Water Tank has hole in it!

[Mick_5116680]

Hi All,
Have just returned from two weeks in North Devon.
Had a great time, but on the second day I noticed water dripping from the front corner of the van.
On inspection I found that there was water sitting in the plastic tray that the Truma water heater sits in. Called the local caravan service guy and paid him £30 to come and take a look. (Van is a 2010 Baily Pegasus, so still under warranty).
He came out and replaced the heating element O ring. This did not cure the problem.
I then noticed that the top of the heater tank was wet and that the welded seal seemed to be leaking. New heater tank was ordered and replaced. This has now cured the fault.
However, I have thinking about what may have caused this:
I would have assumed that if the weld was faulty we would have noticed this leak during the 5 weeks we have spent in the van over the last year?
I am not sure if this is linked, but I did feel that the water was getting hotter than I had previously noticed.
Question: If the water heater was not shutting off when it reached the correct temp - would this cause the tank to fail? I assume there
is some safety cut off, but could this be the root cause of the initial tank failure?
Any input would be appreciated.

Mick

 

[JTQ]

I don’t think that the thermostat not cutting out the heating could be linked to causing the leak, if the leak was due to a weld failure.. The consequence would be the water boiling which would be very evident in noise, steaming up the van, scalding water, and almost certain failure of the plastic pipework.
Is there any possible chance the boiler was not drained over the winter; I am thinking frost damage and I suspect this will be the first assumption of Bailey's warrantee assessor?

 

[ProfJohnL]

Hello Mick,

I can't tell you what has caused the tank to fail, but I am confident that is highly unliley to be the temperature of the water, Truma heaters have thermal fused and thermostats that should stop excess temperature, but even if that did happen they also have pressure relief valves. They use a stainless steel tank and they should be perfectly secure even if the water (and steam) reaches 100C.
However if the water heater was not drained over winter, the exteme cold we had earlier this year could certainly damage the heater, water when it freezes has enourmous power and if the tank were full it could certainly split it, however if that were the case I would have expected other serious evidence of the freezing.

 

[Guest]

I've not heard of this before, I do know the tank lid is 'continous resistance welded' on a machine and done right would be virtually unbustable. So given the expansion air gap at the top, even frozen water would be doubtful unless the weld was indeed faulty.

Probably just bad luck then?

 

[Mick_5116680]

Thaks for all the comments. I can confirm that the system was drained during the winter, and we have used the Van in April and it was serviced in June and all was OK (As far as I know).
When the old tank was removed, I could see two small holes in oposite sides of the weld. So I guess as you say, I was unlucky!

One more question - due to the amount of water that leaked, the fibre cover on the water system became very wet and in some areas was so wet it has fallen apart. The company that changed the tank did not have a spare cover, so the old one is still in place.
Do you think that Truma would provide a new one if I send them a letter with all the details? they will of course receive the damaged tank back from the caravan service company as part of the claim. I could then ask my usual (Bailey Agent) service company to replace it when the caravan is serviced next year.

Mick

 

[otherclive]

You may run into problems if you continue to deal with third parties directly. From the start you should have contacted the supplying dealer and discussed what action to take. If it was an emergency situation such as your holiday prevented you from returning the van to them then they could have authorised local repaires/exchange. If they had refused then you would have been within your rights to go ahead and use a third party repairer. Your claim is against the supplying dealer, if they won't honour it (assuming it was a 'not fit for purpose issue' and not frost damage) then just tell them you will be seeking redress via the Small Claims Court.

 

[Mick_5116680]

Hi,
I did contact the dealer that I purchased the van from and explained the situation to them. The company that I used on holiday was not a bailey agent, but they were a Truma agent. The repair was dome under warranty, so all I had to pay was a £30 call out fee. The company that supplied my van gave me the OK to go this route.

I just thought that perhaps a letter to Truma may convince them to supply me with the cover as part of the repair for what is obviously a faulty tank.
Mick

 

[ProfJohnL]

Hello Mick,
If you are having a repair under either the supplying dealers statorory obligations (Saleof Goods Act), or through the appliance manufactures guarantee, you shoudl expect the repair to include any damages to the affected appliance. That should include the replacement of any damaged insulation in the case of the water heater. Equally if the applaince leak caused any collateral damage because it was faulty whne it was sold to you, then the supplying dealer is obliged to rectify the faults and damage caused.

I also suggest to you try to claim for the call out charge from tour supplier, under SoGA the supplier should not charge the customer or cause the customer any unreasonable expence for identifying and repairing manufacturing faults.Whetehr this aspect would be succesful is difficult to predict as it depends on circumstances.

 

[Mick_5116680]

Well I wrote a letter to Truma explaining the situation and they phoned me straight back.
They have told me to get my local dealer to order the new part and get them to call their warranty department regarding payment.

So I am a happy Bunny - Many thanks Truma!