Consumer unit fan running?

[MeonIan]

Hi all
We have just returned from a weekend away in our 2015 Bailey Pursuit which we've owned since new. However this weekend having returned to the van after a rather hot day with the van all closed up we noticed a fan running which I traced to the electric unit under the front settee. We've never heard this before and noticed if we turned the water pump off at the switch the fan would stop and then restart as soon as the pump switch was turned on again. Is this normal or something for me to be concerned with.
Many thanks Ian

 

[Hutch]

My consumer unit on a 2013 coachman, the fan will operate if the power consumption is more than 8 amps draw on the 12 volt system, normally happens when I first connect power to the van after being in storage and the caravan battery is low in power. , strange that it happens when your water pump is running. I dont think that its normal, but after a hot day maybe.

 

[Woodentop]

Hi all
We have just returned from a weekend away in our 2015 Bailey Pursuit which we've owned since new. However this weekend having returned to the van after a rather hot day with the van all closed up we noticed a fan running which I traced to the electric unit under the front settee. We've never heard this before and noticed if we turned the water pump off at the switch the fan would stop and then restart as soon as the pump switch was turned on again. Is this normal or something for me to be concerned with.
Many thanks Ian

Nothing to worry about - in fact it is a miracle that the fan works as they are well known for failure. The fan is operated by an electronic thermal switch hence why it runs when the van is hot inside.

It also does not help that Bailey, like many manufacturers, leave very little space for ventilation around the power box so they do tend to run unnecessarily hot.

If you feel so inclined, get two small 12V computer-type fans, wire them in series so that they run slow, and fit one over the grille at the top of the left side panel with air blowing in, and one over the grille at the right of the top panel pulling air out. This will cause enough air movement that the relatively noisy internal fan should not run.

For other readers, in hot areas/countries this is also a good technique for the fridge. Get two 4" 12V computer fans, again wire them in series, and fit one blowing in on the inside of the fridge lower external vent and the other blowing out on the inside of the top external vent - the direction of air flow is embossed on the fan outer casing. It doesn't matter that there is a gap around the fans, they just cause more air movement compared with thermal convection which improves fridge efficiency enormously.

Both types of fan only draw around 50mA so the current used can be ignored.

 

[Craigyoung]

That probably explains why ours burnt out whilst on our first trip to France and we thought it was a site surge ! They are housed in a very small area to with hardly ventilation like described. Cost us about £13o to sort out but we've a spare one now for our abroad trips ! If in doubt , ring baileys or where you purchased it from. Good luck .

Craig.

 

[BryanTheSnail]

On the Coachman, the power unit charges the battery when on hookup, and also supplies the 12 volt supply direct, so that the pump (and all other 12 volt items) will be fed from the aux power unit, not the battery when on hookup. This would explain why the pump run caused the fan to run as it adds load to the charger unit irrespective of battery condition if as others have said, the temperature is high for whatever reason. My fan runs if the battery gets low and is then connected to a hookup, as there is a lot of power needed to recharge the battery..