Truma Combi E with CP plus control not enough hot water

[hadders]

Hi we seem to struggle with getting enough hot water for a shower. Ok for a bowl for washing up but that’s it. Any ideas or tips?

 

[rosalan]

I am a little puzzled at your lack of hot water. It does of course depend on the size of the hot water storage unit but providing the water is hot, very hot, the mix of hot and cold water should allow a couple of showers. Perhaps you are not allowing the water to get hot enough.

 

[Carolyn and Kev]

There are two elements inside the unit. Does it warm up ok on Gas only?

 

[Badknee]

Doesn’t the boiler hot about 20ltrs? Plus cold should be enough. We switch water off while sudsing up though and washing hair. Well my carer does, an eggs got more hair on it than me ?

 

[hadders]

I am a little puzzled at your lack of hot water. It does of course depend on the size of the hot water storage unit but providing the water is hot, very hot, the mix of hot and cold water should allow a couple of showers. Perhaps you are not allowing the water to get hot enough.

Hi we have 10L boiler, we can get hot but not much. Do we have to wait for the symbols on the control panel to completely stop flashing? Tried on boost gas and electric.

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[TinaLes]

Hi hadders
We have a Truma Combi 6E also, and would you believe it sees to store more hot water volume than our previous van that had an Alde wet system boiler, in that we can take it bit longer in the shower.
I hate to be the bringer of bad news,however I see you have a Carthago, and as such it wont come as such a surprise to mention that it was an upgrade option to have a second electric heating element fitted at cost when being built.
Check to see if you have had a second element fitted, if you have then I would check that both elements are working, they are a bit like light bulbs and can let go at any time.
Hope that sheds some light.
PS: yes you will have to wait for the panel indicators to stop flashing as that shows the appliance is calling for heat and has not reached its set temp.
Les

 

[rosalan]

I am just wondering if there is possibly a thermostat in the system preventing or limiting the water temperature from being hot enough to dilute with cold water.

 

[Pausim]

Leave it on boost whilst showering, as soon as boost goes off the heating may cut in and that draws heat from the tank. Make sure the flashing symbol goes off again before the second person showers.

The Combi is basically a gas boiler with the E option having 2x900w electric elements added. 1800w is not going to heat a lot of water quickly. I think the Carthago brochure didn’t translate well into English and you either get no electric elements or 2x900w elements.

 

[TinaLes]

Good point Pausim
Yes it may be a bad translation as they quote a Truma Combi 6 which as we now know is gas only, and also a Truma Combi 6E which we now know has electric elements.
It is confusing as I see the elements listed on dealer sales features that "this van has the additional electric elements" so I guessed they were all electric but the upgrade was to have a second element fitted.
You can imagine the disappointment of a certain funster at a recent rally to realise that his new Compactline didn't have the electric elements fitted at the factory so could only be used on gas.
Felt sorry for him as this option should have been in my opinion be included in all Carthago vans, especially as they come at a premium in terms of cost.
Sales brochures, clear as mud at times, that really is penny pinching,disappointing with them for that.
Les

 

[Pausim]

I think the electric heating elements are only seen as an option by some continental manufacturers because 16A supplies are not taken for granted in other countries. Carthago is not alone, it was only an option when I looked at Hymer.

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[Allanm]

We had a Truma 4 in our Autosleeper. It held 10 litres and if heated up on the 60 degree setting, was enough for 2 showers in quick succession, just. You need to turn the water off whilst lathering up though.
Not sure if the Truma 6 holds any more water, but it seems much more efficient allowing us lengthier showers.

Edited, yes, you have to wait till the hot water symbol stops flashing before the water is up to temperature and make sure it’s set to Hot not Eco.

 

[peterc10]

We both shower every morning and have never run out of hot water from our previous Truma Combi or our present Alde system.

The trick is the way you use the shower. Do not keep the water running all the time. Turn on the tap and as soon as the water gets hot soak yourself all over. Then turn off the tap and lather all over you body. This is best done with shower gel rather than a bar of soap. Once lathered up turn the tap back on and rinse off. All of this is much easier with a hand held shower head. We use an aerating head which uses less water but still gives a strong jet.

 

[charliesgrandad]

When I want hot water I select the HOT option and it gives me plenty of hot water but if I select BOOST it only gives me a small amount ie a bowl full

 

[Fletton]

We have a Truma 6e... It holds 10ltrs according to the tech spec.

