- Nov 19, 2019
- 793
- 2,605
- Funster No
- 66,935
- MH
- Challenger 287GA
- Exp
- Since 2020
Hello all!
So back onto my great "winterisation project"! Work has started on making our Challenger 287GA useable throughout the year iun both our Polish climate as well as for Scandinavian/Skiing winter holidays. Step one was to fit a 14kg refillable LPG system, which just fit into our gas locker! Step 2 is to winterise our underslung grey tank. Our long-suffering moho mechanic Darek has proposed 3 different options which i shall list below:
1 - Fit 2 heating pads onto the bottom of the grey tank and then insulate the tank using suitable foam. By suitable I should add that i mean that the foam does not absorb water/fuel/salt from the road whilst driving.
2 - As above, but also fit a lightweight aluminium "box" construction around the whole assembly to stop any contact with the foam from road contamination.
3 - Construct an aluminium box lined with foam insulation of a size slightly larger than the existing grey tank. Fit this around the grey tank and tap into the existing heating trunking to provide a hot air source into the "box" which would pump an adjustable amount of hot air around the grey tank when the heating is in operation.
I should add that the cost for all three options is pretty similar and also that cost is secondary to having a system which works and fulfils our needs. My own thought is that option 3 is the best option as we are not increasing our electrical draw by having heat mats fitted and are simply using an existing hot air supply which it is reasonable to assume would be running anyway if we are concerned with having water freeze. I know from our recent browsing/buying that Adria use a similar system to (3) with the air control system fitted into the garage.
Does anyone have any thoughts on the above? Or if you have an Adria van with system (3) fitted could you offer any feedback as to its operation and efficacy? As always, many thanks for any thoughts or opinions you can offer me!
So back onto my great "winterisation project"! Work has started on making our Challenger 287GA useable throughout the year iun both our Polish climate as well as for Scandinavian/Skiing winter holidays. Step one was to fit a 14kg refillable LPG system, which just fit into our gas locker! Step 2 is to winterise our underslung grey tank. Our long-suffering moho mechanic Darek has proposed 3 different options which i shall list below:
1 - Fit 2 heating pads onto the bottom of the grey tank and then insulate the tank using suitable foam. By suitable I should add that i mean that the foam does not absorb water/fuel/salt from the road whilst driving.
2 - As above, but also fit a lightweight aluminium "box" construction around the whole assembly to stop any contact with the foam from road contamination.
3 - Construct an aluminium box lined with foam insulation of a size slightly larger than the existing grey tank. Fit this around the grey tank and tap into the existing heating trunking to provide a hot air source into the "box" which would pump an adjustable amount of hot air around the grey tank when the heating is in operation.
I should add that the cost for all three options is pretty similar and also that cost is secondary to having a system which works and fulfils our needs. My own thought is that option 3 is the best option as we are not increasing our electrical draw by having heat mats fitted and are simply using an existing hot air supply which it is reasonable to assume would be running anyway if we are concerned with having water freeze. I know from our recent browsing/buying that Adria use a similar system to (3) with the air control system fitted into the garage.
Does anyone have any thoughts on the above? Or if you have an Adria van with system (3) fitted could you offer any feedback as to its operation and efficacy? As always, many thanks for any thoughts or opinions you can offer me!
