Beginner heating and hot water questions

[RubyOptics]

Hello again and happy new year to you all! My search for a van continues...feel like I'm making some progress and I'm looking to hire a van in the year range I'm looking at (mid to late 90's) over the Easter holidays.
For now though, I was hoping someone could answer a few (probably basic) questions for me? All the vans I'm looking at seem to have the Truma heating/hot water systems fitted. Can these systems be fed from both gas and electricity? Or is it one or the other? If they can be fed from multiple supplies...is the changeover between power sources automatic or do I manually change this over?
I must plead ignorance to the name of the exact systems I have seen (to be honest, the exact system never seems to be listed in any of the adverts I have seen), but they all seem to be of the black rotary dial type if this is of any help?
Sorry again for the vagueness of my question, but hopefully there is enough information there to give some of you enough to go on! Many thanks as always to you all and again my best wishes for a wonderful new year to you all.

 

[denisejoe]

It varies from van to van. Some are gas only, some are gas or electric and can be used at the same time to boost the heating. It will be changed by the dial. Obviously when you buy a van you find out all this sort of thing on handover.

Denise

 

[David and Sally]

Trumas can be Gas, Electric or a Mix of both. They can run both at the same time for faster warm-up.
Ours is set by the rotary dial to whtever we choose. It does not auto switch from one to the other.

Another often asked question is can you have heat with no water in the boiler (winter drain-down). The answer is Yes. It can run heat whilst drained of water.

Hope this helps.

 

[RubyOptics]

David and Sally thank you so much for such a quick and comprehensive answer! Very helpful indeed.

 

[Lenny HB]

On Truma's gas and electric is manual selection.
UK supplied vans normally have the electric option. Most vans supplied in mainland Europe as gas only, electric is an option.

We are on our third van only ever had gas only never felt the need for electric.

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[RubyOptics]

Lenny HB Ahh, that's also really helpful. I've been looking at a number of posts which show a small {orange i think) switch on the top right corner, which i assume is for selecting the different supplies? I was looking on mobile.de (as I live in central Europe at the moment) and the lack of this switch was one of the reasons for me posting my question for some clarification. Thanks so much for taking the time to help out a complete beginner! If I may ask (and I do realise this might be a "how long is a piece of string" question...but what kind of gas usage would i be looking at per day to run the heating overnight with a couple of hours hot water in the morning?

 

[David and Sally]

Lenny HB Ahh, that's also really helpful. I've been looking at a number of posts which show a small {orange i think) switch on the top right corner, which i assume is for selecting the different supplies? I was looking on mobile.de (as I live in central Europe at the moment) and the lack of this switch was one of the reasons for me posting my question for some clarification. Thanks so much for taking the time to help out a complete beginner! If I may ask (and I do realise this might be a "how long is a piece of string" question...but what kind of gas usage would i be looking at per day to run the heating overnight with a couple of hours hot water in the morning?

<Broken link removed>

Ours is the 6e. Consumption figures in the table

 

[RubyOptics]

Thanks, but I don't think the vans I'm looking at will have anything that modern fitted! May well help to give a ballpark figure though!

 

[Lenny HB]

Lenny HB Ahh, that's also really helpful. I've been looking at a number of posts which show a small {orange i think) switch on the top right corner, which i assume is for selecting the different supplies? I was looking on mobile.de (as I live in central Europe at the moment) and the lack of this switch was one of the reasons for me posting my question for some clarification. Thanks so much for taking the time to help out a complete beginner! If I may ask (and I do realise this might be a "how long is a piece of string" question...but what kind of gas usage would i be looking at per day to run the heating overnight with a couple of hours hot water in the morning?

Definitely how long is a piece of string, we do most of our winter camping in Spain so we don't use much gas, also we never run heating overnight. At a guess probably around 4-5 days would use an 11 kg bottle but Poland can be quite cold so may more. nicholsong will have a better idea.

 

[Lot lover]

We have a 1999 Truma system gas only. When we stay on sites we use their electric to run a fan heater.

Gas usage, hot water only for washing up, washing us about 7 weeks from 13 kg propane. If using hot air central heating it only lasts for a few days.

I have no experience of electric powered heating but have heard complaints that it is slow and puny.

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[RubyOptics]

Without having hired a van yet, everything is a bit guesswork at the moment. The usage I envisage is using the van mostly at weekends during the autumn and winter months. During the summer for 2-3 weeks somewhere warm. I would certainly consider a re-fillable bottle system running off LPG to be a fairly urgent upgrade, but that I can of course sort out later on. Thank you for all your helpful comments and suggestions.

 

[Landy Andy]

This is the controls that I have.

This shows that the boiler in my case can run on gas, electric (two power consumptions), or a combination of both.

Two of us Black Forest Germany for Xmas fridge, cooking and heating 11kg Gasit bottle in 7-10 days.

 

[Reallyretired]

Bear in mind that even on the higher electric setting it is still quite puny. If you want decent amounts of heat the gas heating is essential.

 

[Sundowners]

Alde heating is also very popular---- I don't know about all but our's is LPG/mains and from the engine when on the roads----- the big difference is that it runs radiators like a house---- not blown air. You don't have to have a modern van to get it as alde have been around for donkeys years!!--- ours is 2002
We have an underslung LPG tank which you could also look for.
Good luck with your search.
Have you a size that you are aiming for??

 

[RubyOptics]

Sundowners the size is the thing causing me the most headaches to be honest! We live just outside of Warsaw in Poland, so I have in mind being able to pop to Germany whenever we want for a long weekend, the same with the Czech Republic or Slovakia. Then maybe looking at France, Spain etc for longer holidays. The thing is, we have two kids, and whilst we have decided that they probably enjoy being under canvas (so we will take a smaller tent for them to sleep in on site in the summer holidays) I personally would like to be able to use the van to go into cities etc. We attended the Warsaw motorhome expo during the summer, which was really useful. I still find myself being torn between a smaller PVC type van (such as the 1994 Hymer-Car) or small coachbuilt with the overcab bed. Don't really know at this point, but i do know that I'll need a total of 4 seating spaces with full 3-point seat-belts with a budget of around 10k. A lot to ask, i know!!

Edit - this is the hymercar series I'm considering Broken Link Removed

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[Lenny HB]

That one looks nice and clean for the age. I never knew Hymer made PVC's back then. Looks like a forerunner to the 1st Exsis.

 

[RubyOptics]

It does look in decent nick, the issue is that with no external gas locker I'm assuming it's going to have a tiny internal cylinder. I'm in the process of trying to look at under body plans of Ducato Vans od that period to see if an under slung LPG tank would be possible. Still leaves the seatbelt problem though!

 

[Lenny HB]

Most German PVC@ have 2 x 11 kg cylinders usually inside a cupboard behind the rear doors.
The link is not working now I wonder if it has been sold.

 

[OG1]

We have a Rapido 7066F. lovely van with single beds. The only drawback was the controls where below one of the beds, so you had to lay on the floor to adjust the controls. Managed to purchased a extension lead. Problem solved can now stand by the toilet door and adjust the controls. Like the picture, have printed a cope off, just to remind me what to do.

 

[Gary Molloy]

I have a fiat ducato and the water heater runs off gas and electricity.i've just had to LPG bottles fitted to the gas bottle storage costing £450 and getting underslung tank fitted costs about £550.if your travelling in Europe more than 10 days then LPG is the only economical way to go.campsites you can use a small electric fan heater.i also have 3 leisure batteries giving me 310A.power is the problem and I'm relatively new.but you learn as you go and still have alot to learn.i think a portable solar panel is the next purchase.good luck with your van.?