Set at 60 (either gas or leccy) there is enough hot water for both of us to shower once the indicator stops flashing. I also turn it off at this point.

We use the "submarine" method... And.. both of us have a good head of hair to wash.

Shower on... Point at feet with full hot.
As temp rises adjust (with cold) until required temp.
Wet hair and body
Turn shower off
Wash hair - then body with shower gel
Shower on to rinse
Shower off
Flannel dry

If this is the method you are using... My only thought would be..... Is your boiler a long way from your shower head?

 

[hadders]

Hi chaps many thanks for your responses. I’ve just brought a iH Camper van and traded the Carthago. It does have the twin electric elements but think may issue maybe these don’t heat quickly as mentioned plus the symbols were still flashing. We’ll try again but at the moment we just get enough for a 1/4 bowl for washing up!

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[peterc10]

The Truma heats up much quicker on gas than just electric. From memory with both elements on the electric is only 1.8Kw whereas the gas is much more powerful.

 

[Lenny HB]

I think the electric heating elements are only seen as an option by some continental manufacturers because 16A supplies are not taken for granted in other countries. Carthago is not alone, it was only an option when I looked at Hymer.

On all 3 Hymer's we have had never bothered with the electric option, €450 pays for an awful lot of ga., also we rarely use an EHU so no point.

When I want hot water I select the HOT option and it gives me plenty of hot water but if I select BOOST it only gives me a small amount ie a bowl full

The only difference between HOT & BOOST is HOT heats the water to 60°c, BOOST heats the water to 62°c and turns off the heating until the water is up to temperature. What you are saying can't happen.

The Truma heats up much quicker on gas than just electric. From memory with both elements on the electric is only 1.8Kw whereas the gas is much more powerful.

6KW on gas, also if you use Gas & Electric you only get 5.8KW.

 

[Lenny HB]

Never had a problem getting two showers out of our C6.

The only problem we have with the current Combi's is you can't use the ECO/40°c setting if two people want a shower (it was fine on the older C6002). The problem is thermostat used on the ECO setting has a very wide hysteresis, it turns off when the water reaches 40°c but does not turn back on until the water temperature drops to 27°c IMO makes the ECO setting useless and we use more gas as we have to use the HOT/60°c setting which is hotter than we need.

Also the C6 takes far longer to heat the water than Truma claim. Set to HOT or BOOST it takes 40 - 45 min to get up to temp, set to Heating and HOT takes at least an hour. If you just use heating the water takes well over 1½ hours to get fully hot.

To have hot water for a shower and get up in a warm van we set the water on BOOST to come on ¾hour before we need heating.
e.g. Set the timer to turn on at 7 am with water set to BOOST & Heating to 18°c. The boiler will fire up at 7 am and once the water is up to temp the heating will turn on at about 7:40 am.

 

[Reallyretired]

All these boilers are basically gas boilers with an electric add-on as an afterthought. On those occassions I have EHU I leave the boiler on 24/7 as it takes ages to heat up on electricity or just run on gas where it works far better. As mentioned before 16A ehu is rare except in the UK.

 

[Lenny HB]

All these boilers are basically gas boilers with an electric add-on as an afterthought. On those occassions I have EHU I leave the boiler on 24/7 as it takes ages to heat up on electricity or just run on gas where it works far better. As mentioned before 16A ehu is rare except in the UK.

You only need 8 amps but you get so little heat not worth the bother.

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[Reallyretired]

Gas is king

 

[TinaLes]

Interesting replies thus far, I need to try boiler on Electric 16amp hook up to see how poor it really is at getting the van warm in cold conditions, we have only used it on gas thus far as we are either wilding or on a field rally, usualy with no EHU.
Hence why we used a full 11KG Gaslow tank over 5/6 days a couple of weeks back, heating was on 24/7, showers every day, bloody freezing and heavy rain & winds, but it was south wales
I have heard many others say that their boiler is very poor at heating on electric, so it must be a well known fact by the manufacturers.
Question, do any of you understand or see the point of using the thermostat OFFSET facility?
Had two vans, never bothered with it myself.
Les

 

[Lenny HB]

Question, do any of you understand or see the point of using the thermostat OFFSET facility?
Had two vans, never bothered with it myself.

Always set it, most manufacturers fit the temperature sensor above the door often above head height. This often results the heating turning off before the main seating area is at the required temperature. By setting up the offset you can compensate for this.
Or you can just turn the thermostat up higher.

