Heating the 'van during winter storage

[Michael_374349176]

I see from one of the posts in another part of the forum that it was recommended to heat the caravan occasionally through the winter to prevent condensation problems. We purchased a new Sterling Europa 520 last autumn. We wanted delivery in March '08 but it was not possible and so we took delivery in November '07. It has been stored at our home since then. We have occasionally aired it and it gave me the oportunity to do some minor modifications (fit bottle racks in the cupboards for example) Should I now run the heater to warm it up? I do have an electric socket available so it should be no trouble. Can I leave the caravan heater on for a length of time unattended?

Advice on this would be appreciated.

Michael

 

[Lutz]

You either need to heat it all the time, but this is going to be a costly exercise, or you might just as well leave it and do so just before you are going to use it to remove any clammy feeling there may be inside. Heating at intervals only is of no benefit and just a waste of energy.

 

[Michael_374349176]

Thanks Lutz, I did think that trying to maintain the 'van at anything above freezing point would be costly, and from what you say, not very productive. I'll continue with what I'm doing. Anyway the weather is picking up so we will be going off somewhere before long.

Michael

 

[JTS]

Its better to heat than not to heat. I run my gas heater to about 70F for about 4 hours once a week if the weather has been very damp and cold. My van always feel dry and never any condensation and the items stored in the van do ot deteriate. A matter of choice. But cetainly not a waste of time, effort or money. JTS.

 

[Lutz]

Its better to heat than not to heat. I run my gas heater to about 70F for about 4 hours once a week if the weather has been very damp and cold. My van always feel dry and never any condensation and the items stored in the van do ot deteriate. A matter of choice. But cetainly not a waste of time, effort or money. JTS.

Heating four just 4 hours once a week is not going to produce results. That still means the caravan would not be heated for the remaining 164 hours. If your caravan feels dry inside I would hazard a guess that the weather was fairly dry anyway or you went into the caravan soon after a 4 hour heating period.

 

[woodsieboy]

Hi Michael

We leave a fan heater in our caravan with the thermostat set to come on just above the frost setting,probably costs a bit, but the van always feels warm and dry even in mid winter.

 

[Michael_374349176]

Thanks for that Keith, do you know what it costs?

Michael

 

[gary]

Heating an unused van serves no purpose other than giving npower more profit!

Unless your living in it there is no purpose in heating it, all it will do is speed up the passage of air from outside through the van and back out again, The van is wood and metal, it dosn't know the difference between warm and cold.

Sorry in advance!

 

[Jo_5040485]

We have never heated our van in winter when not in use. This year for various reasons it has ended up being 4 1/2 months between use, by far the longest time we haven't used it. When we went out in it last weekend it was really dry, no feeling of damp at all.

Jog

 

[Dustydog]

I agree with Lutz. It's a total waste of time and money trying to heat the caravan for say 4 hours a week. Have you ever had your home central heating fail. First thing in the morning the whole is freezing and feels damp but isn't. As the day goes on and the sun rises some natural warmth comes in.

Caravans are designed to be outside , all four seasons. We use ours a lot throughout the year. The day before we leave I do turn on the fridge and heater. That seems sufficient to me.

Cheers

Alan

 

[otherclive]

I agree that heating through winter is a sheer waste of money. It is better to enure that air can move around the van by leaving doors, lockers open etc and I lift all the seat bases and cushions to ensure free air movement. The van has lots of ventilation compared to saya modern house and if it has no leaks then free air movement will be adequate. Even after storage if you are taking it out in spring the weather will warm it up far more quickly than a heater will. Assuming a decent spring that is!

Other Clive

 

[woodsieboy]

Hi Michael

I have no idea what it costs to heat the van, as the heater only cuts in just above freezing, what I do know is that on a previous van we had to replace a mixer tap that suffered frost damage whilst left without heat, the price of the tap and the time and aggravation getting it fixed convinced me it is money well spent heating the van when needed.

 

[colin(bridgend)]

My van is parked on the drive and connected up to the mains electricity in the house. We take the seating/cushions in the house during the winter lay up to keep aired and open all the cupboards/lockers/bathroom door for the air to circulate. We only used the heater in the van when we had visitors staying over the Christmas/New Year period. The van never appears to be damp or even smell fousty. If there is a warm sunny spell we will leave the windows open for fresh air to circulate. The water is drained off and the fridge door left partially open so as not to go mildew. Apart from the above we take no special precautions over winter.

 

[ProfJohnL]

Hi Michael

I have no idea what it costs to heat the van, as the heater only cuts in just above freezing, what I do know is that on a previous van we had to replace a mixer tap that suffered frost damage whilst left without heat, the price of the tap and the time and aggravation getting it fixed convinced me it is money well spent heating the van when needed.

Hello Keith,

I can understand you thinking about keeping a fan heater as a frost protector, however I am not sure how effective it would really be. The problem would be to ensure the warm air reaches all the nooks and crannies where the pipes are. Obviously leaving all the cupboard doors etc open helps, but even so the heater is likely to cut out before the whole caravan is adequately warmed against frost.

Prevention is better than cure, and in this case ensuring that all water fittings are fully drained removes the danger.

 

[alaintaylor]

I use an electric convector heater permanently on the frost setting so that the caravan never freezes and keeps the electric bills down (Currys sell a good one at about

 

[ProfJohnL]

Hello Alan,

Condensing conditions has little to do with the moisture content of the caravan structure, but everything to do with the humidity level of the air, and the relative temperatures of the air and any surface it touches. Assuming that you have not blocked up the fixed ventilation whilst storing the caravan, the internal air will probably have about the same moisture content as the outside air. If there is a temperature difference, between inside and outside then the 'relative' humidity will also be different, but if the conditions are right then condensation will still occur.

