Winterising the Van FULLY (2 Viewers)

[Snowbird]

Hi Paul, Sorry if am a bit late with this but when I had the RV, I fitted tropical fishtank heaters in the fresh and waste tanks. They did not draw much power and did the job a treat. I drilled a small hole in the top of the tanks then dropped the heater in and fed the wire through a rubber grommet with a blob of silicone on. Bobs your auntie :thumb:

 

[haganap]

Your right Dave - I did think of using tank heaters for fish There was a reason I did not use them although it escapes me at present .

 

[haganap]

Ok so got around to finishing it today.

I removed the trap's and refitted straight through Pipe. All was then re-lagged and ready to go. The fall within the pipework is sufficient as to ensure the water should run in to the waste tank on a freezing day and not leave any water about.

Clearly there is an issue with the waste trap, this is designed to hold water and obviously will freeze. On my continental vans, the traps were inside.

Quite fidlly doing the kitchen one but all works now. All I need now is to wait till February, to see if I can shower in the van in -25 outside.

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[aba]

maybe the reason for not using fish tank heaters is because they are 230 volt

 

[haganap]

Yep your right about the fish tank heater, but you can actually get 12v ones, but I think they are made of glass/...


ANY HOW I WILL NOT BE BEAT<

I NEVER SAY DIE>

I just was not happy with the prospect of how I had fitted the tank heater, although I had thought of everything, I had an overnight moment. A risk but a moment all the same. I opted to put my hand through the filler cap holding a soldering iron. Using this I was then able to create a hole exactly where the recommended place should be.

result, I now have a water heater installed that is at the bottom of the tank side on. Past holes were filled with some special filler stuff and away I am. :thumb:

 

[aba]

could that have been inspired by my drill it from the inside suggestion perhaps oh:oh:

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[Snowbird]

maybe the reason for not using fish tank heaters is because they are 230 volt

The ones I used were 12volt but had an in-line inverter built into the cable. Just chopped the cable off and Bobs your auntie. I was under the impression they were all like this for safety reasons, water/electric/big clumsy fish.

 

[haganap]

could that have been inspired by my drill it from the inside suggestion perhaps oh:oh:

Not at all fella, If you had read earlier, you would of seen that I had ried that method. The filler hole is not bigger enough to get a drill in.

I'm far from clever, but I aint stupid

 

[Minxy]

Our Autotrail also has some heating pipes running under the floor which certainly knocked the heat out of it before it got to the vent.
If yours are the same as ours I think you will find the actually heating pipe is inside a water proof but unlagged outer pipe.
I cut holes in several places in the outer pipe and injected the foaminside until it came out of the next hole, working my way along the pipe.
This has made a huge difference to the temp coming into the motorhome.
Top tip.:thumb:

The heater pipe under the van looks and feels just like the stuff you get inside but has a black outer instead of the silvered one. When I get the van back from Swift (hopefully tomorrow) I'll have a shuftie and see what I can do with it. I don't think I'll be able to re-route the piping within the van though as the combi boiler/heater is on the nearside and the outlets are on the offside, with a large locker in the middle which has our canoes etc in so if I put the heater pipe through it I won't be able to get them in or out! The only alternative would be to completely try to re-route it through the nearside which would be quite a major job as it would mean going under the fridge and kitchen units and I'd lose the outlet in the offside washroom ... brrrrr! Probably easier to lag it and see how it performs like that!!!

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[pudseykeith]

Hi guys. Just a thought. I have not trawled though all the well informed posts, but remember insulation only reduses heat loss, it do's not produce heat. If you want to keep your fluids from freezing you will have to produce some heat into the system. Even if you insulate to the extreem if you intend to park the van up for long periods, for the winter ect you will still need to drain your systems down. Sorry if this has been coved ealier.

PK

 

[Reallyretired]

Going off thread a little, but the best thing I have found for heating a van is an Eberspacher diesel heater. I know they are not cheap, but if you are skiing in sub zero temps this is definitely the way to go. Even on the lowest setting the van is toasty warm and they use little fuel and battery power. Your gas consumption is kept to a minimum,so its not necessary to carry spare gas bottles. The best bit of kit I know of for winter use.

