 2019 Share Posted May 12, 2019 A GOOGLE-search on “benimar battery charger fan noise” https://tinyurl.com/y29533ro retrieves a few similar observations to yours relating to other manufacturers (example here) https://www.motorhomefun.co.uk/forum/threads/my-charger-constantly-runs.78013/ There’s also a “Noisy fan for charging unit” comment in this review of a 2018 Benimar Tessoro 483 https://www.outandaboutlive.co.uk/motorhomes/reviews/motorhomes/details/motorhome-review-benimar-tessoro-483/953485 that may also relate to the issue you’ve highlighted. It may well be that Benimar has chosen to install the CBE equipment close to the Truma heater despite being aware that this will inevitably trigger the battery-charger’s fan when the heater is operating. Benimar’s dismissive advice that you “can install more ventilation” suggests that they are not surprised this is happening, nor are particular concerned. (At least they didn’t tell you to switch the charger off at night...) If Marquis agree to relocate the charger to the adjacent seat-base, I suggest you ascertain exactly what they would be doing. The task doesn’t look challenging and - if it were me - I’d give careful thought to how best to do it and then DIY it, as I don’t trust anyone to do work that I’m certain I can do satisfactorily myself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bray Posted May 12, 2019 Author Share Posted May 12, 2019 Thanks for the links I have looked at problems of moving the charger look straight forward . I not sure whether to move it or cut a vent in with a smal fan controlled via thermostat .I am aware I will hear this fan ,which was my original gripe but it will cool the compartment quicker .and stop the build up of heat. As I Am in Spain with the van it will have to wait till I get home,and also see what Marquis say Any views on which would be the best would be welcome Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted May 12, 2019 Share Posted May 12, 2019 Move it - the fan/thermostat idea is less simple and potentially as noise-generating as the charger’s own fan. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bray Posted May 13, 2019 Author Share Posted May 13, 2019 Just got a e mail back from Benimar Spain telling me to take it to my Dealer and they will contact them to carry out work . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geeco Posted May 14, 2019 Share Posted May 14, 2019 Robert, sounds like good customer service to me. cheers, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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