Hymer C546 - Heating (1 Viewer)

[Ant from the new forest]

hi, we have just starting using our 2003 C546 and I find the manual a bit confusing !
We have a Trumatic C heater and were under the impression it worked on gas and 240V but think it only works on gas. My confusion maybe the because of the other models included in the manual - please can anyone confirm ?

 

[Bill_OR]

Ant - here's the text from a post on Outandaboutlive which may (or may not!) help your understanding. The information is from a guy called Derek Uzzell...


I remember seeing a Truma technician at an NEC Show trying to explain to someone how a C-6002EH functioned and the person’s eyes had glazed over almost immediately.

(I'll assume that you have Truma's Operating Instructions leaflet for your heater, or have downloaded the Instructions using the link flicka provided.)

Truma refers to the two rotary ‘dial’ switches as the “Control Panel” and the “Power Selector Switch”, and the simplest explanatory approach is initially to treat the dials completely separately.

Lets begin with the Control Panel...

The Control Panel switch is common to all Truma C-Series heaters. It switches the heater On or Off and allows selection of

‘Summer Mode’ – which causes the water to be heated to 40°C or 60°C, but does not turn on the blown-air fan.

‘Winter Mode A’ – blown-air heating, but water-heating does NOT take place when the blown-air fan is NOT running.

‘Winter-Mode B’ - blown-air heating, but water-heating (to 60°C) CONTINUES during periods when the blown-air fan has shut off.

Two things that need to be understood about Truma C-Series heaters – they can safely be operated empty of water and (as hallii says), when the heater contains water, the design and operating principles of the heater will cause the temperature of that water to be raised whichever ‘mode’ has been selected via the Control Panel.

If Summer Mode has been chosen the water will be heated as rapidly as the heater can do it.

If Winter Mode A has been chosen the water will be heated very slowly, as water-heating will only occur during the periods when blown-air heating is operating.

If Winter Mode B has been chosen the water will eventually reach 60°C, but this will take much longer than in Summer Mode as the air being blown through the heater will radically reduce the amount of heat that passes to the water.

So, to answer your first question, if you have selected Winter Mode A or B (and, of course, provided that there is actually water in the heater) there is no way to prevent the water from being heated to some degree as a result of the blown-air operation.

To use blown-air heating and minimise water-heating, you should select Winter Mode A, shown as a single flame on the Control Panel and marked as position “m” in the Control Panel section of the C-6002EH Operating Instructions.

Besides being an On/Off switch and Mode-selector, the Control Panel indicates (via orange, green or red LEDs) that the appliance is heating water, operating correctly, or a fault has occurred. The Control Panel is also used to control (via its rotary 1-9-marked switch) the ‘room temperature’ when Winter Mode A or B has been selected. The ‘room temperature’ is measured by a small remote thermostat and, consequently, the relationship between the actual temperature in a motorhome and the 1-9 number on the rotary switch may vary significantly according to where the motorhome manufacturer has positioned the thermostat.

On to the “Power Selector Switch”…

The clue is in the name – this 5-position switch allows you to select the type of ‘fuel’ that will power the heating operations. You can choose gas-only operation (the central single-flame position, marked “e” in the Power Selector Switch section of the C-6002EH Operating Instructions), 230V/900W operation (a single ‘wiggle’), 230V/1800W operation (a double ‘wiggle), or a mixture of gas + 230V/900W (flame + single wiggle) or of gas + 230V/1800W (flame + double wiggle).

If you select gas-only operation via the Power Selector Switch, then whichever ‘Mode’ you have chosen via the Control Panel will operate using gas alone.

If you select 230V (900W or 1800W) operation via the Power Selector Switch, then whichever ‘Mode’ you have chosen via the Control Panel will operate using 230V alone.

If you select ‘mixed' gas/230V operation via the Power Selector Switch, then whichever ‘Winter Mode’ you have chosen via the Control Panel will prioritise on 230V, using gas as well should this prove necessary (eg. if a high room temperature setting has been selected on the Control Panel, but 230V heating alone is unable to attain that temperature.) If “Summer Mode” has been selected, just 230V power will be employed to heat the water.

So the Power Selector Switch ‘rules of the road’ are…

1. If a 230V hook-up is NOT available, you’ll need to select gas-only operation via the Power Selector Switch.

2. If a 230V hook-up IS available, you can select 230V/900W or 230V/1800W operation using the hook-up’s mains power supply. A 4A hook-up mains supply will support the 900W option, while an 8A supply will be needed for 1800W heating.

3. Also, if a 230V hook-up IS available, you can select mixed gas + 230V/900W or mixed gas + 230V/1800W operation, and the same amperage requirements will apply.

In ‘mixed’ operation, when blown-air heating (Winter Mode) has been chosen via the Control Panel, a C-6002EH the heater can switch between 230V operation and 230V + gas operation. When, or if, it swaps between 230V operation and 230V + gas operation will depend on the room temperature that has been chosen via the Control Panel and the air temperature within the motorhome.


Edited by Derek Uzzell 2012-07-12 9:14 AM

 

[Lenny HB]

As standard Hymer's fit Gas Only combi's electric is an option. If it is gas only you will have a single controller if it has electric you will have a second controller.

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[Theonlysue]

Can you post a photo of the controller??

 

[Ant from the new forest]

Thank you Bill, I think we have the C 3402 model, could that be different?

Ant

 

[Bill_OR]

Ant - the Trumatic C3042 is categorised on the Trumatic website as a gas heater and you can download the manual from here - https://www.manualslib.com/products/Truma-Trumatic-C-3402-4127490.html

Just to confuse things the manual does state (as @Lenny HB said) that there is an option for electric heating - but note that it is an option so may not be present on your system.

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[Ant from the new forest]

Here's a photo of the controller.

 

[Forestboy]

@Ant from the new forest
Ours is a 2002 Hymer with a separate switch alongside the Truma C controller to turn it onto electric my son has the same as yours without the separate switch and works on gas only.
Can't take a pic it's not here at the moment.

 

[Kim H]

Here's a photo of the controller.

Ours is the same, it's gas only heating.

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[Theonlysue]

I think it's gas only.
From the top.
Top 60 is water at 60 degrees, kills legionaries.
Next is water at 40 degrees.
Middle is off.
Then heating only.
Bottom one is heating and hot water at 60 degrees.
The numbers reflect the temperature of the heating. Try and see what suits.
Mine was about 22 degrees on number 7.

 

[Ant from the new forest]

Thank you all - you have clarified it for me. Cheers, Anthony