It might be the caravan structure is quite dry, and if condensation were to arise then it might be almost instantly absorbed into the structure so it is not visible. Conversely, a sodden structure would not be able to absorb any more moisture so condensation will visible.

 

[Jim Young 1313]

I used to store my Tab 320 on my drive and run an 80 watt greenhouse tube heater during the winter
since I moved house I have had to put the van in secure storage that has no electrical supply
Can I run a small tube heater from solar panels ?

 

[Raywood]

I see no reason why you cannot run the heater provided the heater has a thermostat to control the heat in the caravan. You do not want the heater overheating the caravan any more than the cold causing condensation, so careful setting up is needed and it will probably need checking for the first few days..
We have ours in storage with the front facing East and the blinds and curtains back so the morning sun gets in and this seems to warm it enough to keep condensation at bay. The system depends on your caravan facing the sun for enough time though and may not work for everyone.

 

[Damian]

Can I run a small tube heater from solar panels ?

Very doubtful as there is not enough sunlight to keep the battery fully charged and an inverter running to power the heater, and as a caravan is permanently ventilated, any heat will be lost immediately.

As long as the van is well ventilated and has no leaks it should be fine without any heat.

 

[otherclive]

I used to store my Tab 320 on my drive and run an 80 watt greenhouse tube heater during the winter
since I moved house I have had to put the van in secure storage that has no electrical supply
Can I run a small tube heater from solar panels ?

Why would you heat a van in. Winter. I’ve never done that and have never had mould or any over winter problems. If you open up the cupboards and lockers and lift settees and beds etc there’s enough ventilation in a van to keep it okay. I don’t remove the seats etc. 80 watts has been doing nothing apart from draining your wallet and adding to global warming.

 

[ProfJohnL]

The problem everyone wants to avoid in this thread is condensation occurring . That occurs when warm more moist air comes into contact with a cooler surface.

All the porous materials in a caravan will absorb some moisture, as does the air, in all cases how much moisture they can absorb is dependant on its temperature, and the system is constantly trying to equalise the relative humidifies of the air and the other porous substances in the space.

When we (and animals) breathe we exhale water vapour, water vapour is also produced when we cook as water is evaporated or boiled off, so when a caravan is used the levels of humidity rise. We also tend to keep caravans warmer when we use them so the porous materials will also help to absorb some of teh water vapour we produce.

As the air, wood and other materials are warmed and are holding more moisture, when we go to bed, and turn the heating down things cool down, they cant hold as much moisture so they get rid of it by condensing it into droplets of water that we see on cooler surfaces.

When yo store a caravan after its been used, the content of the caravan will have been warmer and thus absorbed more moisture. The caravan should be allowed air and its advisable to open all cupboards and other wise closed space to allow free air movement .

As the caravan cools all the excess moisture is released and is taken up by the free flowing air and is mostly carried away outside what is left can form condensation. This will happen for a few days, but once the caravan has got rid of the excess, it wont produce any more from inside. However it is important to understand that there is always some humidity in the ambient air, so you cannot get rid of all of it .

Becasue a caravan is more closed than open, when the sun shines on one side it can warm it up but the other side can remain cool enough to cause condensation - but this is not excess moisture it is simply the natural levels reacting to the temperature differentials.

If you try to use a heater or dehumidifier for long term storage you are wasting your money, becasue all the condensate it collects is from fresh air passing through the caravan, it is not making on jot of difference to the caravan's dryness.

The only exception where a dehumidifier may be useful is if your caravan has a water leak and is letting water in. But again it would make far more sense to get the leak fixed than run a heater or dehumidifier,

All caravans had a legal minimum amount ventilation, and provided non of it is blocked, and the air is free to circulate inside the caravans spaces that is simply the best and by far the cheapest and safest solution.

 

[Thingy]

I keep my caravan at home, constantly plugged in, but I only run the heating occasionally just to keep the heating itslef ticking over. A couple of years back, on a very cold period, I ran the heating overnight. The following day my cupboards were actually dripping water due to condensation. What I do now is to wedge my cupbaords etc open when i run the heating, to not only allow an airflow but also to level the temperature difference between the two spaces. Luckily for me, I noticed the issue in 24 hours, but I would be concerned about this being a repetitive situation.

 

[ProfJohnL]

I keep my caravan at home, constantly plugged in, but I only run the heating occasionally just to keep the heating itslef ticking over. A couple of years back, on a very cold period, I ran the heating overnight. The following day my cupboards were actually dripping water due to condensation. What I do now is to wedge my cupbaords etc open when i run the heating, to not only allow an airflow but also to level the temperature difference between the two spaces. Luckily for me, I noticed the issue in 24 hours, but I would be concerned about this being a repetitive situation.

What you have described doe not surprise me at all. That is why ventilation is always better in the long run - and cheaper.

 

[Hutch]

Just had my caravan serviced, last Thursday, max recorded Damp was 12%. Havn't been to the van, in 6 months. I used to have damp collectors, 6 of them. Always full of fluid. Never again. Let the air flow through.
Also we store it under cover in a barn. But all said its a caravan designed to be outside in all weather.

 

[Beachball]

Had my caravan service use all 5 streamline moisture absorber and every two or three months we would go and check we also had a breathable cover on and it is damp free