Even further off post. The Mercedes base vehicle has a diesel powered auxiliary heater, though it will only work with the engine running. Is it possible to adapt the wiring or whatever so it could run on the hab batteries? Anyone know?

 

[jonandshell]

Even further off post. The Mercedes base vehicle has a diesel powered auxiliary heater, though it will only work with the engine running. Is it possible to adapt the wiring or whatever so it could run on the hab batteries? Anyone know?

Isn't the purpose of the Merc/Eberspacher heater to preheat the coolant in your cold engine before starting to ensure faster warm-up?

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[jonandshell]

Hi guys. Just a thought. I have not trawled though all the well informed posts, but remember insulation only reduses heat loss, it do's not produce heat. If you want to keep your fluids from freezing you will have to produce some heat into the system. Even if you insulate to the extreem if you intend to park the van up for long periods, for the winter ect you will still need to drain your systems down. Sorry if this has been coved ealier.

PK

Well said, and a point often lost on some.

When at sub zero temperatures, the van's heater/boiler combo is it's beating heart. Loose that and it's home time!
Hagger's waste lagging is their to try and stop ice backing up. Hopefully, the warm water running through the waste pipes will not get a chance to cool and freeze with the lagging in place.

BTW, how about a new submission to the Oxford English Dictionary?

'HAGGING', verb, to insulate a motorhome prior to winter use.:thumb:

 

[Snowbird]

Even further off post. The Mercedes base vehicle has a diesel powered auxiliary heater, though it will only work with the engine running. Is it possible to adapt the wiring or whatever so it could run on the hab batteries? Anyone know?

My Merc based van does not need the engine running for the Eberspacher to work. Granted it is wired to the engine battery for some obscure reason, but the drain on the battery is negligible. I don't understand why they wired it too the engine battery when it could have easily been wired to the hab batteries. I was worried about it running the engine battery down when in use, so did a dry run and left it running for 24 hrs. No problem starting, so must use very little from the batteries.

 

[haganap]

Hi guys. Just a thought. I have not trawled though all the well informed posts, but remember insulation only reduses heat loss, it do's not produce heat. If you want to keep your fluids from freezing you will have to produce some heat into the system. Even if you insulate to the extreem if you intend to park the van up for long periods, for the winter ect you will still need to drain your systems down. Sorry if this has been coved ealier.

PK

Again PK you are of course right, however, the thread is more about using the van in extremely low temps other than storing it.
When the van is parked up the heating is always left on either very low or full blast upon return. As stated, the insulation within the pipe work is simply to prevent any water freezing that is washed away through the system. Generally speaking the waste is open, the water should fall in to a bucket end of. However, I have known it that cold I have witnessed the water falling out of the waste and freezing as it falls in to the bucket. This is why I am currently contemplating going a step further and adding waste heating elements. The only gamble with these is that you do have to keep some water in the waste tank. However it worked well on my Adria. :thumb:

Well said, and a point often lost on some.

When at sub zero temperatures, the van's heater/boiler combo is it's beating heart. Loose that and it's home time!
Hagger's waste lagging is their to try and stop ice backing up. Hopefully, the warm water running through the waste pipes will not get a chance to cool and freeze with the lagging in place.

BTW, how about a new submission to the Oxford English Dictionary?

'HAGGING', verb, to insulate a motorhome prior to winter use.:thumb:

'HAGGING' - VERB - meaning - To attempt the impossible and make a British van winterised as good as it's German counterparts hence enjoying superior luxury in the cold. :thumb:

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[haganap]

I certainly lie the idea of the diesel heater, however, Nikki just hit me when I told her how much, and im not sure I could fit it myself.

Its probably one of those things that if you have it on your van you would not go without it again, but retro fitting is very costly :Sad:

 

[Snowbird]

I certainly lie the idea of the diesel heater, however, Nikki just hit me when I told her how much, and im not sure I could fit it myself.

Its probably one of those things that if you have it on your van you would not go without it again, but retro fitting is very costly :Sad:

Hi Paul, They are available second hand from ebay at very reasonable cost. There is a guy at Middlewich boats that will do a full service for £40 am told. Dead easy to retro fit. Much easier than the job you have just done. For anyone doing winter sports they are a must have.

