Blown Heating (1 Viewer)

[Haaamster]

Hi all, I have recently got into motorhoming, in august I bought a 15 year old Fiat Riviera in fantastic condition. Now like everybody else on here I love my van and have even given him a name (Bertie), it has everything I need with the exception of blown heating.
I'm fairly good with a spanner and would like to give it a go at fitting it myself. Can anyone give me a few pointers as to what gear to buy , where from and how much of a task I am letting myself in for.
Many thanks in advance.

 

[artona]

look at propex 2000 - approx £425

work out where to fit it, you need to be able to drill two holes through the floor for the .75 metre long flexi metal piping air inlet and exhaust pipes which then need to run away from each other under the van and obviously not forwards, plans come with the propex for the holes. Run a gas pipe to the unit and connect

fit the thermostat cable to the five pin socket, fit the 12volt cable to cn24 not the three pin socket next to the thermostat socket. Run the 12 volt cable to a fuse then to the battery, run the thermostat cable to the actual thermostat which needs to be between waist and shoulder height.

Switch on and hope you have done it right. I haven't done that bit yet

stew

 

[iceni]

Hi
I would decide if you want gas only or gas and electric and also if you want a hot water boiler as well. You can then decide which unit to buy,

hen download the manual fromn the company web site eg Truma and read up on how to do it.

The flue side of things are fairly inportant. the flue cannot be directlty under a window...or if it is there has to be a switch to turn the unit off if the window is opened. A look round vans at the nec in feb revealed quite a few who didnt conform to this.

The rest is down to planning and taking your time. when finished go to a dealer and get a drop test done on the gas system in case theres any leaks.

Hope this is useful info

Phill

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[artona]

ah yes, if you have not got one you need a drop vent, another hole through the floor. You should have one in all areas you have a gas fitting. This allows any leaked gas to escape

 

[froghopper]

heater

TO ICENI, ref the comment you made about vent, in the better weather we leave the window on first catch, but first thing pop heating on, often my lady said she felt a bit iffy,, never gave it a thought,, just looked at mine, 1999 autocruise, vent under window, thanks, and worth a look folks,
another gem for free ,, just think, could have bumped her off ,, ooooooooops

 

[Haaamster]

Some great answers here, thanks to all. Stew that looks exactely what I am after and it looks quite easy to fit but i'm sure you will tell me otherwise..
I already have a water heater but would it be better to replace the one I have with one that does both water and heating or would it be better just to add the blown heating.:Blush:

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[Geo]

You might also look at caravan breakers for a used unit at a fraction of the cost:thumb:

 

[gogocrosby]

Just a thought. If it is fitted with a Truma convection heater you can buy the kit to add a fan and trunking to it to convert to blown air.

 

[Spacerunner]

Look at caravan heaters. I fitted a through-the-floor balanced flue heater to a caravan. Quite easy, although cutting a large hole in the floor was scary. You can then add a blown air system easily. Just make sure you pre-plan the trunking layout properly to distribute not only the warm air vents but using the warm trunking to prevent cold pockets. Try to lay the trunking close to water pipes to prevent freezing on cold nights.

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[Haaamster]

Wow Geo I never even knew caravan breakers existed, I thought Jeremy Clarkson got rid of all the old ones. I will look at the existing water heater I have to see if a blower can be added but once again thanks everyone for helping out a newbie. :thumb:

 

[Bulletguy]

Hi all, I have recently got into motorhoming, in august I bought a 15 year old Fiat Riviera in fantastic condition.....it has everything I need with the exception of blown heating.
I'm fairly good with a spanner and would like to give it a go at fitting it myself.

If your van is diesel engine i'd definately go for an Eberspacher or Webasto. Both are diesel powered blown air and extremely super efficient.......hence the reason they also don't come cheap! Expect to pay anywhere from £800 up.

Worth looking on eBay for used. There are a few Eberspacher currently on now....have a look at this to give you some idea. eBay no. 320494704446

I once saw one in a Transit which was in a breakers yard. But if you ever spot one in a place like that....get your spanners out quick because it won't be there for long. The one I saw had been taken out by the next day.

 

[artona]

Yep we spent a lot of time looking at caravan breakers but I realsied that you have no idea of the age or condition until you actually see it and we wasted days travelling and looking at rubbish 25 years old.

One breaker told me he regularly got £300 for a carver 3000 and yet you can buy the brand new version (not carver, I think they went out of business 10 years ago)
for not a lot more

The propex was very easy to fit Haaamster

stew

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