Truma Combi - warm-up times

[RayS]

Looking at a caravan fitted with this system - I would prefer it to full wet central heating. However we start our European trips in December/New Year and usually stop up on the plateau in Spain on the way to the sun. It can be pretty cold overnight,freezing and below.

The instruction book indicates that the heater/boiler can be run on gas and electricity together and that the electrici heaters has settings of 800 or 1800 watts. It indicates that warm up would be quicker if the 'boiler' side has no water in it, but we also want hot water so this would be full.

Many of the sites we use have only 6 amp EHU, so we could not use the 1800 watt setting.

Has anyone experience of using the Truma system under these conditions and, if so, how did it perform particularly in regard to warm up time.

 

[Hutch]

Hi Rays, I have stayed in Northern France, during winter with snow all around, on sites with only 6 amps. . Our 2013 Coachman with the Combi heater, has a setting for 4 amps and gas , 8 amps and gas , or gas or 4amp , or 8 amp,
on the 4amp and gas the water heats to 60 c in about 20 minutes but the hot air is immediate, a litle bit noisy for about 5 minutes then quietens down. Hope this helps
Hutch.

 

[RayS]

Thanks Hutch, just what I wanted to know, particularly about hot air being immediate - washing up can wait !

 

[Raywood]

We had our Lunar out last Winter with the Truma heating. You set it on the highest setting for Gas and Electricity but on ours this can pull 9 amps so you need to watch the total power you are using on other things. Leave the water turned off, I would not leave it empty as mistakes can happen, and just have the caravan heating on. If the water is not being heated I cannot see what difference it makes if the tank is full or not. It takes ours usually about 20 minutes to warm the living area to a reasonably comfortable level but the time will depend on the size of your caravan. Ours has a body length of 5.6 m, if yours is different allow for this.
The rear toilet heats up slower though and we find once we have the living area warm you need to partially close the vents there to get more heat into the toilet to get that up to heat but once there it should hold it.