Heat in the van

P

POH

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Hi do you put any heat in your van during this cold spell !!! when parked at home or do you leave it alone .
 
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Found tap in bathroom had frozen this morning but put a fan heater on low to defrost it only took 10 minutes think it was only the top of it but there was ice in the fresh and grey tanks but I had left the two drain outlets open that's why I asked about putting heat in the van .
 
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POH said:
Found tap in bathroom had frozen this morning but put a fan heater on low to defrost it only took 10 minutes think it was only the top of it but there was ice in the fresh and grey tanks but I had left the two drain outlets open that's why I asked about putting heat in the van .
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Leave the taps open so the water drains back to the tank 👍 or more likely drains back to the water heater and out of the van
 
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Leave it but take all precautions with regards to freezing damage.
 
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My van is drained down but very cold here in west Wales so a small oil filled rad running for a few nights.

I have heard it said many times that dealers don’t heat their vans. That is fine but some dealers park up their vans on the forecourt for long periods of time and fail to charge batteries etc. Each to their own.
 
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Don’t forget about the shower hose, forgot one year and cost me a new shower mixer tap 🤷🏼‍♂️🤦🏼‍♂️
 
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We have very recently bought a PVC which has a gas/electric combi. I have drained the tanks and left it on electric heating at 10 degrees to stop it freezing up. We bought it privately, so didn’t trade in our Hymer. So thats waiting to go up for sale shortly. That has a gas only Truma so a small oil filled radiator is stopping that from freezing up inside.
There’s a price to stop them freezing, but there is also value!

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I have drained down the water and had the heating on gas on the odd day to keep things aired until this week. To save on gas I have put it on hook up and had the electric heater on the lowest setting this week. It seems to have kept the chill off so far. For a 55 plate motorhome it seems to be reasonably well insulated.
I spent time in my workshop today and it was nice and cosy with the heater on. Coming back in the house it felt chilly so I put the heating on constant until the timer came on. I think it would be warmer to live in the workshop or motorhome during this chilly spell.
 
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Not drained down as we have been away so yes a bit of heart on, if it warms up I will put the heat off as we are away New Year I might not drain down.
 
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It’s best to drain and then leave with all cupboards open to have some air circulation. Unless you keep it heated continuously you are risking condensation.
 
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Been in mine tonight for supplies (beer) and its cccold so I turned the heater (on EHU) up a notch well it is -5

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Haven’t drained down as will be in use over Christmas and New Year, so have a small tube heater going when it’s below freezing just to stop anything freezing.
 
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PP Bear said:
Don’t forget about the shower hose, forgot one year and cost me a new shower mixer tap
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Also don't forget the toilet supply, if it's an electric pushbutton push the button to empty the flush hose, to save it freezing and cracking the solenoid valve.
 
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I used to have a sailing boat.
At the end of winter it would have light mould on the internal surfaces with a carpet type of lining glued on.
Do scrubbing with a weak mould treatment was first on the list when recommissioning.

The motorhome, thankfully, seems fine. It seems to be half reasonably insulated.

No heat over winter but all lockers open and of course drained.
 
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Ive still got a 32’ sailing boat. Its sitting in its berth with a dehumidifier keeping it dry. As it does every winter. There is a small oil filled leccy radiator on board, but its not on currently. I checked yesterday. 0 deg. outside. 5 deg. Inside and dry.
Saves a lot of post winter scrubbing if you have mains power available.

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I also have my boat on a mooring in a marina.
In winter I run 2 small 60 watt greenhouse tube heaters on a timer.
Keeps the cabin dry and the screens frost free.
My motorhome however I do not heat when not in use.
 
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Twas -4.9 in the van today. Ran it up for an hour and it took a forever for the engine heater light to go out, but fired up nicely.
 
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PP Bear said:
Twas -4.9 in the van today. Ran it up for an hour and it took a forever for the engine heater light to go out, but fired up nicely.
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A mechanic servicing my van some years ago reckoned it took 45mins for the engine to warm for the emissions test.
 
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WillH said:
A mechanic servicing my van some years ago reckoned it took 45mins for the engine to warm for the emissions test.
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As a mechanic the temp gauge is there as an indication for the driver to know the cars running to temp. In reality it’ll take a fair few miles before an engine is actually up to temp, if at all in this weather.
I always run it for at least an hour and depress the pedal so that it’s running around 1100-1200 rpm, which is comfortable on my engine. With little chance of clearing my solar panel, I like to put some juice back into all the batteries.

I also take it for a good run pre-mot to get up to temp as it’ll give truer readings that way 👍🏻
 
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