Blow heating
our new 2016 sprite major 4sb blow air heating works pretty good except for the heater that is in the end washroom
it only seems to get slightly warm air but in the lounge area and the bedroom area they are very hot
is there a way to balance the system ?
if the answer is no it look likes a visit to the dealer to see what the prob is
obviously not a part of the pdi inspection or is it ??
Comments
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I'm afraid that the unbalanced heat situation which you have is very common with blown air, hence some caravans are made with wet radiator systems. You could try partly closing the flaps nearer to your heater/ blower. Some people on this site have lagged
the section of pipe which feeds the bathroom, particularly if part of it runs under the floor ie outside. When we had a blown air system we put a very small oil filled radiator in the washroom - OK when on mains hookup.0 -
I have the same van with the same issue. It's not a fault, just poor design in my opinion. As Jennyc has said, I have helped the situation by insulating the pipe which runs under the van to the bathroom with Armaflex pipe insulation. This has helped to a
degree. The best solution I have found that when heat is needed before a shower, I put the water heater onto gas and dont blow the air too quickly. Make a cup of tea, get back into bed and wait half an hour or so! Bathroom should be ok then.0 -
despite the van being fitted with the Combi 6 (as opposed to the 4 in the smaller sprites) the electric output is the same 1800w....not a lot....in a big van, especially if the washroom is a long way from the heater.....and pipework runs outside the van
two tips....
1) use of fan.....with the latest combi you can vary the fan speed, setting this to 'high' rather than 'eco' will make quite a difference. you can also set it to 'boost' bit only provided ypu set the temperature at least 10 deg higher than the current room
temp....2) use of gas.....as above, leccy power is a bit low for a big van so using the power setting mix ll (gas plus electric 1800w) will greatly increase the supply of hot air around the van
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I had the same problem with my Coachman for months and tried a lot of the suggested solutions with no success until I worked out how to balance the air flow by adjusting the outlet vents. I even keep one of the front vents almost permanently closed and one
of the others partly closed. This significantly increases the flow of warm air to the rear washroom and I now have achieved a good balance for most of the time.0 -
we have a sprite with a combi 6, the rear of the van is cooler than the front, the only way to balance is to close some front vents off to force more air down the long air pipes to the rear.
Also if you look under the van you may notice that the rear air pipes may actually go under the van floor, some on here in the past have insulated theses with sticky back insulation ducting (?) from B&Q and this reduces the amount of heat lost.
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The problem is probably that the (for cheapness) pipe is run under the exterior of the van,our last van was built like that,but after a series of conversations!!! with both manufacturers it was agreed to modify the van,our latest van has all the blown air pipes inside ,it does not have any problems,. same manufacturer
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the main issue is that, running on electric and using the default fan speed, this will be low (as its related to the amount of heat produced....not that much) and so ot has time to cool before reaching the other end of the van.
those with a CP plus control panel can turn the fan to high which will force the are to the rear before it has a chance to cool.
change the power source to mix (gas and ehu) and the results will be even better....
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I made a lightweight ply box lined with 1" polystyrene to cover the outside run of my piping and also lagged the inside pipes with bubble wrap and cable ties. Warm air from all outlets.
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I cant see the point in insulating any of the ducting that is inside the caravan, any heat loss from the duct will still be going in to the van.
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I cant see the point in insulating any of the ducting that is inside the caravan, any heat loss from the duct will still be going in to the van.
I thought that then it dawned on me the cushions above the locker where 10inch thick, The floor mounted lockers were red hot inside. I have insulated the outside pipes , I am going to do the inside ones next.
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Our answer is once the main body of the caravan is warmed up we shut those vents and force the warm air into the toilet area. Once this is warmed up we can open the front vents again and that works for us but it is a different make of caravan so the trunking may not be the same.
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the problem is the vents cannot be closed
also the temp going to the bathroom is warm where all the other vents are really hot
and yes the pipe runs under the caravan
i reckon you could easily change a couple of vents to ones that can be adjusted....cheap as chips and might make a real improvement
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I cant see the point in insulating any of the ducting that is inside the caravan, any heat loss from the duct will still be going in to the van.
I thought that then it dawned on me the cushions above the locker where 10inch thick, The floor mounted lockers were red hot inside. I have insulated the outside pipes , I am going to do the inside ones next.
There are anti condensation boards on my caravan which means there is a 20mm gap between the wall and the back rest cushion, all the heat from under the seats and fixed bed escapes through this gap into the
general room space.0 -
I thought all 'vans had a well hidden diverter valve in the air system that can be used to alter the ballance of airflow between front and back. I have never seen the one in my 'van but I can reach in behind the fire to move it. It IS in the manual.
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I thought all 'vans had a well hidden diverter valve in the air system that can be used to alter the ballance of airflow between front and back. I have never seen the one in my 'van but I can reach in behind the fire to move it. It IS in the manual.
is there a fire in 2016 sprite?
i thought it was a bog std combi 4E which, AFAIK, doesnt have this adjuster.
the simple answer is to replace a couple of the vents that blow hot, with adjustable ones, so that they can be closed a little forcing more air to the other (colder) parts of the van.
available on ebay for pennies....
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