Truma water heater safety

Airgirl

Hi there, we have got an older caravan (2000)that is fitted with a duel fuel Truma Ultrastore water heater. To be honest, being a stupid woman I am just a little bit concerned about the safety of these especially as it is located directed underneath the front seats. I know it probably sounds stupid to most of you but we have never had a caravan with a water heater in it before. We are getting a habitation check done on the van in April which will include the heating and hot water but I was just a bit anxious about using it. Can anybody put my stupid, over active head to rest please!

DavidKlyne

@Airgirl Going back to the early nineties all the caravans and motorhomes we have had have had water heaters under the bunks, so we are probably talking hundreds of thousands of units having been manufactured? In the earlier days water heaters used to be stand alone units with separate convector/blown air heaters. You are absolutely right to get it checked over at the service but I don't think there is much evidence of them causing problems that would endanger you? Usually they have a fair amount of air space around them so obviously important not to be tempted to use any free space around the heater for storage.

David

Tinwheeler

It’s never stupid to be cautious.

Like David, we’ve used caravans and motorhomes with these under seat boilers for decades without issue.

Cornersteady

@Airgirl As for the others in 26 years of carvaning and a number of different caravans and no problems at all regarding safety and I've never heard of a safety issue, the exhaust gases if used on gas are all vented outside, and there's an electric overheat trip switch and the unit is fuse protected.

The only possible safety issues may lie outside the boiler such as a leak from the gas, pipes/hoses and regulator, but even with a leak there are holes where the heavier than air gas will fall through. It maybe that your rubber hoses from the gas bottle may need replacing (they are date stamped) but that should be picked up at the service. Also the service includes a pressure test which tests for any leaks in the pipes inside the caravan.

Btw my wife loves sleeping over the seat with the boiler as it's warmer.

The only stupid question is the one you don't ask. Enjoy your caravan.

Airgirl

Thank you so much folks! It’s really good to have some reassurance and thank you too for not making me feel like a stupid fool!
Your help is really appreciated !

Wildwood

We have had them for over 30 years and never had a safety problem. The heaters have been produced by the same three manufacturers for so long, any initial problems were ironed out years ago.