 

[haganap]

Hi Paul, They are available second hand from ebay at very reasonable cost. There is a guy at Middlewich boats that will do a full service for £40 am told. Dead easy to retro fit. Much easier than the job you have just done. For anyone doing winter sports they are a must have.

Ok, Dave, I will show Nikki this post, ask her to raid the savings account. Can you add it will dry her hair too?

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[Snowbird]

Ok, Dave, I will show Nikki this post, ask her to raid the savings account. Can you add it will dry her hair too?

Of course, it will not only dry her hair.....With a little ingenuity it will blow dry it. Just stick an old Hoover pipe on the outlet .

 

[haganap]

had a scoot around fleabay for one. Still even used they are a few quid. I rang one company that was 855 + Vodka & Tonic for all inclusive with fitting. Thought that was quite reasonable.
However, I then started to think,,, Why do I need one? Our van is absoloutly toastie warm in the winter, even high up in the Alps in -27 it was still toastie warm inside. I suppose the only real benefit would be that we would use less gas. Again though for nearly two weeks away we only used 3 bottles worth in the extreme cold so about £50 worth.

I think therefore, that I may have to wait till next year to convince Nikki it's worth it.

However If anyone would like to sell me a cheap one and offer assistance with fitting, Im all ears

 

[Snowbird]

Keep an eye on ebay. The early airtronics without the timer can be had for under £150 at times. There is little or nothing to go wrong with them, and a days work should easily fit one. Even after a £40 service you should have change from £200 and no worries with running out of gas.

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[jonandshell]

Ditch the Combi 6 and install a Webasto Dualtop!

If you site it close enough to the waste tank, you could direct it's exhaust into a shroud around the waste tank!

Have you 2 1/2 K spare though?!!!

 

[aba]

many breakers yards have the eberspacher heaters as they seem to like them in minibuses.
some may be fully working some not but always worth a look.

and many dont even bother removing them before crushing the vehicle.
when i worked at the scrap yard we regularly saw transits with a retro fit water heater and radiators.

 

[GlobeStar]

Not sure if mentioned previously but have a look at this idea. Not sure if you can change the voltage though for when on hook up.

.

I know it's in USA but could be an idea.

Tim
Hi all by the way I'm a newby from Lincolnshire area with a globestar by globecar not new to motorhoming but come down in size from a tag axle kontiki to a PVC.:thumb:

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[pablomc]

There is also heat tape for pipes. In fact you can make your own if you have the will.:thumb:

 

[haganap]

There is also heat tape for pipes. In fact you can make your own if you have the will.:thumb:

Explain more please

I like the sound of this

 

[haganap]

Not sure if mentioned previously but have a look at this idea. Not sure if you can change the voltage though for when on hook up.

.

I know it's in USA but could be an idea.

Tim
Hi all by the way I'm a newby from Lincolnshire area with a globestar by globecar not new to motorhoming but come down in size from a tag axle kontiki to a PVC.:thumb:

Welcome ot Motorhome fun Tim
:thumb:

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[pablomc]

There is also heat tape for pipes. In fact you can make your own if you have the will.:thumb:

Explain more please

I like the sound of this

Never used it myself, but often wondered if it would be effective in conjunction with insulation.

Make your own. If you Goggle there are many commercial products, however most are mains fed.

 

[haganap]

Never used it myself, but often wondered if it would be effective in conjunction with insulation.

Make your own. If you Goggle there are many commercial products, however most are mains fed.

yes Paul, I too have seen a simlar type of thing, A power led heated mat/fabric. would be great to wrap around your pipes and then switch on keeping all the pipes heated :thumb: not seen any 12v ones though?
Even so, getting some from mains could be useful if you suffer a big freeze to simply defrost pipe work, gotta beat hours with a hair dryer.

 

[jonandshell]

Tank heaters

Ever thought of sump/tank heating pads?

These are used for keeping things flowing in arctic conditions (a bit like VT)!

Link Removed

-Just a Christmas present idea for the Funster who already owns every heating/insulation product available!

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