Replace truma heater

[muzzy182uk]

Hello All

Wondering if anyone has done this or has any information about this

currently have a 2003 Adria 5 birth with fixed bunks at the back now we have 3 young kids so space is at a premium currently so while i was out in the van at easter i began to investigate how much space the truma fire and blow system use and it is a fairly big unit and heavy but as we tend to use the blow system more than the fire due to small fingers the van never really seems to get warm. i also notice that newer vans favour the combi systems now.

So i was thinking it might be an idea to remove the fire and put a propex h2000e in place instead freeing up both space and weight as we mostly use electric when we are away i figure this might be a better system and then turn the rest of the space in to a cupboard. few questions though

1. Will the h2000e blower push enough hot air around a large caravan there is currently 4 vents one at the bunks one in the bathroom and one at the door and one in the main seating area at the front but there is also holes in the ducting flowing up the external walls.
2. the truma is quite noicy to run during the night will the propex be just as noicy running on electric

 

[thosoneill]

Doubt if your proposition will make much of a difference - may I suggest supplementing your heating by adding a small ceramic heater which plugs into the mains electricity

 

[muzzy182uk]

hi thosoneill thanks for the quick reply but as mentioned with three young kids and lack of space as it is introducing a second heater is really not an option which is why i have been looking at the space heating options to try and reduce temtation for the children and try and have an increase in space

 

[Anseo]

muzzy182 UK

Since you mostly use EHU, what about a high level mounted heater, I am not making a recommendation for any of the following, just for illustration.

http://www.screwfix.com/p/mh-10-1-wall-mounted-quartz-heater-1200w/1238p#product_additional_details_container
http://www.screwfix.com/p/winterwarm-wwdf20n-wall-mounted-fan-heater-2000w/4433p

 

[ProfJohnL]

Hello All

Wondering if anyone has done this or has any information about this

currently have a 2003 Adria 5 birth with fixed bunks at the back now we have 3 young kids so space is at a premium currently so while i was out in the van at easter i began to investigate how much space the truma fire and blow system use and it is a fairly big unit and heavy but as we tend to use the blow system more than the fire due to small fingers the van never really seems to get warm. i also notice that newer vans favour the combi systems now.

So i was thinking it might be an idea to remove the fire and put a propex h2000e in place instead freeing up both space and weight as we mostly use electric when we are away i figure this might be a better system and then turn the rest of the space in to a cupboard. few questions though

1. Will the h2000e blower push enough hot air around a large caravan there is currently 4 vents one at the bunks one in the bathroom and one at the door and one in the main seating area at the front but there is also holes in the ducting flowing up the external walls.
2. the truma is quite noicy to run during the night will the propex be just as noicy running on electric

Hi Muzzy,

I'm really not sure your proposal makes sense, well certainly not to me anyway.

I looked up the details of the Propex product here:-
http://www.jacksons-camping.co.uk/propex/hs2000.htm

You don't tell us which model of Truma heater you already have, but I'd guess it will be a 3000 series, with the Ultraheat option. The gas heater will produce 3.2kW of heat and the Untraheat up to 2kW of actual heat inside the caravan. Now I appreciate you are only using the electric side of the Truma, but changing it for the Propex hs2000 you would get a maximim of only 1.9kw heat inside the caravan, so that is less than your current appliance. That is a hefty price to pay for something of less capacity. I also note the specification for the Propex only lists a maximum of 3 outlets.

As for noise, the Truma fan normally a fairly quiet unit, so if its noisy, it may need a proper clean and service. Dust can begin to occlude the fan impeller and it also unbalances it making it more noisy. Do be carefull when trying to clean impellers as its very easy to loose the little clips that are used to balance the fan during manufacture. Incidentally the same problem will arise in the Propex over time, and that is a far more complex unit to service.

The fan in the Truma will be a larger diameter than the one in the Propex. this means to produce the same air flow the Propex will need to run faster and thus is likely to be noisier than the Truma.

You do have the option of just using the Truma in convection only mode which cuts fan noise altogether where as the fan must run when ever the Propex unit is used.

Realistically children need to learn not to fiddle with things, but obviously it is not sensible to allow them access to hot things. To that end you used to be able to buy a fire guard to fit over the Truma, and that would be a lot cheaper than a new heater.

Also you may need to consider what changing the heating to a rather uncommon product in a caravan might do to the value of the caravan if you wanted to sell it.

 

[BryanTheSnail]

We find the Truma copes pretty well on electricity alone most of the time but in extremes of cold we use the gas supply instead, seldom together as Coachman advise against doing so. The occasional use of gas must be far cheaper than modifying the van, with the risk of valuation loss as mentioned earlier. The gas heat output is very good, often used by us to get the ambient temperature up early on our return.
Perhaps we recognise the availability of the gas supply as we camp off grid regularly which many seldom do.

 

[VicMallows]

One other point to consider is that the characteristic roar of a Propex blown-air heater may not make you the most popular camper on site ....especially if you leave it on overnight and the heater keeps cutting in and out. Just like a diesel blown-air heater (as commonly used on small campervans .... and boats) the noise outside is considerably more disturbing than the noise inside.

If you are considering one with a view to off-grid camping, you also need to be aware that the fan is quite power-hungry at 12v.

 

[ProfJohnL]

The external noise aspect I had over looked, and yes there is a the potential for the forced combustion to be annying to neighbors.

As for the 12dc current consumption the web site I listed above show it to have a current consumption of 1.4A continuous running. By comparison the Truma fan will use 1.2A max at high speed. so in reality yes the Propex will use more power but not by a massive margin.