Truma Combi 4 E Strip down & replace heating elements

Great post.. thanks
:D

For those asking Truma will service/repair the boiler if you arrange to send it to them.
 
i bet that's costly , i am a gas engineer so should be ok for me to do ,
 
Sorry - no video - I thought the stills would be enough!
 
This is my first time on a forum so I hope I ame aimimg at Abacist !
What a fabolous listing and photographs. Well done and thanks :o))
Martin
 
I have to admire your skills and also your bravery in putting the truma on the dining table as I know what would happen in our house :eek:
 
mike mcglynn said:
I have to admire your skills and also your bravery in putting the truma on the dining table as I know what would happen in our house :eek:
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I did have a protective cover on the table!

I gather my wife's Dad used to have motorcycle engines in bits on the table in the house so I suppose she's accustomed to it!
 
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@Abacist absoutely a great thread and great supporting info from @dave newell lvs .

i must have missed where you got the parts kit from. can you repost it if you still have the info please..

thanks again
 
should have known .... have had stuff from them in the past (y)

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An outstanding contribution. Thanks to you and for Dave Newells support.
I have never been sure that my electric element works but happy with the gas. Looking at the cupboard containing my Truma, I have to admit defeat before starting. Just getting my hands inside to push the fat pipes back on almost defeated me but if you know of any midgets with Corgi certs, I would be most interested.
 
rosalan said:
An outstanding contribution. Thanks to you and for Dave Newells support.
I have never been sure that my electric element works but happy with the gas. Looking at the cupboard containing my Truma, I have to admit defeat before starting. Just getting my hands inside to push the fat pipes back on almost defeated me but if you know of any midgets with Corgi certs, I would be most interested.
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I was fortunate in my AutoTrail as the Truma was underneath one of the single beds so everything pretty accessible, as the mattress and bed rack lift out, and it wasn't heavy to lift out being mostly aluminium after disconnecting all the gas, electric and water connections together with the 4 screws to hold it down.
 
Really useful and informative post. I understand that it refers to the 4E heater but as the same elements are fitted to the 6E heater the same, or similar, procedure should apply by my reckoning. Is this correct before I order the spares kit? Any info would be useful.
 
Allanm said:
Great job, well done. Now I don’t feel so bad paying £500 for a dealer to do this for me a couple of years ago.
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I bet they didn't put the care and attention into it the same as the OP though. ??
 
A superb write-up and unlike many very easy to read - thank you. An element removal suggestion: would it make the job easier if the elements were cut through the "U" and removed in two parts?

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With hindsight I would have dismantled all the way right at the outset and gently eased apart the heat exchanger fins to release the elements more easily and then refitted the new, squeezing the fins back in tight against the elements to ensure good heat transfer.
 
Thank you Abacist. Our Truma 6E stopped working on electric in 2020 after 5 years of use each summer, first on EL1 setting and then on EL2. Truma confirmed it was very likely to be the elements themselves as the boiler was just blowing cold air on electric but fine on gas. I tried to get some quotes for replacing them but no one seemed interested. I googled the problem and saw your detailed replacement on motorhomefun.
it gave me the confidence to do it myself and after about 8 hours over 2 days of slowly removing the boiler, dismantling and removing the old elements (with difficulty), replacing with new and rebuilding, it now works on electric!!!!!!!
Many thanks.
 
Abacist said:
With hindsight I would have removed the stainless steel water tank from the heat exchanger which I ended up having to do anyway, adjusting the aluminium fins to enable removal and re-fitting of the new heating elements.
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I am trying to replace the water tank on a Combi 6E. But can not get to the final nut holding on as it is under the spiral casing. I have unscrewed the only bolt i can see holding it on but it will not budge. Any suggestions please.
 
Oh Dear! This is now over 3 years ago and I no longer have the van! I have re-read the thread and this is what I said at the time:-

So some further dismantling required to remove the stainless steel hot water tank from the heat exchanger fins to expose them and adjust their tightness to allow the new heating element to be fitted. This is just a question of undoing the nuts which hold the boiler tank to the heat exchanger. When you think you've done this and expect the tank to come off it still won't budge so I felt all around the edge of the tank checking it was free or maybe stuck by another gasket but no there was a tight spot at the top. You then realise that there is an aluminium insert where the mini fan housing was located. Removing this exposes the last nut holding the boiler tank in place. Remove the tank and then the heat exchanger fins are exposed and can be adjusted in or out so that the new heating element can be inserted. Some more pictures follow.

i hope this helps!
 
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So is this the fan that speeds up and slows down on eco mode? Previous truma combi 4e’s I’ve had have been very quite, the one I have now is quite noisy and can keep me awake when it’s cold… been ‘inspected’ at dealership and said to be ok…maybe i Need to put some graphite grease on the bearings here?!

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Abacist said:
Sorry but no ides on that I’m afraid!
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Thanks very much for the informative post...appreciate a bump but I'm having an issue with my heater in the caravan.

Did you have any warnings showing on display panel?

I have no hot water. No warnings on the Truma control panel, open up the cover on the boiler and On the chipboard there is a green light next to the E, no other lights.

I've done the reset procedure but still nothing.
 
I had no warning lights on either the display panel or the board, but i was still getting hot water and heating but with the water tank leaking. So not the same symptoms I’m afraid.
 
Peter Tattershaw said:
I had no warning lights on either the display panel or the board, but i was still getting hot water and heating but with the water tank leaking. So not the same symptoms I’m afraid.
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Yeah it's a strange one.

No leaks, no warning lights, no warning codes, all reset and still not doing anything.

I've pulled out all the power and reset, I can hear a slight fab noise which I'm not sure I heard before so will see.

When connected to gas it fires up no bother at all.
 
If it is not the fuse on the board, then it sounds like one of the elements has failed, but would have expected an error code. Sorry I can’t be of more help but if you do decide to strip it down, feel free to ask questions, as i have only recently done that to mine.

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Hi all. Well, I have just returned from another foray into the wild world out there and after 2 weeks found my hot water was cold on electric.
I woke one morning to find the power was off. After checking the bollard and found power was ok there, I checked on my fuse panel and the 230v had tripped. Re-set and all seemed ok. I re-started the boiler (it was showing red on the dial) and thought all was ok as the lights were yellow and green, though I was wondering about why my 230 had tripped. Anyhow, I now find I have no hot water on electric, (I have not yet tried it on gas). On my control panel I only have 2 rotary dials, one for energy (gasor 230v) selection and the other for heating what (water, air, both) and by how much 40, 60 degrees or 60 degrees and heating, so do not have any other indication. I have opened up the front of the 4E and see a green light only showing as lit,, if I switch off the mains then a red light flashes.
Now, I think the 230v elements have gone (10 year old Savannah with moderate use) but would rather be sure before spending upwards of £200 on replacement parts as you have detailed. Did you Abacist have any indication of failure other than no hot water ??
 
Only by testing the resistance of the elements which requires a partial disassembly to put an ohm meter on each end of each element in turn as far as I know.
 
Abacist said:
Only by testing the resistance of the elements which requires a partial disassembly to put an ohm meter on each end of each element in turn as far as I know.
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Thanks Abacist. I have enquired about replacement elements at a cost of £160. I then ask about the gasket/seal set and was informed:
"They come with what you can see on the listing. The Truma gaskets if you should require them are another 180 but in 99% of installations are superfluous and non returnable"
So now just wondering,, if I take extra care following your stripdown, could it be done without the need of an extra £180 ??
 
Try somewhere else - my gasket set came with mine! That is extortionate!
 
£340 buys a lot of gas. I’m down to one element working, and can’t see the point in replacing. I just use my refillable gas.

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