Hot water and winter use.

[Smarty Marty]

Greetings, in the summer I brought a Adria twin. (2007 model) PVC. Have been really pleased so far. My problem is we are are at the moment and the camp site has just told us no hot water in the washing up block. I have drained all the water out of the system pre winter. (white and grey tanks) Can I fill up the system and as long as keep the hot water heated by the truma boiler, be able to use? We plan to use all through the winter but have no storage at home so assume would have to drain down after each trip or alternatively leave the gas heating/water on constantly when parked up between trips. Any advice would be much appreciated. Thanks
Smartiemartie

 

[EuroTrotters]

Yes, you can keep the water heated (inside) with the Truma. But how long for ? just your stay?.

Yes, you will have to drain down if you are not going to use it for very long period.

 

[TUCANO]

My van is in storage over winter as I rarely use it then, however, on the odd occasion that I choose to use it I simply fill a number of 5 litre containers of water and heat with a kettle as required.
I obviously have no van heating then of course, although I have been told that it is possible to have heating without any water I am not too certain as to how that operates

 

[two]

Yes, use it "as normal", and enjoy the comfort. You should have no problem while the van is in use and heated.
Check that the automatic dump valve is closed. You need to reset it if it has triggered, or the water will pour to the ground as you try to fill up. As it's been very mild, the valve may not yet have opened but it'll trigger whether water is in the system or not if the temperature ever drops towards freezing.
It's always better to drain down properly in winter, rather than rely on the dump valve. Draining down should remove water from taps, pump and filter housing, which can be costly to replace if frost-damaged. Just remember to switch the pump off whilst 'winterised' and remember to reset the dump valve just before re-use.

 

[Smarty Marty]

Thanks for the information .Regards Martin

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[Allanm]

Depending on where the dump valve is located, just operating the water heater should be ok. If the dump valve is located next to a warm air duct away from the boiler, you will need the heater on to keep the valve warm

We use our van all year round and never drain the water.

 

[rosalan]

I think I read that the 'dump' valve operates at around +10c, which is colder than most people would have if staying in the van. So you do not have to be running the heater all of the time to keep the valve closed. You can of course cheat with an old clothes peg to keep the dump valve closed if you are confident the heater will never encounter freezing; if it should freeze you would be stuffed.

 

[TerryL]

Yes, don't forget to close/reset the boiler dump valve.

Just filled my fresh water tank ready for the off on Monday - twice!

 

[Allanm]

I think I read that the 'dump' valve operates at around +10c, which is colder than most people would have if staying in the van. So you do not have to be running the heater all of the time to keep the valve closed. You can of course cheat with an old clothes peg to keep the dump valve closed if you are confident the heater will never encounter freezing; if it should freeze you would be stuffed.

Ours is supposed to operate at 6 degrees C, I think this is the normal figure.
We had these valves on two vans and neither operated when the outside temperature was near 0 C so the van insulation must work well.
We always set the heating to 10 degrees when we are not using the van