Truma Combi Gas - Help its cold... (1 Viewer)

[Badboo]

Hello,

We're on the road and using our Truma Combi Gas heating system for the first time. We trialled it at home for about twelve hours before departing, using the heating without water temperature monitoring mode on both 2 and 3 settings, and it worked perfectly.
After a day of driving we free camped and turned the system on the heating without water temperature monitoring mode again and selected 1. I heard the system start up under the bed and there was heated air coming out to the vents.
During the night it seemed quite cold so I turned the setting to 2. In the morning the cabin was cold there was no air coming out of the vents. The water coming out of the taps was totally cold also.
I turned the setting to 3 and we heard the system start up. Hot air started flowing again.
At no stage did I see any red or yellow lights on the control panel. The green light was on at all times (see attached image)
Can any one suggest why the system didn't work through the night? If we were in a colder spot this would have been a problem.
Does the Truma system work differently when the MH is connected to mains electricity as it was at home pre trip?

 

[irnbru]

Maybe temperature controlled and you have it set to low.

 

[Fletton]

My control is different.. so can't help with detail.... but... you do have gas still?... and it's set to run on gas?...

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[Gromett]

Looks like you have set it too low? The temperature sensor might be too close to a vent?
I have mine on 4 overnight and 6 during the day.

 

[Badboo]

My control is different.. so can't help with detail.... but... you do have gas still?... and it's set to run on gas?...

Yes the gas is working and (as far as I know) it only runs on gas

 

[Badboo]

Looks like you have set it too low? The temperature sensor might be too close to a vent?
I have mine on 4 overnight and 6 during the day.

When we trialled the system at home we found that 3 was too warm. We though that 2 was good but decided to try 1 to conserve gas on the road and avoid having to buy a bottle in Italy or Austria.

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[jezport]

If there's no fault light it sounds like it was set too low, or the temperature sensor is near a heat source

 

[sdc77]

In the photo above your system is set to heating only ... that will take decades for the water to heat up.. it should be at the bottom setting .. other than that. . As said .. your thermostat was too low

 

[jezport]

In the photo above your system is set to heating only ... that will take decades for the water to heat up.. it should be at the bottom setting .. other than that. . As said .. your thermostat was too low

Thats if you want water being given priority.
If you want air heating the priority you have is set correctly.

We use the air priority at night and have ours set to 2 overnight and the water is still hot . our thermostat sensor is at waist height but if yours is high up it mas switch off earlier as the heat rises

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[FJmike]

It's my understanding that the first position down is for running the heating without water in the boiler. The second one down marked 60 o is heating and hot water.

 

[sdc77]

Thats if you want water being given priority.
If you want air heating the priority you have is set correctly.

We use the air priority at night and have ours set to 2 overnight and the water is still hot . our thermostat sensor is at waist height but if yours is high up it mas switch off earlier as the heat rises

The op said he awoke to no hot water .. if the heating was off cause the thermostat was too low .. on that setting his water would be cold in the morning.

It's my understanding that the first position down is for running the heating without water in the boiler. The second one down marked 60 o is heating and hot water.

As far as I'm aware the boiler can have no water in the boiler on any setting and it will be fine.

 

[Badboo]

It's my understanding that the first position down is for running the heating without water in the boiler. The second one down marked 60 o is heating and hot water.

Yes mine too. However the first position is supposed to result in some heating of water.... Corresponding to the thermostat setting that you've chosen.

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[Badboo]

our thermostat sensor is at waist height but if yours is high up it mas switch off earlier as the heat rises

Is there an easy way to identify where the sensor is? Or do in need to contact McLouis?

 

[Badboo]

If there's no fault light it sounds like it was set too low, or the temperature sensor is near a heat source

Yes this seems to be the common consensus. My only question with that is that the system seemed to work so differently when we tried it out at home before departing to now, out on the road. The 2 setting at home was quite warm. Last night in the road the same setting was a "fizzer"

 

[2657]

If ours is set to 3 it keeps the temp around 16.5 deg and has only kicked in intermittently when the outside temp has been down to around 7 deg. If we set it at 2 I doubt that it would kick in at all at those outside temps.

I don't think that it really matters what the number on the dial is, set it come on so as to maintain the temp that you require by trial and error.

