StinkingTruma Water heater.

[Jeanniejeannie]

We have a 2021 Coachman Nova...in most ways a pretty nice camper, a perfect travel size, and some nice options. However, our truma heater/water heater STINKS!! When turned on, it gives off the smell kind of like an old cap gun, it is very strong. Coachman says sorry, our warranty is up..even though the problem was reported before it was up. We were sent to a certified truma repair place in Cicero NY.. They charged us $250. labor and told us its a normal smell. (They have since refunded the labor charge..but I am wondering how the engineers at truma were able to design such a disgusting odor into their heater!) I have read other complaints about this, but no solutions. The area of the heater is clean, and visually we cannot see what might be the problem. Aside from a stinky Coachman and truma response, any ideas about a stiny unusable heater?

 

[Lenny HB]

Normall to get a bit of a smell the first few times they are used after that there shouldn't be any smell.
How come it's not covered under warranty, Truma warranty is normally two years.

 

[PDrill]

Yep, the Truma can make a really alarming smell when heating the water. We used our van at least 35 weekends per year and still it made the smell once o twice a year but all fine.

But I can tell you when we had a rental years ago and it made the smell the first night, it was 'slightly' exciting :-D

 

[ManTheVan]

I’m not sure if this is relevant, but sometimes cluster-flies can make their home in the exhaust tubes when the nights become colder, especially if the heater has not been in use. When you start it up, the acrid smell of sleepy flies being incinerated can be dreadful. Obviously, that’s not a fault and the smell goes quite quickly, but it does honk!

 

[Essgeebee]

Over many years, I noticed that smell quite a lot in our moho and our caravan when the Truma water heater is working. I assumed it was simply a result of the amount of electricity being used and some sort of ionisation going on. It smells wrong but it’s never alarmed me and it stops after a few minutes.
I knew i recognised the odour but could never say why until you mentioned an old cap gun. Exactly right.

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[Lenny HB]

Had Truma's in 3 Motorhomes over 14 years, apart from a bit of a smell the first 2 or 3 times they are used from new never had any smells.
If you get smells it will either be a faulty heater or a poor installation with not enough ventilation around the boiler.

 

[SpeedyDux]

I read somewhere that if the Truma smells when heating up the water, but doesn't smell on blown air heating only, that can indicate a failed boiler thermostat.