Moan... Warranties what's the point... (1 Viewer)

[Robert Clark]

Well done - its great when you can fix things yourself

 

[Silkcut1105]

well done but to be honest i would prefer to do all repairs and maintenance work on my van myself , i can only blame myself if it goes tits up warranties are a complete waste of time unless you only live local to your dealer, i know brownhills havent got a good name anymore ,but in 1999 i bought a brand new scout of them ,had a few issues with faulty parts in the first 3 months .and to be honest they were fantastic just send them a photo of faulty parts and it was always in the next days post ,if it was in stock .so to get back to pauls issue ,always do your own repairs you know its done correctly and you will feel happier

 

[funflair]

Good job Paul @haganap you said Dometic? is it a Dometic or Thetford oven? It says Spinflo which I thought was Thetford.

Martin

 

[Viennese]

I think Dometic bought Thetford out. It's great when you can do repairs yourself, I can't, but have been lucky enough to find a local converter who can do lots of jobs. I've known him since he was about 8 years old, and know his parents too, and do trust him to do a good job.

 

[JockandRita]

Having done loads of research and spoken with Dometic the problem was either a Thermocouple or The control valve. Total cost of parts was £80.

I therefore took the oven out disconnected it all. Held in by about 9 screws, some pipe work and of course some electrics. All disconnected I placed in my workshop (utility room) and began dismantling everything.
Cleaned everything up, replaced, ignitor for grill, Control Valve, thermocouple and put it all back together, stuck back in the van and I can now have toast and roast meat....


just got to carry out a gas leak test and hopefully all is well.

Total cost £80 and about 4 hours of graft..

Nice one Paul.

I'm another advocate of doing the jobs yourself, and as long as I am able to, I will do, whilst maintaining a level of respect for all things gas and electric (12v & 240v).

I carry spares for our ageing AES fridge/freezer, as they are becoming obsolete, according to Dometic.

2 x slices of hot buttered toast, next time we meet please.

Cheers,

Jock.

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[haganap]

@funflair yes sorry, Thetford Spinflo,,, slightly more useless than the Dmoetic version

 

[stewartwebr]

Well done. I owned my N&B Flair for just over 2 years and the oven never worked, it was a complete waste of time. It had goodness knows how many thermocouple changed, it had a number of fans fitted to the rear and a few Thetford solutions which resolved nothing. The oven in my opinion is unfit for purpose and simply does not work. How hard is it to get a gas oven to function.

 

[gerry mcg]

Well done.!
Serious question.... Are you able to work on a gas oven without being gas safe registered? I know gas safe does apply to MH, but is fiddling with a gas oven not a bit dodgy...
No disrespect intended about your capabilities...

 

[haganap]

Well done.!
Serious question.... Are you able to work on a gas oven without being gas safe registered? I know gas safe does apply to MH, but is fiddling with a gas oven not a bit dodgy...
No disrespect intended about your capabilities...

wow, all these posts and I was expecting this question pages back... You are of course correct to ask, there is no law against it as it's my own vehicle however I can not come and do yours, in fact I am a nurse so no little about gas... What I am though is someone experienced at DIY and a great deal of common sense. The oven removal is very straight forward consisting of about 8 screws. This is/was followed by the removal of the inflow gas pipe to the oven which then with some electrical removal allowed me to bring the oven out.
I removed and replaced the thermocouple which is a straight forward job to replace. I then disconnected the gas feeds from the oven valve, cleaned and then re-seated this was part of the main oven control valve replacement. I then tightened everything up and used a gas pressure test outside of the vehicle to check the valve worked. In short this was a gas bottle connected straight through with leak detector bought from srewfix to ensure the connections were sound. I then having established there was no leaks replaced the oven in to the van and reconnected to the main feed. Having done this I then gas sprayed and ensured all was tight and therefore ensuring that everything was connected completely before reconnecting the electrics and securing back in the van. Fully tested and ensuring it was all OK I have a friend (who is qualified) to carry out a gas pressure/leak test ensuring all is ok and it was...

Hope this answers your very valid question.

 

[gerry mcg]

Thanks... I meant to say 'I know gas safe does not apply to MH" in my post, (damn auto correct!) but you got the jist.
I was happy enough to fit my gaslow system myself and did my own DIY checks, but felt much happier once I got it formally checked as gas tight by a Gas engineer.

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[Basildog]

Thanks... I meant to say 'I know gas safe does not apply to MH" in my post, (damn auto correct!) but you got the jist.
I was happy enough to fit my gaslow system myself and did my own DIY checks, but felt much happier once I got it formally checked as gas tight by a Gas engineer.

Why does everyone insist on calling them Gas Safe Engineers ?
I am Gas Safe registered but am in no way an engineer, just a bloke that does gas work
I have let my lpg lapse and can't decide whether to bother doing it again , might get to it one day as keep toying with doing a mobile testing service as it often seems there could be a market .

 

[gerry mcg]

Why does everyone insist on calling them Gas Safe Engineers ?
I am Gas Safe registered but am in no way an engineer, just a bloke that does gas work .

Because I'm lazy and I can't be arsed to make up a word to describe them.
As far as I am concerned, you are not an "engineer" unless you have a university degree in an engineering discipline. It should be a protected title.

So.... No more "washing machines engineer", "central heating engineers" etc

 

[Basildog]

Yes

Because I'm lazy and I can't be arsed to make up a word to describe them.
As far as I am concerned, you are not an "engineer" unless you have a university degree in an engineering discipline. It should be a protected title.