 

[Fletton]

TinaL In winter I set the control to duel fuel... (If on EHU) ...As a full-timer I find it will initially use gas to raise the temp of van (if diffential of temp is significant tween thermo setting and van temp) and then "tick over on leccy once van temp is raised enough.

If on leccy only - it will maintain a temp ( I.e stop you freezing in the night) but will not raise the temp significantly if you crank up the thermostat - if the van is cold.

John T

 

[peterc10]

Interesting replies thus far, I need to try boiler on Electric 16amp hook up to see how poor it really is at getting the van warm in cold conditions, we have only used it on gas thus far as we are either wilding or on a field rally, usualy with no EHU.
Hence why we used a full 11KG Gaslow tank over 5/6 days a couple of weeks back, heating was on 24/7, showers every day, bloody freezing and heavy rain & winds, but it was south wales
I have heard many others say that their boiler is very poor at heating on electric, so it must be a well known fact by the manufacturers.
Question, do any of you understand or see the point of using the thermostat OFFSET facility?
Had two vans, never bothered with it myself.
Les

As others have said, nearly all European models sold into the European market have gas only heaters fitted, and many do not even offer electric as an option. That is because few sites in Europe have the 16A supplies we have as standard in most of the UK.

British built vans, and many European vans destined for the UK market usually have electric as well as gas as standard. Other European makers, such as Hymer, offer it is an option and often as part of a discounted "Option Package".

The Alde heater we now have has options to use 1KW, 2KW or 3KW settings for the electric heating. You can also choose to have both gas and electric heating on and can choose which takes priority. We invariably use gas only to start with and only put the electric on (if we are on EHU) once the heating has reached its set temperature. Never used more than the 2KW setting.

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[TinaLes]

As others have said, nearly all European models sold into the European market have gas only heaters fitted, and many do not even offer electric as an option. That is because few sites in Europe have the 16A supplies we have as standard in most of the UK.

British built vans, and many European vans destined for the UK market usually have electric as well as gas as standard. Other European makers, such as Hymer, offer it is an option and often as part of a discounted "Option Package".

The Alde heater we now have has options to use 1KW, 2KW or 3KW settings for the electric heating. You can also choose to have both gas and electric heating on and can choose which takes priority. We invariably use gas only to start with and only put the electric on (if we are on EHU) once the heating has reached its set temperature. Never used more than the 2KW setting.

Yes Carthago are exactly the same as Hymer I guess in that they have "option Packs" some of which are needed to have a usable van, so the basic price quoted should be taken with a pinch of salt, take it, then add 10K should get you near the price you have to pay (before any discounts etc)
One exception to the 10K average, is the Carthago Liner for two, basic price £135K, on the road price £155 plus or £199K if on a Merc Twin Axle
Les

 

[Campervan_man]

Bit unconventional:- I had a classic Hymer with a 10L Truma gas water heater. I also fitted a £180 Propex 10L water heater next to it in a wardrobe.
I then had 20L of piping hot water for showering. It worked great.

 

[hadders]

I am just wondering if there is possibly a thermostat in the system preventing or limiting the water temperature from being hot enough to dilute with cold water.

Not sure, it’s brand new so could be an issue

 

[hadders]

Never had a problem getting two showers out of our C6.

The only problem we have with the current Combi's is you can't use the ECO/40°c setting if two people want a shower (it was fine on the older C6002). The problem is thermostat used on the ECO setting has a very wide hysteresis, it turns off when the water reaches 40°c but does not turn back on until the water temperature drops to 27°c IMO makes the ECO setting useless and we use more gas as we have to use the HOT/60°c setting which is hotter than we need.

Also the C6 takes far longer to heat the water than Truma claim. Set to HOT or BOOST it takes 40 - 45 min to get up to temp, set to Heating and HOT takes at least an hour. If you just use heating the water takes well over 1½ hours to get fully hot.

To have hot water for a shower and get up in a warm van we set the water on BOOST to come on ¾hour before we need heating.
e.g. Set the timer to turn on at 7 am with water set to BOOST & Heating to 18°c. The boiler will fire up at 7 am and once the water is up to temp the heating will turn on at about 7:40 am.

This seems to be the solution then! It cannot heat up quickly I now realise and electric is basically just ticking it along.

 

[rosalan]

Gas is more effective at heating water.

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