Grobbendonk Posted February 26, 2020 Share Posted February 26, 2020 Hello everyone Can I please canvas your thoughts and recommendations on heating systems in mobile homes. We are “greenhorns” and do not yet own a motor home but are currently researching ready for my retirement. We have just returned from 2 days at the NEC which was a very useful experience. All the salesmen we spoke extolled the virtues of whatever heating system was in their van - Whale, Truma or Alde. My gut feeling is that the Alde system will be the quietest, albeit the most expensive. The reason this is important to us is that my wife is the type of sleeper who will remove clock batteries to stop the ticking in the silent hours. So please, all you motorhomers out there, would you please tell me your experience and recommendations of the different heating systems out there and why you like yours. We currently like the 2 berth Bailey, or the slightly larger Encore 275. Hoping to hear many points of view. B-) (Edit - spellings corrected - Keithl) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trialsrider Posted February 26, 2020 Share Posted February 26, 2020 I've got the propex hs2000e gas and electric blown air heating system. I am also a very light sleeper and can't have a ticking clock in the bedroom. I fitted acoustic ducting supplied from propex to replace the original articulated foil ducting. The electric mode has a 500w, 1kw and 2kw setting. With the acoustic ducting on the 500w setting it is nearly silent and makes a good night heating system. The system costs about £750. This system does not do hot water though. Whatever system you fit I would definitely look at acoustic ducting to quieten down any blown air heating system. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BruceM Posted February 26, 2020 Share Posted February 26, 2020 I’m not able to comment on the comparative noise levels of the different heating systems as we’ve only ever used a Truma blown air system and for us the noise is insignificant. However, the question I would ask is will you need to have the heating on at night? Just like at home, we have the van’s heating off at night and if it’s needed in the morning we flick it on when we get up. A well insulated van is unlikely to cool down quickly. The one exception to our method is when it’s sub zero when we’ll keep the heating but reduce the thermostat to about 14C as a precaution. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spirou Posted February 26, 2020 Share Posted February 26, 2020 Truma (combi 4 or 6) are quieter than webasto airtop. Neither are particularly good if you're irritated by clocks. Whale water heater is mostly quiet and it certainly isn't something to keep you up at night. I'd say you're going to have a problem finding something that's quiet enough if very sensitive. MH is a small space, not really an option to move far away. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Den Posted February 26, 2020 Share Posted February 26, 2020 Alde heating is by far the better system. Yes it is totally quiet. But more importantly is the way it works. Being a wet system it takes a little longer to heat up, but when it does the temperature tends to stay very even with no fluctuation. With the blown air heating it is a little noisier, but the temperature is not so constant, it has peaks and troughs. We’ve had both and can highly recommend Alde. Should you leave it on overnight, definitely will not hear anything and quieter than our Worcester boiler at home. Den Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndyB Posted February 26, 2020 Share Posted February 26, 2020 Hi, We’ve got the Truma 4 in our Adria, which works very well, as there’s heat outlets all over the van including the drivers cab. This is beneficial if you’re using the swivel cab seats in the winter as it’d be pretty cold without them. Maybe check the location of the heat outlets on any vans you’re interested in. Cheers Andy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colin Posted February 26, 2020 Share Posted February 26, 2020 I would note that in a well insulated van we have the heating turned off overnight unless it's very cold. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest rael Posted February 26, 2020 Share Posted February 26, 2020 Have had Truma (gas), Eberspaher (diesel) and Webasto (diesel) systems. For me the Webasto has been the best so far. We only have it for heating and have bottle gas for hot water and cooking. The saves a lot of money as the heating runs from the diesel fuel tank. Also means not having to mess around with changing gas bottles as often, quite tricky in a PVC. To put it in context, we had a full 11kg bottle when we got our PVC from Germany in December 2018 and still have about a quarter tank left even after a fair bit of winter touring, cooking and hot water use, as weve not had to heat the van from the same source. In contrast the diesel consumption