Time to heat water on electric source
We've been preparing for our first trip in the caravan today by testing out the water and heating systems. I didn't switch on the gas, just used the mains hook up to power the boiler, which is a Truma combi.
Just a question of how long it normally takes to heat up. I left it on for 15 mins, conscious of not using too much power, in these times of astronomical energy prices. I think it was working, but I suspect it needs to be on for a lot longer to heat up fully.
I guess using gas, it provides more or less instant hot water, although we've not tried switching on the gas yet.
Comments
-
Well the time will depend on what power setting you used, was it (like mine) 0.9 or 1.8 Kw? If it felt 'warmer' then it is probably working. We rarely use gas to heat up the water and on ours it usually takes about 30 minutes or so to full hot.
As to prices your heater on 1.8 Kw will cost about 40p if you ran it for an hour.
I'm not sure of your system but gas doesn't provide instant hot water in a caravan, (certainly not on ours) and electric or gas just heats up the insulated hot water tank. Combi in your case just means it can be used on electric, gas, or both, it's not the same as a combi boiler at home, To really speed things up have both on.
Just to check as you sound new to this, and apologies if not the case, did you fill up the water tank before trying to heat it up?
0 -
It's got 900W or 1.8kW settings. I was using it on the lower power.
Yup I filled the tank up, after we worked out how to properly close the drain valve
The pump pipe we got with the caravan is also a bit rubbish.
For our first outing, we'll be going to a caravan site with a fully serviced pitch, and toilet blocks on site. So I'm expecting to use those facilities. Just need a bit of hot water in the van to do washing up.
But today was just a case of familiarisation, and we certainly needed it, as we purchased the caravan some time ago.
0 -
Hi Andy,
Truma heating is fantastic and top of the range but it doesn't work like a domestic combi boiler typically fitted in a house.
Imagine it more like a big kettle that you can either plug into the electric or put on the gas hob.
So it won't give you instant hot water but once it raises the water to a set temperature it just trips on and off and maintains that temperature indefinitely. That's for both the hot water and heating part of the system.
If the ambient temperature is low then a Truma boiler when it's first switched on is working at it's maximum setting until the caravan is heated up and the water is hot. That's when using both gas and electric can speed things up. If it's warm outside then the system obviously has less work to do.
We often set up in winter with temperatures around zero and under those conditions it can take 6 to 12 hours for the heating to trip off, although the water is hot way before this.
I rarely run the Truma on gas and electric as I figure that I've paid for electric within my pitch fee and any gas I use will cost me extra.
Basically my rule is get the heating on as soon as I get there. Finish setting up. If still cold either a) take the dog for a walk or b) go to the pub or c) both.
0 -
Good to hear. I have heard of an experienced chap who once or twice has tried to fill the tank up without closing the drain value
.Also if you try and heat up the water without any there the thermal cutout button will pop out. Again done that too.
What do you mean by the pump?
I use SP almost exclusively, if you need any advice on how to connect in and outlet pipes, just ask.
Btw heating the water to a certain temperature will use the same power and cost. Only it will take twice as long on the 0.9 KW setting.
0 -
We have the peasants Truma hot water heater fitted. It is 5L and I believe about 400 watt. After 15/20 minutes it will have produced two small kitchen sinks worth of hot water.
Colin
0 -
What I mean by the pump is the pipe which was supplied with the caravan, that you put in the external water supply tank (aqua roll). This has a small pump at one end which is submerged in the water. The other end connects to the water inlet socket on the outside of the caravan.
We've found this pipe to be a bit flimsy, and not very flexible. I'm worried about breaking it, as we've already caused it to leak by flexing it too much. And also it tends to curl up, and so doesn't get all the water out of the aqua roll.
Actually, someone's done a video about it https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WuE8gV3Qbo0
0 -
The Trudigans have exactly the same pump as mine and summarises the problems -
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jF3gWXcZPDQ
0 -
What you will notice with the Combi is that it initially gives priority to the heating which sometimes means you have to wait for the hot water to heat up. If you have a CP control panel you can override this by putting the hot water on boost but the room heating will suffer! Using gas and electric will quicken the heating of both.
David
0 -
Ah right yes, you can buy a new one at your local dealer and in fact carrying a spare one is maybe a good idea.
But the one in the video if it is like yours doesn't have a pump at the end it's just a hose, the actual pump will be inside your caravan.
Hope all goes well with your trip once you're there, if not ask anyone on site, I've always found people are happy to help, and if on a club site the wardens will be experienced caravanners/MHers and again always happy to help.
0 -
Yes sorry the second video I linked to shows the one I'm talking about.
I'm going to order a Whale Pump EP1642 as he suggests. Should work a lot better.
Plus the 'free' one we have already has some nasty kinks in the pipe itself, so I don't think it's going to work that well anyway.
1 -
One tip for the hose curling in the aqua roll is to fit a rigid plastic sleeve over the end to stop that.
1
