Winter Pack

[Brian_K]

I can't find anything in the Elddis manual, other than general winterising tips. I have the winter pack fitted:

"Winter pack - tank heaters for fresh and waste water plus fridge vent covers"

Am I right in assuming you set the space heater to the frost sign and that the tank heaters will only work on EHU.

I have 120w solar panels fitted, but I don't see that being enough - is that correct?

Brian

I made the above post some time ago, but never did get a definitive answer (perhaps the wrong section).

Anyone have any experience with the Elddis winter pack with regards how exactly it operates?

Brian

 

[sdc77]

Can't answer your specific question ... are your water tanks external then? Are your heating pipes routed with your water? Double floored? These are what I would think of as winterisation. Can't see tank heaters working off 12v so I'd imagine your right re EHU

 

[Brian_K]

Can't answer your specific question ... are your water tanks external then? Are your heating pipes routed with your water? Double floored? These are what I would think of as winterisation. Can't see tank heaters working off 12v so I'd imagine your right re EHU

Thanks for the quick reply - honestly I have no idea, other than what are in quotes above from the Elddis website and the fact I have two vent covers.

Brian

 

[Brian_K]

Apparently the winterization pack does work off the 12v system (according to the dealer). The 12v system needs to be live and once the temperature drops below 5c the heater kicks in.

Few cold spells predicted for over the weekend so I'll monitor the battery voltage and see what happens.

Brian

 

[jonandshell]

So when driving down the road in winter, with your NCC approved electrical system switched off, your tanks will freeze!

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[Brian_K]

So when driving down the road in winter, with your NCC approved electrical system switched off, your tanks will freeze!

Would seem so.

Brian

 

[jonandshell]

The heaters will be one of two types, constant or thermostatic.
We have a thermostatic one just above our waste valve. It comes on when the water temperature drops below 4 degrees C.
Apparently, in operation they draw about 4 amps. This figure seems about right from the testing I have done. You need good batteries to maintain that for prolonged periods off hookup.

 

[Brian_K]

The heaters will be one of two types, constant or thermostatic.
We have a thermostatic one just above our waste valve. It comes on when the water temperature drops below 4 degrees C.
Apparently, in operation they draw about 4 amps. This figure seems about right from the testing I have done. You need good batteries to maintain that for prolonged periods off hookup.

I have 120w of solar power and 2 x 100amp batteries, hopefully that will cope. Temperature is dropping rapidly now. I've just put a max/min temperature gauge in the van, see how it goes during the evening.

Brian

 

[jonandshell]

I would advise you take a good look under and around you van for exposed pipes. They will freeze long before a tank will.

 

[Brian_K]

Is there no 'anti freeze' you can get for the blue and grey water tanks? Even, say, fill them up and put a tub of table salt in, then dump half of it???

Brian

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[Brian_K]

Well, 3c last night and no drain on the battery. I've written to Elddis and asked what conditions are required to run their winter pack.

Brian

 

[Brian_K]

Further to your recent email regarding your 2015 Accordo 135 motorhome.

I can advise that the winter pack fitted to your vehicle will be automatically activated when the temperature reaches 5 degrees Celsius and there are no conditions attached to this activation.

If your winter pack is not functioning correctly, we respectfully advise that direct contact is made with your local Elddis Approved Retailer or Service Centre and suggest that they submit a claim into our Warranty Department.

We would like to offer our apologies for any inconvenience caused and continuously assure you of our best intentions at all times.

Kindest Regards

Customer Care Department

Wonderful

Brian

 

[chocky]

Hi
Spoke to Elddis a while back to ask how to switch off the tank heater. The reply was that you can't. It is wired in permanently.
All very good but if the system is drained down for winter and therefore no water is in the tank what happens when the temperature drops below 5 degrees?
Answer. The heater tries to warm up cold air to the cut out temperature in an empty tank.
Result. Flat battery (with associated damage to the battery for being run down).
Whilst I like the idea of a heater to prevent freezing I would like the ability to be able to turn it off when i need to.
To overcome this I have located the wiring and installed an isolation switch.
Just have to be careful if there is water in the tank if I go away in extreme conditions(unlikely).

 

[Brian_K]

The dealer tells me the master switch needs to be activated, Elddis says nothing needs to be done by the owner.

I checked the battery when the outside temperature was at 0c a couple of nights ago, no drain at all.

I’ve given up, when the temperature looks like it’s going to drop I connect the EHU and set the heater to frost, holds the van at about 5c. Also put some Camanco Winter Ban in the tanks.

Brian

 

[Paul and Kate]

Hi just a quick update on the winter pack
We've just got our 155 and mage sure this was one of the questions asked at hand over
Marquis reply was
Nothing needs doing temperature in the tanks drop to 5 degrees then they come on automatically even if the master switch is off
Asked about the problem of no water being in the tanks and was told they also run a float switch hope this clears things up a little

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[Allan & Loren]

I know it's different but assume the principle is the same? We have a winter pack in our RV. There is a cargo heat in the locker which comes on automatically if the temperature drops below 5degrees but we also have a switch inside to activate it or not. It runs off EHU or battery but you couldn't run it off battery for long as it uses a lot of juice. we've 5 solar panels on our roof and they run dry using the cargo heat for more than 2/3 days. Ours also has a float switch.

 

[31791]

I have a winter pack on my Autocruise. There is a a heater in the fresh water tank and also the waste. These heaters run from 12V and are 30W each so 2.5 Amps each. Realistically, you need EHU to run this more than a couple of days. The 12V feed is taken from the wires going to the hot water heater. It is possible this feed takes into account the water level but I don't know. The heaters only come on when under 5oC. I have fitted an isolation switch as If I don't have water in the tank then I don't want the heaters coming on. I intend fitting a seperate switch to allow the fresh heater to be enabled while the waste is disabled. The tanks are underneath the van but are insulated with about 1 inch of insulation. There is a very short length of pipe (3 inches) from the top of the tank before it enters the van. I intend putting insulation on this but haven't had problems so far.
Not worried about water freezing when driving as that would be a small percentage of the day and the movement of the van and the water in the tank should stop it freezing unless it is very very cold.