is negliable. Contrary to popular belief, diesel heating is not that noisey. Once its up and running there is virtually no noise at all. We leave ours on overnight if its cold (a good idea in Germany when/if its -10c at night) set to about 15-17c and I've never been woken up by it. You can also keep the heating on when driving, a bonus in colder climates and a good idea for keeping the van at a reasonable temperature. The hassle with replacing gas bottles in Europe is also lessened as you use less bottled gas and theres always a diesel pump nearby! I suppose a lot depends on where/when you plan to go away, if you like being cold or warm, if you mind/don't mind changing gas bottles frequently. Me, I like an easy life so fur us its diesel heating everytime. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted February 27, 2020 Share Posted February 27, 2020 Grobbendonk - 2020-02-26 5:22 PM ...The reason this is important to us is that my wife is the type of sleeper who will remove clock batteries to stop the ticking in the silent hours... I would do the same, but that is because I also dislike a clock ticking in a bedroom and if I can stop it happening I will. The Elddis Encore 275 model has Alde heating as standard. You haven’t identified which Bailey motorhome you like - there are three ranges (Autograph, Alliance and Advance) and each range includes 2-berth designs. Autograph models have an Alde heating system as standard, while Alliance and Advance models have a Truma Combi 4E heater. There’s no doubt that an Alde system should be inherently quieter than a Truma Combi-based system, but how irritating to a light sleeper the noise a Combi makes will depend to a large extent on where the Combi is housed in the motorhome’s habitation area. My Rapido motorhome’s Truma Combi 4 is installed directly below the rear island-bed’s mattress where the noise the heater makes when operating will easily be heard by a sleeper. If the Combi were located elsewhere (say in the ’saloon’ towards the front of the motorhome) its noise would be much less apparent in the Rapido’s bedroom area. If you’ve had no caravanning experience, it might be worth saying that motorhomes can be noisy places in which to sleep irrespective of how quiet their heating system is. However good a motorhome’s thermal insulation, external noise (wind, rain, hail, traffic, people in other motorhomes parked a metre away) can be very intrusive for anyone prone to insomnia. Anyway, if quietness at night is of paramount importance, and the choice is between a motorhome model with an Alde system or one with a Truma Combi-based system (or with any heating system involving blown-air for that matter) the Alde system will be the quieter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
weldted Posted February 27, 2020 Share Posted February 27, 2020 We had a 2012 Elddis Aspire 255 with the Alde heating system. Worked very well as stated it takes a little longer to warm um but temp stays constant. We have been away in some pretty severe weather one night it was minus 13 but the van stay comfortable. Not to bad on the gas. Previous vans had Truma Combi blown air found temp varied a lot between the heater cutting in and out. In really cold weather fan was noticeable at times during the night. Our latest Van a Burstner A Class is back to to the Truma but with better placed outlets not so many cold spots and fairly quiet at night but likes eating the gas (But it is an A Class) only point with our Aspire is as the pump gets on there is a noticeable hum and it was in the wardrobe which acted like a speaker. A new pump and some insulation got it down to a whisper. If I had the choice when ordering a new van and could specify I would go for the Alde. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colin Posted February 27, 2020 Share Posted February 27, 2020 Derek Uzzell - 2020-02-27 8:32 AM My Rapido motorhome’s Truma Combi 4 is installed directly below the rear island-bed’s mattress where the noise the heater makes when operating will easily be heard by a sleeper. If the Combi were located elsewhere (say in the ’saloon’ towards the front of the motorhome) its noise would be much less apparent in the Rapido’s bedroom area. If you’ve had no caravanning experience, it might be worth saying that motorhomes can be noisy places in which to sleep irrespective of how quiet their heating system is. However good a motorhome’s thermal insulation, external noise (wind, rain, hail, traffic, people in other motorhomes parked a metre away) can be very intrusive for anyone prone to insomnia. We have similar in our van, the Combi is under one corner of bed, which is one reason we don't use it overnight if possible. And yes, vans can be noisy inside, I had no idea how well sound insulated my old T25 was until I went to bed in a van with side windows next to bed, plus the noise that comes in the skylight. