Safety in the caravan

[lucylogic]

Although having caravans, tents, trailer tents, van conversion and yes even a static at one point over the last 36 yrs, including a 10yr slot going to florida, getting a dog forced us to settle down, so now we are back to caravanning again. Our outfit is a 53 Kia Sedona 2.9 CRDi and a Compass Rallye 2000 Special Edition.
Our previous 3 caravans had the usual parralel front seating/bed arrangement but this one is an 'L' shape arrangement which I've almost got used to now, it gives a proper lounge feeling with the fire on an angle facing you.
The only problem I have with this van so far is the safety aspect of that the cooker is right beside the door which is a recipe for disaster if young ones are about. Fortunately it is usually only my husband and I are using it right now, but I shudder when I think of what could happen if the cooker top is being used and children are around. How has this occured with H&S being so prevelent? I'm not just thinking of our van, but we viewed others with the same cooker layout. Do others think the same way as me on this point?
Another thought occurred yesterday when sitting outside the van having a cuppa. Normally we put up the porch awning but as it was so windy when we arrived at our site on Friday evening we just didn't bother. I noticed the vents next to the door, one was obviously the fridge vent, the other my husband said was just an air vent, hmmmm I think it was a cooker vent. Now being a logical thinker, hence my user name of lucylogic, it got me thinking of the fumes that are coming out of these vents when using gas (usually because there are no EHU's available) or you are going self contained.
These fumes are now going into the awning when that is attached to your van, surely that is lethal !!!! And what about the people sleeping in the awning, surely not a good mix.
We've all heard stories of accidents and fatalities in awnings, caravans and tents so how has this been allowed to happen. I would welcome any advice from experts in this field,
I can't be the only person to think of these 2 problems surely. Got to say that this is only the 3rd time we've used the van since getting it just the week before August BH so never noticed this until yesterday. Any thoughts on this folks?

 

[ProfJohnL]

Hello Lucy,

If you have been a long time reader of this forum you will know I am also very concerned about gas safety in caravans. I can understand your thinking, and whilst it is true that the fumes from the fridge would find their way into the awning, what you may not appreciate is the quantity of exhaust from the fridge is actually quite small. Most fridges only use about 100W of gas, which is a rough equivalent to 2 or 3 candle flames. In the context of an awning where there are many draughts, the fumes output represents a very very small risk.

There is far greater danger from the cooker and oven, which normally vent into the caravan volume rather than the awning. Here one has to hope the designers have done their sums right, and made sure there is sufficient fixed ventilation in the caravan to adequately dilute and vent the fumes. Actually there tables for designers to refer to for the cross sectional area of vents related to the size of the burners and the number of occupants.

One can take a considerable degree of comfort from the facts that very few people actually do suffer the effects of fumes in caravans, and most often when they do its because some one has either blocked up the vents, messed with the appliance, or brought other air consuming appliances into the caravan or awning that have overwhelmed the available ventilation.

Having told you all that, you are correct to be concerned, and provided that concern is translated into ensuring the ventilation is not restricted, and the gas appliances are checked at least annually then at least you are very unlikely to suffer any fume related problems.

 

[Dustydog]

Prof

Should Lucy use a CO alarm in her awning for peace of mind?

 

[Gybe]

We also have the same sort of layout. In the confines of a caravan surely children are always going to come in to close contact with the cooker! I can't see that siting cooker by a doorway makes any safety difference at all.
On a wet cold site with caravan windows and door closed and all four hob rings on full we've never had a problem with fumes and the Carbon monoxide detector stays silent. Caravan awnings are far from being airtight structures, no matter how well we've ever put ours up there always seems to be plenty of air whistling in. If four hob rings aren't a problem inside a caravan how could a fridge exhaust vent be any danger in an 'air sieve' like awning?
We often run an additional Coleman fridge off of gas in the awning when not on EHU, no fumes are detectable with both fridges running on gas.

 

[ProfJohnL]

A very good point Dusty,
But its only realy relevant inside the caravan, I suspect it would be waste of time in the awning, unless someone bring a BBQ into it and zips it up.

 

[Raywood]

I do accept that a cooker by the door is slightly more risky than one in the middle of the kitchen but the limitations of space means that there is often little choice. You would not want one at the other end of the kitchen next to the seating as this would be worse. If you are using the hob I would use the rear rings and if only one in use the rear one furthest from the door.

 

[Lutz]

Our cooker is right next to the seating. Quite honestly, I can't imagine where else it could be unless the sink and the cooker were swapped. But then the chances are that someone sitting next to the sink would get wet while the washing up is being done.

 

[ValA.]

You can buy a 'cooker guard' which fits on the side of the cooker, and raises the height of that side by about eight inches - more than enoough to stop pans being knocked off by children. As other posters have said, wherever the cooker is in a caravan, children will be in proximity, and you have to be very vigilant when cooking to ensure the children are safe.

 

[Parksy]

I posted a link to cooker guards in Lucy's introduction topic but if she missed it here it is (click the blue text)
Another solution if there is a danger to children running in and out of the caravan when hot saucepans are on the hob would be to close the bottom half of the two part entrance door if you have the stable type fitted.

 

[Martin24]

when they're toddling they're below the height to knock things off and when they're bigger they're safer in their actions. Children need to be aware of the safety aspects of caravanning from the earliest possible age, and this needs to be regularly reinforced. There really are even more risks in the home than in the van. As far as the vents in the awning go, I've yet to have an awning that isn't well ventilated, however well it's gone up. If there was a risk then it wouldn't be done by the manufacturers.

 

[lucylogic]

Thank you all who have replied to my post. As for the placement of the cooker I still think it is in a stupid place but I agree that if you prefer a rear bathroom as I do, then there is very little other space to put it, but will invest in a cooker guard to be on the safe side. As for the fridge vent in the awning, I didn't think it would be lethal but had to have peace of mind and you have all given that to me. Actually when I think back to our 1st caravan which had gas lights I think that was more dangerous lol.