Heating in the van

[skysky69]

In our van, we have a gas fire and when this is on there is a truma system that you can flick on that takes some of that heat off the back of the fire and blows it round the van. I am not overly keen on the thought of leaving a gas fire on for a long period of time for instance through the night so was thinking of putting an electric heater in the van instead. That way I could put it on a timer to come on perhaps an hour before we get out of bed in the morning and also it would be using the hook up power which we are paying already for instead of my gas. I have a Dimplex oil filled radiator at home that is 1.5kw - can I put this in my van. I was unsure whether it would be too powerful like a kettle? My low wattage kettle is 1kw so this is another half a kw more powerful.

And then the second question is can I run the kettle off one socket and the heater off another and be OK or do you think I should switch one off while I use the other?

 

[JeremyClarksson]

Heater should be OK

I always flick off the fire and water heater when using another electrical heat appliance like the kettle, dead easy to do and it is then unlikely you would trip the supply.Our switches are easy to get at being on the wall opposite the kitchen area, even if they are not it is a good rule to adopt.

2.5kW equates to around 11 Amps which could trip some supplies - do not forget there already other electrical items running like the battery charger for 12V circuits like water pump.

 

[ProfJohnL]

Hello Kirstie,

I wonder why you don't feel you can leave the Truma heater on form long periods. Technically they are designed and capable of being left on quite safely even over night (subject to nothing obstructing the hot air grill on the heater), because All Truma space heaters use the principal of 'Room Sealed' combustion, which prevents any gas or products of combustion from entering the living space. All you get from a Truma (or Carver) space heater is hot dry air.

If you have a safety concern about gas or flue product escape over night, then the same danger must exist during other times of the day - so the appliance must not be used until repaired.

As with any gas appliance, it is important to have it regularly checked and if necessary repaired by a competent person.

There is nothing wrong with turning heater off if you wish,. Equally there is nothing wrong with using an electric heater on a time switch. that is a matter or personal choice.

Garry has cover the power issues.

 

[Guest]

As long as the gas appliance is flued, there should be no problems using it overnight. But if on EHU (Eletric Hook Up) why waste gas? We have just bought a Quartz Heater, only

 

[Viking1]

Hi Kirstie

Do not now if your truma system is the same as my

With my it can be run on gas or electric to hart the van up.

A lot of the time when its been cold we have had it on all so we have been run a low wattage kettle and TV and lights P,S 2 and may be some thick ells as well.

This help because we have set that you can set the hart work at defter setting (1000, 1500, 2000) so you can run other things.

Mark

 

[WatsonJohnG]

There was thread on this 2 weeks ago and it was pointed out that no manufacturer in these litigeous times would dare to supply a heater that was a danger to health

The gas burns inside a heat exchanger which passes its heat into the van interior.

The exhaust fumes are ducted to the outside either through the floor or via flu through the roof

 

[skysky69]

I am sorry, I don't think I have explained myself very well! I don't have any concerns about the safety of my gas appliance. It works a treat and the van is so toasty and warm, but I don't see the point in it being on for the whole of the night when we are warm enough under our quilt and sleeping bag. Our heating only runs off gas not electric and I am thinking if I am paying for electric hook up then the more I can use the electric off that the better. I can use a plug in timer to get the heating to come on just before we get up. That way I am not wasting my gas all through the night when we don't need it and why would I pay for the gas when I can heat the van using the electric that I have already paid for - being a big of a cheap skate!

 

[Guest]

I am sorry, I don't think I have explained myself very well! I don't have any concerns about the safety of my gas appliance. It works a treat and the van is so toasty and warm, but I don't see the point in it being on for the whole of the night when we are warm enough under our quilt and sleeping bag. Our heating only runs off gas not electric and I am thinking if I am paying for electric hook up then the more I can use the electric off that the better. I can use a plug in timer to get the heating to come on just before we get up. That way I am not wasting my gas all through the night when we don't need it and why would I pay for the gas when I can heat the van using the electric that I have already paid for - being a big of a cheap skate!

Well as I posted, we've just bought a Quartz heater,

 

[Rita1]

We have had our gas fire on all night on very low and if we get to warm turn off And light again when chilly

But if you are on a EHU then it makes sense to get a electric heater

Rita

 

[WatsonJohnG]

Before we had an electric and gas van heater we used a Dimplex greenhouse coldwatch electric heater

They are silent convector heaters with a built in thermostat so you probably wouldn't need a timer as well

http://www.tlc-direct.co.uk/Main_Index/Heating_Index/Greenhouse-Utility_Heaters/

 

[Oldfogey]

We also use an electric heater (have no gas heater), and just reach out and switch it on in the morning; a good duvet means it is nicer to let the van chill down overnight, so a thermostat doesn't help.

Just make sure your time switch can handle the load - I think some are just designed for use with lights.

 

[WatsonJohnG]

The Coldwatcher is designed for frost protection etc so the idea is to set the thermostat so low that it will switch on when it gets very cold .

In the morning you just turn the thermostat up

I have one by my chair in the lounge at home for local heating and you can set it as low as you like.

500 watts isn't going to make the van roasting hot and you can position it as near to the bed as desired

It would also be OK through a timer if still desired