So.... No more "washing machines engineer", "central heating engineers" etc

That's what we say that we are plumbers that do gas not engineers , as you say without the years of study and formal qualifications it is denigrating the real engineers.

 

[BusyBuilder]

When I worked for ICI Engineering dept all engineers had full university qualifications in whatever they were, chemical, structural, civil etc.
Then we were sold off to Kavaerner (Norwegian engineering comp) and our new manager called himself an engineer. I asked him whet he was qualified in ? I'm an engineer he replied.....yes of course he was....in his dreams, he had less qualifications than me (HNC in Building Studies).

 

[PeteH]

Grrrrrr!.. One of the things that most Pee me off. Are the Technicians who however "competent", Describe themselves as "Engineers". We had "fitters" back it the day, who where competent and skilled people. BUT they did not qualify as Engineers. I am I Mar,Est. (the old M-I Mar E) Member, something requiring a Degree or degree level equivalent to even be accepted!. As such we certified many of the Training Institutions and Facilities where such "technicians" are Trained, as well as Power Stations, Boilers and High Pressure Gas facilities. I have watched some of the youngsters who come to "service" my gas heating, they are not always aware of the principles involved with the equipment they are working on!. Most of the time, it is "OK it not working, consult computer, and fit new part". They no longer ask, "why does it not work". sometimes it can take the replacement of several items before it works correctly.

As for caravan ovens, there was a similar issue with "Spinflow" Oven/Hobs back in the 90`s, where the answer involved replacement of the whole Control knobs, pipework, because of the wrong type of Nitrile rubber used in the sealing "O" rings. As the Control valves where pressed together during manufacture they could not just replace the rings.

I suspect that Hagnaps dealer is the same one I am currently having a battle with over a Failed Front Blind, not picked up on PDI (or more likely, deliberately overlooked!) which they want me to pay for!. Their excuse being "I signed the inspection form". We will see how Trading Standards look at that, My view is that it is "Not of Merchantable Quality".

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[stewartwebr]

Is your oven part of a tech tower?

If it is then you may find its a problem with the fans. We bought two N&B motorhomes and both had major problems with the oven and grill which sound very similar to those you describe. Ours were in a tech tower with the fridge at the bottom, oven above that and microwave at the top.

We visited the dealer (450 mile round trip) so many times we lost count. Each time the problem was 'fixed' the same thing happened again after a couple of uses.

It may be worth going back to the dealer as it may not be down to the thermocouple.

Don't want to sound padantic and only correcting for clarity of anyone reading the posts in future. A tech tower is the all in one unit made by Dometic. The installation in the N&B was termed UK Spec Fridge was three in dependant units, consisting of Thetford Fridge with removable internal freezer compartment, above this is the Theford Oven/Grill (complete pile of junk) and above that an excellent Microwave. In some cases the oven was replaced with a Dometic oven and current 2018 models appear to have Dometic oven replacing the Thetford.
The Thetford oven issue was not just an N&B issue, it appears the product design was the issue, there was no way of removing the heat from around the outside of the oven. Unlike the Dometic Tech Tower Oven which is vented through the roof, the Thetford had no vent. I assume that was why it was selected as it sat in the middle of the N&B set up and no way of running roof vent past the above microwave. The solution was to fit 12 Volt fans behind the oven to blow the hot air out. Unfortunately, despite a huge bank of 4 fans behind mine it was still not sufficient to prevent the thermal trips activating. The design of the oven in terms of oven size, sliding door etc was excellent, such a shame it would not heat food.
I tried and tried with visits to N&B in UK and Polch and to Thetford factory and the oven never once worked more then once after a visit. I feel sorry for who ever has the van now.
I assume N&B got tired of the issue and has ditched the product as 2018 models have the Dometic oven.

 

[stewartwebr]

Grrrrrr!.. One of the things that most Pee me off. Are the Technicians who however "competent", Describe themselves as "Engineers". We had "fitters" back it the day, who where competent and skilled people. BUT they did not qualify as Engineers. I am I Mar,Est. (the old M-I Mar E) Member, something requiring a Degree or degree level equivalent to even be accepted!. As such we certified many of the Training Institutions and Facilities where such "technicians" are Trained, as well as Power Stations, Boilers and High Pressure Gas facilities. I have watched some of the youngsters who come to "service" my gas heating, they are not always aware of the principles involved with the equipment they are working on!. Most of the time, it is "OK it not working, consult computer, and fit new part". They no longer ask, "why does it not work". sometimes it can take the replacement of several items before it works correctly.

As for caravan ovens, there was a similar issue with "Spinflow" Oven/Hobs back in the 90`s, where the answer involved replacement of the whole Control knobs, pipework, because of the wrong type of Nitrile rubber used in the sealing "O" rings. As the Control valves where pressed together during manufacture they could not just replace the rings.

I suspect that Hagnaps dealer is the same one I am currently having a battle with over a Failed Front Blind, not picked up on PDI (or more likely, deliberately overlooked!) which they want me to pay for!. Their excuse being "I signed the inspection form". We will see how Trading Standards look at that, My view is that it is "Not of Merchantable Quality".

Completely agree, we in the UK use the term "Engineer" far too loosely. An Engineer anywhere else in Europe, and most of the world is strictly controlled and only graduate engineers accredited to the relevant engineering authority is permitted to use the title.
It infuriates my friend who is a Chartered Structural Engineer. She chose engineering as a career, and worked really hard. When she says she is an Engineer she does not get the same recognition as someone who says they are a Solicitor or Doctor. However, in Europe and Engineer would receive the same level of kudos, rightly or wrongly. Could this be one of the reasons why we don't see a huge drive for people to become Engineers?