Truma heater run time without EHU (1 Viewer)

[Jake Royd]

Hello Funsters.
In the process of buying a Chausson Welcome 85 with a Truma 'gas only' blown air heater.
The van has a brand new 100ah leisure battery.
How long in general will the heating run without EHU or starting thevengine to charge the leisure battery?
ImI gessing here that the Truma will have a start up current draw of say 3a but then should run at about 1.5a continously.
At 40% depth of discharge this would give me say 20 or 24hrs.
Does this dound about right?
I know it looks like I have answered my own question but I have no experience of vans yet and would welcome your knowledge and experience.
Thank you.

 

[2657]

Can't really answer your question because it is a little like asking how long is a piece of string. Your figures may be accurate for continuous running but the heater will click on and off to maintain the set internal temp, the period and length of time the heater stays on will depend greatly on the 2 main variables ie set inside temp and ambient outside temp plus of course the quality of insulation and the internal volume of the motorhome.

 

[jezport]

Depends on, model, temperature, thermostat setting, size of van etc. And if its been connected to the power with thick enough leads.

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[Zigisla]

You must also take into consideration what else is running. Fridge, Lights, TV, Pumps etc. These will probably be the time limiting factors not the heating.

 

[JeanLuc]

As well as ambient temperature, the answer will depend on what else you are running, how hot you like to keep the van, how many hours per day you are in it, etc etc.
The best guidance I can offer is that we once lasted three days with ambient temperature of around minus 5-10 using heating 24 hours per day. When we were out during the day, or whilst sleeping, the thermostat was set at minimum; during the evening and first thing, it was set around 4 or 5 on the dial.
We had, at the time, 2 x 110 ah batteries but bear in mind that battery capacity diminishes at low temperatures. Also, they were pretty heavily discharged by the end of the stay.
Also bear in mind that if it is very cold outside, the electric option alone on a Truma (if one is fitted) may struggle to keep the van warm.

 

[two]

Also bear in mind that if it is very cold outside, the electric option alone on a Truma (if one is fitted) may struggle to keep the van warm.

minor point: OP has gas only. If EHU is available, 12V consumption would not be an issue.

You raise a good point, Jake. I can only suggest that it should not be something to worry about in practice, although I haven't tried long term stationary wilding in winter. A week-end rally without EHU is no problem, however. Running the central heating (even Alde) does consume a lot of current but, if you are watchful, you will soon learn how long you can survive between recharges. As said above, there are many variables involved so it's difficult to predict. Just make sure you don't leave the awning light on.

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[Jake Royd]

As well as ambient temperature, the answer will depend on what else you are running, how hot you like to keep the van, how many hours per day you are in it, etc etc.
The best guidance I can offer is that we once lasted three days with ambient temperature of around minus 5-10 using heating 24 hours per day. When we were out during the day, or whilst sleeping, the thermostat was set at minimum; during the evening and first thing, it was set around 4 or 5 on the dial.
We had, at the time, 2 x 110 ah batteries but bear in mind that battery capacity diminishes at low temperatures. Also, they were pretty heavily discharged by the end of the stay.
Also bear in mind that if it is very cold outside, the electric option alone on a Truma (if one is fitted) may struggle to keep the van warm.

ThanksAll,
the unit in my coming van is gas only and has no electric option.
Having just sold a boat which had no heating at all except a Dometic Ethanol heater , any heating in a motorhome will be sheer luxury.
For heating with EHU we will use a theromostatic fan heater.

 

[Lenny HB]

How long is a piece of string?
If you are planning to do much camping off grip you are going to need a 2nd leisure and some solar panels.
If the Truma has a CP-Plus cotroler (the digital one) these control the heater fan much more precisly, on start up it take around 5 amps and depending on the size of the van and how cold it is will run at 5 amps from 15 mins maybe up to an hour, then drop to about 2.5 amps and once the van is fully up to temp it will be down to less than amp with the fan barly audible.
With the older classic controler takes nearer 6 amps on start up and reduces finally to about 1.0-1.5 amps.

 

[JeanLuc]

I realised that Jake will not have an electric option; merely offering the general info. Mine is gas only and I have never felt that an electric element would have added much to the performance. After the first couple of years trying to operate completely off-grid, I realised that in the depths of winter, it makes sense to pay for a hook-up. From around April until October though, we never hook-up unless it is an unavoidable cost of the pitch.

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[Jake Royd]

How long is a piece of string?
If you are planning to do much camping off grip you are going to need a 2nd leisure and some solar panels.
If the Truma has a CP-Plus cotroler (the digital one) these control the heater fan much more precisly, on start up it take around 5 amps and depending on the size of the van and how cold it is will run at 5 amps from 15 mins maybe up to an hour, then drop to about 2.5 amps and once the van is fully up to temp it will be down to less than amp with the fan barly audible.
With the older classic controler takes nearer 6 amps on start up and reduces finally to about 1.0-1.5 amps.

Good Info Lenny.
It's a 2008 van so I'm guessing it's the 'older' set of data.

 

[Lenny HB]

Good Info Lenny.
It's a 2008 van so I'm guessing it's the 'older' set of data.

Yes it will be the Classic controller the CP-Plus came out 2013 I think and was fitted to 2014 vans.

 

[The Wino]

Surprised it hasen't got a diesel heater.

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[Pilote87]

Hello Funsters.
In the process of buying a Chausson Welcome 85 with a Truma 'gas only' blown air heater.
The van has a brand new 100ah leisure battery.
How long in general will the heating run without EHU or starting thevengine to charge the leisure battery?

Hi Jake,

We have just returned from a rally near Tours, just north of the Cher valley and I now know exactly how long we can last on battery power only.

We have a 6m low profile with a solar panel and one 110 ah battery (at least five years old). We arrived on site after a four-hour journey, so the battery was fully charged. The following day it snowed non-stop from about 10 am, so nothing added to the battery. The following day the sun came out and melted the snow / ice of the solar panel so some energy may have been put back into the battery. Sunday was overcast for much of the day, but with brief sunny spells. That evening the battery low charge alarm started flashing so I left the site to a nearby aire de service which has an EHU availability.

So, from late afternoon on Thursday until Sunday after 7 pm we had the Truma running full time, set at 2+ during the night and when we weren't "at home" (can't let our little pooch get too cold) and 3 - 4 when we were in. The upside was that we didn't have to wait for the water to warm up at all.

Incidentally, we also managed to get down a full Gaslow whilst away as I had to change over the bottles first thing on Monday morning. That included the use of gas for the 'fridge and some cooking

J