Truma Boilers

Glyn and Debbie

Glyn and Debbie

Free Member
Joined
May 18, 2011
Posts
181
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Location
Manchester
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16,480
MH
Fifth Wheel
Exp
Since 2008
Hi, i thought i would ask all you expert motorhomes, and not so expert about your truma boilers, i have just been to Truma near Derby to have my broken boiler repaired, it is 4 years old so out of warranty, anyway the problem ws a pinhole in the stainless steel tank, they said it was caused by me pouring a bottle of milton in my water tank so diluting it about a hundred times and running it through my system for which they charged me £830, my question is has anyone else had a similar problem as i am disputing this charge and taking it up with trading standards as i believe it is a fault with the tank thank you for reading to the end
 
How did they “know” you put a bottle of Milton in your tank?
 
If you look at the Milton data sheet there is nothing in Milton that would react to cause a pin hole it’s <5% chlorine. I think they are looking for a reason to charge for a manufacturing fault
 
Many years ago I was given a 1gallon tin of bleach by a driver who worked in a giant factory that made domestos it had only been filled that day and was a brand new tin ,when I came to put it in my car at five o clock the bottom of the tin had been eaten away and needless to say there was none left in the tin ,luckily it was on a quarry tiled floor .
 
Not impressed with my Truma boiler. It gave up working on gas at 18 months old and the dealer can’t work out why.

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A quick google will produce loads of evidence of sodium hypochlorite attacking stainless steel. Although Milton is very dilute I would never use it in a water system with a steel tank. Why take the risk, those boilers are expensive.
 
The state clearly no chlorine products. - Page 6 from the link
 
We just got back from Vantage having are van serviced and they were tilling me that the other van in that day had to have a new heater due to using Milton did put a thread a few weeks ago
 
We had a similar problem with the Truma in our previous motorhome, which was 7 years old at the time. We used to use Milton to disinfect it regularly. Never used it since.

Johns Cross diagnosed it and fixed it. Can't remember exactly how much it cost but it was a lot lower than £800.
 
After travelling g around europe for past 7 weeks I've noticed white deposits in our kettle. As I'm from the Highlands we don't get this.
So I'm wondering as our van was a southern/Midlands van could the Truma boiler be the same ? If so could we use some Calgon in it ? Or best leave it?

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I think at 4 years old it would be difficult to prove it was a manufacturing fault to manufacture a stailess boiler that would last 4 years then perforate would be tricky!. It does however sound a bit ott in cost.
 
I'm not sure if I'm missing something here as you say "it is 4 years old so out of warranty" so what exactly have trading standards got to do with it failing/being punctured/pin holed etc Surely that's just bad luck or wear and tear(coupled with Milton)?
 
BusyBuilder said:
After travelling g around europe for past 7 weeks I've noticed white deposits in our kettle. As I'm from the Highlands we don't get this.
So I'm wondering as our van was a southern/Midlands van could the Truma boiler be the same ? If so could we use some Calgon in it ? Or best leave it?
Click to expand...
I have to regularly descale ours. Bristol water is terrible for limescale and so are parts of Europe especially Germany.
I use citric acid bought in bulk ( 1 kilo) online. I use it in camper kettle, home kettle and coffee machine. You can use white vinegar but that can leave a taste. As recommended on Truma website. I use 4 tablespoons of citric acid.
www.truma.com

Does the water container on the Truma Combi heater need to be sterilised and descaled?

For hygienic reasons you should decalcify the water container of the Truma Combi heater occasionally. Discover here how easy this is.
www.truma.com www.truma.com
 
BusyBuilder said:
After travelling g around europe for past 7 weeks I've noticed white deposits in our kettle. As I'm from the Highlands we don't get this.
So I'm wondering as our van was a southern/Midlands van could the Truma boiler be the same ? If so could we use some Calgon in it ? Or best leave it?
Click to expand...
If its in your kettle it will be in your boiler too. Use citric acid as recommended by the manufacturers, I don't know what's in Calgon but I wouldn't risk it.
 
mike mcglynn said:
Many years ago I was given a 1gallon tin of bleach by a driver who worked in a giant factory that made domestos it had only been filled that day and was a brand new tin ,when I came to put it in my car at five o clock the bottom of the tin had been eaten away and needless to say there was none left in the tin ,luckily it was on a quarry tiled floor .
Click to expand...
So not a pin hole then ?

I find it hard to believe that anything corrosive would only create a pin hole.

Most likely it would do like in your experience and burn the whole bottom out of it.

