CAK Tanks auto defrost element (1 Viewer)

[jonandshell]

How about a regular dose of salt in the tank to help lower the water freezing point?

I believe that some folks do that already, but salt stops working at quite warm temperatures as they found out the winter before last!
The object of the modification was to keep things hassle free. Having to muck about worrying about putting stuff through the system seems like more hassle to me!

 

[jonandshell]

Update time!!!

The system worked well and all contents of the tank came out as planned!
I emptied the tank every three days. Temperatures were between -2 down to -16 during our stay.
Based on calculations, the manufacturers claims regarding power consumption seem accurate.
As anticipated, an hours run daily kept our batteries topped up. For the last 3 days, I let the battery bank discharge prior to the drive home.
I changed the gate valve for new one since the cold store test and this has caused problems. The new valve seems more prone to freezing shut and a saucepan of boiling water underneath was required on two occasions! I plan to skellitonise the valve body with a dremmel to prevent ice accumulation in the works!

Conclusions? Less hassle than buckets!

 

[jonandshell]

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[mjltigger]

That's a result then. Nice one.

 

[TheDentons]

It's a bit off topic but can you give us some information on your batteries

 

[jonandshell]

It's a bit off topic but can you give us some information on your batteries

The batteries are Dyno 30HH 115 Ah 12V traction monoblocs.
They are an open design, so they need to go somewhere well ventilated to avoid explosive gas concentrations! They are the sort of thing used on golf carts, floor sweepers, electric pallet trucks, etc. Other brands include Trojan.

The advantage of traction batteries over standard 'leisure' types is that you can safely discharge them down to 80% (11.66 open circuit volts) over and over again without drastically shortening their working life. This gives you more useable power to start with. Our batteries are 7 years old in May and still have full capacity.

To take full advantage of this battery type, you really need a Sterling Power Products B2B or A2B charging system fitted otherwise they never get fully and correctly charged,

Just Car Batteries are a reputable dealer-

http://www.justcarbatteries.co.uk/specialist-batteries/dyno-specialist-batteries.html

It is worth surfing Motorhomefun using the search facility for this subject.

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[TheDentons]

Sorry to be a pain but are your batteries inside the van or technically outside as the gas locker for example looking to upgrade our leisure system as we found our truma 6 a bit heavy on the batteries

 

[DBK]

Many thanks for the update, very interesting. In the picture showing the water draining away it doesn't look as if you have any insulation directly under the valve. Could you make some sort of flap which covered the valve outlet until needed?

 

[jonandshell]

Many thanks for the update, very interesting. In the picture showing the water draining away it doesn't look as if you have any insulation directly under the valve. Could you make some sort of flap which covered the valve outlet until needed?

I have considered it.
I have some sticky Velcro and spare insulation sheet. It could be worth a try.
I have skeletonised the slide valve now, so I will check the effect of that first and take some bits to make a flap out on the next ski trip in a few weeks.

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