Gas Engineer near York

[Iona]

Hi all, new forum member here.

We have an Abbey Iona that we love but the slight problem with having such a small caravan is finding somewhere to put things.

The only gas appliance we use is the stove (we like to keep things simple) so we were thinking of removing the gas fire and water heater so that we could use these spaces for storage, and remove the fridge to change it for a normal 230v one with a decent freezer compartment.

Im happy to give most diy tasks a go but gas is something i dont want to mess with. Can anyone recommend a gas engineer in the York area who could make these changes? Or are there problems with my plan that i have not realised?

 

[ProfJohnL]

If you use the Approved Workshop Scheme (AWS) you should be able to find a range of service providers some are mobile and can come to you.

See here

I have a couple of points which I think you should consider. You are of course entitled to be able to choose what you have in your caravan, and certainly the items you have listed are not structurally significant to the caravan, so you can remove them. But do think carefully, becasue you will reducing the caravans flexibility to be used for example off grid with no mains power or other services. It will devalue your caravan if you wanted to sell it.

Caravan fridges tend to be a fairly unique in terms of their physical size and shape, Many models also have stepped design to accomodate the caravans wheel arch, or pipes and ducts that need to pass behind the appliance so it's unlikely you would find a 230V ac mains compressor fridge that will be a direct replacement. If you decided to change the layout of your caravan by moving internal walls or panels, you could be removing structural components that are needed for the integrity of caravans structure.

Specifically with the fridge in your caravan, it will be a multi source appliance, meaning you can switch between Gas, 230V Mains electric or 12V from the car when the engine is running. These fridges use the "Absorption cycle" which is essentially silent and operates without vibrations. Normal domestic fridges use an motor driven compressor. We all know these are fairly quiet in the kitchen, but in a caravan with comparatively thin walls and panels the vibrations can become far more audible.