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[KeithChesterfield]

The setting you show in the picture is okay for heating only.

The mark position with the flame and 60* is heating and water.

Turn up the heating as high as you like during the night and if it gets too hot – pretend it's mid-summer, throw off the bed clothes and run around naked – then get a re-fillable system fitted next year and go anywhere in Europe without worrying about gas consumption.

Have a great trip - and Happy Christmas.

 

[jezport]

Is there an easy way to identify where the sensor is? Or do in need to contact McLouis?

Its a small black dome around 10mm across

 

[sdc77]

Yes mine too. However the first position is supposed to result in some heating of water.... Corresponding to the thermostat setting that you've chosen.

@Badboo just to confirm the settings on the dial.
Top setting is 60° water heating only
Second setting down is 40° water heating only
Middle one is system off
Next one down is blown air heating only (but in time any water in the boiler would heat up residually.. but only if the heating was on). This is the setting it's on in your picture.
Final setting is heating and hot water 60°
The thermostat dial in the center is what it is... you just need to find a good level of heat where you are.
The thermostat sensor won't be too far away. It's about 1cm diameter and looks like this.

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[FJmike]

@Badboo
Middle one is system off
Next one down is blown air heating only (but in time any water in the boiler would heat up residually.. but only if the heating was on). This is the setting it's on in your picture.
Final setting is heating and hot water 60°

Sorry but that is not correct for ALL Truma controllers. I had a look in my Truma manual and it says that position is for heating whilst the boiler is empty of water

 

[2657]

Sorry but that is not correct for ALL Truma controllers. I had a look in my Truma manual and it says that position is for heating whilst the boiler is empty of water

Which is exactly the same, if there is any water in the boiler then it will slowly heat up as a result of the heat generated by the blown air system.

 

[mexican pete]

Have you actually tried this setting with the thermostat turned up to 5? If it blows hot air then at least you know that the system is working. Also have you tried it with the control set for heat and hot water?

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[WillH]

I've read this thread several times now, think I understand it. Set the thermostat higher to make it warmer, we set ours to 3 during the night. Suits us, may not suit everyone.

 

[Badboo]

Have you actually tried this setting with the thermostat turned up to 5? If it blows hot air then at least you know that the system is working

The unit is definitely working. 1& 2 on the thermostat do absolutely nothing. I've left it running for a couple of hours on these settings to confirm that it didn't start up at some point. 3 works but becomes too hot during the night, especially in the bedroom with the bed being positioned near the water heater.

Also have you tried it with the control set for heat and hot water?

Yes but with the same results? I'll follow up with Truma when we get home.
We've decided to stay at more sites with hook ups than we had planned so that we can plug in the electric oil heater. However I understand that with night time temps below freezing we need to ensure that the water heater doesn't freeze up. I'm assuming that switching the Truma to water heating only mode would consume less gas that heating only mode which also heats the water in line with the thermostat setting??

 

[daveandsan]

If the temp is about 15c 1&2 doesn't work on my thermostat, it needs to be on 3 and above. I leave ours set between 2-21/2 at night and if it's very cold it does come on.

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[Badboo]

If the temp is about 15c 1&2 doesn't work on my thermostat, it needs to be on 3 and above. I leave ours set between 2-21/2 at night and if it's very cold it does come on.

Thank you. Yes I considered that the cabin temp may be preventing 1 or 2 from kicking in but last night it was so cold in the cabin that e could see our breaths....and still 1 and 2 did nothing.

I also considered the location of the sensor. However it is just above the main cabin door so no where near a heat source.

 

[pappajohn]

I also considered the location of the sensor. However it is just above the main cabin door so no where near a heat source.

But at that height it is in a heat source....warm air rises so any warmth up there will be detected and shut down the boiler.
In a domestic system the room thermostat must be at 1.4mtrs above floor level.
In my view >1.8mtrs is far too high.
Still doesn't explain why it never came on during the night when the temp was very low though.

 

[Badboo]

Another Truma question....
Has anyone else experienced a (quite strong) chemical type smell in the bedroom compartment when using the water heating only option? We haven't really used this option a lot since purchasing the MH and thought maybe it's something to do with the system being new but the smell is persisting. We do t get the smell when using the hearing only option.

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