Has anyone experienced the draw above the truma heating melt, Swift say they have no reports of this but he dealer said he has seen three. Swift and the dealer suggest keeping the fan on to distribute heating away from the fire but as we rally we try save the battery as much as possible, are they saying the Challenger is not suitable for ralling
Swift Challeger 580
- Thread starter Rudi
- Start date
Hi Rudi,
I am aware that your dealer contacted us, regarding the melted draw. We confirmed that there should be a gap between the Truma space heater and the protective board, used to stop the heat transferring directly to draw above.
As I am sure you are aware, the heat from the Truma can reach nearly 90 degrees C, and therefore, if the space heater is used for long periods of time, I would suggest the fan at the rear of the space heater is used, to avoid heat build-up around the space heater and to achieve a more uniform heating in the caravan.
The TEB-2 fan itself (12V) consumes as low as 0.3A, and while I appreciate power consumption is critical when wild camping, I would suggest this small amount consumption is worth using, to achieve better heating in the caravan.
Thanks,
Ash
I am aware that your dealer contacted us, regarding the melted draw. We confirmed that there should be a gap between the Truma space heater and the protective board, used to stop the heat transferring directly to draw above.
As I am sure you are aware, the heat from the Truma can reach nearly 90 degrees C, and therefore, if the space heater is used for long periods of time, I would suggest the fan at the rear of the space heater is used, to avoid heat build-up around the space heater and to achieve a more uniform heating in the caravan.
The TEB-2 fan itself (12V) consumes as low as 0.3A, and while I appreciate power consumption is critical when wild camping, I would suggest this small amount consumption is worth using, to achieve better heating in the caravan.
Thanks,
Ash
Ash, I am a swift group owner this being my 3rd new swift group van, however I must say that this is not good and I quote
the Truma can reach nearly 90 degrees C, and therefore, if the space heater is used for long periods of time, I would suggest the fan at the rear of the space heater is used, to avoid heat build-up around the space heater.
If the heat build up is so much around the rear of the fire I would have thought that ventilation would have been built in to disperse some of the heat. one shouldnt have to put the blowers on to stop the draw from melting.
I too have a draw above my fire but seems that there is a larger gap between the top of the fire and the draw,from what I see from photos on the net if I suffered with this melting draw Id be none too pleased
Kevin
the Truma can reach nearly 90 degrees C, and therefore, if the space heater is used for long periods of time, I would suggest the fan at the rear of the space heater is used, to avoid heat build-up around the space heater.
If the heat build up is so much around the rear of the fire I would have thought that ventilation would have been built in to disperse some of the heat. one shouldnt have to put the blowers on to stop the draw from melting.
I too have a draw above my fire but seems that there is a larger gap between the top of the fire and the draw,from what I see from photos on the net if I suffered with this melting draw Id be none too pleased
Kevin
Hi Trucker,
I can understand Rudis concerns, and as explained, there is a large gap at the top of the heater, and an extra panel, to allow the heat to escape and offer protection to the draw. Any combustion within the caravan should be, and is, ventilated, both through the appliance itself and around the furniture we build.
The Truma Space Heater is designed to transfer the heat both through the front panel and through the air outlets. Some heat will be extracted through the air outlets naturally, but to increase the transfer rate of heat, the TEB 12V fan should be used. Please bear in mind that ABS has a VICAT softening temperature of over 100 degrees C, which is higher than the maximum output of the space heater, so heat must have been building in that area for some time.
The alternative option, if Rudi does not want to use the TEB fan, is to reduce the heat generated by the Space Heater, using the Truma Controls.
Of course, the other important factor is to ensure the draw is fully closed, when the heater is on, as significant amounts of heat escape from the front of the fire and the ventilation gap at the top. This maybe the cause of the "other" cases, referred to in Rudis post.
Thanks,
Ash
I can understand Rudis concerns, and as explained, there is a large gap at the top of the heater, and an extra panel, to allow the heat to escape and offer protection to the draw. Any combustion within the caravan should be, and is, ventilated, both through the appliance itself and around the furniture we build.
The Truma Space Heater is designed to transfer the heat both through the front panel and through the air outlets. Some heat will be extracted through the air outlets naturally, but to increase the transfer rate of heat, the TEB 12V fan should be used. Please bear in mind that ABS has a VICAT softening temperature of over 100 degrees C, which is higher than the maximum output of the space heater, so heat must have been building in that area for some time.
The alternative option, if Rudi does not want to use the TEB fan, is to reduce the heat generated by the Space Heater, using the Truma Controls.
Of course, the other important factor is to ensure the draw is fully closed, when the heater is on, as significant amounts of heat escape from the front of the fire and the ventilation gap at the top. This maybe the cause of the "other" cases, referred to in Rudis post.
Thanks,
Ash
Mel, no were not,
The space heater and the area at the back of the unit do get hot as Ash has said and as you would expect. This is the same whether the heater is in a wardrobe or dresser unit. We fit a protective board between the drawer and the heater and have done this for many years on thousands of vans. The drawer doesn't melt and liquify but can potentially distort if they get too hot. But to do this this the heater has to be on high for some time
Andy
The space heater and the area at the back of the unit do get hot as Ash has said and as you would expect. This is the same whether the heater is in a wardrobe or dresser unit. We fit a protective board between the drawer and the heater and have done this for many years on thousands of vans. The drawer doesn't melt and liquify but can potentially distort if they get too hot. But to do this this the heater has to be on high for some time
Andy
It's Mrs Rudy here - yes, the heating was on high for a while - this was because it was over the New Year period, we were sitting in a school playground, and strangely enough we thought the van was suitable for rallying in England all year round - our dealers knew we go rallying all year round. There was nothing in the Swift owners' manual to warn you that the fan should be on if you have the heating on a high setting. In our previous van we had the heating on at the same setting, without the necessity of using the fan.
i always use the fan on the heater, but we are new to caravanning......why would you not want to use the fan, not being naive here but just curious does not using the fan benefit the heat output ? but on a more important note if there is a fault could it be a thermo fault on the heater, regards Terry
Mrs. R again - well we wouldn't use the fan because we are usually on CL or rally sites, and obviously trying to use as little electricity as possible. We have just got the van back - again - from the dealer, the drawer appears to be completely different to the one we had before so hopefully THAT particular problem has been sorted. however we still have problems with the lights interfering with the radio and also although the dealer knew about it the supports under the bed have still not been sorted. So again another 60 miles round trip to get it sorted - this is only my opinion, but I wish we had never bought this van and had stuck with our old one, because of all the problems. Once we are back in the swing of things I hope my opinion will change, but at the moment it has just been one problem afte another.
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