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The tanks are not stainless steel, real stainless 316 or 318 is not damaged by any domestic chemicals. The tanks are probably made of nickel steel (cheap) which is badly corroded by anything alkali. Nickel steel will go "rusty" with cement dust.
 
ctc said:
The tanks are not stainless steel, real stainless 316 or 318 is not damaged by any domestic chemicals. The tanks are probably made of nickel steel (cheap) which is badly corroded by anything alkali. Nickel steel will go "rusty" with cement dust.
Click to expand...

Interestingly their web site states:
  • Stainless steel container
Whether they are talking about the water cylinder or not is maybe arguable. :D :D

www.truma.com

Boiler Gas, Boiler Gas / Elektro - Inform now

The Truma boiler (gas) heats water in your caravan without the need for electricity. The gas/electric version reduces heating time. Find out more about the Truma gas water heater.
www.truma.com www.truma.com
 
I have just purchased some Puriclean for my system.
It contains Triclosene Sodium and they claim it is safe to use with stainless steel boilers.

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Bobd said:
I have just purchased some Puriclean for my system.
It contains Triclosene Sodium and they claim it is safe to use with stainless steel boilers.
Click to expand...
I hope you correct, it's what I use most Spring's
 
Boilers of any form have always been vulnerable to additives that change the water quality. I've heard of many domestic boilers that have been damaged / destroyed simply from connecting heating pipework through a water softener system instead of directly filling from the mains supply.

How many people have had to replace their home boiler within only a few years? That is moderately robust as it get's fixed to a wall once, doesn't then get bounced around as a vehicle moves, and how much it weighs isn't normally a concern. The Truma is going to be built lightweight, and yet has to cope with vibrations. Remember too that stainless steel doesn't mean it is corrosionless steel. It will be more resistant, but can still deteriorate.

Most leaks start with a pinhole. Sheet products like metal are rolled out. Under a microscope you would inevitably see deviations in thickness. That meets specification, as the sheet is a certain minimum, but the first faults will inevitably occur from those bits that are slightly thinner, not thicker. That weakness could easily be exacerbated by a minor deposit on the inside of the boiler aggravating the corrosion at that point.
 
So the cocensus is only use white vinegar? Is white wine vinegar the same as white? I have never used white vinegar ever for anything.
 
Vipar said:
So the cocensus is only use white vinegar? Is white wine vinegar the same as white? I have never used white vinegar ever for anything.
Click to expand...
We use food grade citric acid bought in powder form from Amazon. Truma recommend their own cleaner but say white vinegar or citric acid can be used instead.

We disinfect and descale every spring. Drain all tanks and heater first. Put water and citirc acid into fresh water tank until full. Leave for a couple of hours to work on the fresh water tank. Then pump through so that water is running from all taps including hot ones. Switch boiler on and leave the mix to work on pipe lines taps and boiler again for a couple of hours. Then switch on tap and let the water drain into the grey water tank until it is full. Drain the rest of the fresh water tank and the boiler and water lines using the drain facilities on them. Leave the mix in the grey tank for a couple of hours to help clean that and then drain.

Then fill the fresh water tank and flush out the system by running the taps and drains at least twice until you can no longer taste or smell the citric acid in the water coming out of the taps.

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Bloody hell Peter what a palava! I’ve never cleaned mine, or drained it down, I can’t say I’ve noticed any problems either, I’m sure someone will be along to tell me what a nob I am though:unsure:and that will really upset me:giggle:
 
Vipar said:
So the cocensus is only use white vinegar? Is white wine vinegar the same as white? I have never used white vinegar ever for anything.
Click to expand...
I don’t think the consensus was for vinegar. It can be used but I prefer citric acid as per my post above and that of others above.
White wine vinegar different from white vinegar. You need quite a lot so expensive to use white wine vinegar bought here, I buy white vinegar in 5ltr containers as have to use it all around the house here due to excessive scaling up.
 
dabhand said:
Bloody hell Peter what a palava! I’ve never cleaned mine, or drained it down, I can’t say I’ve noticed any problems either, I’m sure someone will be along to tell me what a nob I am though:unsure:and that will really upset me:giggle:
Click to expand...
Us oldies have got to find something to do with our time Simon!

There is a school of thought that says with chlorine already in tap water you don't need to disinfect. But we have hard water so it needs doing to get rid of the scale anyway.

Can't see you getting too upset by anything others say. If you do just remember

OMMMMMMMMM.............. OMMMMMMMMM

:LOL: :LOL:
 

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