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bolero boy Posted February 28, 2020 Share Posted February 28, 2020 everyone will have a preference for a particular system and for you perhaps the layout will determing which van which, in turn, might determine which heating system it comes with....if no option to choose... however, what i will say is that, with a £60k budget for a new Bailey (or Elddis) there are some pretty classy used low mileage 'up market' models out there (Carthago, Hymer, Dethleffs, Burstner etc) that will be bang on budget and carry far more 'inherent' quality (double floors, better insulation) than middle market UK brands. OK, you might not like Continental lounges or garages with plenty of storage but may be worth checking what you can really get for your hard earned... good luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yorkyrunner Posted February 28, 2020 Share Posted February 28, 2020 I have had several M/H and the noisiest but terrific heat output was a diesel based heater, the Whale blown air system in our old Elddis 185 the quickest to packup and was noisy. It packed up on the start of the beast from the east. The best so far is our current vans Truma 6 heating system. The Alde is good on paper but it is not very reliable according to 2 friends who have it on there vans and if off grid is heavy on battery power. But you pays your money and makes your choice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deffheads Posted February 29, 2020 Share Posted February 29, 2020 Alde heating is in our 2006 Dethleffs Esprit A class, this our first moho and spent 18 months researching and looking to achieve the van that was right for us. I know nothing about other heating systems, but the Alde is capable of heating the whole van whilst driving and also can heat the water, so you can shower after a long drive. Perfect for us! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bolero boy Posted February 29, 2020 Share Posted February 29, 2020 with the correct regulator and 'crash safe' hoses the Truma can also be used on gas on the move to provide habitation heating and a tank of hot water... however what it cant do is to ise a heat exchanger to heat the water and van using excess engine heat rather than gas... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve928 Posted February 29, 2020 Share Posted February 29, 2020 bolero boy - 2020-02-29 5:16 PM with the correct regulator and 'crash safe' hoses the Truma can also be used on gas on the move to provide habitation heating and a tank of hot water... however what it cant do is to ise a heat exchanger to heat the water and van using excess engine heat rather than gas... I thought the same, but looking through the Euramobil price list their Arctic Pack offers a 'Engine heat exchanger for Truma heating'. 650 Euros as opposed to 950 Euros for the Alde exchanger Is anyone familiar with this option? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bolero boy Posted March 1, 2020 Share Posted March 1, 2020 not me Steve, ill have a Google.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thebishbus Posted March 1, 2020 Share Posted March 1, 2020 Our previous M/H,a Burstner, besides the normal Truma blown air heating, had an additional blown air system heated by the engine coolant. Ment we could arrive anywhere with a nice warm van at no extra cost.I wonder are they still being fitted.? Brian B. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted March 1, 2020 Share Posted March 1, 2020 It’s probable that the €650 Euromobil heat-exchanger option is offered for their motorhome models that have a Truma air-heating system, but the option is (as you’ve said about your previous Burstner) completely separate rather than an integral part of the heating system as is the case with the Alde heat-exchanger arrangement. It used to be common for French-built motorhomes with a gas-fuelled heating system to have a fan-assisted heat-exchanger (aérotherme) that exploited the vehicle’s engine coolant’s heat and could be used legally in France while the motorhome was being driven. Such heat-exchangers rapidly fell out of favour when it was agreed that a suitably certified gas heater (eg. a Truma ‘combi’) with anti-leak add-ons (eg. a SecuMotion regulator and gas-hose) could legally be operated en route in every EU country. An argument against fitting a supplementary engine-coolant heat-excother (according to a Chausson spokesman in an article I once read) was that modifying the base-vehicle’s cooling system had potential warranty implications. ‘Aérothermes' are still marketed in France (and elsewhere) as this advert shows: https://www.pro-accessoires.fr/chauffages-de-route.html The possibility of linking a heat-exchanger to a Truma water boiler was discussed here in 2008 https://forums.outandaboutlive.co.uk/forums/Motorhomes/Motorhome-Matters/Hot-Water-Heat-Exchanger/10242/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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